Ahead of next month’s resumption of the 2019/20 Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup season, EPCR can confirm details of player registration for the knockout stages of both tournaments as well as amendments to rules regarding the selection of match day squads.
Dragons are set to face Bristol Bears in the quarter-fnals of the European Challenge Cup on Friday, September 18 (kick-off 7.45pm).
The 16 clubs which have qualified for the quarter-finals will be required to register their squads on or before Tuesday 1 September and to ensure that clubs are able to select the strongest possible match day squads in the current circumstances, there will be no limit to the number of players they can register.
In order that scrums can always be contested, clubs must ensure that their updated squads include at least 12 players who are suitably trained and experienced in front row positions.
As a number of players have recently changed clubs, it has been decided on an exceptional basis to waive the rule which prohibits players from playing for different clubs in the same competition in the same season.
In other words, a player who has already been selected in a match day squad during the pool stage of this season’s Heineken Champions Cup or Challenge Cup will be eligible to play for his new club in the same competition during the knockout stage provided his registration is approved by EPCR and the relevant union.
In addition, and also on an exceptional basis, there will be no limit to the number of non-European players who can be selected in a match day squad of 23 during the knockout stages of both tournaments.
