Champions Cup draw: O'Gara and Leinster to renew acquaintances, Munster to face van Graan's Bath 

Not for the first time, Ronan O'Gara and La Rochelle will come face to face with their great European rivals Leinster after the draw for the Champions Cup was announced.

The two heavy-hitters will take each other on in Pool 3, where they will be joined by Leicester Tigers, Harlequins, Bayonne and DHL Stormers.

Meanwhile, Munster won't be entirely dissatisfied with their lot for the Pool stages but they'll still have some tricky fixtures to contend with after drawing Toulon, Bath, Castres, Edinburgh and Gloucester in Pool 2.

Saracens and Toulouse will do battle in Pool 1 with Clermont, Sharks, Glasgow Warriors and Sale all in the mix.

Lastly, in Pool 4, champions Bordeaux Begles will come up against fellow finalists Northampton Saints with the Premiership side looking to get revenge after losing out on the European title in May.

Scarlets, Bristol Bears, Pau and Bulls round out the final pool.

In the Challenge Cup, Connacht will come up against the likes of Racing 92 and Ospreys in Pool 1, with Zebre, Montpellier and Benetton completing the slate.

In Pool 3, Ulster will take on two former winners of the Champions Cup in Stade Francais and the Exeter Chiefs. Toyota Chiefs, Cardiff and Black Lion round out that group.

Pool 2 will feature Lyon, Newcastle Falcons, Dragons, US Montauban, Lions and USAP.

Champions Cup: 

Pool 1: Toulouse, Clermont Auvergne, Sharks, Saracens, Glasgow Warriors, Sale.

Pool 2: Bath, Toulon, Munster, Castres, Edinburgh, Gloucester.

Pool 3: Leinster, Leicester Tigers, Harlequins, La Rochelle, Bayonne, DHL Stormers.

Pool 4: Bordeaux Bègles, Scarlets, Bristol Bears, Pau, Northampton Saints, Bulls.

Challenge Cup:

Pool 1: Ospreys, Zebre Parma, Montpellier, Benetton Rugby, Racing 92, Connacht Rugby.

Pool 2: Lyon, Newcastle Falcons, Dragons RFC, US Montauban, Lions, USAP.

Pool 3: Toyota Cheetahs, Cardiff Rugby, Exeter Chiefs, Black Lion, Stade Francais, Ulster Rugby.

Meanwhile, Denis Leamy believes Georgia will be the ideal challenge for a young and inexperienced Ireland side looking to play the “Irish way” under interim head coach Paul O’Connell in Tbilisi this Saturday.

With a record 16 Irishmen absent on tour in Australia with the British & Irish Lions under the charge of Ireland’s head coach Andy Farrell, O’Connell departed from Dublin to the Georgian capital on Wednesday with a 33-man national squad captained by Craig Casey featuring 13 uncapped players, including newest call-up Scott Wilson, the Ulster prop.

They will face a host nation coached by Richard Cockerill with plenty of French top-flight experience and a fierce reputation for scrummaging prowess and defence coach Leamy, on secondment from Munster with regular Ireland assistant Simon Easterby away with the Lions, is excited to see how an understrength touring party will cope.

“They’re a very experienced Georgian team, a lot of them have played in World Cups,” Leamy said. 

“A huge amount of them play in the Top 14 so they’re well accustomed to big games, being in tough environments.

“So it’s a really good challenge for a young team and to go to Tbilisi, into a bit of a bearpit, it’s going to physical, it’s going to be hot, it’s everything we want to expose our young players to.”