Champions Cup pool matches announced
Premiership winners Harlequins will play Castres and Cardiff in their pool matches of the 2021/22 Champions Cup, it been confirmed.
The 24 clubs from the Premiership, United Rugby Championship and France’s Top 14 were drawn into two pools of 12 and will play two teams from the same pool home and away.
Holders Toulouse were paired with Wasps and Cardiff, while 2020 European champions Exeter face ties against Montpellier and Glasgow.
Two-time champions Munster will face matches against Wasps and Castres, while Leinster were paired with Bath and Montpellier.
Four rounds of matches will be played in December and January and the eight highest-ranked clubs from each pool will qualify for the knockout stages, with the last-16 taking place over two legs and the final being held in Marseille on May 28.
Champions Cup Pools
Pool A – La Rochelle, Exeter, Leinster, Montpellier, Bath, Glasgow, Racing 92, Sale, Ulster, Clermont Auvergne, Northampton, Ospreys
Pool B – Toulouse, Harlequins, Munster, Castres, Wasps, Cardiff, Bordeaux-Begles, Bristol, Connacht, Stade Francais, Leicester, Scarlets
Marcus Smith's stellar display
Marcus Smith produced a stunning performance on his British and Irish Lions debut, pushing him into the equation to face South Africa with fitness concerns elsewhere at fly-half.