In Leicester’s ranks will be Wales openside Tommy Reffell who was outstanding in the recent tour of South Africa. They then face back-to-back home and away fixtures against French champions Montpellier who have a plethora of world class players including Jan Serfontein, Paolo Garbisi, Cobus Reinach, and Zach Mercer.
In the European Challenge Cup the Scarlets begin their campaign by hosting Montpellier in Llanelli before travelling to Parma to face South African outfit the Cheetahs. They then welcome the Cheetahs to Parc y Scarlets in the new year before finishing the pool stages with a trip to Bayonne.
Cardiff Rugby, who are twice winners of the Challenge Cup, start with a home clash against Brive before tough back-to-back fixtures with Newcastle Falcons. They then face Brive in France on January 22. A trip to Coventry to face Wasps lies in wait for Dragons RFC in the first round before facing Pau in December and mid-January.
They conclude their pool campaign by taking on Wasps at Rodney Parade.
Ospreys (Champions Cup)
Dec 9-11 – Leicester (h)
Dec 16-18 – Montpellier (a)
Jan 13-15 – Montpellier (h)
Jan 20-22 – Leicester (a)
Cardiff (Challenge Cup)
Dec 9-11 – Brive (h)
Dec 16-18 – Newcastle (a)
Jan 13-15 – Newcastle (h)
Jan 20-22 – Brive (a)
Dragons (Challenge Cup)
Dec 9-11 – Wasps (a)
Dec 16-18 – Pau (h)
Jan 13-15 – Pau (a)
Jan 20-22 – Wasps (h)
Scarlets (Challenge Cup)
Dec 9-11 – Bayonne (h)
Dec 16-18 – Cheetahs (a)
Jan 13-15 – Cheetahs (h)
Jan 20-22 – Bayonne (a)
European key dates
Round 1 – December 9-11, 2022
Round 2 – December 16-18, 2022
Round 3 – January 13-15, 2023
Round 4 – January 20-22, 2023
Round of 16 – March 31-April 1/2, 2023
Quarter-finals – April 7-9, 2023
Semi-finals – April 28-30, 2023
Challenge Cup final – Friday May 19, 2023 (Aviva Stadium, Dublin)
Heineken Champions Cup final – Saturday May 20, 2023 (Aviva Stadium, Dublin)
