The Investec Champions Cup pool draw has concluded, with all 24 clubs now divided up into four pools of six for next season’s opening rounds.

All teams will play four matches in their pool, with the four best in each progressing to the Round of 16. The fifth-placed side in each will qualify for the EPCR Challenge Cup Round of 16.

The pool stage matches will take place on the 6/7/8 December, 13/14/15 December, 10/11/12 January and 17/18/19 January.

The final will take place on 24 May 2025 at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium. tickets are already available to purchase, with more information available HERE.

So, here are all the pools and what each may bring:

Pool 1
Stade Toulousain, Union Bordeaux-Bègles, Hollywoodbets Sharks, Exeter Chiefs, Leicester Tigers, Ulster Rugby

Pool 1 features the winners of both EPCR’s competitions last season in the shape of reigning Investec Champions Cup holders Stade Toulousain and EPCR Challenge Cup champions Hollywoodbets Sharks.

TOP14 finalists Union Bordeaux-Bègles reached the quarter-final stage of last year’s elite EPCR competition – as did Exeter Chiefs, with the 2020 winners being knocked out by Stade Toulousain.

Leicester Tigers, who have recently announced Michael Cheika as their new head coach, lost in the Round of 16 last season, while 1999 champions Ulster Rugby finished fifth in their pool and went on to reach the EPCR Challenge Cup quarter-finals. Both will be keen to improve on those performances this season.

Pool 2
Leinster Rugby, ASM Clermont Auvergne, Stade Rochelais, Bristol Bears, Benetton Rugby, Bath Rugby

Four-time winners Leinster Rugby will be looking to finally achieve their fifth title after finishing as runners-up in three successive seasons.

They are joined by Stade Rochelais, who defeated them in the 2022 and 2023 finals, before the Dublin-based club knocked them out in the quarter-finals last season.

Benetton Rugby feature in the Investec Champions Cup after a strong campaign which saw them reach the EPCR Challenge Cup semi-finals and come seventh in the United Rugby Championship.

ASM Clermont Auvergne are back in EPCR’s elite competition, where they have finished runners-up three times, while Bristol Bears will be looking to atone for failing to progress from their pool last term.

1998 champions Bath Rugby were knocked out by local rivals Exeter Chiefs in the Round of 16 last term, but after reaching the Gallagher Premiership final, they promise to be a serious threat in 2024/25.

Pool 3
Northampton Saints, Munster Rugby, Vodacom Bulls, Stade Français Paris, Saracens, Castres Olympique

Gallagher Premiership champions Northampton Saints will be keen to win their second Champions Cup after impressing both domestically and in EPCR competition last season.

URC clubs Munster Rugby and Vodacom Bulls will have ambitions of their own, however, after the latter reached their domestic final last season, while Munster have won EPCR’s elite title twice, both in Cardiff, where this year’s showpiece will also take place.

Stade Français Paris were second in the regular TOP14 campaign in 2023/24 and will be eager to prove themselves in the Investec Champions Cup after failing to win a match in last season’s pool stage.

Similarly, Castres Olympique will have been disappointed with their performance last term, when they were beaten in the Round of 16 of the EPCR Challenge Cup.

Saracens will begin their post-Owen Farrell era next season and so all eyes will be on how the three-time winners adapt in the Investec Champions Cup.

Pool 4
Glasgow Warriors, Racing 92, Sale Sharks, DHL Stormers, RC Toulon, Harlequins

Following their stunning win in the URC final, Glasgow Warriors will be hoping to make a deep run in the Investec Champions Cup in 2024/25.

Harlequins will be aiming to build on their historic run to last season’s semi-finals, which saw them win their first two Investec Champions Cup knockout matches.

Three-time winners RC Toulon, knocked out at the pool stage last term, will be eyeing a big improvement this time round – as will Racing 92 and DHL Stormers, both of whom went out in the Round of 16.

Sale Sharks finished fifth in their 2023/24 pool and were then knocked out of the EPCR Challenge Cup in the Round of 16. However, they did reach the semi-finals of the Gallagher Premiership.

>>>Story courtesy of https://www.epcrugby.com/champions-cup/news<<<