After last week’s European Rugby Challenge Cup Pool Draw in Lausanne, we take an in-depth look at Pool 1, which includes two double winners in ASM Clermont Auvergne and Northampton Saints. ASM Clermont Auvergne Ground: Stade Marcel-Michelin, Clermont Ferrand, France. Last season: Clermont topped Pool 2 in the Champions Cup last season, but they were knocked out at the quarter-final stage, losing 28-17 at home to eventual runners-up Racing 92. However, they dropped into the Challenge Cup after finishing ninth in the TOP 14. Challenge Cup record: Clermont won the trophy as Montferrand in 1999, when they defeated Bourgoin 35-16 in the final, and in 2007, when they beat Bath Rugby 22-16 in the decider. They also finished runners-up in 2004 as Montferrand, after losing 27-26 to Harlequins. Head coach: Franck Azéma. The 47-year-old, who played for the club as Montferrand between 1996 and 2000, returned in 2010 as backs coach after four years in a similar role with Perpignan. He was then promoted to his current post in 2014 and guided Clermont to the TOP 14 title in 2017, as well as to the Champions Cup final in 2015 and 2017. Key players: Clermont boast a multi-national squad largely based around such experienced French internationals as hooker Benjamin Kayser, prop Rabah Slimani, lock Sébastien Vahaamahina, back-row forward Damien Chouly, scrum-half Morgan Parra and centre Wesley Fofana. They can also field Georgia prop Davit Zirakashvili and flanker Viktor Kolelishvili, South African lock Flip van der Merwe, Scotland scrum-half Greig Laidlaw and ex-New Zealand back Isaia Toeava. https://twitter.com/ASMOfficiel/status/1009434174539882497 Dragons Ground: Rodney Parade, Newport, Wales. Last season: Dragons finished second in Pool 1 last season, but they were 12 points behind eventual semi-finalists Newcastle Falcons after winning three and losing three of their games. They finished sixth in Conference B of the Guinness PRO14. Challenge Cup record: The Welsh region have reached the semi-finals three times but lost on each occasion – 29-46 at ASM Clermont Auvergne in 2007, 16-45 at Edinburgh Rugby in 2015 and 12-22 at Montpellier in 2016. Head coach: Bernard Jackman, who won the European Cup with Leinster Rugby as a player in 2009 and made a total of 64 European appearances for them, Sale Sharks and Connacht Rugby. The 42-year-old former Ireland hooker first coached in the All-Ireland League before joining Grenoble in 2011 as forwards coach. He was then promoted to head coach in 2016 and spent one season in that role before switching to Dragons. Key players: Two former Challenge Cup winners - back-row forward Ross Moriarty and hooker Richard Hibbard, who both won the trophy with Gloucester Rugby in 2015 – have joined to boost a strong Welsh international contingent, including centre Gavin Henson, props Aaron Jarvis and Ryan Bevington, wings Daf Howells and Hallam Amos, lock Cory Hill, hooker Elliot Dee and flanker Aaron Wainwright. They can also parade Samoan international lock Brandon Nansen and ex-South Africa full-back Zane Kirchner. https://twitter.com/bernardjackman/status/1009431408794898432 Northampton Saints Ground: Franklin's Gardens, Northampton, England. Last season: Like ASM Clermont Auvergne, Northampton competed in Pool 1 of the Champions Cup last season but finished bottom with only one win from their five games. In the Aviva Premiership they came ninth. Challenge Cup record: Saints won the trophy in 2009, when they defeated Bourgoin 15-3 in the final, and five years later, when they overcame Bath Rugby 30-16 in the decider. Director of rugby: New Zealander Chris Boyd, who takes over in August when his Super Rugby commitments with Hurricanes are over. The 59-year-old has been head coach there since 2014 and led them to the Super Rugby title in 2016. He was previously in charge of Wellington and New Zealand U20s. Key players: Saints have signed three big names in New Zealand's dual World Cup-winning prop, Ben Franks, Wales fly-half Dan Biggar and England's British and Irish Lions flanker, James Haskell. They will supplement a squad that already features such experienced England internationals as hooker Dylan Hartley, lock Courtney Lawes and flanker Tom Wood, as well as Fiji lock Api Ratuniyarawa and South African flanker Heinrich Brüssow. https://twitter.com/SaintsRugby/status/1009427681862209536 Timişoara Saracens Ground: Dan Păltinișanu Stadium, Timişoara, Romania. Last season: They won the CEC Bank SuperLiga, the third season in a row they have won the Romanian title. Challenge Cup record: Timişoara made their debut in the competition in 2016/17 and lost all six of their Pool 5 matches. Head coach: Chester Williams, who won the World Cup with South Africa in 1995. The 47-year-old moved into coaching in 2001 and guided South Africa's sevens team to a bronze medal in the 2002 Commonwealth Games before switching to the 15-a-side game with the Super 12 Cats team. He is currently in his second spell with Timişoara, having led them to their first league title in 40 years in 2012. Key players: Timişoara's main men are largely Romanian internationals – such as full-back Cătălin Fercu, wing Mădălin Lemnaru, flanker Valentin Popârlan, hookers Andrei Rădoi and Eugen Căpăţână - although they do also have Fijian scrum-half Henry Seniloli in their squad. The fixtures for the new season will be announced around two weeks after the announcement of the last fixture list from the European professional domestic leagues.