BT MURRAYFIELD has been confirmed as the venue for the finals of next season’s two European club competitions, the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup. When it was announced last June that Edinburgh would host both events, the national stadium was named as the venue for only the Champions Cup, leaving open the possibility that the secondary tournament would be held elsewhere in the capital.
Yesterday, however, tournament organisers European Professional Club Rugby said that the Challenge Cup final would also be staged there, on Friday 12 May 2017, with the Champions Cup taking place the following day. It will be the first time since the Heineken Cup final of 2009 that either event has been held in Scotland.
The pool stages of both competitions will begin with two rounds in October, followed by two in December and the final pair in January. The quarter-finals will be at the end of March and the beginning of April, with the semis three weeks later.
Nineteen clubs will qualify for the 2016-17 Champions Cup by virtue of their league positions: the top six from France and England, plus seven from the PRO12, which must include at least one team from Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Italy. The 20th club will be this season’s Challenge Cup winner - or, if that club has already qualified, the next-ranked club from the same country.
The other 18 clubs from the three leagues will compete in the Challenge Cup, The remaining two places, to make up the five pools of four, will go to the two qualifiers from the Qualifying Competition.
This season’s finals will be held in France, at the new Grand Stade de Lyon, on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 May. BT Murrayfield will host the PRO12 final on 28 May.
Champions Cup and Challenge Cup dates 2016-17:
Round 1: 13-16 October 2016. Round 2: 19-22 October. Round 3: 8-11 December. Round 4: 15-18 December. Round 5: 12-15 January 2017. Round 6: 19-22 January.
Quarter-finals: 30 March - 2 April. Semi-finals: 21-23 April.
Challenge Cup final: Friday 12 May, BT Murrayfield.
Champions Cup final: Saturday 13 May BT Murrayfield.
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