2012/2013 Heineken Cup Pool Draw
1st June 2012 By jess
The draw to decide the Pools for the 2012/2013 Heineken Cup will take place in the Aviva Stadium, Dublin on Tuesday, 12 June at 11.00am.
The draw will be conducted by ERC Chairman, Jean-Pierre Lux, and ERC Chief Executive, Derek McGrath and will be streamed live on http://www.ercrugby.com/
For the purposes of the draw, the 24 qualified clubs will be divided into four tiers of six clubs, based on their European performances over the past four seasons. The clubs from each tier will be kept apart in the draw for the pools.
Tier 1: Leinster, Toulouse, Biarritz Olympique, Munster, Cardiff Blues, Northampton Saints.
Tier 2: ASM Clermont Auvergne, Ulster, Leicester Tigers, Harlequins, RC Toulon, Edinburgh Rugby.
Tier 3: Ospreys, Scarlets, Glasgow Warriors, Saracens, Connacht, Sale Sharks.
Tier 4: Castres Olympique, Bennetton Treviso, Racing Metro 92, Montpelier, Exeter Chiefs, Italian team (to be nominated by FIR).
Except for the French clubs, no two clubs from the same country will be drawn in the same Pool. Montpelier, as the lowest ranked of the seven French clubs, will be drawn last into a Pool containing another French club.