Both draws will be streamed live on www.epcrugby.com and the event will start at 12h00 (UK-Irish time)/13h00 (SA-Italian time) with the draw for the EPCR Challenge Cup pools, which will be followed by the Heineken Champions Cup draw at approximately 12h25/13h25.

For the Heineken Champions Cup draw, which will feature the Stormers, Bulls and Sharks from South Africa for the first time, the 24 qualified clubs will be in four tiers based on their rankings from the TOP 14, Gallagher Premiership and the URC, before being drawn into two pools of 12 – Pool A and Pool B. Clubs from the same league in the same tier will not be drawn into the same pool. (See qualifiers and tiers below.)

The number 1 and number 2 ranked clubs from each league will be in Tier 1 – this includes Castres Olympique and Montpellier Hérault Rugby, who will compete in the TOP 14 final on Friday – the number 3 and number 4 ranked clubs will be in Tier 2, the number 5 and 6 ranked clubs will be in Tier 3, and the number 7 and number 8 ranked clubs will be Tier 4.

The Tier 1 and the Tier 4 clubs which have been drawn in the same pool, but which are not in the same league, will play one another home and away over four pool stage rounds, as will the Tier 2 and Tier 3 clubs which have been drawn in the same pool, but which are not in the same league.

For example, the DHL Stormers, who won last weekend’s URC Grand Final, will be in Tier 1 and will be drawn against either ASM Clermont Auvergne or Lyon, and against either the Exeter Chiefs or London Irish from Tier 4.

Similarly, Leicester Tigers, who triumphed in the Premiership final, will also be in Tier 1 and will be drawn against either ASM Clermont Auvergne or Lyon, and against either Edinburgh Rugby or Ospreys from Tier 4.

Meanwhile, the losing TOP 14 semi-finalists, Union Bordeaux-Bègles and Stade Toulousain, who will be in Tier 2, will be drawn against either Gloucester Rugby or Sale Sharks, and against either the Sharks or Munster Rugby from Tier 3.

The live-streamed draw for the EPCR Challenge Cup pools, which includes the Johannesburg-based Lions and the Toyota Cheetahs from Bloemfontein, will have 20 clubs in three tiers in order to create two pools of 10 – Pool A and Pool B. Clubs from the same league will not play against one another during the pool stage. (See qualifiers and tiers below.)

The number 1 and number 2 ranked clubs from the URC, the TOP 14 and the Premiership will be in Tier 1, the number 3 and number 4 ranked clubs from each league, as well as the number 5 and number 6 ranked clubs from the Vodacom URC, will be in Tier 2. The Dragons, Zebre Parma, USAP, Aviron Bayonnais, Bath Rugby and the Toyota Cheetahs will be in Tier 3.

The Tier 1 and the Tier 3 clubs which have been drawn in the same pool, but which are not in the same league, will play one another home and away over four pool stage rounds.

The Tier 2 clubs which have been drawn in the same pool, but which are not from the same league, will play one another home and away during the pool stage.

In order to adhere to the key principle of no same-league matches, Tier 2 clubs from the TOP 14 will only play against opposition from the Vodacom URC, and similarly, Tier 2 clubs from the Premiership will also only play against opposition from the URC.

For example, in Tier 2, the Lions will play against either Stade Francais Paris or CA Brive, and against either Worcester Warriors or Newcastle Falcons.

Once the draws have been concluded, EPCR will prepare the fixture schedules for both tournaments with an announcement of exact dates, venues, kick-off times and TV coverage to follow as soon as practicable.

The 2022/23 season will be played over eight weekends with four rounds of matches in the pool stage starting in December, followed by a knockout stage consisting of a Round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, culminating in the Dublin finals at the Aviva Stadium on 19 and 20 May 2023.

2022/23 HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS CUP QUALIFIERS

TOP 14: Castres Olympique, Montpellier Hérault Rugby, 3 Union Bordeaux-Bègles, 4 Stade Toulousain, 5 Stade Rochelais, 6 Racing 92, 7 ASM Clermont Auvergne, 8 Lyon

Gallagher Premiership: 1 Leicester Tigers, 2 Saracens, 3 Harlequins, 4 Northampton Saints, 5 Gloucester Rugby, 6 Sale Sharks, 7 Exeter Chiefs, 8 London Irish

United Rugby Championship: 1 Stormers, 2 Bulls, 3 Leinster Rugby, 4 Ulster Rugby, 5 Sharks, 6 Munster Rugby, 7 Edinburgh Rugby, 8 Ospreys

Heineken Champions Cup pool draw tiers

Tier 1: Castres Olympique, Montpellier Hérault Rugby, Leicester Tigers, Saracens, DHL Stormers, Vodacom Bulls

Tier 2: Union Bordeaux-Bègles, Stade Toulousain, Harlequins, Northampton Saints, Leinster Rugby, Ulster Rugby

Tier 3: Stade Rochelais, Racing 92, Gloucester Rugby, Sale Sharks, Sharks, Munster Rugby

Tier 4: ASM Clermont Auvergne, Lyon, Exeter Chiefs, London Irish, Edinburgh Rugby, Ospreys

2022/23 EPCR CHALLENGE CUP QUALIFIERS

United Rugby Championship: 1 Glasgow Warriors, 2 Scarlets, 3 Connacht Rugby, 4 Lions, 5 Benetton Rugby, 6 Cardiff Rugby, 7 Dragons, 8 Zebre Parma

b1 RC Toulon, 2 Section Paloise, 3 Stade Français Paris, 4 CA Brive, 5 USAP 6 Aviron Bayonnais

Gallagher Premiership: 1 Wasps, 2 Bristol Bears, 3 Worcester Warriors, 4 Newcastle Falcons, 5 Bath Rugby

Invited: Toyota Cheetahs

EPCR Challenge Cup pool draw tiers

Tier 1: Glasgow Warriors, Scarlets, RC Toulon, Section Paloise, Wasps, Bristol Bears

Tier 2: Connacht Rugby, Emirates Lions, Benetton Rugby, Cardiff Rugby, Stade Francais Paris, CA Brive, Worcester Warriors, Newcastle Falcons

Tier 3: Dragons, Zebre Parma, USAP, Aviron Bayonnais, Bath Rugby, Toyota Cheetahs