Investec Champions Cup repeat May 28, 2026
In the run up to the close of the 2025/26 club season, the Northern Hemisphere celebrated its first major trophy with the final of the Investec Champions Cup. The tournament uses a multi-pool format, launched in the 2023/24 season, of 24 clubs in 4 pools of 6. The top 8 teams from each of the URC, Top 14 and Gallagher Premiership qualify based on their final position in the previous year. For the 2025/26 campaign, 8 French, 8 English and from the multi-national URC, 2 Scots (Glasgow and Edinburgh), 2 Irish (Leinster and Munster), 3 South African (Bulls, Sharks and Stormers), and 1 Welsh team (Scarlets) qualified. After 4 Pool games against random opponents, the top 4 from each pool entered the knockout phases of Last 16, Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and the Grand Final last weekend in Bilbao. As has often been the case in recent years, Leinster of Ireland faced a French side, this time the defending champions, Union Bordeaux-Begles. And sadly, history repeated itself with Leinster, a side packed with Irish national team stars, losing to a more dynamic and resilient side. Final score. 19-41. Last champions in 2018, Leinster have now lost 5 finals since then, 4 times to French teams and once to England’s Saracens. And reinforcing their rugby’s hold on this tournament, French teams have won the trophy the last 6 years in a row - UBB now twice; Toulouse and la Rochelle, also with 2 wins each.
With 2 more rounds to play in each of the Gallagher Premiership and Top 14, attention returns on the teams battling for playoff spots. In France, only #7 Racing ‘92 and #8 Stade Rochelais have meaningful chances of participating in the playoffs; both play away this weekend but La Rochelle meets bottom club Montauban while Racing travels to #6 club ASM Clermont. A win by Racing could drop ASMC out of contention with only 1 game to play.
In the Gallagher Premiership, Saracens and the Bristol Bears have a chance of unseating Exeter Chiefs for the final spot in the Semi-Finals but there is much to be done. This weekend, the Bears, already on a 2-match losing streak host #2 Bath in what is looking to be a must-win match for them. Saracens, only 3 points back and playing their best rugby of the season host #8 Harlequins who, while having a poor season, are always up for their N. London opponents. Exeter, meanwhile, travel to Leicester Tigers, firmly #3 in the standings and in top form. Should current standings dictate the results, by Monday Saracens will be in 4th place, Exeter will still be hoping for a semi-final berth and Bristol may be watching the season slip from their grasp. Regardless, the final regular season (June 6th) weekend should be a nail-biter and then, off to the playoffs.
Finally, the United Rugby Championship has the first round of its own playoffs this weekend with 4 Quarter-Finals, as follows: Glasgow vs. Connacht; Vodacom Bulls vs. Munster; DHL Stormers vs. Cardiff; and Leinster vs. the Fidelity Lions. Note that these are the 8 teams that will play in the Investec Champions Cup next season, as referred to in the opening paragraph of this blog.
All matches live and replays on florugby.com.