Cardiff Rugby have been drawn in Pool 4 in the Investec Champions Cup where they will face English champions Northampton Saints.
Tier 1 clubs – defending champions Bordeaux Bègles, TOP 14 winners Toulouse, Gallagher PREM champions Northampton Saints and United Rugby Championship winners Leinster – were each drawn into separate pools, laying the foundations for a thrilling race to the knockout stages.
Pool 4 promises no shortage of drama, with the Saints leading the way alongside last season’s semi-finalists, fellow Gallagher PREM club Bath. Cardiff Rugby, reigning EPCR Challenge Cup champions Montpellier, Stade Français Paris and the Vodacom Bulls complete a pool loaded with quality and knockout-stage ambitions.
Four-time champions and last season’s runners-up Leinster were the first club out of the drum and headline a fiercely competitive Pool 1. They will renew their rivalries against Sale Sharks and Leicester Tigers, alongside the French duo of Pau and ASM Clermont Auvergne. Fellow URC powerhouse Glasgow Warriors complete the Pool.
Record six-time champions Toulouse lead the way in Pool 2, where they’ll be joined by competition newcomers the Lions, three-time champions Saracens, two-time winners La Rochelle, 2020 champions Exeter Chiefs and Connacht, who return to the premier club competition for the first time since the 2023/24 season.
Fresh from lifting their second Investec Champions Cup title, defending champions Bordeaux Bègles top Pool 3. They are joined by DHL Stormers, Racing 92, Munster Rugby, Bristol Bears and Gloucester Rugby in another stacked group.
Investec Champions Cup
Pool 1: Leinster, Glasgow Warriors, Pau, Sale Sharks, Leicester Tigers, ASM Clermont Auvergne
Pool 2: Toulouse, Lions, Saracens, La Rochelle, Exeter Chiefs, Connacht
Pool 3: Bordeaux Bègles, DHL Stormers, Racing 92, Munster, Bristol Bears, Gloucester
Pool 4: Northampton Saints, Bath, Cardiff Rugby, Montpellier, Stade Français Paris, Vodacom Bulls
In the EPCR Challenge Cup, the invited South African side Toyota Cheetahs were the first club out of the drum, going into Pool 1 alongside 2026 runners-up Ulster, Perpignan, last season’s semi-finalists Dragons, Bayonne and Zebre.
Pool 2 is equally as stacked, with Benetton Rugby set to renew their rivalry with 2022 champions Lyon after the sides also met in last season’s pool stages. They are joined by Newcastle Red Bulls, 2024 winners Hollywoodbets Sharks, Castres Olympique and Scarlets, creating another fiercely competitive group.
Ospreys head up Pool 3 after being the first team drawn, alongside Edinburgh, Georgia’s Black Lion, three-time Challenge Cup winners Harlequins – the competition’s joint most successful club – 2023 champions Toulon and RC Vannes, who return to the tournament again after debuting in the 2024/25 season.
With the Pools now set, fixture schedules for both tournaments including dates, venues, kick-off times and TV coverage will be announced later this month. Fixtures are determined following the input of individual club calendar and venue considerations, broadcast requirements and league calendar restrictions into an algorithm with the outcomes of today’s Pool Draws, all of which are considered to deliver the optimum fixture schedules.
EPCR Challenge Cup
Pool 1: Toyota Cheetahs, Ulster, Perpignan, Dragons, Bayonne, Zebre
Pool 2: Benetton Rugby, Lyon, Newcastle Red Bulls, Hollywoodbets Sharks, Castres Olympique, Scarlets
Pool 3: Ospreys, Edinburgh, Black Lion, Harlequins, Toulon, RC Vannes