2026–27 European Rugby Champions Cup

Not to be confused with 2026–27 EPCR Challenge Cup.

2026–27 European Rugby Champions Cup
Tournament details
Countries	England France Ireland Scotland South Africa Wales
Tournament format(s)	Modified round-robin and knockout
Date	16 October 2026 – 22 May 2027
Tournament statistics
Teams	24
Final

The 2026–27 European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the 2026–27 Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) will be the thirteenth season of the European Rugby Champions Cup, the annual club rugby union competition run by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) for professional clubs. It will be the 32nd season of the pan-European professional club rugby competition.

The final will be played at Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Lyon.

Bordeaux Bègles entered the competition as defending champions with Leinster entering as beaten finalists.

Teams

Twenty-four clubs from the three major European domestic and regional leagues qualified for the 2026–27 edition of the Champions Cup.

The distribution of teams was:

• England: eight clubs
  • The top eight clubs from the 2025–26 PREM.
• France: eight clubs
  • The top eight clubs from the 2025–26 Top 14.
• Ireland, Scotland, South Africa and Wales: eight clubs
  • The top eight sides from the 2025–26 United Rugby Championship.

PREM	Top 14	United Rugby Championship
England	France	Ireland	Scotland	South Africa	Wales
Bath Bristol Bears Exeter Chiefs Gloucester Leicester Tigers Northampton Saints Sale Sharks Saracens	Bordeaux Bègles Clermont La Rochelle Montpellier Pau Racing 92 Stade Français Toulouse	Connacht Leinster Munster	Glasgow Warriors	Bulls Lions Stormers	Cardiff

Team changes

For the 2026–27 season, there were several team changes from the previous season on the Champions Cup.

England
Exeter Chiefs returned to the top flight after a season in the Challenge Cup, replacing Harlequins who are playing in the Challenge Cup for the first time since 2018–19.

France
Racing 92 and Stade Français both returned to the Champions Cup after a season in the Challenge Cup, whilst Montpellier qualified for the Champions Cup for the first time since 2022–23. Bayonne, Castres and Toulon all qualified for the Challenge Cup.

United Rugby Championship
Lions qualified for the Champions Cup for the first time, whilst Cardiff and Connacht return to the competition after a season in the Challenge Cup. Edinburgh, Scarlets and Sharks qualified for the Challenge Cup.

Team details

Below is the list of coaches, captain and stadiums with their method of qualification for each team.

Team	Coach(es)/ Director of Rugby	Captain(s)	Stadium	Capacity	Method of qualification
Bath	Johann van Graan		Recreation Ground	14,509	PREM top 8 (2nd) (SF)
Bordeaux Bègles	Yannick Bru		Stade Chaban-Delmas	34,694	Top 14 top 8 (8th)
Bristol Bears	Pat Lam		Ashton Gate	27,000	PREM top 8 (6th)
Bulls	Johan Ackermann		Loftus Versfeld	51,762	URC top 8 (4th) (RU)
Clermont	Christophe Urios		Stade Marcel-Michelin	19,022	Top 14 top 8 (7th)
Cardiff	Corniel van Zyl		Cardiff Arms Park	12,125	URC top 8 (6th) (QF)
Connacht	Stuart Lancaster		Dexcom Stadium	12,500	URC top 8 (8th) (QF)
Exeter Chiefs	Rob Baxter		Sandy Park	15,600	PREM top 8 (3rd) (RU)
Glasgow Warriors	Franco Smith		Scotstoun Stadium	7,351	URC top 8 (1st) (SF)
Gloucester	George Skivington		Kingsholm Stadium	16,115	PREM top 8 (8th)
La Rochelle	Ronan O'Gara		Stade Marcel-Deflandre	18,000	Top 14 top 8 (6th) (QF)
Leicester Tigers	Geoff Parling		Welford Road Stadium	25,849	PREM top 8 (4th) (SF)
Leinster	Leo Cullen		Aviva Stadium, Dublin	55,000	URC top 8 (2nd) (CH)
Lions	Ivan van Rooyen		Emirates Airline Park	62,567	URC top 8 (7th) (QF)
Montpellier	Joan Caudullo		GGL Stadium	15,697	Top 14 top 8 (2nd) (RU)
Munster	Clayton McMillan		Thomond Park, Limerick Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork	25,600 45,000	URC top 8 (5th) (QF)
Northampton Saints	Phil Dowson		Franklin's Gardens	15,200	PREM top 8 (1st) (CH)
Pau	Sébastien Piqueronies		Stade du Hameau	14,999	Top 14 top 8 (4th) (QF)
Racing 92	Patrice Collazo		Paris La Défense Arena Stade Dominique Duvauchelle	30,680 12,150	Top 14 top 8 (5th) (SF)
Sale Sharks	Alex Sanderson		Salford Community Stadium	12,000	PREM top 8 (7th)
Saracens	Brendan Venter		StoneX Stadium	10,500	PREM top 8 (5th)
Stade Français	Paul Gustard		Stade Jean-Bouin	20,000	Top 14 top 8 (3rd) (SF)
Stormers	John Dobson		Cape Town Stadium Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium	55,000 46,000	URC top 8 (3rd) (SF)
Toulouse	Ugo Mola		Stade Ernest-Wallon	19,500	Top 14 top 8 (1st) (CH)

Notes

Draw

For the purposes of the draw, the 24 clubs were separated into two tiers, Tier 1 and Tier 2, based on their league finishing position; with the winners of each domestic competition (Northampton Saints, Toulouse and Leinster) and the defending Champions Cup winners, Bordeaux Bègles, seeded in the top tier. The remaining twenty teams are seeded in the second tier. Like previous seasons, the four pools are made up of six teams, with each pool containing two clubs from each of league; however, clubs from the same URC Shield cannot be in the same pool.

Pool stage

Main article: 2026–27 European Rugby Champions Cup pool stage

Teams were drawn into pools in Dublin on 1 July 2026. Teams are awarded four points for a win, two for a draw, one for scoring three tries more than their opponent in a game and one for losing by fewer than eight points. This marks a significant change in the bonus point system of the competition, broadly mirroring that employed in the Top 14.

Each pool consist of six teams, two from each of the three contributing leagues. Each team play the four teams, not from its own league once. The top three teams in each pool will progress to the round of 16. The four other round of 16 places will go to the four clubs with the highest number of points across all pools, regardless of which pool they are in. Four clubs that did not qualify for the round of 16 can progress to the knockout stages of the 2025–26 EPCR Challenge Cup. These will be the next four clubs with the highest number of points, also regardless of which pool they are in.

Pool 1

European Rugby Champions Cup Pool 1

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	Leinster	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Champions Cup round of 16.
2	Glasgow Warriors	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Pau	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Sale Sharks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Champions Cup or Challenge Cup round of 16 based on table points amongst non-top-three teams.
5	Leicester Tigers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Clermont	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 17 October 2026. Source: EPCR
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers for teams tied on points: 1) Number of matches won; 2) Difference between points for and against; 3) Total number of points for; 4) Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams; 5) Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled.

Pool 2

European Rugby Champions Cup Pool 2

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	Toulouse	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Champions Cup round of 16.
2	Lions	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Saracens	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	La Rochelle	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Champions Cup or Challenge Cup round of 16 based on table points amongst non-top-three teams.
5	Exeter Chiefs	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Connacht	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 17 October 2026. Source: EPCR
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers for teams tied on points: 1) Number of matches won; 2) Difference between points for and against; 3) Total number of points for; 4) Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams; 5) Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled.

Pool 3

European Rugby Champions Cup Pool 3

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	Bordeaux Bègles	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Champions Cup round of 16.
2	Stormers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Racing 92	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Munster	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Champions Cup or Challenge Cup round of 16 based on table points amongst non-top-three teams.
5	Bristol Bears	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Gloucester	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 16 October 2026. Source: EPCR
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers for teams tied on points: 1) Number of matches won; 2) Difference between points for and against; 3) Total number of points for; 4) Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams; 5) Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled.

Pool 4

European Rugby Champions Cup Pool 4

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	Northampton Saints	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Champions Cup round of 16.
2	Bath	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Cardiff	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Montpellier	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Champions Cup or Challenge Cup round of 16 based on table points amongst non-top-three teams.
5	Stade Français	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Bulls	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 17 October 2026. Source: EPCR
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers for teams tied on points: 1) Number of matches won; 2) Difference between points for and against; 3) Total number of points for; 4) Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams; 5) Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled.

Ranking of non-top three teams

This table displays the overall standings for the twelve teams that did not qualify automatically for the round of 16 as one of the top three in their respective pools. Under the updated format for the 2026–27 season, the clubs finishing fourth, fifth, and sixth across all four pools are aggregated into this single ranking to determine the remaining knockout participants. The top four teams from this combined table secure the final four places in the Champions Cup round of 16, the next four drop down to compete in the Challenge Cup round of 16, and the bottom four are eliminated from European competition entirely.

Ranking of non-top three teams

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	Bristol Bears	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Champions Cup round of 16.
2	Bulls	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Clermont	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Connacht	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Exeter Chiefs	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Challenge Cup round of 16.
6	Gloucester	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	La Rochelle	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	Leicester Tigers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	Montpellier	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
10	Munster	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	Sale Sharks	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
12	Stade Français	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played: 16 October 2026. Source: EPCR
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers for teams tied on points: 1) Number of matches won; 2) Difference between points for and against; 3) Total number of points for; 4) Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams; 5) Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled.

Knockout stage

The knockout stage will follow the same format as used in previous years, beginning with a single-leg round of 16. This round will then be followed by the quarter-finals and semi-finals, before the tournament concludes with the final at OL Stadium, Lyon on Saturday 22 May 2027.

All clubs will be ranked in descending order, based firstly on their ranking in their pool, and subsequently on the number of competition points they have accumulated, to create an overall ranking from 1 to 16. The pool winners will be ranked 1 to 4, the second-placed clubs ranked 5 to 8, the third-placed clubs ranked 9 to 12, and the four next best clubs across all pools will be ranked 13 to 16.

Whilst the round of 16 will follow a pre-determined format (1 v 16 down to 8 v 9) with home advantage given to the clubs ranked 1 to 8, the quarter-finals will see home venue advantage given to the higher-ranked team from the pool stage based on a fixed bracket. As such, the teams seeded 1 to 4 are guaranteed home advantage if they reach the quarter-finals, and teams seeded 13 to 16 are guaranteed an away fixture if they do so. Whether a team ranked from 5 to 12 plays home or away depends on which teams advance in their section of the bracket.

At the semi-final stage, the winner of the first quarter-final (Winner R16 1 v Winner R16 8) will play the winner of the fourth quarter-final, while the winner of the second quarter-final will play the winner of the third, with the venues for the matches designated by EPCR. If matches are drawn at the end of normal time during any knockout round, extra-time is played, followed if necessary by a tiebreaker for the most tries scored or a place-kick competition.