Here’s What You Need To Know About Today’s Champions Cup Pool Draw

The draw for the 2017/18 Champions Cup pool stage takes place today from 1pm.

Exeter Chiefs, Scarlets and ASM Clermont Auvergne will be guaranteed top seedings when the pool draw is made.

Twenty clubs from the Premiership, the Guinness PRO12 and the TOP 14 have qualified on merit for the Champions Cup. The clubs will be divided into four tiers of five and a preliminary draw will be conducted to establish Tier 1 with two of the three second-ranked clubs – Wasps, Munster Rugby and RC Toulon – joining the Premiership winners, Exeter Chiefs, the Guinness PRO12 champions, Scarlets, and Clermont who were crowned French champions last night, in the top tier.

Once Tier 1 has been established, the remaining three tiers will fall into place. Tier 2 will include the three third-ranked clubs from the leagues – Saracens, Leinster Rugby and La Rochelle – as well as the second-ranked club which was not drawn into Tier 1 and the fourth-ranked club from the same league as the club which was not drawn into Tier 1.

Tier 3 will include the two clubs ranked fourth which are not in Tier 2 as well as the three fifth-ranked clubs from each league – Bath Rugby, Montpellier and Ulster Rugby.

Tier 4 is complete and contains the sixth-ranked clubs from each league – Harlequins, Glasgow Warriors and Castres Olympique – as well as Benetton Rugby and the winner of the Champions Cup play-offs, Northampton Saints.

When the tiers are completed, the main draw for the five pools will be made, and during the draw, some clubs may have to be placed directly into a pool in order to ensure that the key principles apply.

In Tier 4, Harlequins and Northampton Saints will be drawn into pools which contain one other Premiership club, and Castres will be drawn into a pool which contains one other TOP 14 club.

Pool draws – key principles

• The 20 clubs are divided into four tiers based on their qualification position from their leagues. This will be done where necessary by a draw.
• The 20 clubs will then be divided into five pools of four clubs each.
• Each pool will have at least one club from each of the three leagues.
• Each of the five pools will have one club from each of the four tiers.
• There will be no more than two clubs from the same league in a pool.
• No pool will contain two PRO12 clubs from the same country.
• Clubs from the same league will be kept apart until the allocation of the Tier 4 clubs.