The long road to Lyon and the 2027 Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup finals weekend begins next week when both tournaments kick-off across Europe and South Africa.
The two competitions will deliver 114 matches on the road to the EPCR Finals Weekend on 21 and 22 May 2027. The Investec Champions Cup features 24 clubs, including 10 former champions who have lifted the trophy 24 times between them.
Teams from the Top 14 in France have won the last six titles in the Champions Cup and four of the last six finals in the EPCR Challenge Cup. Cardiff are the only Welsh team to reach the final of what is now the Champions Cup, back in the inaugural year of 1996, while they lifted the Challenge Cup in 2010 and 2018.
The Scarlets have reached the semi-finals of the Champions Cup three times and the Dragons reached the last four of the Challenge Cup last season for the fourth time (2007, 2015, 2016, 2026).
New tournament rules promise greater jeopardy, more competitive matches, and more to play for this season. Here are the key updates:
Pool Draw: Clubs will be drawn into four pools of six, with a maximum of two clubs from each league per pool. Clubs from the same URC Shield cannot be drawn into the same pool.
Match Structure: Clubs will play four matches during the pool stage, with two matches at home and two matches away.
Bonus Points: A bonus point will be awarded to clubs scoring at least three tries more than their opponent and losing by seven points or fewer.
Round of 16 Qualification: The four highest-ranked clubs in each pool will qualify for the Round of 16, with the remaining places awarded to the highest-ranked teams across all four pools based on competition points.
New Attack Bonus: Teams must finish a match with at least three more tries than their opponent to earn the attacking bonus point.
These changes aim to increase the importance of every pool-stage match and reward teams that consistently win rather than simply accumulating points. The updates will affect all 42 clubs competing across the Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup and could have a major impact on qualification races throughout the four-round pool stage.
Investec Champions Cup: Round 1 Highlights
Back-to-back champions Union Bordeaux Bègles open their title defence at Gloucester Rugby’s Kingsholm ground on Friday 16 October.
Saturday gets under way with Sale Sharks v Glasgow Warriors, while Stade Français Paris travel to South Africa to face Vodacom Bulls.
Bristol Bears also head south for their first Investec Champions Cup meeting with Stormers, while last season’s runners-up Leinster Rugby begin their campaign away to ASM Clermont Auvergne. There is also a landmark moment for the Lions, who make their Champions Cup debut away in La Rochelle.
Saturday night brings two more heavyweight encounters as Bath Rugby host EPCR Challenge Cup holders Montpellier and three-time winners while Munster welcome Racing 92.
Sunday sees Pau host Leicester Tigers, before six-time champions Toulouse begin their campaign at home against Exeter Chiefs. Round 1 concludes with Northampton Saints, the reigning Gallagher PREM champions, hosting Cardiff Rugby.
EPCR CHALLENGE CUP
The other three Welsh regions – Dragons, Scarlets and Ospreys – are all in the draw for the EPCR Challenge Cup. The Dragons are the first into action on Friday, 16 October (8.00pm) at Rodney Parade when they welcome Perpignan.
The Dragons reached the semi-finals last season for the fourth time in their history and started their season with a draw in Treviso against Benetton Rugby and then a home win over the Scarlets. They lost their unbeaten record last weekend to the Ospreys.
The Scarlets also have home advantage in Round 1 with a Saturday night clash with Newcastle Red Bulls at Parc y Scarlets. Having seen off Benetton 28-26 at hone last weekend to notch their first win of the season they will be keen to make it two in a row.
Last weekend saw former Scarlets and Wales head coach Wayne Pivac return to Llanelli as head coach of Benetton. This weekend there will be an emotional return for another Scarlets legend in Stephen Jones, who is coaching the Red Bulls.
The Ospreys head to Georgia to face Black Lion on Saturday afternoon (1.00pm) at the Avchala Stadium in Tbilisi.
There will also be seven Welsh officials out in the two tournaments in the opening round. Craig Evans will referee the Champions Cup tie between Sale Sharks and Glasgow Warriors, and he will have Gareth Newman and Lucas Yendle assisting him and have Ben Whitehouse acting as the TMO.
Aled Griffiths will be the TMO for the Bulls v Stade Francais Paris match in Pretoria, while in the Challenge Cup, Ben Breakspear will control the game at The Hive between Edinburgh and Toulon, and Ben Connor will be in the middle for the clash between Zebre and Ulster in Parma.
WHERE TO WATCH
Live coverage is available on Premier Sports in the UK and Ireland, beIN SPORTS in France, SuperSport in South Africa, FloRugby in the USA and Canada, and FOX Latin America, with free-to-air coverage on France Télévisions.
Fans can also follow the action on EPCR’s OTT platform, EPCRugby.TV.