Warriors will be one of 20 clubs competing for the expanded EPCR Challenge Cup next season.
Warriors, along with Wasps, Bristol Bears, Newcastle Falcons and Bath Rugby from the Gallagher Premiership, will be joined by eight sides from the United Rugby Championship, six from France’s Top 14 competition plus South Africa side Cheetahs who have accepted an invitation to join the competition.
Warriors have been ranked third of the five Premiership clubs.
Cheetahs will be the second South Africa team in the Challenge Cup, joining Lions who participate in the United Rugby Championship along with teams from the Celtic nations and Italy.
The clubs will be divided into two pools of ten – Pool A and Pool B – and, in a similar format to the Heineken Champions Cup, the tournament will be played over eight weekends with four rounds of matches in the pool stage starting in December.
The six highest-ranked clubs from each pool, as well as the 9th and 10th ranked clubs from each of the Heineken Champions Cup pools, will qualify for a Round of 16, which will be followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on May 19.
The number 1 and number 2 ranked clubs from each league will be in Tier 1, the number 3 and number 4 ranked clubs from each league, as well as the number 5 and number 6 ranked clubs from the URC, will be in Tier 2. The Dragons, Zebre Parma, Aviron Bayonnais, USAP, Bath Rugby and the Cheetahs will be in Tier 3.
The Tier 1 and the Tier 3 clubs which have been drawn in the same pool, but which are not in the same league, will play one another home and away over four pool stage rounds.
The Tier 2 clubs which have been drawn in the same pool, but which are not from the same league, will play one another home and away during the pool stage. In order to adhere to the key principle of no same-league matches, Tier 2 clubs from the TOP 14 can only play against opposition from the URC, and similarly, Tier 2 clubs from the Premiership can also only play against opposition from the URC.
The live-streamed draw for the EPCR Challenge Cup and Heineken Champions Cup pools will take place at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday June 28 with the clubs separated into three tiers based on their rankings, and clubs from the same league will not play against one another during the pool stage.
There will be 24 clubs in the Champions Cup, including historic first appearances by the Stormers, Bulls and Sharks from South Africa as well as five more from the URC, eight representatives from the Gallagher Premiership and eight from the TOP 14.
2022/23 EPCR CHALLENGE CUP QUALIFIERS
United Rugby Championship: 1 Glasgow Warriors, 2 Scarlets, 3 Connacht Rugby, 4 Lions, 5 Benetton Rugby, 6 Cardiff Rugby, 7 Dragons, 8 Zebre Parma.
TOP 14: 1 RC Toulon, 2 Section Paloise, 3 Stade Français Paris, 4 CA Brive, 5 Aviron Bayonnais, 6 USAP.
Gallagher Premiership: 1 Wasps, 2 Bristol Bears, 3 Worcester Warriors, 4 Newcastle Falcons, 5 Bath Rugby.
Invited: Cheetahs
2022/23 key dates
Round 1 – 9/10/11 December 2022
Round 2 – 16/17/18 December 2022
Round 3 – 13/14/15 January 2023
Round 4 – 20/21/22 January 2023
Round of 16 – 31 March/ 1/2 April 2023
Quarter-finals – 7/8/9 April 2023
Semi-finals – 28/29/30 April 2023
EPCR Challenge Cup final – Friday May 19 2023; Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Heineken Champions Cup final – Saturday May 20 2023; Aviva Stadium, Dublin