Harlequins received a boost today in their bid to make an impact in next season’s Heineken Cup when they were drawn in the weakest pool.
The Premiership champions will face tough competition from French club Biarritz but the rest of the group is made up of Irish minnows Connacht and the Zebras, a new team who are based in Parma, Italy.
Quins, finished second in their pool last year but did not have enough points to make the knock‑out stages so dropped into the Amlin Challenge Cup, where they lost in the quarter-finals.
Saracens have a much tougher pool, being put together with former champions Munster, Edinburgh and big-spending Racing Metro from Paris.
Pool 1: Munster, Edinburgh, Saracens, R Metro
Pool 2: Toulouse, Leicester, Ospreys, Treviso
Pool 3: Biarritz, Harlequins, Connacht, Zebras
Pool 4: Northampton, Ulster, Glasgow, Castres
Pool 5: Leinster, Clermont, Scarlets, Exeter
Pool 6: Cardiff Blues, Toulon, Sale, Montpellier
