Toulouse test for Ulster in Champions Cup pool draw

In the newly-formatted tournament, Dan McFarland’s side were yesterday drawn in Pool 2 with the star-studded French team plus Racing 92 from the Top 14, as well as English clubs Bath and Harlequins, along with Cardiff Blues from the United Rugby Championship.

Under the new rules, teams from the same league can’t play each other so Ulster won’t meet the Welsh region in the pool stages.

The home-and-away format has also been scrapped so Ulster will play the other four teams in their pool once, with two of the games at Kingspan Stadium and two away.

The top four teams from the pools with go into the last 16 while the sides ranked fifth in each group head into the knockout stages of the Challenge Cup.

Ulster have a long history in the competition with the side from Stade Ernest-Wallon.

On route to becoming the first Irish province to win the European Cup in 1999, Ulster met Toulouse in the group stages. A 39-3 defeat in France was followed by a 29-24 Ulster victory at Ravenhill.

The sides were to meet again in the last eight in Belfast, in a dramatic game as three penalties from full back Simon Mason and two drop goals by skipper David Humphreys saw Ulster prevail 15-13.

The sides met again in the quarter-final of the 2020 tournament in Toulouse, with the home side recording a comfortable 36-8 win.

The most recent clash occurred in the last 16 of the competition in 2022 with the tie being played over two legs and a one-point win on aggregate for Toulouse.

Parisian club Racing 92 have never won the European Cup, although runners-up three times.

Bath – currently coached by ex-Munster boss Johann van Grann and with ex-Ulster hooker Niall Annett in their squad – won the European Cup the year before Ulster.

Harlequins won the Premiership in 2021.

The first round is set for December 8/9/10 and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will host the May finals.