Challenge Cup 22/23

[MarleyWasp]

Challenge Cup teams next season (in seeding order)

Prem:
Wasps
Bristol
Worcester
Newcastle
Bath

URC:
Glasgow
Scarlets
Connacht
Lions
Benetton
Cardiff
Dragons
Zebre

Top 14:
Toulon
Pau
Stade Francais
Brive
Perpignan
Bayonne

Other:
Cheetahs

[backdoc]

Pau or Bayonne would be best. Lyon or Perpignan fine

Mont de Marsan is a bit meh,

[Neils]

They named 2 No SA teams for this cup - Lions I think.

[Heathen]

David, do Lyon qualify for the HC as CC winners or do the French have different rules?

[hookender]

They named 2 No SA teams for this cup - Lions I think.

Lions are in the urc list.

From what I gathered a while back ,the cheetahs were promised a cup place as salve to being dropped from URC /pro 16 as it was. So even 2/3 years ago it was already decided that SA teams would be entering.

[MarleyWasp]

David, do Lyon qualify for the HC as CC winners or do the French have different rules?

Nothing confirm as of yet, but you might be right, in which case they'd swap places with Toulon.

[RogerE]

Zebre or Benetton are both great away visits.

Would like to visit any of the French teams (except Paris) - don't know anything about Mont de Marsan except tat Trevor Leota once played there (mind you I think he has played for every club in existance )

Definitely don't want any of the SA teams (who shouldn't be in it anyway), but knowing Wasps luck we'll get one or both.

The Welsh teams are basically "GWR awaydays", and not too sure about Connacht

[Heathen]

David, do Lyon qualify for the HC as CC winners or do the French have different rules?

Nothing confirm as of yet, but you might be right, in which case they'd swap places with Toulon.

From the EPCR website : https://www.epcrugby.com/champions-cup/format/qualification/

[MarleyWasp]

I've amended the list.

[DGP Wasp]

Quick questions for those in the know...

Why Glasgow not Ospreys since Glasgow finished 8th and Ospreys 9th?  Is it because there must be at least one Welsh team? If that's the case, should the same not apply to Treviso as the highest placed Italian team?

Is there a French club missing from that list? (8 Champs Cup + 5 Challenge Cup = 13)  Brive?

[Mellie]

Is there a French club missing from that list? (8 Champs Cup + 5 Challenge Cup = 13)  Brive?

Mont de Marsan or Perpignan (they play each other in the Promotion/Relegation play off next weekend)

[DGP Wasp]

Is there a French club missing from that list? (8 Champs Cup + 5 Challenge Cup = 13)  Brive?

Mont de Marsan or Perpignan (they play each other in the Promotion/Relegation play off next weekend)

That's still only 5:

Top 14:
1 Toulon
2 Pau
3 Stade Francais
4 Bayonne
5 Mont de Marsan or Perpignan (they play each other in the Promotion/Relegation play off next weekend)

Brive finished 12th, ahead of Perpignan (relegation play-off) and Biarritz (automatically relegated), so think it may be them missing unless something has happened to Brive that means they'll be unable to take their place. Marley's normally spot on with these things, so wondered if there was more to it or just an uncharacteristic oversight! 

[MarleyWasp]

I've added in Brive

[Heathen]

So are we going to get another convoluted (crap!) pool system then a round of 16 etc. etc. etc?

[DGP Wasp]

So are we going to get another convoluted (crap!) pool system then a round of 16 etc. etc. etc?

Seems likely as the dates are already out, and only 4 rounds of pool games before knockouts in last 16, QF, SF.

Below dates taken from https://www.epcrugby.com/2022/05/10/epcr-2022-23-season-dates-announced/:

2022/23 weekends
Round 1 – 9/10/11 December 2022
Round 2 – 16/17/18 December 2022
Round 3 – 13/14/15 January 2023
Round 4 – 20/21/22 January 2023

Round of 16 – 31 March/ 1/2 April 2023
Quarter-finals – 7/8/9 April 2023
Semi-finals – 28/29/30 April 2023
EPCR Challenge Cup final – Friday 19 May 2023
Heineken Champions Cup final – Saturday 20 May 2023