Bath Rugby director of rugby Todd Blackadder believes playing against different teams, cultures and styles of rugby is what makes the Heineken Champions Cup so special to be involved in. The English club have been drawn in Pool 1 alongside defending champions Leinster Rugby, Wasps and Toulouse, who have 11 European titles between them. Speaking at last week’s Heineken Champions Cup launch at St. James’ Park in Newcastle, Blackadder said: “I think what makes it special is that it’s a step up in intensity and physicality. “Cultures collide - you’re playing against teams from Europe with different cultures and different ways of playing their rugby. “And obviously it’s the challenge of being up against the very best every week.” Bath get their 2018/19 Heineken Champions Cup campaign under way against four-time European Cup winners Toulouse on October 13, a challenge the 47-year-old is relishing. [jwplayer 7vmDIF4y] “If you want to be the very best, you’ve got to play the very best,” said the former All-Blacks captain. “If you ask me which pool I’d rather be in, I’d rather be in this one. I think it’s great for us, it means we’ve got to prepare really well, we’re going to learn from it, we’re going to be tested. “We want to be the best, so let’s play the best, and this is a great opportunity for us.” The West Country outfit were the first English side to win the European Cup in 1998, beating Brive 19-18 in Bordeaux and captain Matt Garvey said the team wants to create its own legacy this season. “The history of the club is huge,” said the 30-year-old lock. “We’ve been successful [in the past] and I think the players now are pretty sick of seeing the photos of old Bath players lifting the trophy. “We want to be part of that history and I think we’re in a good place to do it. “We’ve got good depth to our squad this year, which allows us to put good teams out no matter who we’re up against and hopefully we can get those big wins that we need to get out of the group.” https://twitter.com/bathrugby/status/1030408868612976641 The European pedigree in Pool 1 is not something that Garvey is taking lightly and similar to Blackadder, has highlighted the challenges his side will face. “It’s hard, you sit there beforehand and you think, ‘Please, give us the easy group’, and then you look across the board and think, ‘Actually, where is that easy group?’ “Leinster, obviously, are the champions, that’s never going to be easy. “Toulouse, I’ve actually got good memories, we beat Toulouse away in my first or second year at Bath, so I’m looking forward to that one. “I think it’s going to be a great challenge, and Toulouse on Saturday is hopefully going to be a great start for us.” You can watch Bath Rugby vs Toulouse live on Channel 4 and BT Sport in the UK, NBC Sports in the USA and bein SPORTS in France at 13:15 BST.