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Connacht secured his place in next season’s Heineken Champions Cup after EPCR confirmed the tournament has been extended to 24 teams, as part of a major renewal due to the impact of Covid-19.
The news will come as a relief to the western province, which faces the prospect of playing the Challenge Cup rugby for the 2020/21 season if the changes had not gone into effect.
Under the new rules, the top eight teams from PRO14, Premiership and TOP14 will secure their place in the Champions Cup for next season.
In a radically different format, the 24 teams will be divided into two groups of 12 and played over eight weekends.
Four rounds of group matches will be followed by a knockout phase consisting of home and away quarter-final matches, consecutive semi-finals and the final, to be held in Marseille on May 22, 2021.
For the purposes of the group draw, clubs will be divided into tiers and clubs from the same league at the same tier will not be included in the same group.
The number one and number two ranked clubs in each league will be at Tier 1, the number three and four ranked clubs will be at Tier 2, the number five and six ranked clubs will be at Tier 3, and the number 7 and number 8 classified clubs will be level 4.
Level 1 and Level 4 clubs that have been drawn in the same group, but are not in the same league, will play each other at home and away during the group stage, as will Level 2 and Level 3 clubs. that have been drawn in the same group, but are not in the same league. Each club will play four pool games in total.
The top four ranked clubs in each group will qualify for the quarter-finals, and the clubs ranked 5-8 in each group will compete in the knockout phase of the Challenge Cup.
“With an extended knockout stage and no repeats of national matches during the group stage, this format creates new competitive opportunities for Europe’s elite clubs and their fans,” said EPCR President Simon Halliday.
“At this time of change, the Heineken Champions Cup with its global game stars, passionate supporters and unique match day atmosphere is undoubtedly still the winner.”
CLUBS QUALIFIED FOR HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS CUP 2020/21
PRO14: Leinster, Edinburgh, Munster, Ulster, Scarlets, Glasgow Warriors, Connacht, Dragons (Rankings to be confirmed at the end of the current season)
TOP14: Bordeaux-Bègles, Lyon, Racing 92, RC Toulon, La Rochelle, Clermont Auvergne, Toulouse, Montpellier or Castres.
Premiership: TBC (at the end of the current season)
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