The 2010–11 Heineken Cup pool stage was the first stage of the current season of the Heineken Cup, Europe's top competition for rugby union clubs. It involved 24 teams competing for eight quarter-final berths; the quarter-finalists will then participate in a knockout tournament that will ultimately end with the final on 21 May 2011 at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. The draw for the pool stage took place on 8 June 2010 in Cardiff. The competing teams were arranged into six pools consisting of four teams each, with the six pool winners and two best runners-up qualifying for the knockout stages. The third- through fifth-best runners-up parachuted into the knockout stage of the Amlin Challenge Cup. The pool stage began with three matches on 8 October 2010 and ended with four matches on 23 January 2011. Seeding The seeding system was the same as in the 2009–10 tournament. The 24 competing teams are ranked based on past Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup performance, with each pool receiving one team from each quartile, or Tier. The requirement to have only one team per country in each pool, however, still applies (with the exception of the inclusion of the seventh French team). The brackets show each team's European Rugby Club Ranking at the end of the 2009–10 season. Aironi inherited the ranking of Viadana, the principal shareholders in the new Magners League team. Tiebreakers The competition organiser, European Rugby Cup, has elaborate tiebreaking rules for both the Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup, with a total of seven possible steps. The first three apply only if tied teams are in the same pool: Competition points earned in head-to-head matches Total tries scored in head-to-head matches Point differential in head-to-head matches The remaining steps are used if tied teams are in different pools, or if the above steps cannot break a tie between teams in the same pool: Tries scored in all pool matches Point differential in all pool matches Best disciplinary record (fewest players receiving red or yellow cards in all pool matches) Coin toss Results All kickoff times are local to the match location. Pool 1 This match was postponed from the original date of 19 December due to heavy snow in Edinburgh. The rescheduled match was held behind closed doors due to snow-related access issues in the stadium area. Pool 2 Pool 3 Pool 4 Biarritz won the tiebreaker over