SA teams to learn Champions Cup and Challenge Cup opponents

NEWS: The pool draws for the 2026/27 Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup tournaments will be staged in Dublin on Wednesday, July 1.

Both draws will be streamed live on epcrugby.com and the event will start at 12.30 (UK and Irish time) / 13.30 (French and South African time).

Champions Cup pool draw

The 24 Investec Champions Cup clubs which have qualified on merit from the TOP 14, PREM and United Rugby Championship (URC) will once again compete in four pools of six – Pool 1, Pool 2, Pool 3 and Pool 4. (See qualifiers below)

The key principles of the Champions Cup draw are as follows:

• Each pool of six will contain two clubs from each of the leagues.
• Clubs from the same URC Shield cannot be in the same pool. Therefore, the Irish qualifiers – Leinster, Munster and Connacht– will each be drawn or allocated into separate pools. The same principle applies for the South African qualifiers, Stormers, Bulls and Lions.
• There will be no matches between clubs from the same league, so in order to create the pool stage fixtures, each club will play four matches against four different clubs who are not from the same league, either home or away.

For the purposes of the draw, the clubs will be divided into two tiers, Tier 1 and Tier 2. The four clubs in Tier 1 will be Union Bordeaux Bègles (2026 Champions Cup winners), and the 2026 PREM, URC and TOP 14 winners.

To start the process, the four Tier 1 clubs will be drawn with the first club out of the drum going into Pool 1, the second club out of the drum going into Pool 2, the third club out of the drum going into Pool 3 and the fourth club out of the drum going into Pool 4.

Adhering to the key principles, the remaining 20 clubs in Tier 2 will then be drawn or allocated into the pools. If a club cannot be drawn into a pool in accordance with the key principles, then the club will be allocated to the next available pool. The process will then re-start at the pool into which the initial club could not be drawn.

EPCR Challenge Cup Pool draw

The 2026/27 EPCR Challenge Cup will once again have 18 clubs – eight from the URC, six from the TOP 14, two from the PREM and two invited clubs (to be announced before the Pool Draw) – competing in three pools of six, Pool 1, Pool 2 and Pool 3. (See clubs below)

The following are the key principles integral to the EPCR Challenge Cup draw:

• Each pool of six will contain two TOP 14 clubs.
• As the draw will include three Welsh clubs – Ospreys, Scarlets and Dragons RFC – each pool will have one Welsh representative.
• The Italian clubs Benetton Rugby and Zebre Parma, and Scottish club Edinburgh Rugby, who are from the same URC Shield, cannot be in the same pool.
• Harlequins and Newcastle Red Bulls, the two Gallagher PREM qualifiers, cannot be in the same pool.
• The Sharks from South Africa, as well as the two invitee clubs cannot be in the same pool.
• A maximum of three URC clubs can be included in the same pool
• Clubs will play four different opponents home or away during the pool stage and a limited number of same-league fixtures will be unavoidable.

2026/27 CHAMPIONS CUP QUALIFIERS

TOP 14: Stade Toulousain, Montpellier Hérault Rugby, Stade Français Paris, Racing 92, Section Paloise, Stade Rochelais, ASM Clermont Auvergne, Union Bordeaux Bègles
PREM: Northampton Saints, Exeter Chiefs, Bath Rugby, Leicester Tigers, Saracens, Bristol Bears, Sale Sharks, Gloucester Rugby
United Rugby Championship: Leinster, Bulls, Glasgow Warriors, Stormers, Munster, Cardiff, Lions, Connacht

*The four Tier 1 clubs will be confirmed in advance of the pool draw.

2026/27 EPCR CHALLENGE CUP QUALIFIERS

TOP 14: RC Toulon, Castres Olympique, Lyon Olympique Universitaire, Aviron Bayonnais, USAP, RC Vannes
United Rugby Championship: Ulster Rugby, Sharks, Ospreys, Edinburgh Rugby, Benetton Rugby, Scarlets, Dragons RFC, Zebre Parma
PREM: Harlequins, Newcastle Red Bulls
Invited: To be announced before the Pool Draw

2026/27 Match Weekends

Round 1 – 16/17/18 October 2026
Round 2 – 11/12/13 December 2026
Round 3 – 8/9/10 January 2027
Round 4 – 15/16/17 January 2027

Round of 16 – 2/3/4 April 2027
QuarterFinals – 9/10/11 April 2027
Semifinals – 30 April / 1/2 May 2027

Lyon 2027 Finals Weekend, OL Stadium:

EPCR Challenge Cup Final: Friday 21 May 2027
Champions Cup Final: Saturday 22 May 2027