South Wales Echo

Tough Challenge Cup assignment­s for the four Welsh regions

ALL four Welsh regions have been drawn in difficult pools for the 2024/25 EPCR Challenge Cup which will culminate with a final at the Principali­ty Stadium next May.

The draw for the 2024/25 Challenge Cup was made at the Principali­ty Stadium yesterday with no Welsh representa­tion in the top tier Champions Cup for the first time in their history.

Cardiff, who have won this competitio­n twice, have been drawn in Pool 1 alongside Perpignan, Lyon, Zebre Parma, Connacht and the Cheetahs.

Both the Dragons and the Ospreys find themselves in Pool 2 alongside Montpellie­r, Pau, Newcastle Falcons and the Emirates Lions.

The Scarlets find themselves in Pool 3 and could face Georgian outfit Black Lion who beat Dwayne Peel’s side in Llanelli last season.

Peel’s side are also in the same pool as newly promoted French club Vannes, Bayonne, Edinburgh and Gloucester.

Each side will play two sides from the same pool at home and a further two on the road while there is one side in their own pool they will not face.

The four highest-ranked sides in each pool will advance to a round of 16.

The first round of fixtures will be played on the weekend of December 6, 7, 8, with the final held at the Principali­ty Stadium on Friday, May 23, 2025.

All four regions will be up against it next season given they are operating from a salary cap of just £4.5m, but the Challenge Cup should at least give them an opportunit­y to sample some knockout rugby.

Last season the Ospreys beat Sale Sharks in front of a big crowd at Bridgend’s Brewery Field before narrowly losing to Gloucester at a packed Kingsholm in the quarterfin­als.

The 2024/25 fixture schedules for both tournament­s, including dates, venues, kick-off times and TV coverage will be announced as soon as possible.

Fixtures will be determined using an algorithm which will take into considerat­ion league calendar restrictio­ns, individual club calendar restrictio­ns, broadcast requiremen­ts and the pool draws.

Pool 1: Cardiff Rugby, Perpignan, Connacht, Lyon, Toyota Cheetahs, Zebre Parma.

Pool 2: Montpellie­r, Dragons RFC, Pau, Emirates Lions, Newcastle Falcons, Ospreys.

Pool 3: Vannes, Black Lion, Bayonne, Scarlets, Edinburgh, Gloucester

2024/25 weekends

Round 1 - 6/7/8 December Round 2 - 13/14/15 December Round 3 - 10/11/12 January 2025 Round 4 - 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 EPCR Challenge Cup final - Principali­ty Stadium, Cardiff; Friday 23 May 2025

Investec Champions Cup final - Principali­ty Stadium, Cardiff; Saturday 24 May