Sale Sharks’ Heineken Champions Cup dates announced
Your Sharks will get their 2022/23 Heineken Champions Cup campaign up and running at home to Ulster on Sunday, December 11, at 1pm, it has been revealed.
The AJ Bell Stadium clash with the Irish giants is followed by a trip to the Stade Ernest Wallon to face Toulouse the following week (Sunday, December 18, 2pm KO).
Sharks fans will get a chance to see French superstars Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack when Toulouse visit Salford for the Sharks’ first home fixture of 2023 on Saturday, January 14 (1pm KO).
And round four of a blockbuster pool stage sees Alex’s men make the short trip across the Irish Sea to face Ulster in the Kingspan Stadium on Saturday, January 21 (8pm KO).
The dates, kick-off times and TV coverage for the pool stage fixtures, which will all be broadcast live, have all been announced by EPCR.
Heineken Champions Cup holders, Stade Rochelais, will begin the defence of their title against Northampton Saints at Stade Marcel Deflandre on Saturday, 10 December with blanket TV coverage of the Round One clash on BT Sport in the UK and Ireland, on SuperSport in South Africa, as well as free-to-air on France Télévisions and on beIN SPORTS in France.
With BT Sport, SuperSport and beIN SPORTS broadcasting every match live in EPCR’s flagship tournament, the 2022/23 season which features the historic inclusion of the leading South African clubs is set to raise the bar even higher for professional club rugby.
Click HERE for the 2022/23 Heineken Champions Cup pool stage fixtures
www.epcrugby.com/champions-cup/matches/fixtures-and-results/
The Cell C Sharks will be the first of the South African clubs in action when Harlequins travel to Durban for a Pool A confrontation on Saturday, December 10, and later the same day, ASM Clermont Auvergne will host the BKT United Rugby Championship winners, the DHL Stormers, at Stade Marcel-Michelin in Pool B.
The Vodacom Bulls will begin their inaugural campaign against the 2022 EPCR Challenge Cup winners, Lyon, at Loftus Versfeld in Pool A.
Another heavyweight clash is scheduled for that Saturday when three-time finalists, Racing 92, and four-time champions, Leinster Rugby, go head-to-head in Pool A on BT Sport and SuperSport at the 25,000-capacity Stade Océane in Le Havre.
Then on Sunday, December 11, EPCR’s newest free-to-air TV partners in the UK and Ireland, ITV and RTE, will be the respective host broadcasters for the Round One showdowns between Saracens and Edinburgh Rugby at the StoneX Stadium, and between Munster Rugby and five-time winners, Stade Toulousain, at Thomond Park, with France Télévisions providing additional free-to-air coverage of the Munster v Stade Toulousain Pool B contest.
Viewers in Wales will be able to enjoy free-to-air transmission on S4C when the Ospreys take on last season’s Gallagher Premiership champions, Leicester Tigers, at the Swansea.com Stadium on Sunday, December 11 in a Pool B fixture which will also go out on BT Sport and SuperSport.
HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS CUP
- 24 elite clubs (nine tournament winners with 36 EPCR titles between them)
- Two pools of 12
- Four pool stage rounds
- Eight highest-ranked clubs from each pool qualify for the knockout stage
- Ninth and 10th ranked clubs from each pool qualify for the EPCR Challenge Cup
- Knockout stage: Round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final
Click HERE for the Heineken Champions Cup pools
www.epcrugby.com/champions-cup/matches/pool-tables/
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
