Cardiff Blues will face Italian side Femi-CZ Rugby Rovigo this season in Europe after the final places in the inaugural European Rugby Challenge Cup were decided this weekend.
Rovigo got the better of Georgian newcomers, Tbilisi Caucasians, 22-18 at Stadio Mario Battaglini to take a slender lead into the decisive second leg of the qualification play-off, with the qualifiers decided by aggregate scores over the two matches.
And the Italians wrapped up a 24-21 win on Saturday afternoon in the second leg, despite a demanding looking assignment at the Lokomotivi Stadium, to claim a 46-39 aggregate win.
Femi-CZ Rugby Rovigo now earn a spot in Pool 1 of this season's Challenge Cup alongside Cardiff Blues, London Irish and Grenoble.
Blues will now travel to Italy in Round 2 next month. Full details of this game will now be finalised between the two teams and confirmed as soon as possible.
European Rugby Challenge Cup Fixtures 2014/15:
Round 1: Cardiff Blues vs Grenoble, BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park – Saturday, October 18 (kick-off 2.30pm)
Round 2: FEMI-CZ Rugby Rovigo vs Cardiff Blues – 23/24/25/26 October
Round 3: Cardiff Blues vs London Irish, BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park – 4/5/6/7 December
Round 4: London Irish vs Cardiff Blues, Madejski Stadium – 11/12/13/14 December
Round 5: Cardiff Blues vs FEMI-CZ Rugby Rovigo, BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park – 15/16/17/18 January
Round 6: Grenoble vs Cardiff Blues, Stade Lesdiguieres – 22/23/24/25 January
Details of Round 5 and 6 fixtures will only be confirmed by EPCR after Round 4 in December.