Sky Sports will show over 40 live games from the first four rounds of the 2012/2013 Heineken Cup.
Chiefs face Champions on opening weekend
Champions Leinster will begin their title defence against tournament newcomers Exeter Chiefs as the Heineken Cup swings into action on Sky Sports.
The clash - live on
Sky Sports HD on Saturday October 13 - is part of the first weekend of the 2012-2013 Heineken Cup season.
Last season's finalists Ulster will host Castres Olympique at Ravenhill a day earlier in the first match of the new campaign, on October 12.
That match is the first of more than 40 games that will be shown on
Sky Sports HD during the first four rounds of the competition.
Further live matches will be announced as they are confirmed throughout the season.
The live Heineken Cup fixtures include:
Every team - Every British and Irish team live at least three times throughout the first four rounds.
Coverage - Up to 11 live ties from each of the first four rounds across Friday, Saturday and Sunday on Sky HD, plus extra matches available live on the red button.
Aviva Premiership champions, Harlequins, welcome Biarritz to the Stoop on October 13. A day later four-time Heineken Cup winners, Toulouse, face Leicester at Stade Toulousain, while Toulon's clash with Montpellier rounds off a busy first weekend of European rugby.
Live coverage continues in Round 2 with the first Heineken Cup match to ever be held in Belgium - the tenth country to stage a Heineken Cup fixture. Saracens head to the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels to host Racing Metro 92 on Saturday October 20.
The Heineken Cup coverage throughout the season is presented by Alex Payne and James Gemmell, with commentary from Stuart Barnes, Miles Harrison, Mark Robson and Johnnie Hammond. Expert analysis comes from the likes of Will Greenwood, Dewi Morris, Ieuan Evans, Scott Quinnell, Scott Hastings and Paul Wallace.
The Heineken Cup is part of an unrivalled line up of rugby union with domestic, European and international matches all available live on Sky Sports HD channels. Alongside the Heineken Cup, Sky Sports will broadcast coverage from the Amlin Challenge Cup and live coverage of England's QBE Autumn Internationals, plus live coverage of at least one match every round of the Aviva Premiership.
Sky Sports HD subscribers can watch all of Sky's Heineken Cup matches online through the Event Centre. Available from
skysports.com, all Sky's live matches are available simultaneously and all tries can be viewed as they happen with Try Alert.
With Match Centre, any single moment from any game can be accessed with easy to navigate time lines from each match. Users can pause, replay and watch the action in slow-motion whilst keeping up to date with stats and information as the matches happen.
Highlights, analysis and a comprehensive round-up of the weekend's matches will also be shown on
European Rugby Special, a weekly programme broadcast every Sunday of the tournament, plus
The Rugby Club, the weekly magazine show featuring in-depth previews, analysis and reaction throughout the season.
Click here for a full list of confirmed live rugby union on
Sky Sports for 2012/13.
Confirmed live matches for the 2012/2013 Heineken Cup
Round 1
Friday October 12: Ulster Rugby v Castres Olympique (20:00)
Friday October 12: Ospreys v Benetton Treviso (20:00)
Saturday October 13: Racing Metro 92 v Munster (13:35)
Saturday October 13: Edinburgh Rugby v Saracens (13:35i )
Saturday October 13: Leinster v Exeter Chiefs (15:40)
Saturday October 13: Clermont Auvergne v Scarlets (15:40i)
Saturday October 13: Harlequins v Biarritz (18:00 )
Sunday October 14: Northampton Saints v Glasgow Warriors (12:45)
Sunday October 14: Sale Sharks v Cardiff Blues (12:45i)
Sunday October 14: Toulouse v Leicester Tigers (15:00)
Sunday October 14: Toulon v Montpellier (20:00)
Round 2
Friday October 19: Glasgow Warriors v Ulster Rugby (20:00)
Friday October 19: Castres Olympique v Northampton Saints (20:00i )
Saturday October 20: Scarlets v Leinster (13:35)
Saturday October 20: Benetton Treviso v Toulouse (13:35i)
Saturday October 20: Saracens v Racing Metro 92 (15:40)
Saturday October 20: Exeter Chiefs v Clermont Auvergne (18:00)
Saturday October 20: Connacht v Harlequins (18:00i)
Sunday October 21: Munster v Edinburgh Rugby (12:45)
Sunday October 21: Cardiff Blues v Toulon (12:45i)
Sunday October 21: Leicester Tigers v Ospreys (15:00)
Sunday October 21: Montpellier v Sale Sharks (15:00i)
Round 3
Friday December 7: Northampton Saints v Ulster (20:00)
Friday December 7: Connacht v Biarritz (20:00i)
Saturday December 8: Toulouse v Ospreys (13:35)
Saturday December 8: Scarlets v Exeter Chiefs (13:35i)
Saturday December 8: Sale Sharks v Toulon (15:40)
Saturday December 8: Leicester Tigers v Benetton Treviso (15:40i)
Saturday December 8: Munster v Saracens (18:00)
Saturday December 8: Racing Metro 92 v Edinburgh Rugby (18:00i)
Sunday December 9: Cardiff Blues v Montpellier (12:45)
Sunday December 9: Clermont Auvergne v Leinster (15:00)
