The Heineken Champions Cup has a new format this season and it s not straightforward.
Such is the nature of the condensed sporting season, the international rugby window has just finished and many of those in action over six Ireland games, both Six Nations and Autumn Nations Cup, are straight back into high-class competition.
With three leagues – Pro14, Top14 and Premiership – feeding the competition, there was a tiered system (1-4) involved but that really just served to slot the teams into the relevant pools of 12, of which there are two, and decide who they face; it doesn’t come into play from here on in.