Warriors set to face Exeter Chiefs and La Rochelle after tough Euro draw

Glasgow Warriors will face Exeter Chiefs and La Rochelle in next season’s Heineken Champions Cup.

It’s a tough draw for the Scotstoun side who will meet each opponent home and away in the convoluted pool stage of European club rugby’s premier competition.

La Rochelle reached last season’s final, losing out to Toulouse, while Exeter lifted the trophy in 2020, with former Glasgow duo Stuart Hogg and Jonny Gray in their side.

Glasgow had a bad experience against Exeter last season, losing 42-0 in Devon then having to forfeit their next match in the competition, against Lyon, when the Warriors squad were deemed close contacts following a Covid-19 outbreak in the Chiefs camp.

Dates have yet to be confirmed for the matches but the weekends of December 10/11/12 and 17/18/19 and January 14/15/16 and 21/22/23 have been set aside for the fixtures.

It will be the fourth time in five seasons that the Warriors have faced Exeter in the pool phase and Glasgow also played Larochelleasrecentlyas201920. This season’s competition sees the 24 sides split into two groups of 12, with Glasgow in Pool A. Teams play four pool matches only, with the top eight from each group advancing to the last 16 which will be played on a two-legged home and away basis next April.

The remainder of the knockout rounds will be single leg affairs, with the final scheduled for Stade Vélodrome in Marseille on Saturday, May 28.

Pool A: La Rochelle, Exeter, Leinster, Montpellier, Bath, Glasgow, Racing 92, Sale, Ulster, Clermont Auvergne, Northampton, Ospreys.

Pool B: Toulouse, Harlequins, Munster, Castres, Wasps, Cardiff, Bordeaux-begles, Bristol, Connacht, Stade Francais, Leicester, Scarlets.