Heineken Champions Cup: Edinburgh return to the top table but Europe’s elite tournament faces identity crisis

Edinburgh are back but Glasgow Warriors are absent for the first time in 16 years as European rugby’s premier club competition returns with a new twist - it’s no longer just European.

Emiliano Boffelli is expected to return for Edinburgh to face Saracens. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Confused? Well, you probably will be when you try to get your head around the format of the Heineken Champions Cup. Three South African franchises are included for the first time, joining 21 other clubs in a hotchpotch which threatens the tournament’s very identity.

The 24 teams are split into two pools of 12 but each club plays only two others. Edinburgh will face Saracens and Castres in Pool A, the runners-up in last season’s English and French league finals, a tall order for Mike Blair’s men who are licking their wounds after defeats by Benetton and Munster in the URC. Edinburgh will play each opponent home and away, giving them four pool fixtures (two in December and two in January).

When that’s done and dusted the top eight from each pool will proceed to the round of 16, a one-legged knockout which pits the highest ranked in Pool A against the lowest ranked qualifiers in Pool B, and vice versa, with home advantage going to the sides which finished in the top four.

All clear so far? If so, it’s worth remembering that there is also a parachute element which sees the clubs who finish ninth and tenth in each pool drop into the second-tier Challenge Cup. So only those who finish in the bottom two will be denied a knockout match.

Edinburgh begin their campaign with a tricky trip to face Premiership high flyers Saracens next Sunday. The match falls on the first anniversary of last season’s Challenge Cup tie between the sides when Blair’s team pulled off an impressive 21-18 win at the StoneX Stadium, courtesy of tries from WP Nel and Ramiro Moyano and 11 points from the boot of Emiliano Boffelli.

Boffelli is expected to return to face Sarries after missing the game against Munster, and Edinburgh will need him - Saracens have won nine from nine this season.

Edinburgh played well in the first half against Munster on Friday but crumbled after the break as their 17-14 lead was turned into a 17-38 defeat. Ben Vellacott, the scrum-half, knows a vast improvement will be required against the English league leaders. “Well, we need to look after the ball, for one,” said Vellacott. “And then we just need to be physically there. They’re going to be exactly the same as the Munster team - they’re going to be very physically dominant - so we just need to front up.

Edinburgh players celebrate their win over Saracens in the Challenge Cup last season. (Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images)

“We went down last year in the Challenge Cup and got a win, but they’re a different team this year, they’re unbeaten in the Prem, so it’s going to be a massive challenge.”

Saracens and Castres will both fancy their chances of going deep in this year’s competition, as will the likes of Leinster, Racing and holders La Rochelle, while the South African challenge will come from the Bulls, Stormers and Sharks, admitted entry after they finished in the top eight of last season’s URC.

Edinburgh have a decent pedigree in the Heineken Cup but Sarries away is a tough opener and Blair’s side will need Boffelli and co firing on all cylinders to repeat the success of last season.