The most prestigious prize in European club rugby will be decided over almost seven months of gruelling cross-border competition. Pool matches will be played from November to January, with the quarter-finals and semi-finals in April before the final the following month at Twickenham.

Irish side Leinster will be defending their title but will face strong competition from Northampton Saints – the team they beat in last season’s thrilling final – plus the likes of Bath, Leicester Tigers, Saracens, Toulouse, Biarritz, Ospreys, Cardiff Blues, Munster and Edinburgh. Matches will be televised live throughout Asia on the Eurosport channel.

English Premier League aces Gabriel Agbonlahor, Glen Johnson, Anton Ferdinand and David Bentley, plus Scotland internationals Shaun Maloney, Craig Beattie and Chris Burke, are just some of the young players who first made a name for themselves at the Soccer Sevens, the tournament that has become famous for unearthing “the stars of tomorrow”.

Sixteen teams will compete in the Main competition, with top clubs from England and Scotland looking to dislodge last year’s champions, Hong Kong team Kitchee, who beat Scottish giants Celtic in the final. A further 12 teams will take part in the Masters, an event that has previously drawn legends such as Jurgen Klinsmann, John Barnes, Andy Cole, Matt Le Tissier and Des Walker.

After years of decline, Hong Kong are looking to climb the FIFA world rankings and the only way to do that is to play against – and beat – their Asian neighbours. Hong Kong defeated Chinese Taipei 5-1 in Ernie Merrick’s first match in charge – delighting the new coach not just with the score, but by the way they played – and next up are Singapore.

Merrick’s appointment is part of a Government-backed initiative to improve Hong Kong football and comes after Gordon McKie, previously with the Scottish Rugby Union, was recruited as new CEO of the HKFA. The match against Singapore is Hong Kong’s second since the duo took up their roles.