EPCR Challenge Cup: Edinburgh Rugby land two French sides in tough Euro draw

Edinburgh have been handed a tough draw in the pool stage of the EPCR Challenge Cup.

The capital side will be in Pool 3 in the European tournament, alongside French sides Castres and Clermont, Gloucester from the Gallagher Premiership, Welsh club Scarlets and one other ‘invited team’ who are yet to be named. Edinburgh, who are still without a head coach, will take heart from beating Castres home and away in the Champions Cup last season.

Steve Diamond, who is interim charge, said everyone at the club was looking ahead to some “huge matches”. Diamond arrived as lead rugby consultant towards the end of last season and is preparing the players for the new campaign after Mike Blair stepped down as head coach. Diamond said: “There is always a special aura surrounding European fixtures, so it’s brilliant to today find out our potential EPCR Challenge Cup opponents, with some huge matches to come in 2023-24. Clermont are one of French rugby’s more storied and famous teams who possess a ferocious home support, while Castres are of course a side we know well having beaten them both home and away in last season’s Champions Cup.

“Gloucester has a huge amount of history in both European competitions with the clash set to be a rematch of the club’s 2015 Challenge Cup final. Scarlets are a team we are really familiar with from the URC while we wait to see who ‘Invitee 2’ are, adding to the overall anticipation surrounding the tournament. With pre-season in full swing and our European opponents confirmed, there is now a real feeling of excitement as we build up to another massive season.”

There is a new format for the Challenge Cup and Edinburgh will face four of their five pool rivals, two at home and two away, with fixtures yet to be confirmed. The top four teams will qualify for the knockout stages. The first round of fixtures are scheduled for December 8-9-10.

Challenge Cup draw

Pool 1: Dragons, Pau, Oyonnax, Zebre, Sharks, Invitee 1.

Pool 2: Newcastle, Ospreys, Benetton, Montpellier, Perpignan, Lions.

Edinburgh beat Castres home and away in Europe last season. (Photo by VALENTINE CHAPUIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Pool 3: Edinburgh, Castres, Clermont, Scarlets, Gloucester, Invitee 2.

Challenge Cup dates 2023/24

Round 1 – 8/9/10 December 2023

Round 2 – 15/16/17 December 2023

Round 3 – 12/13/14 January 2024

Round 4 – 19/20/21 January 2024

Round of 16 – 5/6/7 April 2024

Quarter-finals – 12/13/14 April 2024

Semi-finals – 3/4/5 May 2024

EPCR Challenge Cup final – Friday 24 May 2024, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium