Munster handed Bordeaux test as Irish provinces learn European fate

Munster will also play Racing 92, Bristol Bears and Gloucester

Munster will face titleholders Bordeaux in the Champions Cup pool stage. Pic:  Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Munster will have to face defending back-to-back champions Union Bordeaux Bègles after a tough Champions Cup pool draw on Wednesday, while Leinster will face old rivals Leicester Tigers and Clermont Auvergne in their bid for a fifth European star.

Connacht will have a tough route to the knockout rounds after being drawn alongside French champions Toulouse, Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle, and English powerhouses Exeter Chiefs and Saracens.

All three Irish provinces in the top-tier competition face intriguing fixtures next season, with Munster also set to face Racing 92 and English West Country duo Bristol Bears and Gloucester Rugby, who could feature former team-mate Jean Kleyn, whose decade-long spell in Limerick came to a close at the end of June.

URC champions Leinster, one of four top seeds alongside Bordeaux, French Top 14 titleholders Toulouse and English PREM winners Northampton Saints, will play Sale Sharks and Pau as well as Tigers and Clermont.

Teams will play four matches in the pool phase each against four different opponents not from the same league. The matches will be either home or away. This year’s Champions and Challenge Cup competitions will be played under two new rule adaptations. An offensive try bonus will only be awarded to a team which wins a match by three or more tries, in order to encourage the winning side to keep attacking and defending, rather than allowing soft tries to be conceded to the losing side at the death, though losing bonus points for sides ending fixtures within seven or fewer points will still be awarded.

The other change affects pool standings, with only the top three teams in each of the four pools qualifying automatically for the knockout stages. The Round of 16 will be completed by the teams with the most match points regardless of their pool standing.

Ulster will bid to go one better than their Challenge Cup final appearance in Bilbao last season. Richie Murphy’s side saw their bid for Champions Cup rugby fall short over the final rounds of the URC regular season, leaving them needing a European final win in the second-tier competition over Montpellier to reach the elite competition. It proved a step too far, Ulster hammered 59-26 by the French side in the Bilbao decider.

Next time around, their path will have to go through a pool alongside South African invitees Cheetahs, French Top 14 clubs Perpignan and Bayonne and URC rivals Dragons.

Fixture schedules for both competitions with dates, venues, kick-off times and TV coverage will be announced as soon as possible after the pool draws.

Pool matches in both begin with an opening round on the weekend of October 16-18 with a second round over December 11-13, before the final two rounds in mid-January. Qualifying teams begin the knockout rounds in the Round of 16 on April 2-4, with the quarter-finals a week later across April 9-11. The semi-finals take place over April 30, May 1 and 2 with finals set for Lyon’s OL Stadium, with the Challenge Cup decider on Friday, May 21 and the Champions Cup finale fixed for Saturday, May 22.

CHAMPIONS CUP POOL DRAW (top seeds first) 

POOL ONE: LEINSTER, Glasgow Warriors, Section Paloise, Sale Sharks, Leicester Tigers, ASM Clermont Auvergne.

POOL TWO: Toulouse, Lions, Saracens, La Rochelle, Exeter Chiefs, CONNACHT.

POOL THREE: Union Bordeaux Bègles, Stormers, Racing 92, MUNSTER, Gloucester, Bristol Bears

POOL FOUR: Northampton Saints, Bath, Cardiff, Montpellier, Stade Francais, Bulls.

CHALLENGE CUP POOL DRAW

POOL ONE: Cheetahs, ULSTER, Perpignan, Dragons, Bayonne, Zebre Parma 

POOL TWO: Benetton, Lyon, Newcastle, Sharks, Castres, Scarlets.

POOL THREE: Ospreys, Edinburgh, Black Lion, Harlequins, Toulon, Vannes