2022/23 Champions/Challenge Cup

[OomStruisbaai]

2022/23 HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS CUP QUALIFIERS
TOP 14: Castres Olympique, Montpellier Hérault Rugby, Union Bordeaux-Bègles, Stade Toulousain, 5 Stade Rochelais, 6 Racing 92, 7 ASM Clermont Auvergne, 8 Lyon
Gallagher Premiership: Leicester Tigers, Saracens, 3 Harlequins, 4 Northampton Saints, 5 Gloucester Rugby, 6 Sale Sharks, 7 Exeter Chiefs, 8 London Irish
United Rugby Championship: Stormers, Bulls, 3 Leinster Rugby, 4 Ulster Rugby, 5 Sharks, 6 Munster Rugby, 7 Edinburgh Rugby, 8 Ospreys

2022/23 EPCR CHALLENGE CUP QUALIFIERS
United Rugby Championship: 1 Glasgow Warriors, 2 Scarlets, 3 Connacht Rugby, 4 Lions, 5 Benetton Rugby, 6 Cardiff Rugby, 7 Dragons, 8 Zebre Parma
TOP 14: 1 RC Toulon, 2 Section Paloise, 3 Stade Français Paris, 4 CA Brive, 5 Aviron Bayonnais, 6 USAP
Gallagher Premiership: 1 Wasps, 2 Bristol Bears, 3 Worcester Warriors, 4 Newcastle Falcons, 5 Bath Rugby
Invited: Cheetahs

Champions Cup 2022/23 weekends:
Round 1 – 9/10/11 December 2022
Round 2 – 16/17/18 December 2022
Round 3 – 13/14/15 January 2023
Round 4 – 20/21/22 January 2023

Round of 16 – 31 March/ 1/2 April 2023
Quarterfinals – 7/8/9 April 2023
Semifinals – 28/29/30 April 2023
EPCR Challenge Cup final – Friday 19 May 2023
Champions Cup final – Saturday 20 May 2023

[robmatic]

Champions Cup 2022/23 weekends:
Round 1 – 9/10/11 December 2022
Round 2 – 16/17/18 December 2022
Round 3 – 13/14/15 January 2023
Round 4 – 20/21/22 January 2023

Round of 16 – 31 March/ 1/2 April 2023
Quarterfinals – 7/8/9 April 2023
Semifinals – 28/29/30 April 2023
EPCR Challenge Cup final – Friday 19 May 2023
Champions Cup final – Saturday 20 May 2023

They keep the round of 16, so the Champions Cup will still have a weird and pointless group stage and teams only have a week or less to arrange and sell the quarter finals.

[ia801310]

They need to go back to proper 4/5 team groups

[PornDog]

they really are determined to ruin this competition. Fucking gobshites!

[Biffer]

they really are determined to ruin this competition. Fucking gobshites!

Yeah. Four team groups, QF, SF, Final, great format, easy to understand. Any casual fan will look at that group stage and be put off.

[PornDog]

The tinfoil hat wearing conspiracy nut part of my brain thinks this is all a part of the Spiv gobshites plan born from their belief in a zero sum game -
- The European cup is relatively more important to Celtic sides than us
- Therefore if we weaken Europe it weakens them more than us
- Therefore we improve relative to them and its a net win for us

Everybody loses with the gutting of the comp, it's such a fucking shame!

[JM2K6]

[PornDog]

I know, I know - but it would genuinely surprise me if there wasn't at least one cunt with influence that does think like that.

[sockwithaticket]

they really are determined to ruin this competition. Fucking gobshites!

Yeah. Four team groups, QF, SF, Final, great format, easy to understand. Any casual fan will look at that group stage and be put off.

I'd consider myself to be more than just a casual fan and I couldn't be arsed working out the group stage. The only good thing about it is ensuring no same country games, but I'm pretty sure that can be achieved with normal, easier to understand pools anyway.

[OomStruisbaai]

Current clubs/Franchises salary gaps
7. URC (South Africa) = £3-million (ZAR60-million)
6. Super Rugby (New Zealand & Australia) = £3.2-million (ZAR64-million)
5. URC (Scotland) = £4.2-million (ZAR83-million)
4. URC (Wales) = £5-million (ZAR99-million)
3. Premiership (England) = £5-million (ZAR99-million)
2. URC (Ireland) = £6.6-million (ZAR131-million)
1. Top 14 (France) = £10-million (ZAR199-million)

[happytramp]

Current clubs/Franchises salary gaps
7. URC (South Africa) = £3-million (ZAR60-million)
6. Super Rugby (New Zealand & Australia) = £3.2-million (ZAR64-million)
5. URC (Scotland) = £4.2-million (ZAR83-million)
4. URC (Wales) = £5-million (ZAR99-million)
3. Premiership (England) = £5-million (ZAR99-million)
2. URC (Ireland) = £6.6-million (ZAR131-million)
1. Top 14 (France) = £10-million (ZAR199-million)

Add in the price of a pint of milk in each country so we can see how much bang your getting for your buck.

[OomStruisbaai]

We measure value in biltong, R300 per kilo.

[bok_viking]

We measure value in biltong, R300 per kilo.

or the other currency used by most players going overseas... the amount of Braais that can be held in a week.

[OomStruisbaai]

We measure value in biltong, R300 per kilo.

or the other currency used by most players going overseas... the amount of Braais that can be held in a week.

At Munster they injured themselves litting a braai fire.

RP Snyman and Ellende, dik swak.

[ia801310]

Current clubs/Franchises salary gaps
7. URC (South Africa) = £3-million (ZAR60-million)
6. Super Rugby (New Zealand & Australia) = £3.2-million (ZAR64-million)
5. URC (Scotland) = £4.2-million (ZAR83-million)
4. URC (Wales) = £5-million (ZAR99-million)
3. Premiership (England) = £5-million (ZAR99-million)
2. URC (Ireland) = £6.6-million (ZAR131-million)
1. Top 14 (France) = £10-million (ZAR199-million)

Is this strictly policed in South Africa? Hard to believe given the signings the Sharks are making.

[average joe]

We measure value in biltong, R300 per kilo.

or the other currency used by most players going overseas... the amount of Braais that can be held in a week.

At Munster they injured themselves litting a braai fire.

RP Snyman and Ellende, dik swak.

Hard to blame them when it was some crazy oirishman that decided it was a good idea to use petrol.

[OomStruisbaai]

Current clubs/Franchises salary gaps
7. URC (South Africa) = £3-million (ZAR60-million)
6. Super Rugby (New Zealand & Australia) = £3.2-million (ZAR64-million)
5. URC (Scotland) = £4.2-million (ZAR83-million)
4. URC (Wales) = £5-million (ZAR99-million)
3. Premiership (England) = £5-million (ZAR99-million)
2. URC (Ireland) = £6.6-million (ZAR131-million)
1. Top 14 (France) = £10-million (ZAR199-million)

Is this strictly policed in South Africa? Hard to believe given the signings the Sharks are making.

The income they get from Saru. Sharks is owned by the Americans.

[assfly]

Is this strictly policed in South Africa? Hard to believe given the signings the Sharks are making.

That's a good question. But remember they are being paid much lower in Rands.

[bok_viking]

Current clubs/Franchises salary gaps
7. URC (South Africa) = £3-million (ZAR60-million)
6. Super Rugby (New Zealand & Australia) = £3.2-million (ZAR64-million)
5. URC (Scotland) = £4.2-million (ZAR83-million)
4. URC (Wales) = £5-million (ZAR99-million)
3. Premiership (England) = £5-million (ZAR99-million)
2. URC (Ireland) = £6.6-million (ZAR131-million)
1. Top 14 (France) = £10-million (ZAR199-million)

Is this strictly policed in South Africa? Hard to believe given the signings the Sharks are making.

It is supposed to be, I know that Jake White talked about it when he first started at the Bulls just after the Bulls were taken over by Rupert and Motsepe. The reporters asked him something like if he is was looking forward to have the funds to bring big name players in and he commented that he has a salary cap to work with.

[bok_viking]

We measure value in biltong, R300 per kilo.

or the other currency used by most players going overseas... the amount of Braais that can be held in a week.

At Munster they injured themselves litting a braai fire.

RP Snyman and Ellende, dik swak.

Yup not sure how anyone in that group could think it was smart to throw petrol while a fire was burning. That's the kind of thing you could expect from little kids. But otherwise every South African I know and met in Europe is all about as many braais they can do as a reminder of home. When I still lived in Denmark we held braais in the middle of winter with the snow coming down. Got reported to the fire department once when we first moved in because a neighbour thought our apartment was on fire when they saw the flames on our balcony. The fire chief was really pissed and game us a warning luckily after that when they neighbours got to know us they did not call the fire department anymore.

[PornDog]

or the other currency used by most players going overseas... the amount of Braais that can be held in a week.

At Munster they injured themselves litting a braai fire.

RP Snyman and Ellende, dik swak.

Hard to blame them when it was some crazy oirishman that decided it was a good idea to use petrol.

Rumour has it that it was Chris Cloete

[ia801310]

Is this strictly policed in South Africa? Hard to believe given the signings the Sharks are making.

That's a good question. But remember they are being paid much lower in Rands.

Also the cost of living is a lot less in South Africa. I would bet that £3,000,00 in South Africa will get you a lot more than £5,000,000 in England.

[OomStruisbaai]

2022/23 HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS CUP QUALIFIERS
TOP 14: Castres Olympique, Montpellier Hérault Rugby, Union Bordeaux-Bègles, Stade Toulousain, 5 Stade Rochelais, 6 Racing 92, 7 ASM Clermont Auvergne, 8 Lyon
Gallagher Premiership: Leicester Tigers, Saracens, 3 Harlequins, 4 Northampton Saints, 5 Gloucester Rugby, 6 Sale Sharks, 7 Exeter Chiefs, 8 London Irish
United Rugby Championship: Stormers, Bulls, 3 Leinster Rugby, 4 Ulster Rugby, 5 Sharks, 6 Munster Rugby, 7 Edinburgh Rugby, 8 Ospreys

2022/23 EPCR CHALLENGE CUP QUALIFIERS
United Rugby Championship: 1 Glasgow Warriors, 2 Scarlets, 3 Connacht Rugby, 4 Lions, 5 Benetton Rugby, 6 Cardiff Rugby, 7 Dragons, 8 Zebre Parma
TOP 14: 1 RC Toulon, 2 Section Paloise, 3 Stade Français Paris, 4 CA Brive, 5 Aviron Bayonnais, 6 USAP
Gallagher Premiership: 1 Wasps, 2 Bristol Bears, 3 Worcester Warriors, 4 Newcastle Falcons, 5 Bath Rugby
Invited: Cheetahs

[OomStruisbaai]

Both draws will be streamed live on www.epcrugby.com and the event will start at 12h00 (UK-Irish time) / 13h00 (SA-Italian time) with the draw for the EPCR Challenge Cup pools, which will be followed by the Heineken Champions Cup draw at approximately 12h25 / 13h25.

For the Heineken Champions Cup draw, which will feature the DHL Stormers, Vodacom Bulls and Cell C Sharks from South Africa for the first time, the 24 qualified clubs will be in four tiers based on their rankings from the TOP 14, Gallagher Premiership and the Vodacom URC, before being drawn into two pools of 12 – Pool A and Pool B. Clubs from the same league in the same tier will not be drawn into the same pool. (See qualifiers and tiers below)

The number 1 and number 2 ranked clubs from each league will be in Tier 1 – this includes Castres Olympique and Montpellier Hérault Rugby, who will compete in TOP 14 final on Friday – the number 3 and number 4 ranked clubs will be in Tier 2, the number 5 and 6 ranked clubs will be in Tier 3, and the number 7 and number 8 ranked clubs will be Tier 4.

The Tier 1 and the Tier 4 clubs which have been 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 have been drawn in the same pool, but which are not in the same league.

For example, the DHL Stormers, who won last weekend’s Vodacom URC Grand Final, will be in Tier 1 and will be drawn against either ASM Clermont Auvergne or Lyon, and against either the Exeter Chiefs or London Irish from Tier 4.

Similarly, Leicester Tigers, who triumphed in the Premiership final, will also be in Tier 1 and will be drawn against either ASM Clermont Auvergne or Lyon, and against either Edinburgh Rugby or Ospreys from Tier 4.

Meanwhile, the losing TOP 14 semi-finalists, Union Bordeaux-Bègles and Stade Toulousain, who will be in Tier 2, will be drawn against either Gloucester Rugby or Sale Sharks, and against either the Cell C Sharks or Munster Rugby from Tier 3.

The live-streamed draw for the EPCR Challenge Cup pools, which includes the Johannesburg-based Emirates Lions and the Toyota Cheetahs from Bloemfontein, will have 20 clubs in three tiers in order to create two pools of 10 – Pool A and Pool B. Clubs from the same league will not play against one another during the pool stage. (See qualifiers and tiers below)

The number 1 and number 2 ranked clubs from the Vodacom URC, the TOP 14 and the Premiership will be in Tier 1, the number 3 and number 4 ranked clubs from each league, as well as the number 5 and number 6 ranked clubs from the Vodacom URC, will be in Tier 2. The Dragons, Zebre Parma, USAP, Aviron Bayonnais, Bath Rugby and the Toyota Cheetahs will be in Tier 3.

The Tier 1 and the Tier 3 clubs which have been 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.

The Tier 2 clubs which have been drawn in the same pool, but which are not from the same league, will play one another home and away during the pool stage.

In order to adhere to the key principle of no same-league matches, Tier 2 clubs from the TOP 14 will only play against opposition from the Vodacom URC, and similarly, Tier 2 clubs from the Premiership will also only play against opposition from the Vodacom URC.

For example, in Tier 2, the Lions will play against either Stade Francais Paris or CA Brive, and against either Worcester Warriors or Newcastle Falcons.

Once the draws have been concluded, EPCR will prepare the fixture schedules for both tournaments with an announcement of exact dates, venues, kick-off times and TV coverage to follow as soon as practicable.

The 2022/23 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 CUP QUALIFIERS
TOP 14: Castres Olympique, Montpellier Hérault Rugby, 3 Union Bordeaux-Bègles, 4 Stade Toulousain, 5 Stade Rochelais, 6 Racing 92, 7 ASM Clermont Auvergne, 8 Lyon
Gallagher Premiership: 1 Leicester Tigers, 2 Saracens, 3 Harlequins, 4 Northampton Saints, 5 Gloucester Rugby, 6 Sale Sharks, 7 Exeter Chiefs, 8 London Irish
Vodacom United Rugby Championship: 1 DHL Stormers, 2 Vodacom Bulls, 3 Leinster Rugby, 4 Ulster Rugby, 5 Cell C Sharks, 6 Munster Rugby, 7 Edinburgh Rugby, 8 Ospreys

Heineken Champions Cup pool draw tiers
Tier 1: Castres Olympique, Montpellier Hérault Rugby, Leicester Tigers, Saracens, DHL Stormers, Vodacom Bulls
Tier 2: Union Bordeaux-Bègles, Stade Toulousain, Harlequins, Northampton Saints, Leinster Rugby, Ulster Rugby
Tier 3: Stade Rochelais, Racing 92, Gloucester Rugby, Sale Sharks, Cell C Sharks, Munster Rugby
Tier 4: ASM Clermont Auvergne, Lyon, Exeter Chiefs, London Irish, Edinburgh Rugby, Ospreys

2022/23 EPCR CHALLENGE CUP QUALIFIERS
Vodacom United Rugby Championship: 1 Glasgow Warriors, 2 Scarlets, 3 Connacht Rugby, 4 Emirates Lions, 5 Benetton Rugby, 6 Cardiff Rugby, 7 Dragons, 8 Zebre Parma
TOP 14: 1 RC Toulon, 2 Section Paloise, 3 Stade Français Paris, 4 CA Brive, 5 USAP 6 Aviron Bayonnais
Gallagher Premiership: 1 Wasps, 2 Bristol Bears, 3 Worcester Warriors, 4 Newcastle Falcons, 5 Bath Rugby
Invited: Toyota Cheetahs

EPCR Challenge Cup pool draw tiers
Tier 1: Glasgow Warriors, Scarlets, RC Toulon, Section Paloise, Wasps, Bristol Bears
Tier 2: Connacht Rugby, Emirates Lions, Benetton Rugby, Cardiff Rugby, Stade Francais Paris, CA Brive, Worcester Warriors, Newcastle Falcons
Tier 3: Dragons, Zebre Parma, USAP, Aviron Bayonnais, Bath Rugby, Toyota Cheetahs

[OomStruisbaai]

The draw for the pools will be held at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on Tuesday 28 June. The event starts at 12:00 (UK & Irish time) / 13:00 (SA & Italian time), with the Heineken Champions Cup draw taking place at approximately 12:25 / 13:25.

[JM2K6]

Shaping up to be one of the worst tournaments in living memory, this.

[PornDog]

It's such an unbelievably piss poor format - fucking ridiculous how much they have fucked this tournament up!

[SaintK]

Saints got an easy pool
Drawn La Rochelle and Munster

[JM2K6]

Racing92 and the Saffer Sharks

ffs

[Margin__Walker]

The Mighty London Irish get the URC champions and the Top 14 champions.

Should be fun. Need to start laying the groundwork for a trip to Cape Town.

[OomStruisbaai]

The Mighty London Irish get the URC champions and the Top 14 champions.

Should be fun. Need to start laying the groundwork for a trip to Cape Town.

Pm me if you need anything Make it worth a while with at least 7 days.

[OomStruisbaai]

Champions Cup:
Bulls v Lyon and Exeter Chiefs
Sharks v Union Bordeaux-Bègles and Harlequins
Stormers v ASM Clermont Auvergne and London Irish

[Margin__Walker]

The Mighty London Irish get the URC champions and the Top 14 champions.

Should be fun. Need to start laying the groundwork for a trip to Cape Town.

Pm me if you need anything Make it worth a while with at least 7 days.

Ha, cheers. Was down for the Lions tour in 09 and did the midweek game in Cape Town, but it was a bit of a flying visit.

Just a pipe dream at the moment though, as I've got family and responsibilities now that I didn't have back then...

[OomStruisbaai]

The Mighty London Irish get the URC champions and the Top 14 champions.

Should be fun. Need to start laying the groundwork for a trip to Cape Town.

Pm me if you need anything Make it worth a while with at least 7 days.

Ha, cheers. Was down for the Lions tour in 09 and did the midweek game in Cape Town, but it was a bit of a flying visit.

Just a pipe dream at the moment though, as I've got family and responsibilities now that I didn't have back then...

Dec/Jan is a great time to visit

[sockwithaticket]

[sockwithaticket]

[OomStruisbaai]

Pool A - {Castres, Saracens, Bulls}. {UBB, Harlequins, Leinster}. {Racing, Gloucester, Sharks}, {Lyon, Exeter, Edinburgh}
Pool B - {Montpellier, Leicester, Stormers}, {Toulouse, Northampton, Ulster}, {La Rochelle, Sale, Munster}, {Clermont, London Irish, Ospreys}

so Castres play Chiefs & Edinburgh, Sarries play Lyon & Edinburgh, and Bulls play Chiefs & Lyon
UBB play Gloucester & Sharks, Quins play Sharks & Racing, Leinster play Racing & Gloucester

Montpellier play London Irish & Ospreys, Tigers play Clermont & Ospreys, and Stormers play Clermont & London Irish
Toulouse play Sale & Munster, Saints play La Rochelle & Munster, Ulster play La Rochelle & Sale

[OomStruisbaai]

Top 8 in each pool qualify for business end.

[OomStruisbaai]

Heineken Cup fixture


https://www.epcrugby.com/champions-cup/ ... d-results/

Challenge Cup
https://www.epcrugby.com/challenge-cup/ ... d-results/

[OomStruisbaai]

Saffers
The competitions kick off on the weekend of December 9 to 11 and URC winners, the Stormers, will have a first competitive outing on French soil when they take on Clermont Auvergne, while the Bulls and the Sharks will be at home against Lyon and Harlequins respectively.

The Lions will make their debut in the Challenge Cup away to Worcester Warriors, while the Cheetahs, who will play their two ‘home’ matches in Pool B at Stadio Lanfranchi in Parma, go head-to-head with Section Paloise in the south-west of France in Round 1.

In Round 2, the Stormers host London Irish; the Sharks travel to Bordeaux; the Bulls are away to Exeter Chiefs while the Lions are at home to Stade Francais and the Cheetahs host the Scarlets.