Triple winners Toulon face a tough pool featuring English sides Bath and Wasps and three-times former winners Leinster in the draw for the 2015/16 Champions Cup made on Wednesday.
Australia wing Drew Mitchell’s brilliant late try ensured Toulon became the first club to win three successive European titles as they beat French rivals Clermont 24-18 in a thrilling final at Twickenham last month.
Next season, the Top 14 giants are in Pool 5 alongside Bath, last season’s Premiership finalists, Wasps, and Leinster, champions in 2009, 2011 and 2012.
Reigning English Premiership champions Saracens and semi-finalists in the Champions Cup are in Pool 1 with Ulster, four-time winners Toulouse, and newcomers Oyonnax.
The draw made at competition organisers’ headquarters in Neuchatel, Switzerland, placed Celtic League champions Glasgow in Pool 3 with Northampton, Racing Metro and Scarlets.
Saints and Racing will meet in the pool stages for the second year in a row, with the French outfit winning both encounters last season.
Beaten French and European finalists Clermont have a seemingly easier task against Ospreys, Exeter and Bordeaux in Pool 2, while Pool 4 comprises Top 14 winners Stade Francais, previous champions Munster and Leicester, as well as Italian whipping-boys Treviso who have won just four matches in Europe’s elite competition over the last nine years.
The group stages get underway on November 12, with the final in Lyon on May 14, 2016, 24 hours after the French venue stages the Challenge Cup final.
Draw:
Pool 1: Oyonnax (FRA), Saracens (ENG), Toulouse (FRA), Ulster (IRL)
Pool 2: Clermont (FRA), Bordeaux-Begles (FRA), Exeter (ENG), Ospreys (WAL)
Pool 3: Glasgow (SCO), Northampton (ENG), Racing-Metro (FRA), Scarlets (WAL)
Pool 4: Treviso (ITA), Leicester (ENG), Munster (IRL), Stade Francais (FRA)
Pool 5: Bath (ENG), Leinster (IRL), Toulon (FRA), Wasps (ENG)
Final to be played on Saturday, May 14 in Lyon.