2022/23 Heineken Champions Cup pool stage schedule announced

Saracens will kick off their return to the Heineken Champions Cup with a home match against Edinburgh Rugby at StoneX Stadium.

The Men in Black are back in the top tier of European Rugby next season, a competition that they have won three times.

Sarries will welcome Edinburgh to StoneX for Round One on the weekend of 9/10/11 December, before travelling to Lyon the following weekend to take on the Challenge Cup winners from last season. 

Round Three will see Lyon head to London on 13/14/15 January, and the pool will be concluded with an away match against Edinburgh on 20/21/22 January. 

At this stage, EPCR are only announcing the fixtures by round for the pool stages, with exact dates, kick-off times and TV coverage in both the Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup to be announced as soon as possible following the conclusion of negotiations with broadcasters for the new cycle across each market.

Heineken Champions Cup

· 24 elite clubs (nine tournament winners with 36 EPCR titles between them)

· Two pools of 12

· Four pool stage rounds

· Eight highest-ranked clubs from each pool qualify for the knockout stage

· Knockout stage: Round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final

· Ninth and 10th ranked clubs from each pool qualify for the EPCR Challenge Cup

2022/23 key dates

Round 1 – 9/10/11 December 2022 - Saracens v Edinburgh

Round 2 – 16/17/18 December 2022 - Lyon v Saracens 

Round 3 – 13/14/15 January 2023 - Saracens v Lyon

Round 4 – 20/21/22 January 2023 - Edinburgh v Saracens

Round of 16 – 31 March - 1/2 April 2023 

Quarter-finals – 7/8/9 April 2023 

Semi-finals – 28/29/30 April 

EPCR Challenge Cup final – Friday 19 May 2023; Aviva Stadium, Dublin 

Heineken Champions Cup final – Saturday 20 May 2023; Aviva Stadium, Dublin