The draws for the EPCR Challenge Cup and Investec Champions Cup pools took place at the Premier Sports studios in Dublin, and were hosted by Elma Smit and Benjamin Boyet.
Former Ulster and Ireland back rower Stephen Ferris drew out the balls, with the tournaments both kicking off in mid-October and culminating in next May's finals weekend at Lyon's OL Stadium.
Notably, there are two tournament rule changes that will come into effect for the new season. Click here for full details.
Firstly, in a change to previous seasons where the four highest-ranked teams in each pool all automatically qualified for the round of 16, only the top three teams from each pool will automatically qualify.
The remaining four round of 16 places will go to the four sides with the highest number of match points across all pools, regardless of which pool they are in.
In addition, EPCR is changing the system by which offensive bonus points are awarded, awarding bonus points for attacking performance if a team scores three or more tries more than their opposition.
Unchanged from previous seasons, the defensive bonus point will remain available if a defeated team can limit the margin of defeat to seven points or fewer.
In draw news, tne of Champions Cup's four tier 1 teams following their BKT United Rugby Championship title win, Leinster head up Pool 1, alongside Glasgow Warriors, French clubs Section Paloise and ASM Clermont Auvergne, and England's Sale Sharks and Leicester Tigers.
Leo Cullen's men defeated both Leicester and Sale during this past season's competition, as part of a seven-match winning run, before losing to Union Bordeaux-Bègles in May's decider in Bilbao.
Leinster's most recent encounter with Clermont Auvergne saw them win a tight pool game, 15-7, at the Aviva Stadium in December 2024.
In what will be Cullen's final season in charge, the province will meet Section Paloise - the fourth place finishers in the Top 14 - for the first time since a narrow victory in Donnybrook back in November 1996.
Meanwhile, for Clayton McMillan's second year at the helm, Munster will have a tough Pool 3 path to negotiate, with back-to-back champions Bordeaux in their way.
A heavyweight pool line-up is completed by one of Munster's URC rivals, the DHL Stormers, Racing 92, and Gallagher Premiership duo Bristol Bears and Gloucester.
The Reds were comprehensive 31-3 winners over Gloucester at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh last December, and last clashed with Bordeaux at the quarter-final stage of the 2024/25 Champions Cup.
Munster and Racing are no strangers to being pool opponents, last coming up against each other in 2019/20. They will take on Bristol for the first time in competitive action.
Connacht are back in the Champions Cup for the first time in three years. Stuart Lancaster's charges have drawn the short straw with four former winners in their group.
French powerhouses Toulouse and La Rochelle, with eight titles between them, and English sides Saracens and Exeter Chiefs feature in Pool 2, along with the Johannesburg-based Lions.
There will be huge interest in which teams will be coming to the redeveloped Dexcom Stadium, with Toulouse having last visited Galway in 2020, and La Rochelle losing heavily there in the Challenge Cup in 2014.
Exeter were also in that same Challenge Cup pool almost twelve years ago, while the westerners have more recent history with Saracens, losing 55-36 away to them in December 2023.
The pool fixtures for the 2026/27 campaign, with dates, venues, kick-off times and TV coverage, will be announced as soon as possible.
Click here for news of Ulster's EPCR Challenge Cup pool.
2026/27 INVESTEC CHAMPIONS CUP POOLS:
POOL 1 - LEINSTER RUGBY, Glasgow Warriors, Section Paloise, Sale Sharks, Leicester Tigers, ASM Clermont Auvergne
POOL 2 - Stade Toulousain, Lions, Saracens, Stade Rochelais, Exeter Chiefs, CONNACHT RUGBY
POOL 3 - Union Bordeaux-Bègles, DHL Stormers, Racing 92, MUNSTER RUGBY, Bristol Bears, Gloucester Rugby
POOL 4 - Northampton Saints, Bath Rugby, Cardiff Rugby, Montpellier Hérault Rugby, Stade Français Paris, Vodacom Bulls
2026/27 MATCH WEEKENDS:
Round 1 - October 16/17/18
Round 2 - December 11/12/13
Round 3 - January 8/9/10
Round 4 - January 15/16/17
Round of 16 - April 2/3/4
Quarter-Finals - April 9/10/11
Semi-Finals - April 30/May 1/2
EPCR Challenge Cup Final: OL Stadium, Lyon, Friday, May 21
Investec Champions Cup Final: OL Stadium, Lyon, Saturday, May 22
Weekend package tickets for the finals are on sale here. To access ticketing information before anyone else, sign up to My Gainline here and opt in to receive the newsletter.
