The MHR obtains a lenient draw in the European Rugby Cup. Montpllier will face in the group stage lthe English of London Irish and the Welsh of Osprey. These two teams finished in the middle of the table in their respective championships, while the MHR has just won its first title of champion of France.
In this same European Cup, the MHR went this year to the quarter-finalsbeaten by La Rochelle who also won the competition.
The 2022/2023 edition will be spread over 8 weekends, december and january for the group matches, the final will take place on May 20 in Dublin.
The La Rochelle Stadium will face another Irish province, Ulster, from the group stage of the 2022-2023 edition, in addition to the English of Northampton.
Toulousethe most successful club in the history of the competition, will find Munster for a rematch of their epic quarter-final this season, decided after a rare penalty shoot-out, along with the English of Sale .
Castreswill face Exeter and Edinburgh in their four group matches.
For the first time in the history of the competition, three South African franchises are involved. Clermont inherited from the Cape Stormers, first winners of the United Rugby Championship (URC), a championship bringing together Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Italian and South African teams.
Winner last month of the European Challenge, Lyons will challenge the Pretoria Bulls upstairs, while Bordeaux-Bègles will face the Durban Sharks.
In the Challenge Cup, the “little” European Cup, Toulonunfortunate finalist this season against Lyon, will be opposed to the English of Bath and the Italians of Zebre. The French Stadium and Pau each inherited a South African opponent, respectively the Johannesburg Lions and the Bloemfontein Cheetahs. sdu/dep