More tweaks but Champions Cup still lacks pool magic

Upon revealing the tweaks to this season's Investec Champions Cup back in the summer, EPCR Chairman Dominic McKay said their goal was to create a format which "everyone can easily understand, engage with and follow".

It would be generous to suggest they’ve been successful in that endeavour.

On one hand, the bloated 12-team pools are no more, replaced with the easier-to-digest four groups of six. Each group of six contains two teams each from the URC, Premiership and Top14, with four rounds of games. Teams from the same domestic league won’t face each other in the pools; as an example, Leinster will face two French teams (La Rochelle and Stade Francais), and two Premiership sides (Sale and Leicester), but won’t face the Stormers.

That’s where the simplicity ends.

With four different opponents for each team across four rounds of games, an algorithm ultimately decided the home and away arrangements, the results of which are not easily understood.

Back in June when the draw was made, one would have assumed that each team would have an even split of who they faced at home and away; a URC team would face one Premiership and one Top14 each side at home, and the other two away.

For the majority of the sides that’s the case, but there are exceptions.

Ulster found themselves in a treacherous pool containing Toulouse, Racing 92, Bath and Harlequins, but Dan McFarland’s side can console themselves with the fact that they don’t have to set foot in France, with their home games against both Toulouse and Racing, while they’ll travel to England for each of their away games, starting with this weekend against Bath at The Rec.

Likewise, Sale Sharks and Northampton Saints could reach the knockout stage without having to play a game on French soil,