Today Chateau de Neuchâtel, Switzerland was the venue for the two 2015/16 European Pool Draws and it is fair to say that the Pools of the Champions Cup have sent us all into a flat spin!!
The new look European competition may have taken a number of months to develop however it was certainly worth waiting for as the tweaks ensured sky high intensity from Round 1 and negated many of the 'dead wood' matches that we had seen prior. Following the Rugby World Cup a whole host of stars from the Southern Hemisphere will be joining us in Europe and their presence will further ignite what was already set to be a tremendous competition.
Pool 1 puts together the four time European Champions Toulouse with Saracens, Ulster Rugby and Oyonnax. Oyonnax qualified courtesy of their sixth place finish in the Top 14 and it is clear that their return to the top flight will be a very tough one. Toulouse are seasoned professionals at this 'European thing' however next season they'll be entering unknown without the ever present, Guy Novès. The lingering question is; will this rock to the boat or will they power on as normal anyway? Ulster Rugby and Saracens know each other, and the competition, extremely well and already they've shared a spot of light-hearted Twitter banter after Saracens ‘borrowed’ Ulster’s traditional call to arms last time around!
Pool 2 sees the return of the Exeter Chiefs to the Champions Cup and the team that qualified for the competition the hard way; Bordeaux Begles. The Ospreys are the Pro12 representation in the pool and ASM Clermont Auvergne complete the set. Finals rugby still does not not sit well with Clermont however you cannot deny their power and it is fair to say that they should wear the favourites tag of Pool 2. Of all of our Aviva Premierships sides I'd say that the Exeter Chiefs will be the most satisfied with their draw and certainly will look positively on a return to the top tier of European rugby.
In Pool 3 Racing Metro’s most well known new recruit, Dan Carter, will be introduced to European Rugby with match ups against the Glasgow Warriors, the Northampton Saints and the Scarlets. There are a number of unknowns within this pool that will impact on proceeding; will Glasgow press on from their Pro12 victory or will they find that the Rugby World Cup drains their energy and forces a slow European start? Will the Scarlets have the firepower to cope with their rest? Will the Saints gain back their European Mojo after their tough exit in this year’s quarter-final?
Pool 4 welcomes the current Top 14 Champions; Stade Francais, two sides that have two European titles each to their name; Munster Rugby and Leicester Tigers and then one that I fear might struggle; Benetton Treviso. With respect both Munster and Leicester are not quite the European forces that they used to be however it is foolish to ever write either off and I expect both to regroup quickly prior to the 2015/16 competition. Sergio Parisse's Stade Francais should enter the competition confidence and poised well for action as they finished this year so strongly and it is for that reason that right now they have their noises in front in this pool.
The final pool is Pool 5 and it is quite something as it contains Bath Rugby, RC Toulon, Leinster Rugby and Wasps Rugby. Naturally it immediately gained the nickname the ‘Pool Of Death’ however my personal spin on it, is that it is actually ‘Pool of Delight’. The Pool of Delight is due to the fact that as a writer every single one of these matches is going to be out of this world! The road to European glory is never easy and with nine European titles between them, which is one fewer than the rest of the Pools combined, this pool is the ultimate test.
The final pool is Pool 5 and it is quite something as it contains Bath Rugby, RC Toulon, Leinster Rugby and Wasps Rugby. Naturally it immediately gained the nickname the ‘Pool Of Death’ however my personal spin on it, is that it is actually ‘Pool of Delight’. The Pool of Delight is due to the fact that as a writer every single one of these matches is going to be out of this world! The road to European glory is never easy and with nine European titles between them, which is one fewer than the rest of the Pools combined, this pool is the ultimate test.
Across all five pools there are teams that know each other very well and that have previously delivered some of Europe’s most memorable battles. Each year performance levels increase and with these pools you sense that the 2015/16 Euoprean competition is going to be big and better than ever before.
The dates of the European weekends have been released with the first on 12/13/14/15 November and with the Final of the Rugby World Cup on 31st October it will be interesting to see how the fixtures will be scheduled and whether it will favour some teams over others. In terms of the specific match dates they will be released by EPC once BT Sport and Sky Sports have had a good old humdinger of their own regarding which matches each will cover!! In all honestly this could take a few weeks, at the last, so for now I suggest that you sit tight and bask in the excitement of the 2015/16 European Champions Cup competition!
The dates of the European weekends have been released with the first on 12/13/14/15 November and with the Final of the Rugby World Cup on 31st October it will be interesting to see how the fixtures will be scheduled and whether it will favour some teams over others. In terms of the specific match dates they will be released by EPC once BT Sport and Sky Sports have had a good old humdinger of their own regarding which matches each will cover!! In all honestly this could take a few weeks, at the last, so for now I suggest that you sit tight and bask in the excitement of the 2015/16 European Champions Cup competition!
The Champions Cup Draw
Pool 1 - Saracens, Ulster Rugby, Toulouse & Oyonnax
Pool 2 - ASM Clermont Auvergne, Ospreys, Exeter Chiefs & Bordeaux Begles
Pool 3 - Glasgow Warriors, Northampton Saints, Racing 92 & Scarlets
Pool 4 - Stade Francais, Munster Rugby, Leicester Tigers & Treviso
Pool 5 - Bath Rugby, Toulon, Leinster Rugby & Wasps
2015/16 Tournament Weekends
Round 1: 12/13/14/15 November
Round 2: 19/20/21/22 November
Round 3: 10/11/12/13 December
Round 4: 17/18/19/20 December
Round 5: 14/15/16/17 January 2016
Round 6: 21/22/23/24 January 2016
Quarter-finals: 7/8/9/10 April 2016
Semi-finals: 22/23/24 April 2016
Finals: 13/14 May 2016
