DHL Stormers’ Champions Cup opponents confirmed
The DHL Stormers will face ASM Clermont Auvergne and London Irish both at home at DHL Stadium and away in their first season of the Heineken Champions Cup.
The DHL Stormers qualified for the tournament, which features the top teams from the English Premiership, French Top 14 and Vodacom United Rugby Championship, by finishing in the top eight of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship last season.
They will travel to France to face ASM Clermont Auvergne in their Heineken Champions Cup debut match on the weekend of 9/10/11 December and will host London Irish at DHL Stadium the following weekend.
Rounds Three and Four will see the DHL Stormers travel to London to face London Irish in the return fixture on the weekend of 13/14/15 January, with ASM Clermont Auvergne in Cape Town the following weekend.
All 44 clubs in EPCR’s tournaments, including five first-time representatives from South Africa, now know their opponents for the 2022/23 season following the pool draws for the Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup which were staged at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.
Following their recent victorious Vodacom United Rugby Championship campaign, the DHL Stormers will be looking to build further in a new competition against Europe’s best.
For the Heineken Champions Cup draw, the 24 qualified clubs were in four tiers based on their rankings from the TOP 14, Gallagher Premiership and the URC, before being drawn into two pools of 12 – Pool A and Pool B. Clubs from the same league in the same tier were not drawn into the same pool.
The 2022/23 EPCR season will be played over eight weekends with four rounds of matches in the pool stage starting in December, followed by a knockout stage consisting of a Round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, culminating in the Dublin finals at the Aviva Stadium on 19 and 20 May 2023.
DHL Stormers Heineken Champions Cup fixtures
Round One 9/10/11 December
v ASM Clermont Auvergne
Stade Marcel Michelin
Round Two 16/17/18 December
v London Irish
DHL Stadium
Round Three 13/14/15 January
v London Irish
Brentford Community Stadium
Round Four 20/21/22 January
v v ASM Clermont Auvergne
DHL Stadium
2022/23 HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS CUP
POOL A (with opponents in brackets)
Castres Olympique (Exeter Chiefs, Edinburgh Rugby)
Saracens (Lyon, Edinburgh Rugby)
Bulls (Exeter Chiefs, Lyon)
Union Bordeaux-Bègles (Gloucester Rugby, Sharks)
Harlequins (Racing 92, Sharks)
Leinster Rugby (Racing 92, Gloucester Rugby)
Racing 92 (Harlequins, Leinster Rugby)
Gloucester Rugby (Union Bordeaux-Bègles, Leinster Rugby)
Sharks (Union Bordeaux-Bègles, Harlequins)
Lyon (Saracens, Bulls)
Exeter Chiefs (Castres Olympique, Bulls)
Edinburgh Rugby (Castres Olympique, Saracens)
POOL B (with opponents in brackets)
Montpellier Hérault Rugby (London Irish, Ospreys)
Leicester Tigers (ASM Clermont Auvergne, Ospreys)
DHL Stormers (ASM Clermont Auvergne, London Irish)
Stade Toulousain (Sale Sharks, Munster Rugby)
Northampton Saints (Stade Rochelais, Munster Rugby)
Ulster Rugby (Stade Rochelais, Sale Sharks)
Stade Rochelais (Northampton Saints, Ulster Rugby)
Sale Sharks (Stade Toulousain, Ulster Rugby)
Munster Rugby (Stade Toulousain, Northampton Saints)
ASM Clermont Auvergne (Leicester Tigers, DHL Stormers)
London Irish (Montpellier Hérault Rugby, DHL Stormers)
Ospreys (Montpellier Hérault Rugby, Leicester Tigers)
2022/23 key dates
Round 1 – 9/10/11 December 2022
Round 2 – 16/17/18 December 2022
Round 3 – 13/14/15 January 2023
Round 4 – 20/21/22 January 2023
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
