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HEINEKEN CUP POOLS ANNOUNCED
8 June 2010, 11:56 am
Heineken Cup champions Toulouse will face London Wasps, Glasgow Warriors and Newport Gwent Dragons in the Pool stages of the 2010/11 Heineken Cup tournament when they defend their prestigious title in the 16th season of Europe's premier club rugby competition kicking-off on the weekend of 8/9/10 October, 2010.
In today’s draw made in Cardiff – host city for the 2011 final to be played at the Millennium Stadium on the weekend of 21/22 May – the cup holders were drawn in Pool 6 while the Ospreys, the newly crowned Magners League champions and Tier 2 team, will be up against 2006 and 2008 Heineken Cup Champions Munster, as well as London Irish and RC Toulon in Pool 3.
The draw for the six Pools of four teams each, made by ERC Chairman Jean-Pierre Lux and Chief Executive Derek McGrath, also saw 2001 and 2002 Heineken Cup winners and reigning Guinness Premiership champions Leicester Tigers drawn to face the Scarlets, Perpignan and Benetton Treviso in Pool 5.
French Top 14 champions ASM Clermont Auvergne will face 2009 Heineken Cup winners Leinster, Guinness Premiership runners up Saracens and fellow French side Racing Metro 92.
The draw was again conducted using the merit-based ERC European Ranking system compiled on the qualified teams' performances over the past four seasons in the Heineken Cup and knock-out stages of the Amlin Challenge Cup.
The 24 teams who have qualified for the 2010/11 competition were graded into four Tiers of six teams each with each of the six Pools having one team from each of the four Tier levels. French clubs ASM Clermont Auvergne and Racing-Metro 92 were drawn together in Pool 2 as France have seven teams in next season’s competition.
HEINEKEN CUP 2010/11 POOLS
POOL 1: Cardiff Blues, Northampton Saints, Edinburgh, Castres Olympique
POOL 2: Leinster, ASM Clermont Auvergne, Saracens, Racing Metro 92
POOL 3: Munster, Ospreys, London Irish, RC Toulon
POOL 4: Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque, Bath Rugby, Ulster, Aironi Rugby
POOL 5: Leicester Tigers, Scarlets, Perpignan, Benetton Treviso
POOL 6: Toulouse, London Wasps, Glasgow Warriors, Newport Gwent Dragons
THE TIERS (with ERC European Ranking points):
TIER 1
29 – Munster
27 – Toulouse
25 – Leinster
23 – Leicester Tigers
20 – Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque
20 – Cardiff Blues
TIER 2
19 – London Wasps
15 – ASM Clermont Auvergne
15 – Ospreys
15 – Northampton Saints
14 – Bath Rugby
12 – Scarlets
TIER 3
11 – Perpignan
11 – London Irish
11 – Saracens
8 – Ulster Rugby
7 – Glasgow Warriors
6 – Edinburgh
TIER 4
6 – Newport Gwent Dragons
4 – Benetton Treviso
4 – Castres Olympique
4 – RC Toulon
Aironi Rugby
Racing-Metro 92
HEINEKEN CUP 2010/11 FIXTURES
ROUND 1 – 8/9/10 October, 2010
ROUND 2 – 15/16/17 October, 2010
ROUND 3 – 10/11/12 December, 2010
ROUND 4 – 17/18/19 December, 2010
ROUND 5 – 14/15/16 January, 2011
ROUND 6 – 21/22/23 January, 2011
QUARTER-FINALS – 8/9/10 April, 2011
SEMI-FINALS – 30 April/1 May, 2011
16th HEINEKEN CUP FINAL – Millennium Stadium, Cardiff – 21/22 May, 2011
This article was posted on 8-Jun-2010, 12:59 by Hugh Barrow.
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