The draws for the 2024/25 Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup groups took place this morning at the Parkgate Hotel in Cardiff.
For the eighth consecutive year, Zebre will participate in the EPCR Challenge Cup which, this year, will kick off on the first weekend of December.
The formula of the European competition remains unchanged: the eighteen clubs from the three leagues United Rugby Championship, TOP14 and Gallagher Premiership have been distributed together with the two invited teams (the South African Toyota Cheetahs and the Georgian Black Lyon) into three groups of six teams.
Zebre have been drawn into Group 1 alongside Welsh side Cardiff Rugby and Irish rivals Connacht, URC, Toyota Cheetahs and French side Lyon and Perpignan.
The group stage will feature four single-leg matches, two at home and two away, which will determine the qualifications for the tournament’s playoffs, scheduled for the first weekend of May 2025. The top four teams in each group will advance to the round of 16.
The date, time and fixtures for the group stage will be announced in the coming weeks.
Teams qualified for the 2024/25 EPCR Challenge Cup:
UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP – Ospreys, Emirates Lions, Edinburgh Rugby, Connacht Rugby, Cardiff Rugby, Scarlets, Dragons, Zebre Parma
TOP 14 – Section Paloise, USAP, Lyon Olympique, Aviron Bayonnais, Montpellier, RC Vannes
GALLAGHER PREMIERSHIP – Gloucester Rugby, Newcastle Falcons
GUESTS – Black Lyon, Toyota Cheetahs
The 2024/25 EPCR Challenge Cup groups:
Group 1 – Cardiff Rugby, Connacht Rugby, Toyota Cheetahs, USAP, Lyon Olympique, Zebre Parma
Girone 2 – Montepellier, Section Paloise, Newcastle Falcons, Dragons, Emirates Lions, Ospreys
Girone 3 – RC Vannes, Black Lyon, Aviron Bayonnais, Scarlets, Edinburgh Rugby, Gloucester Rugby
The 2024/25 EPCR Challenge Cup schedule:
1st round – 6/7/8 December 2024
2nd round – 13/14/15 December 2024
3rd round – 10/11/12 January 2025
4th round – 17/18/19 January 2025
Round of 16 – 4/5/6 April 2025
Quarter-finals – 11/12/13 April 2025
Semi-finals – 2/3/4 May 2025
Final – Friday 23 May 2025, Principality Stadium, Cardiff
2024-07-03 05:14:26
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