The draw for the pool stage of the 2026-27 Investec Champions Cup has taken place in Dublin with Munster drawn in the same pool as holders Bordeaux-Begles.
The French side completed back-to-back titles when defeating Leinster in Bilbao on 23 May.
As well as facing the holders in Pool 3, Clayton McMillan’s side will also face Racing 92, and two English clubs in Bristol Bears and Gloucester.
Leo Cullen, in what will be his final season at the helm with Leinster, will hope to oversee a fifth European success for the province so ending a run of five final defeats since 2018. Pool 1 opponent’s for Cullen’s troops are Leicester Tigers, ASM Clermont Auvergne, Pau and Sale Sharks.
Connacht were handed a tough assignment in Pool 2 where four former champions will collide, with Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle, Saracens and Exeter Chiefs the opponents for Stuart Lancaster’s men.
The draw for the Investec Challenge Cup was also made with 2025-26 beaten finalists Ulster in Pool 1 alongside Cheetahs, Perpignan, Bayonne, Dragons and Zebre.
Bordeaux celebrate their back-to-back titles
CHAMPIONS CUP POOLS
Pool 1: Leinster, Glasgow, Pau, Sale Sharks, Leicester Tigers, Clermont Auvergne
(Leinster play Pau, Sale, Leicester Tigers and ASM Clermont Auvergne)
Pool 2: Toulouse, Lions, Saracens, La Rochelle, Exeter Chiefs, Connacht
(Connacht play Toulouse, Saracens, La Rochelle and Exeter Chiefs)
Pool 3: Bordeaux-Begles, Stormers, Racing 92, Munster, Bristol Bears, Gloucester –
(Munster play Bordeaux, Racing 92, Bristol Bears and Gloucester)
Pool 4: Northampton Saints, Bath, Cardiff, Montpellier, Stade Francais, Bulls
CHALLENGE CUP POOLS
Pool 1: Cheetahs, Ulster, Perpignan, Dragons, Bayonne, Zebre
Pool 2: Benetton, Lyon, Newcastle, Sharks, Castres Olympique, Scarlets
Pool 3: Ospreys, Edinburgh, Black Lion, Harlequins, Toulon, RC Vannes
The Champions Cup and Challenge Cup finals will be played in Lyon on 21/21 May next.
In both competitions, two changes regarding the bonus point and qualification from the pool stage will come into play from next season.
Teams can no longer secure a bonus point simply by scoring four tries; the extra will only be awarded if you score at least three tries more than your opponent.
The current losing bonus point for a defeat by seven points or fewer remains in place, but it will now be highly unlikely for a team to lose and pick up two bonus points.
It also removes the possibility of a team simply playing for a bonus point through scoring tries in a heavy defeat.
Six-team pools and the Round of 16 remain but now only the top three teams in each pool will be guaranteed to qualify for the knockout stage, with the four other places determined by ranking the remaining teams.
The change has been made to try to eliminate the possibility of a team reaching the Round of 16 despite winning just one pool game, at the expense of a side that has won more games.
While it will still be possible to reach the Round of 16 with just one win from four pool games, it will no longer be possible to do so ahead of a team with more wins. To assist this, the first tiebreak in the event of teams finishing with the same number of points will be games won.