New system awards four points to pool winners
There will be a new seeding system in the Heineken Cup next season with the aim of levelling out the standard of all six pools in the competition.
The new system awards four points for winning the pool, three for finishing runners-up, two for finishing third, and one for fourth.
The quarter-finalists also get a point, semi-finalists three extra points, losing finalists five, and the winners seven.
It has been all counted back retrospectively to reward the most consistent clubs in the competition over a number of years.
That means the current top 20 in Heineken ranking are: 1, Biarritz (28pts); 2, Toulouse (28); 3, Wasps (27); 4, Munster (27); 5, Leicester (23); 6, Stade Frangais (22); 7, Leinster (19); 8, Llanelli (16); 9, Bath (15); 10, Northampton (14); 11, Gloucester (14); 12, Perpignan (13); 13, Sale (12); 14, Clermont Auvergne (10); 15, Ospreys (8); 16, Ulster (8); 17, Newcastle (8); 18, Saracens (7); 19, Cardiff (7); 20, Edinburgh (7).
