# 2022–23 European Rugby Champions Cup

The 2022–23 European Rugby Champions Cup was the ninth season of the European Rugby Champions Cup, the annual club rugby union competition run by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) for teams from the top five nations in European rugby and South Africa. It was the 28th season of pan-European professional club rugby competition.
Dutch beer brand Heineken continued as the title sponsor of the competition, extending their deal after their previous agreement expired at the end of the 2021–22 season.
This was the first year to feature the top teams from South Africa, following the inaugural United Rugby Championship season.
The tournament commenced in December 2022. The final was held at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland on 20 May 2023. The match was a repeat of the 2022 final, with Stade Rochelais defeating Leinster for the second consecutive year.

## Teams

Twenty-four clubs from the three major European domestic and regional leagues competed in the Champions Cup.
The distribution of teams was:
* England: eight clubs
** The top eight clubs from Premiership Rugby
* France: eight clubs
** The top eight clubs from the Top 14
* Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, Wales: eight clubs
** The top side in each of the four regional shields from the United Rugby Championship (one Irish, one Welsh, one South African and one either Scottish or Italian), along with the remaining top four ranked clubs regardless of nation, within the league, that didn't win their respective shield. If the club that wins the championship has not qualified by the methods above then that club, the four shield winners and the remaining top three ranked clubs regardless of nation, within the league, that didn't win their respective shield will qualify.
The following teams qualified for the tournament.
| Premiership | Top 14 | United Rugby Championship | United Rugby Championship | United Rugby Championship | United Rugby Championship |
| England | France | Ireland | South Africa | Scotland | Wales |
| Exeter Gloucester Harlequins Leicester London Irish Northampton Sale Saracens | Bordeaux-Bègles Castres Clermont La Rochelle Lyon Montpellier Racing 92 Toulouse | Leinster Munster Ulster | Bulls Sharks Stormers | Edinburgh | Ospreys |

### Team details

Below is the list of coaches, captain and stadiums with their method of qualification for each team.
Note: Placing shown in brackets, denotes standing at the end of the regular season for their respective leagues, with their end of season positioning shown through CH for Champions, RU for Runner-up, SF for losing Semi-finalist, and QF for losing Quarter-finalist.
| Team | Coach / Director of Rugby | Captain | Stadium | Capacity | Method of qualification |
| Bordeaux Bègles | Frédéric Charrier Julien Laïrle | Mahamadou Diaby | Stade Chaban-Delmas | 34,694 | Top 14 top 8 (3rd) (SF) |
| Bulls | Jake White | Marcell Coetzee | Loftus Versfeld Stadium | 51,762 | URC table rankings (4th) (RU) |
| Castres | Pierre-Henry Broncan | Mathieu Babillot | Stade Pierre-Fabre | 12,500 | Top 14 top 8 (1st) (RU) |
| Clermont | Christophe Urios | Arthur Iturria | Stade Marcel-Michelin | 19,022 | Top 14 top 8 (7th) |
| Edinburgh | Steve Diamond | Grant Gilchrist Jamie Ritchie | Edinburgh Rugby Stadium | 7,800 | URC Scottish/Italian Shield winner (7th) (QF) |
| Exeter Chiefs | Rob Baxter | Jack Yeandle | Sandy Park | 13,593 | Premiership top 8 (7th) |
| Gloucester | George Skivington | Lewis Ludlow | Kingsholm Stadium | 16,115 | Premiership top 8 (5th) |
| Harlequins | Tabai Matson | Stephan Lewies | Twickenham Stoop | 14,800 | Premiership top 8 (3rd) (SF) |
| La Rochelle | Ronan O'Gara | Grégory Alldritt | Stade Marcel-Deflandre | 16,000 | Top 14 top 8 (5th) (QF) |
| Leicester Tigers | Richard Wigglesworth | Hanro Liebenberg | Mattioli Woods Welford Road | 25,849 | Premiership top 8 (1st) (CH) |
| Leinster | Leo Cullen | Johnny Sexton | RDS Arena Aviva Stadium | 18,500 51,700 | URC Irish Shield winner (1st) (SF) |
| London Irish | Declan Kidney | Matt Rogerson | Gtech Community Stadium | 17,250 | Premiership top 8 (8th) |
| Lyon | Xavier Garbajosa | Jean-Marc Doussain | Matmut Stadium de Gerland | 35,029 | 2021–22 Challenge Cup Champion |
| Montpellier | Philippe Saint-André | Yacouba Camara | GGL Stadium | 15,697 | Top 14 top 8 (2nd) (CH) |
| Munster | Graham Rowntree | Peter O'Mahony | Thomond Park | 25,600 | URC table rankings (6th) (QF) |
| Northampton Saints | Phil Dowson | Lewis Ludlam | cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens | 15,200 | Premiership top 8 (4th) (SF) |
| Ospreys | Toby Booth | Justin Tipuric | Swansea.com Stadium | 21,088 | URC Welsh Shield winner (9th) |
| Racing 92 | Laurent Travers | Henry Chavancy | Paris La Défense Arena | 32,000 | Top 14 top 8 (6th) (QF) |
| Sale Sharks | Alex Sanderson | Jono Ross | AJ Bell Stadium | 12,000 | Premiership top 8 (6th) |
| Saracens | Mark McCall | Owen Farrell | StoneX Stadium | 10,500 | Premiership top 8 (2nd) (RU) |
| Sharks | Sean Everitt | Thomas du Toit | Kings Park Stadium | 52,000 | URC table rankings (5th) (QF) |
| Stormers | John Dobson | Ernst van Rhyn | Cape Town Stadium | 55,000 | URC South African Shield winner (2nd) (CH) |
| Toulouse | Ugo Mola | Julien Marchand | Stade Ernest-Wallon | 19,500 | Top 14 top 8 (4th) (SF) |
| Ulster | Dan McFarland | Iain Henderson | Ravenhill Stadium | 18,196 | URC table rankings (3rd) (SF) |

## Seedings and structure

For the purposes of the pool draw, the 24 clubs were separated into tiers based on their league finishing position, and clubs from the same league in the same tier were not drawn into the same pool. The number 1 and number 2 ranked clubs from each league are in Tier 1, the number 3 and number 4 ranked clubs are in Tier 2, the number 5 and 6 ranked clubs are in Tier 3, and the number 7 and number 8 ranked clubs are in Tier 4.
In effect, each pool contains one team from each of the three leagues, from each of the four tiers.
Pool play will feature the Tier 1 teams playing the Tier 4 teams in their pool twice, home and away, while the Tier 2 and 3 clubs will follow in a similar manner. However a team will not play the relevant team from its own league i.e. the tier 1 French team will play the tier 4 English and tier 4 URC team in its pool, but will not play the tier 4 French team in its pool. Each team will therefore play four pool games over four match weekends.
As with the previous two seasons, the 24 teams will play four rounds of pool matches. These will take place from 9–18 December 2022 and 13–22 January 2023. Sixteen teams will qualify for the knockout rounds. In a change from the 2021–22 format, the round of 16 contests will take the form of a single match rather than a two-legged tie.
The eight teams from each pool with the best points will qualify for the knockout stage, a single-leg single-elimination bracket of 16 teams. Teams finishing 9th and 10th after pool play will join the Challenge Cup, also at the round of 16 stage (joining twelve qualifiers from the Challenge Cup pool stage), once more in a single-leg single-elimination bracket. Last season's home-and-away two-legged round of 16 has not been continued.
| Tier | Rank | Top 14 | Premiership | United Rugby Championship |
| 1 | 1 | Montpellier | Leicester Tigers | Stormers |
| 1 | 2 | Castres | Saracens | Bulls |
| 2 | 3 | Bordeaux Bègles | Harlequins | Leinster |
| 2 | 4 | Toulouse | Northampton Saints | Ulster |
| 3 | 5 | La Rochelle | Gloucester | Sharks |
| 3 | 6 | Racing 92 | Sale Sharks | Munster |
| 4 | 7 | Clermont | Exeter Chiefs | Edinburgh |
| 4 | 8 | Lyon | London Irish | Ospreys |

## Pool stage

Teams were awarded four points for a win, two for a draw, one bonus point for scoring four tries in a game, and one bonus point for losing by less than eight points.
Key to colours :
* Teams ranked in the top 8 of each pool advance to 2022–23 EPCR Champions Cup round of 16.
* Teams ranked 9th and 10th in each pool advance to 2022–23 EPCR Challenge Cup round of 16.
* Teams ranked 11th and 12th in each pool are eliminated from 2022 to 2023 European competition.

### Pool A

2022–23 European Rugby Champions Cup Pool A :
| Teamvte | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| Leinster | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 184 | 34 | +150 | 28 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 20 |
| Exeter Chiefs | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 139 | 68 | +71 | 20 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 16 |
| Sharks | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 119 | 89 | +30 | 15 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
| Saracens | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 120 | 94 | +26 | 15 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
| Edinburgh | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 111 | 85 | +26 | 12 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
| Harlequins | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 113 | 108 | +5 | 16 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 12 |
| Bulls | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 102 | 139 | –37 | 15 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Gloucester | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 62 | 140 | –78 | 9 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| Lyon | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 115 | 125 | –10 | 16 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
| Racing 92 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 60 | 121 | –61 | 7 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Bordeaux Bègles | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 53 | 99 | –46 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Castres | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 56 | 132 | –76 | 6 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Green background (rows 1 to 8) indicates qualification places for the Champions Cup round of 16. Blue background (rows 9 to 10) indicates qualification places for the Challenge Cup round of 16. Starting table — source: European Professional Club Rugby |||||||||||||

### Pool B

2022–23 European Rugby Champions Cup Pool B :
| Teamvte | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| La Rochelle | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 120 | 57 | +63 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 18 |
| Toulouse | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 110 | 53 | +57 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
| Stormers | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 106 | 68 | +38 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
| Leicester Tigers | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 116 | 89 | +27 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
| Ospreys | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 100 | 88 | +12 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
| Munster | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 73 | 67 | +6 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| Montpellier | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 92 | 104 | –12 | 13 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
| Ulster | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 54 | 93 | –39 | 7 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| Clermont | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 85 | 111 | –26 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Sale Sharks | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 74 | 94 | –20 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| London Irish | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 76 | 115 | –39 | 10 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Northampton Saints | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 54 | 121 | –67 | 5 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Green background (rows 1 to 8) indicates qualification places for the Champions Cup round of 16. Blue background (rows 9 to 10) indicates qualification places for the Challenge Cup round of 16. Starting table — source: European Professional Club Rugby |||||||||||||

## Knockout stage

The knockout stage began with the round of 16, starting on 31 March 2023, and concludes with the final on 20 May 2023.
Unlike the previous year, the round of 16 consists of a single leg of matches, consisting of the top eight ranked teams from Pool A and Pool B respectively, with the top four from each receiving home advantage.
Whilst the round of 16 follows a pre-determined format, the quarter-finals include an expected home advantage to the higher ranked team. The semi-finals are to be played at a neutral venue.

### Bracket

| Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final | Final |
| A1 | Leinster | 30 | | | | | | | | | | |
| B8 | Ulster | 15 | | | | | | | | | | |
| B8 | Ulster | 15 | A1 | Leinster | 55 | | | | | | | |
| | | | B4 | Leicester | 24 | | | | | | | |
| B4 | Leicester | 16 | B4 | Leicester | 24 | | | | | | | |
| A5 | Edinburgh | 6 | | | | | | | | | | |
| A5 | Edinburgh | 6 | | | | A1 | Leinster | 41 | | | | |
| | | | | | | B2 | Toulouse | 22 | | | | |
| B2 | Toulouse | 33 | | | | | | | B2 | Toulouse | 22 | | | | |
| A7 | Bulls | 9 | | | | | | | | | | |
| A7 | Bulls | 9 | B2 | Toulouse | 54 | | | | | | | |
| | | | A3 | Sharks | 20 | | | | | | | |
| A3 | Sharks | 50 | A3 | Sharks | 20 | | | | | | | |
| B6 | Munster | 35 | | | | | | | | | | |
| B6 | Munster | 35 | | | | | | | | A1 | Leinster | 26 |
| | | | | | | | | | | B1 | La Rochelle | 27 |
| B1 | La Rochelle | 29 | | | | | | | | | | | B1 | La Rochelle | 27 |
| A8 | Gloucester | 26 | | | | | | | | | | |
| A8 | Gloucester | 26 | B1 | La Rochelle | 24 | | | | | | | |
| | | | A4 | Saracens | 10 | | | | | | | |
| A4 | Saracens | 35 | A4 | Saracens | 10 | | | | | | | |
| B5 | Ospreys | 20 | | | | | | | | | | |
| B5 | Ospreys | 20 | | | | B1 | La Rochelle | 47 | | | | |
| | | | | | | A2 | Exeter | 28 | | | | |
| A2 | Exeter | 33 | | | | | | | A2 | Exeter | 28 | | | | |
| B7 | Montpellier | 33 | | | | | | | | | | |
| B7 | Montpellier | 33 | A2 | Exeter | 42 | | | | | | | |
| | | | B3 | Stormers | 17 | | | | | | | |
| B3 | Stormers | 32 | B3 | Stormers | 17 | | | | | | | |
| A6 | Harlequins | 28 | | | | | | | | | | |

### Round of 16

* 31 March 2023 20:00
| Leicester Tigers | 16–6 | Edinburgh |
| Try: Wiese 52' c Con: Pollard (1/1) 53' Pen: Pollard (3/4) 5', 59', 71' | Report | Pen: Boffelli (2/3) 43', 51' |
* Mattioli Woods Welford Road, Leicester Attendance: 12,844 Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
* 1 April 2023 13:30
| Sharks | 50–35 | Munster |
| Try: Hendrikse 15' c Etzebeth 24' c Mbonambi (2) 44' c, 48' m Kok 53' c Bosch 57' c Mapimpi 63' c Con: Bosch (6/7) 17', 24', 45', 58', 64' Pen: Bosch (1/2) 4' | Report | Try: S. Daly 5' c Kilcoyne 31' c Barron 60' c Haley 68' c Wycherley 77' c Con: Crowley (5/5) 6', 33', 61', 69', 78' |
* Kings Park Stadium, Durban Attendance: 27,987 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
* 1 April 2023 16:00
| Stormers | 32–28 | Harlequins |
| Try: Fourie (2) 2' c, 31' m Kitshoff 9' m Willemse 50' m Engelbrecht 75' c Con: Libbok (2/5) 3', 77' Pen: Libbok (1/1) 57' | Report | Try: Dombrandt (2) 4' c, 78' c Esterhuizen 79' c Marchant 80+4' c Con: Smith (4/4) 5', 78', 79', 80+5' |
* Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town Attendance: 33,651 Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
* 1 April 2023 17:30
| Leinster | 30–15 | Ulster |
| Try: Baird 19' c Gibson-Park 53' c Porter 62' c Con: R. Byrne (3/3) 20' 54' 63' Pen: R. Byrne (3/4) 11' 25' 37' | Report | Try: Hume 26' m Herring 57' c Con: Cooney (1/1) 58' Pen: Doak (1/1) 10' |
* Aviva Stadium, Dublin Attendance: 51,700 Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
* 1 April 2023 18:30
| La Rochelle | 29–26 | Gloucester |
| Try: Bourgarit 21' c Thomas (2) 25' m, 77' c Kerr-Barlow 45' c Con: Hastoy (3/4) 23', 46', 79' Pen: Hastoy (1/2) 5' | Report | Try: Harris 12' c Clarke 33' m Rees-Zammit 49' m Con: Twelvetrees (1/3) 13' Pen: Twelvetrees (3/4) 15', 55', 70' |
* Stade Marcel-Deflandre, La Rochelle Attendance: 16,000 Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
* 2 April 2023 12:30
| Exeter Chiefs | 33–33 (a.e.t.) | Montpellier |
| Try: Sio 22' c S. Simmonds 34' c Wyatt 55' m Iosefa-Scott 64' c Yeandle 100' c Con: J. Simmonds (4/5) 23', 35', 65', 100+1' | Report | Try: Langdon 3' c Rattez 7' m Nouchi 76' m Carbonel 93' c Con: Garbisi (2/4) 4', 95' Pen: Garbisi (2/3) 39', 53', 80+4' |
* Sandy Park, Exeter Attendance: 10,582 Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
* 2 April 2023 15:00
| Saracens | 35–20 | Ospreys |
| Try: Malins (2) 40' c, 56' c Taylor 68' c Woolstencroft 79' m Con: Farrell (3/4) 40+1', 57', 69' Pen: Farrell (3/4) 9', 34', 63' | Report | Try: Collins 11' c K. Williams 22' c Con: O. Williams (2/2) 12', 24' Pen: O. Williams (2/2) 45', 52' |
* StoneX Stadium, London Attendance: 9,350 Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
* 2 April 2023 16:00
| Toulouse | 33–9 | Bulls |
| Try: Meafou 50' c Lebel 54' c Flament 64' c Con: Ramos (3/3) 51', 54', 65' Pen: Ramos (4/4) 7', 11', 17', 33' | Report | Pen: Smith (3/3) 2', 34', 44' |
* Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse Attendance: 32,000 Referee: Matthew Carley (England)

### Quarter-finals

* 7 April 2023 20:00
| Leinster | 55–24 | Leicester Tigers |
| Try: Ringrose (2) 2' c, 17' c Gibson-Park 53' c Penalty try 59' Penny 62' c O'Brien 72' c McKee 78' c Con: R. Byrne (6/6) 2', 17', 54', 63', 73', 80' Pen: R. Byrne (2/2) 32', 51' | Report | Try: Watson 38' c Cracknell 68' c Potter 75' c Con: Pollard (3/3) 40', 69', 76' Pen: Pollard (1/1) 7' |
* Aviva Stadium, Dublin Attendance: 27,000 Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
* 8 April 2023 16:00
| Toulouse | 54–20 | Sharks |
| Try: Mallía (2) 37' m, 58' m Ramos (2) 47' c, 72' c Mauvaka 69' c Retière 76' c Ntamack 80' c Con: Ramos (5/7) 48', 70', 73', 77', 80+1' Pen: Ramos (3/3) 23', 32', 40+1' | Report | Try: Williams 27' c Chamberlain 55' c Con: Bosch (2/2) 28', 56' Pen: Bosch (2/3) 10', 67' |
* Stade Ernest-Wallon, Toulouse Attendance: 18,628 Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
* 8 April 2023 17:30
| Exeter Chiefs | 42–17 | Stormers |
| Try: Wyatt 14' c Nowell 22' c Woodburn 30' c S. Simmonds 46' c Yeandle 74' c Cairns 79' c Con: J. Simmonds (6/6) 15', 22' 31', 47', 75', 80' | Report | Try: Willemse 52' m Hartzenberg 61' m Orie 77' c Con: Libbok (1/3) 77' |
* Sandy Park, Exeter Attendance: 12,007 Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
* 9 April 2023 16:00
| La Rochelle | 24–10 | Saracens |
| Try: Kerr-Barlow (2) 33' c, 58' m Con: Hastoy (1/2) 34' Pen: Hastoy (4/5) 1', 4', 23', 68' | Report | Try: Mawi 65' c Con: Farrell (1/1) 65' Pen: Farrell (1/1) 21' |
* Stade Marcel-Deflandre, La Rochelle Attendance: 16,000 Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)

### Semi-finals

Both semi-finals will be played in Europe and the highest-ranked clubs from the pool stage has country advantage. If a South African team had been ranked higher, the game would still have been located in Europe.
* 29 April 2023 15:00
| Leinster | 41–22 | Toulouse |
| Try: Conan (2) 16' c, 20' c Sheehan 26' c van der Flier 57' c Jenkins 63' c Con: R. Byrne (5/5) 18', 22', 27', 58', 64' Pen: R. Byrne (2/2) 4', 12' | Report | Try: Ahki 8' c Meafou 34' c Willis 80'+2 m Con: Ramos (2/3) 9', 34' Pen: Ramos (1/1) 55' |
* Aviva Stadium, Dublin Attendance: 46,823 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
* 30 April 2023 16:00
| La Rochelle | 47–28 | Exeter Chiefs |
| Try: Rhule (2) 8' c, 43' c Seuteni 22' c Alldritt 31' m Kerr-Barlow (2) 38' c, 67' c Bourgarit 52' c Con: Hastoy (6/7) 10', 23', 39', 44', 54', 68' | Report | Try: S. Simmonds 5' c Iosefa-Scott 58' c Woodburn 69' c Yeandle 74' c Con: J. Simmonds (4/4) 6', 58', 70', 75' |
* Matmut Atlantique, Bordeaux Attendance: 41,204 Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)

### Final

* 20 May 2023 16:45 IST (UTC+01)
| Leinster | 26–27 | La Rochelle |
| Try: Sheehan (2) 1' c, 11' m O'Brien 5' m Con: Byrne (1/3) 2' Pen: Byrne (3/3) 23', 30', 46' | Report | Try: Danty 19' c Seuteni 37' c Colombe 71' c Con: Hastoy (3/3) 20', 38', 72' Pen: Hastoy (2/2) 43', 49' |
* Aviva Stadium, Dublin Attendance: 51,711 Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)

## Leading scorers

Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under World Rugby eligibility rules, or primary nationality for players who have not yet earned international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-WR nationalities.