The 2025-26 Investec Champions Cup Is firmly underway with defending champions Bordeaux-Bègles and Glasgow Warriors both taking the maximum points from the opening two rounds of the European competition.
There have also been impressive showings from Toulouse and Leinster but the tournament has a long way to go before any clubs are confirmed for the knockout stage.
The Champions Cup features four pools of six – eight teams each from the Premiership, URC and Top 14. The top four sides in each pool will qualify for the knockout stage while the four fifth-ranked teams drop down to the Challenge Cup.
Holders Bordeaux-Bègles defeated Northampton 28-20 in the 2025 final and the two clubs face a rematch in round three.
The 2026 finals weekend will be hosted by Bilbao in the heart of the Basque country at the San Mamés Stadium on 22-23 May. Lyon in France has been awarded the privilege in 2027.
Investec Champions Cup on TV
Premier Sports has secured the rights to both the Champions Cup and the EPCR Challenge Cup in the UK and Ireland. The broadcaster has secured a three-year contract that runs to the end of the 2026-27 season, and their coverage will include all 63 Champions Cup games.
The service is available in the UK through the Sky, Virgin and Amazon platforms, and to stream on desktop and the Premier Sports app. A standard Premier Sports subscription costs £15.99 per month, though you can make significant savings if you pay annually – it costs £10.99 per month if you sign up for a minimum 12-month term, and £120 (which works out at £10 per month) if you pay for the whole year upfront.
beIN Sports and SuperSport will also broadcast the Investec Champions Cup fixtures live. FloRugby are showing most of the matches while S4C are televising Scarlets’ pool matches against Bristol and Pau.
Some games will also be available for free in France and Ireland, as France Télévisions and RTÉ will broadcast selected games featuring French and Irish teams respectively.
Fans in other countries will be able to watch the Champions Cup (with English commentary) on EPCR TV. A season pass costs €49.99 or you can buy a weekend pass for €14.99.
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Investec Champions Cup Fixtures 2025-26
Round 1
Fri 5 Dec Sale Sharks 21-26 Glasgow Warriors
Fri 5 Dec Bayonne 17-26 Stormers
Sat 6 Dec Saracens 47-10 Clermont Auvergne
Sat 6 Dec Bulls 33-46 Bordeaux-Bègles
Sat 6 Dec La Rochelle 39-20 Leicester Tigers
Sat 6 Dec Leinster 45-28 Harlequins
Sat 6 Dec Scarlets 16-17 Bristol Bears
Sat 6 Dec Bath 40-14 Munster
Sun 7 Dec Pau 27-35 Northampton Saints
Sun 7 Dec Toulouse 56-19 Sharks
Sun 7 Dec Gloucester 34-14 Castres
Sun 7 Dec Edinburgh 33-20 Toulon
Round 2
Fri 12 Dec Leicester Tigers 15-23 Leinster
Sat 13 Dec Stormers 42-21 La Rochelle
Sat 13 Dec Sharks 28-23 Saracens
Sat 13 Dec Clermont Auvergne 14-35 Sale Sharks
Sat 13 Dec Bordeaux-Bègles 50-21 Scarlets
Sat 13 Dec Munster 31-3 Gloucester
Sat 13 Dec Glasgow Warriors 28-21 Toulouse
Sun 14 Dec Harlequins 68-14 Bayonne
Sun 14 Dec Castres 33-0 Edinburgh
Sun 14 Dec Toulon 45-34 Bath
Sun 14 Dec Northampton Saints 50-5 Bulls
Sun 14 Dec Bristol Bears 61-12 Pau
Round 3
Fri 9 Jan Castres v Bath (8pm)
Fri 9 Jan Edinburgh v Gloucester (8pm)
Sat 10 Jan Bulls v Bristol Bears (1pm)
Sat 10 Jan Clermont Auvergne v Glasgow (3.15pm)
Sat 10 Jan Leinster v La Rochelle (5.30pm)
Sat 10 Jan Sale Sharks v Sharks (5.30pm)
Sat 10 Jan Scarlets v Pau (8pm)
Sat 10 Jan Leicester Tigers v Bayonne (8pm)
Sun 11 Jan Harlequins v Stormers (1pm)
Sun 11 Jan Toulon v Munster (1pm)
Sun 11 Jan Bordeaux-Bègles v Northampton (3.15pm)
Sun 11 Jan Saracens v Toulouse (5.30pm)
Round 4
Fri 16 Jan Pau v Bulls (8pm)
Fri 16 Jan Bath v Edinburgh (8pm)
Sat 17 Jan Sharks v Clermont Auvergne (1pm)
Sat 17 Jan Bayonne v Leinster (3.15pm)
Sat 17 Jan Stormers v Leicester Tigers (3.15pm)
Sat 17 Jan Toulouse v Sale Sharks (5.30pm)
Sat 17 Jan Munster v Castres (5.30pm)
Sat 17 Jan Gloucester v Toulon (8pm)
Sun 18 Jan Bristol Bears v Bordeaux-Bègles (1pm)
Sun 18 Jan Northampton Saints v Scarlets (3.15pm)
Sun 18 Jan La Rochelle v Harlequins (3.15pm)
Sun 18 Jan Glasgow Warriors v Saracens (5.30pm)
Round of 16
Fri 3-Sun 5 April
Quarter-finals
Fri 10-Sun 12 April
Semi-finals
Fri 1-Sun 3 May
Final
Sat 23 May (San Mamés Stadium, Bilbao)
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Investec Champions Cup results 2024-25
Bordeaux-Bègles defeated Northampton 28-20 in the 2025 Investec Champions Cup final to become continental champions for the first time.
In a ding-dong battle punctuated by several refereeing errors, the French giants wore down a valiant Saints side that had to withstand the loss of two back-three players, James Ramm and George Furbank, in the opening five minutes.
Flanker Alex Coles scored a brace of tries for the Midlanders, with Fin Smith kicking ten points. In reply, wing Damian Penaud (two), and locks Adam Coleman and Cyril Caseaux, crossed for Bordeaux-Bègles, with Mathieu Jalibert and Maxime Lucu kicking the extras.
Bordeaux-Bègles prop Jefferson Poirot was banned for two weeks after grabbing Northampton’s Henry Pollock by the throat shortly after the final whistle in Cardiff.
ROUND 1
Friday 6 December
- Bath 20-24 La Rochelle
Saturday 7 December
- Clermont Auvergne 28-0 Benetton
- Sharks 39-21 Exeter Chiefs
- Northampton 38-8 Castres
- Stormers 14-24 Toulon
- Munster 33-7 Stade Français
- Saracens 27-5 Bulls
- Glasgow Warriors 38-19 Sale Sharks
- Racing 23-12 Harlequins
Sunday 8 December
- Bordeaux-Bègles 42-28 Leicester
- Toulouse 61-21 Ulster
- Bristol Bears 12-35 Leinster
ROUND 2
Friday 13 December
- Sale Sharks 29-7 Racing
- Castres 16-14 Munster
Saturday 14 December
- Bulls 21-30 Northampton Saints
- Ulster 19-40 Bordeaux-Bègles
- Leinster 15-7 Clermont Auvergne
- Leicester Tigers 56-17 Sharks
- La Rochelle 35-7 Bristol Bears
- Harlequins 53-16 Stormers
Sunday 15 December
- Benetton 22-21 Bath
- Stade Français 17-28 Saracens
- Toulon 30-29 Glasgow Warriors
- Exeter Chiefs 21-64 Toulouse
ROUND 3
Friday 10 January
- Glasgow Warriors 29-19 Racing
Saturday 11 January
- Stormers 40-0 Sale Sharks
- Exeter Chiefs 17-69 Bordeaux-Bègles
- Sharks 8-20 Toulouse
- Munster 17-12 Saracens
- Stade Français 45-35 Northampton
- Leicester Tigers 38-10 Ulster
- Castres 49-10 Bulls
Sunday 12 January
- Toulon 33-21 Harlequins
- La Rochelle 14-16 Leinster
- Bristol Bears 35-29 Benetton
- Bath 40-21 Clermont Auvergne
ROUND 4
Friday 17 January
- Ulster 52-24 Exeter Chiefs
Saturday 18 January
- Bulls 48-7 Stade Français
- Northampton Saints 34-32 Munster
- Clermont Auvergne 33-26 Bristol
- Benetton 32-25 La Rochelle
- Leinster 47-21 Bath
- Harlequins 24-7 Glasgow Warriors
- Racing 31-22 Stormers
Sunday 19 January
- Bordeaux-Bègles 66-12 Sharks
- Saracens 24-32 Castres
- Toulouse 80-12 Leicester Tigers
- Sale Sharks 33-7 Toulon
ROUND OF 16
Friday 4 April
- Northampton 46-24 Clermont Auvergne
Saturday 5 April
- Toulon 72-42 Saracens
- Leinster 62-0 Harlequins
- Castres 39-37 Benetton
- La Rochelle 24-25 Munster
- Glasgow Warriors 43-19 Leicester
Sunday 6 April
- Bordeaux-Bègles 43-31 Ulster
- Toulouse 38-15 Sale Sharks
QUARTER-FINALS
Friday 11 April
- Leinster 52-0 Glasgow Warriors
Saturday 12 April
- Bordeaux-Bègles 47-29 Munster
- Northampton Saints 51-16 Castres
Sunday 13 April
- Toulon 18-21 Toulouse
SEMI-FINALS
Saturday 3 May
- Leinster 34-37 Northampton
Sunday 4 May
- Bordeaux-Bègles 35-18 Toulouse
FINAL
Saturday 24 May
- Bordeaux-Bègles 28-20 Northampton (Principality Stadium)