Champions Cup draw: Leinster and La Rochelle meet once more, Munster drawn with Castres again
The Irish province lost to Ronan O'Gara's side in the semi-finals in 2021 and the decider in the following two seasons but have had the upper hand since, winning the last three meetings.
Leo Cullen's men, semi-finalists last season, will also face Leicester Tigers, Harlequins and Bayonne in Pool 3, clubs from the same league being kept apart in the pool stages.
Two-time winners Munster will meet Bath, Toulon, Castres and Gloucester in Pool 2. They lost 16-14 in Castres in last year's pool stages.
First-time champions Bordeaux have been handed a rematch with losing finalists Northampton in Pool 4.
Fixtures will be announced later this month.
In the second-tier Challenge Cup, Connacht have been matched with Ospreys, Zebre, Montpellier, US Montauban and Black Lion, while Ulster look to face a stiffer test with four games against Cheetahs, Cardiff, Exeter Chiefs, Racing 92 or Stade Francais.
Champions Cup
Pool 1: Toulouse, Clermont Auvergne, Sharks, Saracens, Glasgow Warriors, Sale.
Pool 2: Bath Rugby, RC Toulon, Munster Rugby, Castres Olympique, Edinburgh Rugby, Gloucester Rugby.
Pool 3: Leinster Rugby, Leicester Tigers, Harlequins, La Rochelle, Aviron Bayonnais, DHL Stormers.
Pool 4: Bordeaux Bègles, Scarlets, Bristol Bears, Section Paloise, Northampton Saints, Bulls.
Challenge Cup
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Irish Independent
Indo Sport podcast: The Rugby Show Lions overcome sticky start in Brisbane
Joe and Ruaidhri discuss all the talking points from the Lions' 52-12 win over the Reds, with Jack Conan among the Irish who impressed. Cian then dials in from Tbilisi to give the lowdown on the Georgian challenge that Paul O'Connell's Irish side will face this Saturday. Rugby on Indo Sport is brought to you by Energia. If you'd like to get in touch with the show, email us at indosportpodcast@ here. Listen on…. Spotify Apple Podcasts
The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Shane Lowry and famous American singer are spotted in Dublin playing indoor golf together
SHANE Lowry was spotted playing indoor golf with American folk-pop sensation Noah Kahan. The two were spotted playing together in an indoor golf experience centre on Dawson Street in Dublin 2 yesterday. 3 The two boys joking around during their golfing session Credit: @ 3 Kahan signed album cover for the indoor golfing centre Credit: @ 3 Indoor golf is hungry work as Lowry and wife Wendy went on a pizza date Credit: @wendyirislowry The golfing hot-spot is no stranger to Lowry who was hosted there along with fellow Team Ireland ace Rugby stars Kahan was playing in Marlay Park last night to over 40,000 people but had just enough time to squeeze in a virtual golf session Irish golfer Lowry. The Vermont native flew over to Ireland following his Sunday Glastonbury performance and wasted no time in retaking the stage. Read more on Irish sport Kahan is most famous for his song 'Stick Season' which has over one billion streams on Spotify. Lowry made time for both a golf session with a global superstar and also a pizza date with his wife Wendy. 18th in the world Lowry has two weeks of preparation ahead before he competes in Portrush - where there is The Clara-born superstar won the competition in 2019 with six strokes to spare, joining Padraig Harrington (twice), Darren Clarke and Rory McIlroy as the only Irish golfers to win it. Most read in Golf He came sixth place last year just five shots behind winner Xander Schauffele after finishing the Lowry is coming off the back of a very disappointing US Open having not made the cut after the second round with a score of 17-over. Brooks Koepka suffers meltdown and smashes tee marker into fans before withdrawing from LIV Dallas claiming 'illness' His two rounds were summed up by The 38-year-old fared better in
The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
‘You're all incredible', declares charity as kid with cancer to get signed GAA jerseys from each county in great gesture
THE GAA community has come together to make an amazing gesture for an "incredible" young Irish cancer patient who "loves jerseys ". Leon, a young He and his family have since received thousands of messages of support on Oscar's Kids Ireland's The charity, which helps Irish children and families affected by childhood cancer, featured Leon recently in a post asking for "as many counties to come together and give this incredible boy a signed jersey from their team". Leon, a boy who " loves GAA jerseys " is now set to receive signed jerseys from every county in the country. The plea, which achieved its goal in 12 hours, was inundated with thousands of messages of support. READ MORE ON IRISH NEWS Official GAA clubs were among those wishing him well and offering their support. Most read in Irish News Clubs outside of Ireland have even shown their support. OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT Some members of the public were even so touched by Leon's story that they offered their own signed jerseys in support. One commenter said: "My son got his Tipperary jersey signed by the team last week and has offered to send it Leon's way." Another added: "Contact me I have a signed Meath jersey which I got for a fundraiser." One person even offered a jersey signed by an All-Ireland winning team. 'INCREDIBLE' Offering the heartfelt gesture, they said: "Signed Kerry ladies team jersey got from the All-Ireland winning team." The charity has been blown away by the show of support online. It added in an update: "You did it!!!! 12 hours, THOUSANDS of messages publicly and privately, thousands of shares and we've sorted every single county for Leon!! You're all INCREDIBLE." 1 Leon was recently sent home from hospital to be with his loving family
