European Cup 21/22 Round 1: Castres vs Harlequins, La Rochelle vs Glasgow, Clermont vs Ulster, Bordeaux vs Leicester, Northampton vs Racing 92, Ospreys vs Sale, Exeter vs Montpellier, Leinster vs Bath, Wasps vs Munster, Connacht vs Stade Francais, Bristol vs Scarlets, Cardiff vs Toulouse.
Friday 10 September 2021 17:30, UK
Defending European Cup champions Toulouse will begin their 2021/22 Heineken Champions Cup title defence in Cardiff, in a repeat of the inaugural 1996 final between the pair.
Toulouse, who secured an historic double of Heineken Champions Cup and Top 14 successes last season, will face Cardiff Rugby on the weekend of 10/11/12 December.
This repeat of the 1996 inaugural tournament final pitting the holders against Cardiff at the Arms Park in Pool B is one of a series of high-quality matches in the fixture schedules announced by tournament organisers EPCR.
The Heineken Champions Cup will once again be competed for by 24 elite clubs in two pools of 12 with eight representatives from each of Europe's leading professional leagues.
Last season's defeated finalists, La Rochelle, will open their campaign in Pool A against Glasgow Warriors at Stade Marcel-Deflandre.
Reigning Gallagher Premiership champions, Harlequins, kick off their quest for a first top-flight European title with a visit to Castres Olympique in Round 1, and three-time tournament winners, Leinster, start out at home against old rivals Bath.
Also on the opening weekend, previous champions meet in Coventry as Wasps host Munster, while Northampton host Racing 92 and Clermont welcome Ulster to France
Highlights of the back-to-back clashes in Rounds 2 and 3 on the weekends of 17/18/19 December and 14/15/16 January 2022 feature the Pool A matches between Sale Sharks and Clermont, and the meetings of Stade Francais and Bristol Bears in Pool B.
The eight highest-ranked clubs from each pool will qualify for the knockout stage which will consist of a Round of 16 on a home and away basis, quarter-finals and semi-finals, with the final in Marseille on 28 May 2022.
