Heineken Cup Fixtures 2013/14
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Leinster and Munster will both begin their Heineken Cup campaigns away from home, while Connacht and Ulster will play their first pool games at home, after the fixture list for the first round of the 2013/14 Heineken Cup was revealed on Monday afternoon.
Matt O’Conor’s Leinster side will travel away to the Ospreys on the 12th of October, while Munster will face a tricky start, away to Edinburgh on the same day.
Pat Lam’s first European game in charge of Connacht will see his side face off against Aviva Premiership outfit Saracens at the Sportsground, while Ulster will welcome the Leicester Tigers to the new look Ravenhill on the same weekend.
Tournament organisers, ERC, announced the fixtures, dates, kick-off times and live television coverage for the opening four rounds of the 2013/14 Heineken Cup with 45 of the 48 games broadcast live giving supporters across Europe, as well as new audiences worldwide via ERC’s international TV partners, the opportunity to view high-quality competition.
Current Aviva Premiership champions, Leicester Tigers, will begin their campaign with what promises to be a fiercely-contested Pool 5 tie at Ulster Rugby’s Ravenhill cauldron on Friday, 11 October, while last season’s Amlin Challenge Cup champions, Leinster Rugby, will face the Ospreys in Round 1 on Saturday, 12 October at the Liberty Stadium.
In addition, Leinster have moved their Round 4 game in Pool 1 against Northampton Saints to the Aviva Stadium with the repeat of the dramatic 2011 tournament final set to go ahead on Saturday, 14 December with a 6.00pm kick-off.
Cardiff Blues will stage a first European club game on an artificial pitch when they host Toulon at the Cardiff Arms Park – the venue for the 2014 Amlin Challenge Cup final – in Round 2 on Saturday, 19 October, and Saracens will follow suit on their synthetic surface with a Round 4 game against Zebre Rugby at Allianz Park on Saturday, 14 December.
Last season’s Top 14 champions, Castres Olympique, are at home against Northampton Saints in Round 1 on Saturday, 12 October, and the following day sees a crunch French derby between Racing and the 2013 defeated tournament finalists, ASM Clermont Auvergne at Stade Yves du Manoir.
All Heineken Cup round 1 games will take place on the weekend of 11th/12th/ 13th of October.
