Twickenham named as final venue

Twickenham has been confirmed as the host of next season's Heineken Cup final after European Rugby Cup revealed the tournament structure.

The London ground, which has played host to three previous European finals, last staged the showpiece fixture in 2007 when Wasps beat Leicester in an all-English final.

Next season's tournament, the 17th in its history, will begin later than usual to allow for the completion of the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, with the final of that competition set for October 23.

The Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup pool stages will begin three weeks later on the weekend of November 11-13, with the second round of games a week later.

Further back-to-back sets of fixtures will follow in December and January.

The Heineken Cup final will be played on the weekend of May 18-20, with the Amlin Challenge Cup final to take place at a yet to be confirmed venue on the same weekend.