Tier 1 revealed for 2010
May 25 2009
With the champagne not even flat on the streets of Dublin, champions Leinster will not be made to wait long before finding out who they will meet in Heineken Cup 2010.
Tournament organisers ERC will on Monday officially launch their ticket sales campaign for next season's final at the magnificent Stade de France on Saturday, May 22.
The draw for next year's tournament is set to take place in Paris in the week commencing Monday, June 8 and after their 19-16 triumph over Leicester, Leinster will be among the six seeds that comprise Tier 1.
Tier 1 consists of the six top ranked teams in the ERC European Rankings. These teams cannot meet each other until the knockout phase, with Biarritz remaining in the mix.
Tier 1: Leinster, Munster, Leicester, Toulouse, Bath, Biarritz
The organisers now know 23 of the 24 teams for next season following the two finals last weekend. Northampton's victory over Bourgoin in the European Challenge Cup Final meant they qualified for the Heineken Cup while Bourgoin missed out and Brive claimed the sixth spot among the French teams.
England (7): Leicester, London Irish, Harlequins, Bath, Sale, Gloucester, Northampton
France (6): Perpignan, Toulouse, Clermont Auvergne, Stade Français, Biarritz, Brive
Ireland (3): Leinster, Munster, Ulster
Wales (3): Ospreys, Cardiff Blues, Scarlets
Scotland (2): Edinburgh, Glasgow
Italy (1): Viadana
The second Italian team was on Sunday decided after Treviso overcame Calvisano in the second semi-final in the Italian Top 10 play-off, which means the 24th team in the tournament will be decided next Friday when the Dragons meet the defeated Calvisano.