Top seeds Leinster have been handed a tough draw in the Pool 1 of the 2013/14 Heineken Cup after Top 14 champions Castres were named as the Tier 4 team in their group, along with Northampton and the Ospreys.
Castres claimed their first Bouclier de Brennus in 20 years with a 19-14 upset over Henieken Cup champions Toulon at the Stade de France last Saturday.
Munster also picked up a tough Tier 4 opponent in Gloucester, although the English west country side struggled in this season’s Premiership campaign, finishing ninth of 12 sides after winning just eight of their 22 games.
Perpignan and Edinburgh are the other two sides drawn in Pool 6.
Connacht have yet again been drawn alongside French powerhouse Toulouse this time in Pool 3, alongside Mark McCall’s Saracens and Italian outfit Zebre.
Ulster have been drawn in Pool 5 alongside English champions Leicester, Monpellier and Treviso.
Champions Toulon are joined by Cardiff, Glasgow and Exeter in Pool 2, while beaten finalists Clermont were drawn in Pool 4 alongside Conor O'Shea's Harlequins side, Scarlets and Racing Metro, where Jonathan Sexton will be playing next season.
2013/14 Heineken Cup Pools
Pool 1
1 Leinster
2 Northampton
3 Ospreys
4 Castres
Pool 2
1 Toulon
2 Cardiff
3 Glasgow
4 Exeter
Pool 3
1 Toulouse
2 Saracens
3 Connacht
4 Zebre
Pool 4
1 Clermont
2 Harlequins
3 Scarlets
4 Racing Metro
Pool 5
1 Ulster
2 Leicester
3 Montpellier
4 Treviso
Pool 6
1 Munster
2 Perpignan
3 Edinburgh
4 Gloucester
2013/14 dates
Round 1: 11/12/13 October 2013
Round 2: 18/19/20 October 2013
Round 3: 6/7/8 December 2013
Round 4: 13/14/15 December 2013
Round 5: 10/11/12 January 2014
Round 6: 17/18/19 January 2014
Quarter-finals: 4/5/6 April 2014
Semi-finals: 25/26/27 April 2014
Final: 23/24/25 May 2014
