Champions Cup fixtures announced as Leinster begin their title defence at home

Leinster will begin their Champions Cup defence by welcoming Wasps to the RDS on Friday, October 12 as the four-time champions look to defend their title for the first time since 2011.

Leinster completed a historic domestic and European double last season and they'll begin their defence next season with the visit of Wasps, followed by a trip to face Toulouse and then another trip to the Rec where they will face Bath. Meanwhile Munster will start their campaign with a trip to Exeter to face the Premiership winning Chiefs on Saturday, October 13, Ulster will welcome the Leicester Tigers to Belfast later that day while Connacht will kick-off their campaign in the Champions Cup by welcoming Bordeaux to the Sportsgrounds in Galway. BT Sport continues to lead the television coverage of the Heineken Champions Cup in the United Kingdom and Ireland but this season's tournament will be more accessible to supporters with one match per round set to be broadcast live and free-to-air on Channel 4 and Virgin Media One/TV3. The Challenge Cup and Heineken Champions Cup finals at St James’ Park in Newcastle on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 May 2019 will kick off at 19.45 and 17.00 respectively. Click HERE for the 2018/19 Heineken Champions Cup fixtures Click HERE for the 2018/19 Challenge Cup fixtures EPCR weekends Round 1: 12/13/14 October Round 2: 19/20/21 October Round 3: 7/8/9 December Round 4: 14/15/16 December Round 5: 11/12/13 January 2019 Round 6: 18/19/20 January 2019 Quarter-finals: 29/30/31 March 2019 Semi-finals: 19/20/21 April 2019 2019 Newcastle finals Challenge Cup final: Friday 10 May, St James’ Park (19.45) Heineken Champions Cup final: Saturday 11 May, St James’ Park (17.00)