Richard Cockerill says the pedigree of each team in the Leicester Tigers pool of next season's European Champions Cup shows the quality of the whole tournament.
The draw was staged in Neuchatel, Switzerland, on Wednesday afternoon and Tigers, preparing for a 20th season of competition in Europe’s elite club tournament, were pulled out alongside Racing 92, Glasgow Warriors and Munster Rugby in Pool 1.
“Racing are now the French Top 14 champions and they beat us to get to the Champions Cup Final this season,” said Tigers director of rugby Cockerill. “Glasgow won the Pro12 league title in 2014/15 and were losing semi-finalists this season, and of course we know all about Munster and what they’ve achieved in the league and in Europe.
“It is a tough pool, possibly the toughest one in the draw, but that is what this competition is all about, bringing the best teams from across all the countries together.”
Tigers reached the semi-finals in 2015/16 – with five wins in the pool fixtures and a quarter-final victory over Stade Francais – and have come through the pool stages 13 times in the team’s 19 seasons in the competition.
“You have to be at your very best in every game in Europe,” said Cockerill. “And you have to work hard for every single point. You don’t get too many opportunities so you have to make them all count.
“We had a good run to the semi-finals this year, with some good wins against the likes of Munster and Stade Francais. All of those players will have learned a lot from the experience, particularly the ones who hadn’t been involved at that stage or in this competition before.
“We look forward to welcoming Racing, Glasgow and Munster and their supporters to Welford Road, and I’m sure our supporters are looking forward to the opportunity to follow the team on the road.”
Order of fixtures, and the confirmed dates and kick-off times for the opening four rounds will be announced by tournament organisers European Professional Club Rugby and their broadcast partners later this summer. The opening weekend is on October 14/15/16.
All home fixtures in the pool stages of the Champions Cup are included in Tigers season tickets. Places are still available for 2016/17, click here for more details.
Match ticket details will be confirmed soon.
The draw was staged in Neuchatel, Switzerland, on Wednesday afternoon and Tigers, preparing for a 20th season of competition in Europe’s elite club tournament, were pulled out alongside Racing 92, Glasgow Warriors and Munster Rugby in Pool 1.
“Racing are now the French Top 14 champions and they beat us to get to the Champions Cup Final this season,” said Tigers director of rugby Cockerill. “Glasgow won the Pro12 league title in 2014/15 and were losing semi-finalists this season, and of course we know all about Munster and what they’ve achieved in the league and in Europe.
“It is a tough pool, possibly the toughest one in the draw, but that is what this competition is all about, bringing the best teams from across all the countries together.”
Tigers reached the semi-finals in 2015/16 – with five wins in the pool fixtures and a quarter-final victory over Stade Francais – and have come through the pool stages 13 times in the team’s 19 seasons in the competition.
“You have to be at your very best in every game in Europe,” said Cockerill. “And you have to work hard for every single point. You don’t get too many opportunities so you have to make them all count.
“We had a good run to the semi-finals this year, with some good wins against the likes of Munster and Stade Francais. All of those players will have learned a lot from the experience, particularly the ones who hadn’t been involved at that stage or in this competition before.
“We look forward to welcoming Racing, Glasgow and Munster and their supporters to Welford Road, and I’m sure our supporters are looking forward to the opportunity to follow the team on the road.”
Order of fixtures, and the confirmed dates and kick-off times for the opening four rounds will be announced by tournament organisers European Professional Club Rugby and their broadcast partners later this summer. The opening weekend is on October 14/15/16.
All home fixtures in the pool stages of the Champions Cup are included in Tigers season tickets. Places are still available for 2016/17, click here for more details.
Match ticket details will be confirmed soon.
