The Stormers have been drawn in Pool B of the Champions Cup and will face French side Clermont Auvergne and England’s London Irish in home and away matches starting on December 9.
A Tier 1 team after winning the first ever United Rugby Championship (URC) -with the first two teams from this league falling in this tier - the Stormers will face Tier 4 clubs in the same pool, but not from the same league.
Tier 4 clubs are those who finished seventh and eighth in their respective leagues.
We will have @ASMOfficiel and @londonirish visiting DHL Stadium in our first season of @ChampionsCup. We can't wait! #iamastormer #dhldelivers #championscup pic.twitter.com/AEO27qx13T
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) June 28, 2022
With the Stormers coming from the URC, they will only face teams from the English Premiership and the French Top 14.
Clermont finished seventh in the Top 14, with London Irish finishing eighth in the Premiership.
With 12 teams in each pool, the top eight from each then advance to the last-16.
South Africa’s other two teams the Bulls and the Sharks have both been drawn in Pool A.
After finishing second in the URC, the Bulls were also ranked the Tier 1 and will play France’s Lyon and England’s Exeter Chiefs.
🚨 THE 2022/23 POOLS 🚨
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) June 28, 2022
Which is the tastiest match-up? 🤩
#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/JcPwyLo4lw
The Sharks, meanwhile, finished fifth in the URC and were awarded Tier 3 status, with Tier 2 going to teams that finished third and fourth.
They, therefore, will face Tier 2 teams that aren’t from the URC, meaning they will cross swords with France’s Bordeaux-Begles and England’s Harlequins.
South Africa also have two teams in the Challenge Cup, with the Cheetahs and Lions flying the flag in that competition’s Pool B.
The Champions Cup’s final will be played on May 20 next year.
CHAMPIONS CUP POOLS
Pool A
Castres Olympique, Saracens, Bulls, Union Bordeaux-Begles, Harlequins, Leinster, Racing 92, Gloucester, Sharks, Lyon, Exeter Chiefs, Edinburgh Rugby
Pool B
Montpellier, Leicester Tigers, Stormers, Stade Toulousain, Northampton Saints, Ulster, Stade Rochelais, Sale Sharks, Munster, ASM Clermont Auvergne, London Irish, Ospreys