A warm welcome to this Round 1/Round 2 match in the 2022/23 Heineken Champions Cup in what is an historic 28th season as the leading South African clubs make their mark in our world-class tournament.
The quality and tradition of the DHL Stormers, Vodacom Bulls and Cell C Sharks will add a new layer of interest as the Heineken Champions Cup extends its global reach and attracts new fans.
For this groundbreaking season, the 24-club format with two pools of 12 has been retained. The four pool stage rounds will be followed by four knockout stage rounds guaranteeing a series of compelling contests which will culminate in the 2023 final at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on Saturday, 20 May. In addition, two clubs from each pool will qualify for the Round of 16 of the EPCR Challenge Cup. We are delighted to be joined on the journey to Dublin by our long-standing title partner, Heineken, by our official partners, DHL, IHG and Tissot, by our official supporters, Gilbert and Kappa, and also by our official airline partner in South Africa, Qatar Airways.
BT Sport, beIN SPORTS and France Télévisions, who have all renewed their agreements for the new broadcast cycle, will continue to provide superb coverage, and we welcome SuperSport in South Africa, ITV and RTÉ in the UK and Ireland, and FloRugby in the USA, who in addition to S4C in Wales, will showcase the tournament to even more viewers.
On a more sombre note, everyone at EPCR was deeply saddened to learn of the recent passing of our former Chairman and Board member, Paul McNaughton. Paul was a hugely talented all-round sportsman in his heyday and more recently, he proved himself to be equally accomplished as an administrator. He will be sorely missed and we re-extend our condolences to his family and friends.
We hope that you enjoy the match and best wishes to you, the fans, as well as to your club’s players and staff for what promises to be another memorable Heineken Champions Cup season.
Yours in rugby, Dominic McKay, EPCR Chairman
I would like to extend a very warm welcome to everyone as we commence the 2022/23 Heineken® Champions Cup.
Rugby in the UK is known for bringing people together to enjoy the incredible atmosphere and top-class sporting performances, and so it is with the memory of some truly unforgettable encounters that we excitedly mark the 27th year of our partnership with EPCR.
I would also like to commemorate another momentous anniversary, as this month Edinburgh Rugby celebrate 150 years of representative rugby and a proud sporting history. Cheers to them, and the very best of luck today to all the players, officials and supporters of these fine teams.
We at Heineken® are immensely proud to be sponsor of Europe’s leading club rugby competition, a tournament that means so much to rugby fans across the UK and beyond. Enjoy the game today with a cold, refreshing Heineken® or Heineken® 0.0% and as always, please do so responsibly.
6Boudewijn Haarsma Managing Director Heineken UK
9This week we welcome the Leicester Tigers to the Swansea.com Stadium for our opening Heineken Champions Cup fixture.
Since Steve Borthwick has gone back to Leicester, they’ve been reaffirming their identity. They’re a physical, territory-based team and have a very good set piece. Alongside that, they’re Champions of England. You don’t get that title by accident.
The Ospreys Wheelchair Rugby team will be facing off against the Leicester Tigers Wheelchair Rugby Team before our game kicks off on Sunday, so make sure you head over to the Swansea Tennis Centre for 1:45pm. It’s free to watch and the Tennis Centre is right next door to the stadium.
To help sustain the incredible work they carry out across the region, Ospreys in the Community are looking for 15 riders to take on the challenge as they cycle from Calais to Paris for France vs Wales next year.
Ospreys in the Community, in collaboration with Action for Children and Philtronics will be holding their "Nestless Night" sleep out at the Swansea.com Stadium again in February and are looking for people to take part and help them reach their fundraising goal.
Ospreys, in partnership with our Official Technical Kit Partner, Umbro, has revealed the eye-catching alternate kit for the 22/23 season.
Designed with Ospreys heritage and history in mind, the jersey pays homage to the teams that have played a key role in the development of Ospreys players, containing a colour from each of the 77 grassroots clubs.
Performance Manager for the Ospreys and is a well-known face around the club, having spent over 18 years of his career here.
Originally starting as a Head Physio in 2003, Chris left the team for a brief hiatus at Glamorgan County Cricket Club in 2006, before returning to the Ospreys in 2007.
As we welcome the Leicester Tigers to the Swansea.com Stadium, we looked into the matchup to prepare you for the game.
The Leicester Tigers are the current holders of the Gallagher Premiership, after losing only four games in the league last year. The team currently sit in 5th place in their league. They were the first team to retain the Heineken Champions Cup after winning in 2001 and 2002.
Interested in a more in-depth dive into the game?
GARETH ANSCOMBE MATTHEW AUBREY SCOTT BALDWIN ADAM BEARD
TOM BOTHA MICHAEL COLLINS SAM CROSS ALEX CUTHBERT
RHYS DAVIES BRADLEY DAVIES CAI EVANS DAN EVANS
TOMAS FRANCIS KEELAN GILES WILL GRIFFITHS JOE HAWKINS
RHYS HENRY WILL HICKEY ALUN WYN JONES OSIAN KNOTT
DEWI LAKE
DAN LYDIATE
HARRI MORGAN JAC MORGAN LUKE MORGAN REUBEN MORGAN-WILLIAMS
MORGAN MORRIS STEPHEN MYLER MAX NAGY GEORGE NORTH
SAM PARRY GARYN PHYILLIPS MAT PROTHEROE JACK REGAN
NICKY SMITH
ETHAN ROOTS ELVIS TAIONE GARETH THOMAS
TIAAN THOMAS-WHEELER
JUSTIN TIPURIC
JACK WALSH BEN WARREN
OWEN WATKIN
RHYS WEBB KEIRAN WILLIAMS
28With the Ospreys getting ready to face off against Leicester Tigers on Sunday, we sat down with Tiaan Thomas-Wheeler to talk over his rugby pathway and what he thinks of our new alternate kit.
How did you start playing rugby?
I started rugby from a young age, about three or four I think. My brother’s tag rugby team were short of a player so they called upon me and I joined in. I’ve loved it ever since.
We took an in-depth look at the previous matchups between the Ospreys and Leicester Tigers. The numbers suggest it’s always been a close one.
The teams have faced each other a few times over the years. Ospreys have played against Leicester Tigers 12 times over the years, with Ospreys winning four, drawing two and losing six.
With the Ospreys set to debut their alternate kit in the Heineken Champions Cup against Leicester on the 11th of December, we sat down with Reuben Morgan-Williams to talk over the connection between his rugby pathway through Neath Athletic and the 77 clubs’ colours represented in the jersey.
Tell us a bit about how you started playing rugby. It all started when my dad came to me when I was seven or eight and asked if I was interested in trying out rugby...
We sat down with Tom Sloane, Community Foundation Manager for Ospreys in the Community, for a catch up and to find out what OITC has been up to.
Tom gave us some great insight into the work OITC carry out in the community, why it’s about more than just rugby and his plans for the future of the foundation.
