Northampton Saints will open their defence of the Heineken Cup with a trip to French Cup winners Biarritz on the first weekend of October.
Their first home match is against Edinburgh Reivers the following weekend - and that means a quickfire reunion with Richard Metcalfe and Don MacKinnon, members of the Saints' triumphant squad last season but who have since joined the Reivers.

Elsewhere, Stade Francais have claimed No 1 spot in France - and promptly declared their No 1 priority is to win next season's Heineken Cup.

When the fixtures for the Pool stages were announced in London today the Paris club, who beat Colomiers 28-23 in the French Championship final on Saturday night, found out their first opponents will be Italian newcomers L'Aquila.

"Winning the Heineken Cup is our top priority, our No 1 goal," said Stade's international prop Pieter de Villiers. "We won the Championship but we still have got a lot of work to do before we play in the Heineken Cup.

"We know how good Wasps are and Swansea are always very strong up front. We don't yet know much about L'Aquila but, in qualifying for the Heineken Cup, they have to be a side to respect."

Perhaps the plum tie of the first round is Saracens' trip to Toulouse - with French ace Thomas Castaignede sure to get a warm welcome from the club he helped win the Heineken Cup in 1996.

Welsh champions Cardiff go to Ulster in the same Pool while Bath will be grateful for home advantage on Day 1 when they take on Castres.

The clash between Gloucester and Llanelli at Stradey Park promises to be a real Anglo-Welsh showdown while Leicester renew rivalries with Pau and Scottish No 1 seeds Glasgow Caledonians travel to Pontypridd.

ROUND 1 - 6/7/8 OCTOBER
Pool 1: Biarritz v Northampton; Edinburgh Reivers v Leinster
Pool 2: Stade Francais v L'Aquila; London Wasps v Swansea
Pool 3: Toulouse v Saracens; Ulster v Cardiff
Pool 4: Munster v Newport; Bath v Castres
Pool 5: Llanelli v Gloucester; Roma v Colomiers
Pool 6: Pontypridd v Glasgow Caledonians; Leicester v Pau

ROUND 2 - 13/14/15 OCTOBER
Pool 1: Northampton Saints v Edinburgh Reivers; Leinster v Biarritz
Pool 2: L'Aquila v London Wasps; Swansea v Stade Francais
Pool 3: Saracens v Ulster; Cardiff v Toulouse
Pool 4: Newport v Bath; Castres v Munster
Pool 5: Gloucester v Roma; Colomiers v Llanelli
Pool 6: Glasgow Caledonians v Leicester; Pau v Pontypridd

ROUND 3 - 20/21/22 OCTOBER
Pool 1: Biarritz v Edinburgh Reivers; Northampton Saints v Leinster
Pool 2: Stade Francais v London Wasps; L'Aquila v Swansea
Pool 3: Toulouse v Ulster; Saracens v Cardiff
Pool 4: Munster v Bath; Newport v Castres
Pool 5: Llanelli v Roma; Gloucester v Colomiers
Pool 6: Pontypridd v Leicester; Glasgow Caledonians v Pau

ROUND 4 - 27/28/29 OCTOBER
Pool 1: Edinburgh Reivers v Biarritz; Leinster v Northampton Saints
Pool 2: London Wasps v Stade Francais; Swansea v L'Aquila
Pool 3: Ulster v Toulouse; Cardiff v Saracens
Pool 4: Bath v Munster; Castres v Newport
Pool 5: Roma v Llanelli; Colomiers v Gloucester
Pool 6: Leicester v Pontypridd; Pau v Glasgow Caledonians

ROUND 5 - 12/13/14 JANUARY, 2001
Pool 1: Northampton Saints v Biarritz; Leinster v Edinburgh Reivers
Pool 2: L'Aquila v Stade Francais; Swansea v London Wasps
Pool 3: Saracens v Toulouse; Cardiff v Ulster
Pool 4: Newport v Munster; Castres v Bath
Pool 5: Gloucester v Llanelli; Colomiers v Roma
Pool 6: Glasgow Caledonians v Pontypridd; Pau v Leicester Tigers

ROUND 6 - 19/20/21 JANUARY
Pool 1: Edinburgh Reivers v Northampton Saints; Biarritz v Leinster
Pool 2: London Wasps v L'Aquila; Stade Francais v Swansea
Pool 3: Ulster v Saracens; Toulouse v Cardiff
Pool 4: Bath v Newport; Munster v Castres
Pool 5: Roma v Gloucester; Llanelli v Colomiers
Pool 6: Leicester Tigers v Glasgow Caledonians; Pontypridd v Pau

QUARTER-FINALS: 26/27/28 JANUARY

SEMI-FINALS: 20/21/22 APRIL

HEINEKEN CUP FINAL: 19/20 MAY