Six French clubs will play in next season’s Challenge Cup. The pool draw, made on Wednesday at the Premier Sports studios in Dublin, split the 18 entrants into three groups of six. Here is who the French sides will face.
The three Challenge Cup pools
Pool 1: Aviron Bayonnais, USA Perpignan, Cheetahs, Ulster, Dragons, Zebre.
Pool 2: LOU Rugby, Castres, Benetton, Newcastle Red Bulls, Sharks, Scarlets.
Pool 3: RC Toulon, RC Vannes, Harlequins, Edinburgh, Ospreys, Black Lion.
As in the Champions Cup, each side meets only four of the other five clubs in its pool: two French clubs in the same group, such as Toulon and Vannes, do not face each other.
Toulon and Vannes in the toughest group
Pool 3 brings together the most dangerous sides in the draw: Harlequins, Edinburgh, Ospreys and Georgian outfit Black Lion join Toulon and Vannes. Winners of the competition in 2023, Toulon start as favourites; Vannes are discovering Europe for the first time.
Bayonne and Perpignan come off better in Pool 1, where only Ulster stand out alongside the Cheetahs, the Dragons and Zebre. In Pool 2, Lyon, champions in 2022, and Castres will have to see off the Durban-based Sharks and the Scarlets.
Two recent winners of the competition are therefore among the six French entrants: Toulon (2023) and Lyon (2022). The tournament kicks off on the weekend of 16, 17 and 18 October; the detailed fixture list, with home ties, will be confirmed in the coming days.
Comments