Europe1 .fr with AFP 16:08 p.m., June 14, 2023

The next edition of the Champions Cup rugby, which will run from 8 December 2023 to 25 May 2024, will see the return of a "multi-pool" formula, i.e. four pools of six clubs. The EPCR, the organizing body, wants to sharpen the competition of the competition after the format of last season.

The next edition of the Champions Cup rugby, which will run from December 8, 2023 to May 25, 2024, will see the return of a "multi-pool" formula, four pools of six clubs, in order to sharpen competition in the competition, announced Wednesday the organizing body (EPCR).

Four different opponents

"These new formats will make tournaments more competitive as each club will face four different opponents, home or away, during the group stage," the EPCR said in a statement, adding that in the Challenge Cup, the eighteen qualified clubs will be divided into three pools of six.

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The 2022-2023 edition was played in a two-pool format of twelve teams each for the Champions Cup, and two pools, one of ten teams, the other of eight, for the Challenge Cup. The twenty-four clubs or franchises of the European and South African elite, which will participate in the next season of the Champions Cup, will be divided into four pools following a draw that will take place on June 21.

According to its terms, "each pool can only contain a maximum of two clubs from the same 'League'" (Top 14, English Premiership, or United rugby championship, bringing together teams from Welsh, Irish, Italian, Scottish and South African provinces), says the EPCR.

The four separate Irish provinces

In addition, the four Irish provinces will all be separated into different pools. Similarly, the Stormers and the South African Bulls will not be able to be in the same pool. Another major precision: "during the group stage, there will be no matches between clubs" of the same championship, says the EPCR.

Thus, to establish the schedule of matches, each club will play four matches against four different opponents who are not from its own league, either home or away. At the end of this phase, the four highest-ranked clubs in each pool will qualify for the knockout stages, and the clubs that finish in fifth place will be relegated to the Challenge Cup.

This season, La Rochelle won the Champions Cup, achieving the 2022-2023 double, and Toulon won the Challenge Cup. The 2022-2023 edition of these two competitions included for the first time in its history South African franchises, which did not go beyond the quarter-finals.

List of clubs and franchises qualified for the Champions Cup:

La Rochelle, Toulouse, Racing 92, Bordeaux-Bègles, Lyon, Stade Français, Toulon, Bayonne (Top 14 title), Saracens, Sale, Leicester, Northampton, Harlequins, Exeter, Bath, Bristol (English Premiership title), Munster, Stormers, Leinster, Ulster, Glasgow, Bulls, Connacht, Cardiff (URC title).

List of clubs and franchises qualified for the Challenge Cup: Sharks, Lions, Benetton, Edinburgh, Ospreys, Scarlets, Dragons, Zebre (URC title), Castres, Clermont, Montpellier, Pau, Perpignan, Oyonnax (Top 14 title), Gloucester, Newcastle (English Premiership), as well as two clubs to be confirmed.