It started with three matches on 8 October 2010 and ended on 21 May 2011 with the final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium[1] where Leinster beat Northampton Saints 33 – 22.

[5] 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 Celtic League team.

Under rules of the competition organiser, European Rugby Cup, tiebreakers within each pool are as follows.

[6] ERC has four additional tiebreakers, used if tied teams are in different pools, or if the above steps cannot break a tie between teams in the same pool: The semi-final draw for both the Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup was conducted on 23 January at the press box of Adams Park in High Wycombe shortly after the London Wasps–Toulouse match.