Leicester Tigers will make club history in the Heineken Champions Cup this season with first-ever trips to Union Bordeaux-Bègles and Connacht Rugby in the competition.
After two seasons in the European Challenge Cup, including an appearance in the Final at Twickenham last June, Tigers return to the elite competition and kick off with a trip to French league leaders Bordeaux-Bègles this Saturday before welcoming Connacht to Mattioli Woods Welford Road in Round 2 on Sunday, December 19 (1.00pm).
The return leg in Ireland – and a first trip to The Sportsground in Galway – follows during January, with the pool stages reaching a conclusion at home to Bordeaux-Bègles on Saturday, January 22.
The Heineken Champions Cup features 24 clubs from three leagues, with Tigers among the nine previous winners with 38 European titles between them.
In the new format of the competition, teams will play in two pools of 12 over the four pool-stage rounds with the eight highest-ranked clubs from each pool qualifying for the knockout stage which will consist of a Round of 16 on a home-and-away basis, quarter-finals and semi-finals, with the final in Marseille on May 28.
The clubs ranked 9-11 in each of the two pools will move into the Round of 16 of the EPCR Challenge Cup.
Entry to the home games against Bordeaux-Bègles and Connacht is included in Tigers season tickets. The Tigers Half Season Ticket, covering games from the start of new year, also includes the Bordeaux-Bègles game.
Match tickets for Tigers against Connacht are on general sale now, together with parking and matchday bus services.
A modified Challenge Cup format involves 15 clubs competing in three pools over five pool stage rounds. The three highest-ranked clubs from each pool, and the highest-ranked fourth-placed club, plus six Heineken Champions Cup clubs, qualify for the Round of 16 which will be played in mid-April. This is followed by quarter-finals and semi-finals, with the final at the Stade Vélodrome, Marseille on May 27.
