European Champions Cup draw: holders Saracens face tough test in pool

Saracens and Leinster battled out last season's European Champions Cup final and those two heavyweights top the betting for the 2019-20 campaign, but the pool-stage draw has handed holders Sarries a tough task.

English and European champions Saracens, who were installed as 2-1 favourites to retain their trophy, face former winners Munster, two-time runners-up Racing 92 and sole Welsh representatives Ospreys in Pool Four. Trips to Limerick's Thomond Park and La Defense Arena in Paris are pretty daunting even for a team of Sarries' standing and they have been pushed out to 5-2.

Leinster, next in the betting at 3-1, have been handed by contrast a far more comfortable assignment. They take on Northampton, Lyon and Benetton and will be odds-on to top that section. Lyon lost all six of their pool matches last season, as did Benetton the last time they qualified two seasons ago.

Elsewhere Exeter and Glasgow go head-to-head again in Pool Two and the Premiership is doubly represented in Pool Three where Harlequins and Bath tackle Clermont and Ulster.

Another team who could be favoured by the draw are newly crowned French champions Toulouse. They are 12-1 shots but finished second behind Leinster in their pool last season with an identical record of five wins and one defeat, and this time they line up against Gloucester, Connacht and Montpellier.

Champions Cup draw

Pool 1: Leinster, Lyon, Northampton, Benetton
Pool 2: Exeter, Glasgow, La Rochelle, Sale
Pool 3: Clermont, Ulster, Harlequins, Bath
Pool 4: Saracens, Munster, Racing 92, Ospreys
Pool 5: Toulouse, Gloucester, Connacht, Montpellier

In the Challenge Cup, there's a heavyweight clash in Pool Five where Leicester and Cardiff go head to head.

Challenge Cup draw

Pool 1: Castres, Worcester, Dragons, Enisei-STM
Pool 2: Scarlets, Toulon, London Irish, Bayonne
Pool 3: Wasps, Edinburgh, Bordeaux, Agen
Pool 4: Stade Francais, Bristol, Zebre, Brive
Pool 5: Cardiff, Leicester, Pau, Calvisano

Both tournaments kick off in November, a month later than usual due to the Rugby World Cup in Japan.

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