European Champions Cup 20/21 (potentially the most confusing cup structure so far)

Teams are in two pools. You only play 2 other teams in that pool (even though each pool has 12 teams). You don't play someone in your own league. All these fixtures are then compared back to each other in a table for each pool.

2020/21 HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS CUP

POOL A (with opponents in brackets)
Bordeaux-Bègles (Dragons, Northampton Saints)
Leinster Rugby (Montpellier, Northampton Saints)
Wasps (Dragons, Montpellier)
Bath Rugby (La Rochelle, Scarlets)
Edinburgh Rugby (La Rochelle, Sale Sharks)
RC Toulon (Sale Sharks, Scarlets)
La Rochelle (Bath Rugby, Edinburgh Rugby)
Sale Sharks (Edinburgh Rugby, RC Toulon)
Scarlets (Bath Rugby, RC Toulon)
Dragons (Bordeaux-Bègles, Wasps)
Montpellier (Leinster Rugby, Wasps)
Northampton Saints (Bordeaux-Bègles, Leinster Rugby)

POOL B (with opponents in brackets)
Exeter Chiefs (Glasgow Warriors, Toulouse)
Lyon (Glasgow Warriors, Gloucester Rugby)
Ulster Rugby (Gloucester Rugby, Toulouse)
Bristol Bears (ASM Clermont Auvergne, Connacht Rugby)
Munster Rugby (ASM Clermont Auvergne, Harlequins)
Racing 92 (Connacht Rugby, Harlequins)
ASM Clermont Auvergne (Bristol Bears, Munster Rugby)
Connacht Rugby (Bristol Bears, Racing 92)
Harlequins (Munster Rugby, Racing 92)
Glasgow Warriors (Exeter Chiefs, Lyon)
Gloucester Rugby (Lyon, Ulster)
Toulouse (Exeter Chiefs, Ulster Rugby)

2020/21 season weekends

Round 1 – 11/12/13 December 2020
Round 2 – 18/19/20 December 2020
Round 3 – 15/16/17 January 2021
Round 4 – 22/23/24 January 2021
Heineken Champions Cup quarter-finals, 1st leg – 2/3/4 April 2021
Challenge Cup Round of 16 – 2/3/4 April 2021
Heineken Champions Cup quarter-finals, 2nd leg – 9/10/11 April 2021
Challenge Cup quarter-finals – 9/10/11 April 2021
Semi-finals – 30 April – 1/2 May 2021

2021 finals – Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Challenge Cup final – Friday 21 May
Heineken Champions Cup final – Saturday 22 May

There are 3 teams in each pool at each Seeding. Seeds 1 play the two Seed 4 teams not in their league (Seed 2 v 3)

Exeter look to be the Seed 1 team with the hardest draw.

I agree with you on Exeter getting a tough draw.

Would say Exeter (Toulouse/Glasgow), Montpellier (Leinster/Wasps), Toulouse (Exeter/Ulster), Quins (Munster/Racing), Connacht (Bristol/Racing) and Saints (Bordeaux-Begles/Leinster) all got pretty awful draws when looking at last season.

To be fair to Exeter, Glasgow have had a bad start to the season so they may have the best draw of that lot....

It's the home/away aggregate score in quarterfinals that's going to be the tricky bit.

And the first pool matches are the next weekend after the last Nations Cup tests. Gone be tough for teams like Leinster and Glasgow.