Key Dates confirmed for next seasons Champions Cup as Munster face Northampton and Toulouse

The round schedule for the Pool stages of this year’s Champions Cup has been confirmed with Munster already confirmed to play Premiership team Northampton Saints and Top 14 side Stade Toulousain.

The four Pool fixtures will be played over the weekends of December 9/10/11, December 16/17/18, January 13/14/15 and January 20/21/22.

Two of the tournament’s heavyweights, Munster Rugby and Stade Toulousain, who met in a memorable quarter-final last season, will renew rivalries in Round 1 in early December at what is certain to be a packed-out Thomond Park. 

The province then travel to Franklin’s Gardens to take on Northampton Saints in Round 2.

The return to European action in the new year sees Munster play host to the English side in the third round before a final round trip to Stade Ernest Wallon to take on Stade Toulousain.

At this stage, EPCR are only announcing the fixtures by round for the pool stages, with exact dates, kick-off times and TV coverage in both the Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup to be announced as soon as possible following the conclusion of negotiations with broadcasters for the new cycle across each market.

Get the lowdown on our opponents here.

2022/23 Heineken Champions Cup Rounds

Round 1 – 9/10/11 December 2022

Munster Rugby v Stade Toulousain, Thomond Park

Round 2 – 16/17/18 December 2022

Northampton Saints v Munster Rugby, Franklin Gardens

Round 3 – 13/14/15 January 2023

Munster Rugby v Northampton Saints, Thomond Park

Round 4 – 20/21/22 January 2023

Stade Toulousain v Munster Rugby, Stade Ernest Wallon

Heineken Champions Cup Format

• 24 elite clubs (nine tournament winners with 36 EPCR titles between them)
• Two pools of 12
• Four pool stage rounds
• Eight highest-ranked clubs from each pool qualify for the knockout stage
• Knockout stage: Round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final
• Ninth and 10^th ranked clubs from each pool qualify for the EPCR Challenge Cup

Knockout Stages

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; Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Heineken Champions Cup final – Saturday 20 May 2023; Aviva Stadium, Dublin