Leicester Tigers are ranked in the second tier of clubs in the draw.
Reigning champions Leinster will be the first club allocated a pool for the 2012/13 Heineken Cup when the draw for the six pools for the 18th tournament takes place at 11am on June 12.
Leinster are joined in Tier 1 by three past winners in Toulouse, Munster and Northampton Saints, while Biarritz Olympique and Cardiff Blues complete the top tier of six clubs.
Zebre (Zebras) will replace Aironi Rugby in the Heineken Cup and go into Tier 4 for the draw. Zebre will be based in Parma and play at the XXV Aprile Stadium.
Once the Tier 1 clubs have each been allocated a pool, no club from the same tier will be drawn in the same pool. No pool will have more than one club from the same country, with the exception of France, as there are seven French clubs in next season’s competition.
The pool draw of 24 clubs will be streamed live on www.ercrugby.com and signal the launch of a countdown to the 2013 Heineken Cup final at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, May 18.
2012/13 Heineken Cup clubs and tiers
Tier 1 – Leinster Rugby, Toulouse, Biarritz Olympique, Munster Rugby, Cardiff Blues, Northampton Saints
Tier 2 – ASM Clermont Auvergne, Ulster Rugby, Leicester Tigers, Harlequins, Toulon, Edinburgh Rugby
Tier 3 – Ospreys, Scarlets, Glasgow Warriors, Saracens, Connacht Rugby, Sale Sharks
Tier 4 – Castres Olympique, Benetton Treviso, Racing Metro 92, Montpellier, Exeter Chiefs, Zebre
