Complex sentence: The teams were divided into four pools of six, playing over five weekends during the Autumn International and Six Nations windows, with semi-finals on 24 and 25 April and the final on 16 May.
Split into simpler sentences: The teams were divided into four pools of six, playing over five weekends during the Autumn International and Six Nations windows. The four pool winners contested a knock-outstage, with semi-finals on 24 and 25 April and the final on 16 May.