The Aviva Premiership and RaboDirect Pro12 leagues head into temporary hibernation and we look forward to the start of this season’s Heineken Cup competition this weekend. The Heineken Cup features the elite of the European clubs, with twenty four clubs taking part.

For the group stages the teams are divided into six pools of four teams each, with the teams playing each other on a home and away basis.

The knockout stages follow the group stage with the following rules for qualifying for the quarter finals ie. the first round of the knock out stage: The six pool winners and two best placed runners-up will qualify for the quarter-finals.

The pool winner will be the club with the highest number of match points earned in each pool. The runners-up will be the two second placed clubs from all six pools with the next highest number of points. For the quarter-final round, the pool winners will be ranked 1 – 6 in terms of the number of points earned. The runners-up will be ranked 7 and 8.

The quarter finals will be played at the home ground of the team ranked highest in each quarter final with the following teams facing each other once the rankings have been completed:

Club 1 v Club 8; Club 2 v Club 7; Club 3 v Club 6; Club 4 v Club 5

The semi finals and final will be played at grounds which have been decided on by ERC (European Rugby Cup).

 Pools (courtesy of ERC)
Pool 1
Edinburgh Rugby
Edinburgh Rugby
Munster Rugby
Munster Rugby
Racing Métro 92
Racing Métro 92
Saracens
Saracens
Pool 2
Benetton Treviso
Benetton Treviso
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers
Ospreys
Ospreys
Toulouse
Toulouse
Pool 3
Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque
Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque
Connacht Rugby
Connacht Rugby
Harlequins
Harlequins
Zebre
Zebre
Pool 4
Castres Olympique
Castres Olympique
Glasgow Warriors
Glasgow Warriors
Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints
Ulster Rugby
Ulster Rugby
Pool 5
ASM Clermont Auvergne
ASM Clermont Auvergne
Exeter Chiefs
Exeter Chiefs
Leinster Rugby
Leinster Rugby
Scarlets
Scarlets
Pool 6
Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Blues
Montpellier
Montpellier
Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks
Toulon
Toulon
This weekend’s fixtures

Friday, 12 October 2012

Ospreys v Treviso, Pl2, 20:00
Ulster v Castres, Pl4, 20:00
Saturday, 13 October 2012
Clermont Auvergne v Scarlets, Pl5, 15:40
Edinburgh v Saracens, Pl1, 13:35
Harlequins v Biarritz, Pl3, 18:00
Leinster v Exeter, Pl5, 15:40
Racing Metro 92 v Munster, Pl1, 13:35
Zebre v Connacht, Pl3, 13:35

Sunday, 14 October 2012

Northampton v Glasgow, Pl4, 12:45
Sale v Cardiff Blues, Pl6, 12:45
Toulon v Montpellier, Pl6, 20:00
Toulouse v Leicester, Pl2, 15:00

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