The pool draws for EPCR’s Champions Cup and Challenge Cup tournaments will be staged in Dublin later today, with Northampton Saints’ pool stage opponents to be decided for the 20255/26 season.
During the draw the 24 sides who qualified for the Champions Cup – including Saints – will be drawn into four pools of six teams.
Both draws will be streamed live on epcrugby.com from the Premier Sports studio and the event, which will be co-presented by Elma Smit and Vincent Pochulu, will start at 1.30pm (UK-Irish time) / 2.30pm (European/South African time) / 4.30pm (Georgian time).
2025/26 INVESTEC CHAMPIONS CUP POOL DRAW
- All 24 clubs will be divided into two tiers for the draw, Tier 1 and Tier 2.
- Tier 1 will be made up of Union Bordeaux Bègles (2025 Investec Champions Cup winners), Bath Rugby (2025 Gallagher Premiership winners), Leinster Rugby (2025 URC winners), and Stade Toulousain (2025 TOP 14 winners).
- Tier 2 will include all of the remaining 20 clubs, including Northampton Saints.
- The four Tier 1 clubs will be drawn out first to decide which Pool they go into – with the first club going into Pool 1, the second into Pool 2 and so on.
- The remaining 20 clubs will then be drawn randomly to fill the rest of the pool spaces.
- There can only be a maximum of two clubs from the same league in each pool, with clubs in the same URC Shield (Irish, South African, Scottish and Welsh) also not able to be drawn in the same pool.
- If a club cannot be drawn into the originally allocated pool, it will be moved into the next available pool.
- This process will then be repeated until all 24 clubs are allocated a pool.
The fixture schedules for the Champions and Challenge Cups, with dates, venues, kick-off times confirmed, will be announced by EPCR as soon as possible following the draw.
2025/26 INVESTEC CHAMPIONS CUP QUALIFIERS
TOP 14: Stade Toulousain, Union Bordeaux Bègles, RC Toulon, Aviron Bayonnais, ASM Clermont Auvergne, Castres Olympique, Stade Rochelais , Section Paloise.
Gallagher Premiership: Bath Rugby, Leicester Tigers, Sale Sharks, Bristol Bears, Gloucester Rugby, Saracens, Harlequins, Northampton Saints.
United Rugby Championship: Leinster Rugby, Vodacom Bulls, Hollywoodbets Sharks, Glasgow Warriors, DHL Stormers, Munster Rugby, Edinburgh Rugby, Scarlets.
2025/26 EPCR WEEKENDS
- Round 1: 5/6/7 December 2025
- Round 2: 12/13/14 December 2025
- Round 3: 9/10/11 January 2026
- Round 4: 16/17/18 January 2026
- Round of 16: 3/4/5 April 2026
- Quarter-finals: 10/11/12 April 2026
- Semi-finals: 1/2/3 May 2026
- EPCR Challenge Cup Final: Friday 22 May, San Mamés Stadium, Bilbao
- Investec Champions Cup Final: Saturday 23 May, San Mamés Stadium, Bilbao
