Just two weeks until Champions Cup draw

Northampton Saints will play Stade Francais on Friday looking to secure the final spot in next season’s Champions Cup, ahead of the draw for the 2017/18 competition two weeks today on Thursday 8 June.

The Ospreys are one of 19 teams already confirmed in the Champions Cup for next season, one of only two Welsh team’s to have qualified for European rugby’s elite competition.

As well as booking a Guinness PRO12 semi-final place, their fourth placed finish in the regular season ensured they ended up four places higher in the final PRO12 table than they managed in 2015/16, bringing automatic Champions Cup qualification as well.

Admission to the three home pool matches in the Champions Cup is included in a 2017/18 Ospreys season membership, which is available to buy now at the Liberty Stadium Ticket Office or online at www.ospreysrugby.com/2017membership.

Renewals cost from just £125, or £6.95 a match, while new members can sign for an entire season’s rugby for just £165 – less than a tenner a game.

 

The 19 confirmed participants for next season’s Champions Cup are:

Aviva Premiership - Wasps, Exeter Chiefs, Saracens, Leicester Tigers, Bath Rugby, Harlequins

Guinness PRO12 - Munster Rugby, Leinster Rugby, Scarlets, Ospreys, Ulster Rugby, Glasgow Warriors, Benetton Rugby

TOP 14 - La Rochelle, ASM Clermont Auvergne, Montpellier, RC Toulon, Castres Olympique, Racing 92

The winner of Friday’s Play-off Final at Franklin’s Gardens will take the 20th place in the 2017/18 Champions Cup with the remaining 18 clubs from the Aviva Premiership, the Guinness PRO12 and the TOP 14 which have not qualified for the Champions Cup will play in the 2017/18 Challenge Cup.

The 19th and 20th places in next season's Challenge Cup have been secured by Russia's Enisei-STM and Krasny Yar who will play in the Continental Shield final at the BT Murrayfield complex on Saturday.

The Pool Draws for the 2017/18 Champions Cup and Challenge Cup will take place in Neuchatel, Switzerland from 1.00pm (UK) and both draws will be streamed live on www.epcrugby.com as well as broadcast live on television.

The event comperes in Neuchâtel will be James Gemmell (Sky Sports) and Raphaël Ibañez (France Télévisions), with Ieuan Evans (Sky Sports) and Austin Healey (BT Sport) conducting the draws.

We’ll cover the draw live on our channels, providing you the first reaction from inside the Ospreys camp.