Gloucester will be up against two French sides and a Romanian outfit in this season's European tournament.
The West Country side have been drawn alongside French sides Toulon, Bayonne and Romanian side Bucuresti.
There has been a change in format for the new season's competition, and it will now be run on a pools plus knock-out basis and will be composed of 20 teams. Teams have been drawn into pools of four (five pools of four) and will play home and away matches.
The winners of each pool and the three best runners up will qualify for the quarter-finals. The semi-finals will be one-off matches played at home venues and the Final at a neutral venue.
The new Pool format will replace the previous season's knock-out structure and the European Shield tournament.
Pool 1 - Viadana, Narbonne, Northampton Saints, Bristol
Pool 2 - Agen, London Irish, Parma, Pau
Pool 3 - Gloucester, Bayonne, Bucuresti, Toulon
Pool 4 - Borders, Brive, Newcastle Falcons, l'Aquila
Pool 5 - Connacht, Montpellier, Worcester, Catania
The fixtures and when each home and away tie is being played will be confirmed at a later date.
![]() |
![]() |



