Champions Cup Draw 18/19
By Mark Stevens
20/6/18
Exeter Chiefs will face two fresh faces in this season's Heineken Champions Cup following today's Pool Draw which took place at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Pitted in Pool Two of the competition, Rob Baxter's side will face both Castres Olympique and Munster for the first time in competitive action, as well as Premiership rivals Gloucester.
Castres Olympique, who were recently crowned TOP 14 champions, were one of five Tier One sides named in the draw, while the Chiefs were ranked in Tier Two.
Leinster, who took the title in magnificent style in Bilbao last month, will be up against a trio of former champions in Wasps, Toulouse and Bath Rugby when the 2018/19 European season kicks off in October.
The Premiership winners, Saracens, have been drawn in Pool 3 with Glasgow Warriors, Lyon and Cardiff Blues.
Castres Olympique, who were recently crowned TOP 14 champions, will be in Pool 2 along with Exeter Chiefs, Munster Rugby and Gloucester Rugby.
The event, which was streamed live on epcrugby.com and official tournament Facebook channels, was compered by Sarra Elgan (BT Sport) and Raphael Ibanez (France Télévisions), and the draws were conducted by Austin Healey (BT Sport) and Dimitri Yachvili (beIN SPORTS).
2018/19 Heineken Champions Cup pools
Pool 1: Leinster Rugby, Wasps, Toulouse, Bath Rugby
Pool 2: Castres Olympique, Exeter Chiefs, Munster Rugby, Gloucester Rugby
Pool 3: Saracens, Glasgow Warriors, Lyon, Cardiff Blues
Pool 4: Scarlets, Racing 92, Leicester Tigers, Ulster Rugby
Pool 5: Montpellier, Newcastle Falcons, Edinburgh Rugby, RC Toulon
EPCR weekends – 2018/19 season
Round 1: 12/13/14 October
Round 2: 19/20/21 October
Round 3: 7/8/9 December
Round 4: 14/15/16 December
Round 5: 11/12/13 January 2019
Round 6: 18/19/20 January 2019
Quarter-Finals: 29/30/31 March 2019
Semi-Finals: 19/20/21 April 2019
2019 Newcastle Finals
Challenge Cup final: Friday, 10 May, St James’ Park
Heineken Champions Cup final: Saturday, 11 May, St James’ Park