2021 sees a change to the way the Champions Cup is structured. The competition will consist of 2 Pool of 12 teams. The 24 teams, 8 from each league – the Premiership, The Top 14 and the Pro 14 have been put into 4 tiers. A draw was held to decide which team from each tier went into which pool.
Each pool has been split into groups of 3 who will play each other home and away. Those groups have been set up to ensure clubs from the same home league will not play each other. Tier 1 clubs play Tier 4, Tier 2 play Tier 3 The Top 4 from the 2 pools will go forward to the Quarter Finals of the Champions Cup, those quarter finals will be played across 2 legs. The clubs ranked 5 to 8 will go into round 16 of the Challenge Cup.
Complicated much! Perhaps listing each pool with the groups will make it easier to see?
| Pool A | Opposition 1 | Opposition 2 |
| Wasps T1 | Dragons | Montpellier |
| Leinster Rugby T1 | Montpellier | Northampton Saints |
| Bordeaux Begles T1 | Dragons | Northampton Saints |
| Bath T2 | La Rochelle | Scarlets |
| Edinburgh Rugby T2 | La Rochelle | Sale Sharks |
| RC Toulon T2 | Sale Sharks | Scarlets |
| Sale Sharks T3 | Edinburgh | RC Toulon |
| Scarlets T3 | Bath Rugby | RC Toulon |
| La Rochelle T3 | Bath Rugby | Edinburgh Rugby |
| Montpellier T4 | Leinster Rugby | Wasps |
| Northampton Saints T4 | Bordeaux Begles | Leinster Rugby |
| Dragons T4 | Bordeaux Begles | Wasps |
| Pool B | ||
| Exeter Chiefs T1 | Toulouse | Glasgow |
| Lyon T1 | Glasgow Warriors | Gloucester Rugby |
| Ulster Rugby T1 | Gloucester Rugby | Toulouse |
| Bristol Bears T2 | ASM Clermont | Connacht Rugby |
| Munster T2 | ASM Clermont | Harlequins |
| Racing 92 T2 | Connacht Rugby | Harlequins |
| Harlequins T3 | Munster Rugby | Racing 92 |
| Connacht Rugby T3 | Racing 92 | Bristol Bears |
| ASM Clermont T3 | Bristol Bears | Munster Rugby |
| Glasgow Warriors T4 | Exeter Chiefs | Lyon |
| Gloucester Rugby T4 | Lyon | Ulster Rugby |
| Toulouse T4 | Exeter Chiefs | Ulster Rugby |
As a Saracens fan my team clearly won’t feature, but I am a big fan of European rugby and should crowds be allowed I’ll definitely be watching some live games. There are some very tasty match ups and the move to 2 leg quarter finals will remove the benefit of home advantage.
- Round 1 – 11-13 December 2020
- Round 2 – 18-20 December 2020
- Round 3 – 15-17 January 2021
- Round 4 – 22-24 January 2021
- Quarter Finals 1st Leg – 2-4 April 2021
- Quarter Finals 2nd Leg – 9-11 April 2021
- Semi-Finals – 30 April 1/2 May
- Final – 22 May – Stade velodrome Marseille
365 Sporting Days 