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Ulster will face Clermont Auvergne and Northampton in their opening European Champions Cup pool next season.

Clermont reached the Top 14 play-offs this year before bowing out in the quarter-finals while the Saints were fifth in the English Premiership.

With teams facing their opening opponents home and away, Leinster will take on Montpellier and Bath.

In Pool B, Munster will play Castres and Wasps with Connacht facing Stade Francais and Leicester Tigers.

The competition will have the same format of last year's Covid-affected campaign with the 24 teams divided into two pools of 12.

Four rounds of matches will be played in December and January and the eight highest-ranked clubs from each pool will qualify for the knockout stages, with the last-16 taking place over two legs and the final being held in Marseille on 28 May.

Ulster have faced Clermont and Northampton on several occasions down through the years in European competition.

The most recent meetings between the Irish province and the Top 14 club saw them earn a home win apiece during the 2019-20 campaign as both sides progressed to the quarter-finals.

Ulster's last European meeting with the Saints saw them secure a 35-27 win in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals at Franklin's Gardens three months ago before going on to lose 33-24 against Leicester Tigers in the last four.

Toulouse won the Champions Cup for the fifth time in May, beating La Rochelle 22-17 in the final at Twickenham.

Pool A: La Rochelle, Exeter, Leinster, Montpellier, Bath, Glasgow, Racing 92, Sale, Ulster, Clermont Auvergne, Northampton, Ospreys.

Pool B: Toulouse, Harlequins, Munster, Castres, Wasps, Cardiff, Bordeaux-Begles, Bristol, Connacht, Stade Francais, Leicester, Scarlets.