EPCR has announced new dates for the postponed knock-out stage matches in the 2019/20 Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup have been officially agreed.
Subject to government guidelines and with the health and welfare of players, club staff, match officials, supporters and the wider rugby community to the fore, it is now planned for the quarter-finals of both tournaments to be played on the weekend of September 18/19/20.
It is then that the Dragons will meet Bristol and the Scarlets will face French giants Toulon.
Exact fixture dates, venues, kick-off times and TV coverage will be announced in the near future.
The semi-finals of both the Champion Cup and Challenge Cup have been scheduled for the weekend of 25/26/27 September.
The European season will then conclude with the Challenge Cup final on Friday, October 16 followed by the Heineken Champions Cup final on Saturday, October 17.
EPCR remains committed to staging the matches in Marseille, however, the situation is under review in light of public gathering and international travel restrictions which might be in place at the time of the finals.
EPCR and the local organising committee in Marseille intend to clarify the position regarding the finals, including details of ticket refunds where applicable, as soon as possible.
As previously communicated, new Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup tournament formats for the 2020/21 season are being considered as a consequence of widespread fixture disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A 24-club Heineken Champions Cup with eight representatives from each of Europe’s leading league competitions is one of the options under discussion.
Any changes would apply to next season’s tournaments, which are scheduled to start on the weekend of December 11/12/13, only on an exceptional basis.
An official announcement regarding formats will be made once all discussions are concluded.
New EPCR dates for 2019/20 season:
Quarter-finals: Weekend of September 18/19/20
Semi-finals: Weekend of September 25/26/27
Challenge Cup final: Friday, October 16
Heineken Champions Cup final: Saturday, October 17
Start of 2020/21 season: Weekend of December 11/12/13
