Sarries to face Edinburgh & Lyon in Heineken Champions Cup
Saracens will take on Edinburgh and Lyon in the pool stages of the 2022/23 Heineken Champions Cup.
The draw, which took place in Dublin earlier in the week confirmed the opponents that the Men in Black will need to overcome to reach the knockout stages.
For the Heineken Champions Cup draw, the 24 qualified clubs were in four tiers based on their rankings from the TOP 14, Gallagher Premiership and the URC, before being drawn into two pools of 12 – Pool A and Pool B. Clubs from the same league in the same tier were not drawn into the same pool.The Tier 1 and the Tier 4 clubs which were drawn in the same pool, but which are not in the same league, will play one another home and away over four pool stage rounds, as will the Tier 2 and Tier 3 clubs which were drawn in the same pool, but which are not in the same league.
The exact dates of the pool stage fixtures in both tournaments, as well as venues, kick-off times and TV coverage, will be announced as soon as practicable following consultation with clubs and broadcasters.
The 2022/23 EPCR season will be played over eight weekends with four rounds of matches in the pool stage starting in December, followed by a knockout stage consisting of a Round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, culminating in the Dublin finals at the Aviva Stadium on 19 and 20 May 2023.2022/23 HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS CUPPOOL A (with opponents in brackets)Castres Olympique (Exeter Chiefs, Edinburgh Rugby)Saracens (Lyon, Edinburgh Rugby)Bulls (Exeter Chiefs, Lyon)Union Bordeaux-Bègles (Gloucester Rugby, Sharks)Harlequins (Racing 92, Sharks)Leinster Rugby (Racing 92, Gloucester Rugby)Racing 92 (Harlequins, Leinster Rugby)Gloucester Rugby (Union Bordeaux-Bègles, Leinster Rugby)Sharks (Union Bordeaux-Bègles, Harlequins)Lyon (Saracens, Bulls)Exeter Chiefs (Castres Olympique, Bulls)Edinburgh Rugby (Castres Olympique, Saracens)POOL B (with opponents in brackets)Montpellier Hérault Rugby (London Irish, Ospreys)Leicester Tigers (ASM Clermont Auvergne, Ospreys)Stormers (ASM Clermont Auvergne, London Irish)Stade Toulousain (Sale Sharks, Munster Rugby)Northampton Saints (Stade Rochelais, Munster Rugby)Ulster Rugby (Stade Rochelais, Sale Sharks)Stade Rochelais (Northampton Saints, Ulster Rugby)Sale Sharks (Stade Toulousain, Ulster Rugby)Munster Rugby (Stade Toulousain, Northampton Saints)ASM Clermont Auvergne (Leicester Tigers, Stormers)London Irish (Montpellier Hérault Rugby, Stormers)Ospreys (Montpellier Hérault Rugby, Leicester Tigers)
2022/23 key datesRound 1 – 9/10/11 December 2022Round 2 – 16/17/18 December 2022Round 3 – 13/14/15 January 2023Round 4 – 20/21/22 January 2023Round of 16 – 31 March/ 1/2 April 2023Quarter-finals – 7/8/9 April 2023Semi-finals – 28/29/30 April 2023EPCR Challenge Cup final – Friday 19 May 2023; Aviva Stadium, DublinHeineken Champions Cup final – Saturday 20 May 2023; Aviva Stadium, Dublin
