Schedule for Heineken Champions Cup 2021/22 season confirmed

The European Professional Club Rugby has confirmed the dates and kick-off times for the Heineken Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup tournaments.

Heineken Champions Cup

The opening round of the tournament will kick-off on 10th December with Northampton Saints hosting Racing 92 with six games scheduled on 11th December, Saturday.

Winners of last season's Pro14 Leinster will be locking horns with Bath Rugby at Aviva Stadium while Cardiff Blues, Bordeaux Begles, Bristol Bears, Clermont and Exeter Chiefs will be having home games with Toulouse, Bath Rugby, Leicester Tigers, Scarlets, Ulster and Montpellier respectively.

Last season’s defeated finalists, Stade Rochelais, will attempt to go one better when they launch their European campaign against Glasgow Warriors in Pool A at Stade Marcel-Deflandre on Sunday, 12 December, and the tournament will get under way on Friday, 10 December when Northampton Saints host Racing 92 at the cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens.

With 24 teams competing in the competition spread equally across two groups each, the top eight teams in each pool will qualify for the knock out stage of round-of-16 followed by the quarter-finals and semi-finals at the home of the highest ranked team. The final will be played in Marseille on 28th May 2022.

For Full Fixtures click here

European Challenge Cup

The new format in the European Challenge Cup will see 15 teams divided into three pools over five pool stage rounds. Saracens, who made a return back to the European competition will face Edinburgh at StoneX Stadium on 11th December which will have three other games with Zebre, USA Perignan, Section Paloise hosting Biarritz, Dragons and London Irish respectively.

The tournament however will kick-start with two Premiership teams Newcastle Falcons taking on Worcester Warriors at Kingston Park on 10th December while Lyon host Gloucester on the same day.

The three highest-ranked clubs from each pool, and the highest-ranked fourth-placed club, as well as six Heineken Champions Cup clubs, will qualify for the Round of 16 which will be played on the weekend of 15/16/17 April 2022, followed by quarter-finals and semi-finals, with the final at the Stade Vélodrome, Marseille on 27 May 2022.

For Full Fixtures click here