2017–18 European Rugby Champions Cup
| 2017–18 European Rugby Champions Cup | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament details | |||
| Countries |
 England France Ireland Italy Scotland Wales
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| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and Knockout | ||
| Date | 13 October 2017 - 12 May 2018 | ||
| Tournament statistics | |||
| Teams | 20 | ||
| Final | |||
| Venue | San Mamés Stadium, Bilbao | ||
| Official website | http://www.epcrugby.com | ||
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The 2017–18 European Rugby Champions Cup is the fourth European Rugby Champions Cup championship, the annual rugby union club competition for teams from the top six nations in European rugby and is the twenty-third season of pan-European professional club rugby competition.
The tournament will begin on 13 October 2017. The final will take place on 12 May 2018 at San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao, Spain. This will be the first time the final has been held outside one of the Six Nations countries.
Twenty clubs from the three major European domestic and regional leagues will compete in the Champions Cup. Nineteen of these will qualify directly as a result of their league performance.
The distribution of teams is:
The play-off system that had been suspended the season before, due to the 2015 Rugby World Cup, returned to decide the final team competing in the Champions Cup.
The following teams have qualified for the 2017–18 tournament.
Four clubs will compete in a play-off to decide the final team in the Champions Cup.
The play-off will comprise 3 matches, contested by one team from the Aviva Premiership, one from the Top 14, and two from the Guinness Pro12.
The two Pro12 teams will each play one of the Premiership or Top 14 sides in a single-leg semi-final, held at the home ground of the non-Pro12 side. The winners of these matches will then contest a play-off final, with the winner of this match competing in the 2017–18 European Rugby Champions Cup. The three losing teams will all compete in the 2017–18 European Rugby Challenge Cup.
The following teams will take part:
A draw was held on 15 March, 2017 to determine the two semi-final matches, and the semi-final that would have home advantage in the final.
Semi-finals
Play-off final
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