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2024–25 European Rugby Champions Cup

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Not to be confused with 2024–25 EPCR Challenge Cup.

2024–25 European Rugby Champions Cup
Tournament details
Countries England
 France
 Ireland
 Italy
 Scotland
 South Africa
Tournament format(s)Modified round-robin and knockout
Date6 December 2024 – 24 May 2025
Tournament statistics
Teams24
Matches played47
Attendance701,224 (14,920 per match)
Highest attendance40,195 – Leinster v Bath
18 January 2024
Lowest attendance4,642 – Benetton v Bath
15 December 2024
Tries scored355 (7.55 per match)
Top point scorer(s)Ireland Sam Prendergast (Leinster)
44 points
Top try scorer(s)France Damian Penaud (Bordeaux)
10 tries
Final
VenuePrincipality Stadium, Cardiff, Wales
← 2023–24 (Previous)
(Next) 2025–26 →

The 2024–25 European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the 2024–25 Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is the eleventh season of the European Rugby Champions Cup, the annual club rugby union competition run by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) for professional clubs. It is the 30th season of the pan-European professional club rugby competition and the second season in which Investec are named as title sponsors.

The final will be played at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.[1][2]

Teams

[edit]

Twenty-four clubs from the three major European domestic and regional leagues will qualify to compete in the 2024–25 edition of the Champions Cup.[3]

The distribution of teams is:

Premiership Top 14 United Rugby Championship
England England France France Ireland Ireland Italy Italy Scotland Scotland South Africa South Africa

Team details

[edit]

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

Note: Placing shown in brackets, denotes standing at the end of the regular season for their respective leagues, with their end of season positioning shown through CH for Champions, RU for Runner-up, SF for losing Semi-finalist, and QF for losing Quarter-finalist.

Team Coach(es)/
Director of Rugby 		Captain(s) Stadium Capacity Method of qualification
England Bath South Africa Johann van Graan England Ben Spencer Recreation Ground 14,509 Premiership top 8 (2nd) (RU)
Italy Benetton Italy Marco Bortolami Italy Michele Lamaro Stadio Comunale di Monigo 5,000 URC top 8 (7th) (QF)
France Bordeaux France Yannick Bru France Jefferson Poirot Stade Chaban-Delmas 34,694 Top 14 top 8 (3rd) (RU)
England Bristol Bears Samoa Pat Lam England Fitz Harding Ashton Gate 27,000 Premiership top 8 (5th)
South Africa Bulls South Africa Jake White South Africa Marcell Coetzee Loftus Versfeld 51,762 URC top 8 (2nd) (RU)
France Castres Ireland Jeremy Davidson France Mathieu Babillot Stade Pierre-Fabre 12,500 Top 14 top 8 (7th)
France Clermont France Christophe Urios France Baptiste Jauneau Stade Marcel-Michelin 19,022 Top 14 top 8 (8th)
England Exeter Chiefs England Rob Baxter Wales Dafydd Jenkins Sandy Park 13,593 Premiership top 8 (7th)
Scotland Glasgow Warriors South Africa Franco Smith Scotland Kyle Steyn Scotstoun Stadium 7,351 URC top 8 (4th) (CH)
England Harlequins Australia Billy Millard England Alex Dombrandt Twickenham Stoop 14,800 Premiership top 8 (6th)
France La Rochelle Ireland Ronan O'Gara France Grégory Alldritt Stade Marcel-Deflandre 16,700 Top 14 top 8 (5th) (SF)
England Leicester Tigers Australia Michael Cheika Argentina Julián Montoya Welford Road Stadium 25,849 Premiership top 8 (8th)
Ireland Leinster Ireland Leo Cullen Ireland Caelan Doris Aviva Stadium 51,700 URC top 8 (3rd) (SF)
Ireland Munster Ireland Ian Costello Ireland Tadhg Beirne Thomond Park 25,600 URC top 8 (1st) (SF)
England Northampton Saints England Phil Dowson England George Furbank Franklin's Gardens 15,200 Premiership top 8 (1st) (CH)
France Racing 92 England Stuart Lancaster France Henry Chavancy Paris La Défense Arena 32,000 Top 14 top 8 (6th) (QF)
England Sale Sharks England Alex Sanderson England Ben Curry Salford Community Stadium 12,000 Premiership top 8 (3rd) (SF)
England Saracens Ireland Mark McCall England Maro Itoje StoneX Stadium 10,500 Premiership top 8 (4th) (SF)
South Africa Sharks New Zealand John Plumtree South Africa Lukhanyo Am Kings Park Stadium 52,000 Challenge Cup Champions
France Stade Français France Laurent Labit France Paul Gabrillagues Stade Jean-Bouin 20,000 Top 14 top 8 (2nd) (SF)
South Africa Stormers South Africa John Dobson South Africa Salmaan Moerat Cape Town Stadium 55,000 URC top 8 (5th) (QF)
France Toulon France Pierre Mignoni France Charles Ollivon Stade Mayol 17,500 Top 14 top 8 (4th) (QF)
France Toulouse France Ugo Mola France Antoine Dupont Stade Ernest-Wallon 19,500 Top 14 top 8 (1st) (CH)
Ireland Ulster Ireland Richie Murphy Ireland Iain Henderson Ravenhill Stadium 18,196 URC top 8 (6th) (QF)

Pool stage

[edit]
Main article: 2024–25 European Rugby Champions Cup pool stage

Teams were drawn into pools in Cardiff on 2 July 2024.[2] Teams are awarded four points for a win, two for a draw, one for scoring four tries in a game, and one for losing by less than eight points.

The format is, once again, a modified round robin. Each pool consists of six teams, two from each of the three contributing leagues. Each team plays the four teams not from its own league once, with one game away to each league and one game at home. Teams do not play their league partners at this stage. The top four teams go to the first knock out round, where the top two teams in each group are given home advantage. The fifth placed teams 'drop' into the Challenge Cup knockout rounds, joining twelve clubs from that competition's pool stages in the knockout stage as the ninth to twelfth seeds, earning away ties with the fifth-to eighth-ranked sides from the Challenge Cup's pool stage. The sixth placed team in each group is eliminated.

[[File:
class=notpageimage|
Locations
|1300px|alt=Locations of the Europe-based teams of the 2024–25 European Rugby Champions Cup group stage.
Red: Pool 1; Blue: Pool 2; Green: Pool 3; Yellow: Pool 4.]]
[[:File:
class=notpageimage|
Locations
| ]]
Locations of the Europe-based teams of the 2024–25 European Rugby Champions Cup group stage.
Red: Pool 1; Blue: Pool 2; Green: Pool 3; Yellow: Pool 4.
class=notpageimage|
Locations of London teams of the 2024–25 European Rugby Champions Cup group stage.
Green: Pool 3; Yellow: Pool 4.
class=notpageimage|
Locations of South African teams of the 2024–25 European Rugby Champions Cup group stage.
Red: Pool 1; Green: Pool 3; Yellow: Pool 4.

Pool 1

[edit]
European Rugby Champions Cup Pool 1
Pos Team
 Pld W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts Qualification
1 France Bordeaux (1) 4 4 0 0 217 76 +141 33 12 4 0 20 Home Champions Cup round of 16.
2 France Toulouse (5) 4 4 0 0 225 62 +163 33 9 3 0 19
3 England Leicester Tigers (10) 4 2 0 2 134 149 −15 20 21 3 0 11 Away Champions Cup round of 16.
4 Ireland Ulster (16) 4 1 0 3 102 163 −61 15 24 1 0 5
5 South Africa Sharks (12CC) 4 1 0 3 76 163 −87 10 23 1 0 5 Away Challenge Cup round of 16.
6 England Exeter Chiefs 4 0 0 4 83 224 −141 13 34 1 0 1
Source: EPCR[5]
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

[edit]
European Rugby Champions Cup Pool 2
Pos Team
 Pld W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts Qualification
1 Ireland Leinster (2) 4 4 0 0 113 54 +59 15 7 2 0 18 Home Champions Cup round of 16.
2 France La Rochelle (8) 4 2 0 2 98 75 +23 12 6 1 2 11
3 Italy Benetton (11) 4 2 0 2 83 109 −26 11 14 2 1 11 Away Champions Cup round of 16.
4 France Clermont (14) 4 2 0 2 89 81 +8 13 12 2 0 10
5 England Bath (10CC) 4 1 0 3 102 114 −12 14 16 1 2 7 Away Challenge Cup round of 16.
6 England Bristol Bears 4 1 0 3 80 132 −52 12 20 2 1 7
Source: EPCR[6]
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

[edit]
European Rugby Champions Cup Pool 3
Pos Team
 Pld W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts Qualification
1 England Northampton Saints (3) 4 3 0 1 137 106 +31 20 15 4 0 16 Home Champions Cup round of 16.
2 France Castres (6) 4 3 0 1 105 86 +19 13 13 2 0 14
3 Ireland Munster (9) 4 2 0 2 96 69 +27 13 7 2 2 12 Away Champions Cup round of 16.
4 England Saracens (13) 4 2 0 2 91 71 +20 11 9 2 1 11
5 South Africa Bulls (11CC) 4 1 0 3 84 113 −29 12 15 1 0 5 Away Challenge Cup round of 16.
6 France Stade Français 4 1 0 3 76 144 −68 11 21 1 0 5
Source: EPCR[7]
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

[edit]
European Rugby Champions Cup Pool 4
Pos Team
 Pld W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts Qualification
1 France Toulon (4) 4 3 0 1 94 94 0 12 14 1 0 13 Home Champions Cup round of 16.
2 Scotland Glasgow Warriors (7) 4 2 0 2 103 92 +11 16 12 3 1 12
3 England Sale Sharks (12) 4 2 0 2 81 92 −11 12 14 2 0 10 Away Champions Cup round of 16.
4 England Harlequins (15) 4 2 0 2 110 79 +31 16 10 1 0 9
5 France Racing 92 (9CC) 4 2 0 2 80 92 −12 12 14 1 0 9 Away Challenge Cup round of 16.
6 South Africa Stormers 4 1 0 3 92 108 −16 12 16 1 0 5
Source: EPCR[8]
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

[edit]

The knockout stage follows the same format as used in previous years, which begins with a single-leg round of 16, starting on 4 April 2025. This round is followed by the quarter-finals and semi-finals, before the tournament concludes with the final at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on 24 May 2025.

All clubs are thereafter 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 are ranked 1 to 4, the second-placed clubs are ranked 5 to 8, the third-placed clubs are ranked 9 to 12, and the fourth-placed clubs are ranked 13 to 16.

Whilst the round of 16 follows a pre-determined format, the quarter-finals see home advantage given to the higher ranked team, based on a pre-determined match-up. As such the teams seeded 1 to 4 are guaranteed home advantage in they reach the quarter-final, and teams seeded 13 to 16 are guaranteed an away fixture if they do so. Whether a team ranked from 5 to 12 will play home or away will depend on other results in their section of the bracket.

The semi-finals are played at a 'neutral' venue, with the higher ranked team having home country advantage.

Seeding

[edit]
Rank Team Pts Diff TF
Pool leaders
1 France Bordeaux 20 +141 33
2 Ireland Leinster 18 +59 18
3 England Northampton Saints 16 +31 20
4 France Toulon 13 0 12
Pool runners-up
5 France Toulouse 19 +163 33
6 France Castres 14 +19 13
7 Scotland Glasgow Warriors 12 +11 16
8 France La Rochelle 11 +23 12
Pool third place
9 Ireland Munster 12 +27 13
10 England Leicester Tigers 11 –15 20
11 Italy Benetton 11 –26 11
12 England Sale Sharks 10 -11 12
Pool fourth place
13 England Saracens 11 +20 11
14 France Clermont 10 +8 13
15 England Harlequins 9 +31 16
16 Ireland Ulster 5 –61 15

Bracket

[edit]
Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
            
1 France Bordeaux
16 Ireland Ulster
 
 
8 France La Rochelle
9 Ireland Munster
 
 
4 France Toulon
13 England Saracens
 
 
5 France Toulouse
12 England Sale Sharks
 
 
2 Ireland Leinster
15 England Harlequins
 
 
7 Scotland Glasgow Warriors
10 England Leicester Tigers
 
 
3 England Northampton Saints
14 France Clermont
 
 
6 France Castres
11 Italy Benetton

Round of 16

[edit]
4 April 2025
20:00
Northampton Saints England (3)v(14) France Clermont
Franklin's Gardens, Northampton
5 April 2025
13:30
Toulon France (4)v(13) England Saracens
Stade Mayol, Toulon
5 April 2025
15:00
Leinster Ireland (2)v(15) England Harlequins
Croke Park, Dublin
5 April 2025
16:00
Castres France (6)v(11) Italy Benetton
Stade Pierre-Fabre, Castres
5 April 2025
18:30
La Rochelle France (8)v(9) Ireland Munster
Stade Marcel-Deflandre, La Rochelle
5 April 2025
20:00
Glasgow Warriors Scotland (7)v(10) England Leicester Tigers
Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
6 April 2025
13:30
Bordeaux France (1)v(16) Ireland Ulster
Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux
6 April 2025
15:00
Toulouse France (5)v(12) England Sale Sharks
Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse

Quarter-finals

[edit]
11 / 12 / 13 April 2025
v
(Higher-ranked team home venue)
11 / 12 / 13 April 2025
v
(Higher-ranked team home venue)
11 / 12 / 13 April 2025
v
(Higher-ranked team home venue)
11 / 12 / 13 April 2025
v
(Higher-ranked team home venue)

Semi-finals

[edit]
2 / 3 / 4 May 2025
v
(Higher-ranked team home country)
2 / 3 / 4 May 2025
v
(Higher-ranked team home country)

Final

[edit]
Main article: 2025 European Rugby Champions Cup Final
24 May 2025
14:45 BST (UTC+01)
v
Principality Stadium, Cardiff

Leading scorers

[edit]

Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under World Rugby eligibility rules, or primary nationality for players who have not yet earned international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-WR nationalities.

Discipline

[edit]

Citings/bans

[edit]
Player Match[N 1] Citing date Law breached Result Refs
France Pierre-Henri Azagoh Ireland Munster vs. France Stade Français
(Round 1 – 7 December 2024) 		10 December 2024 9.13 – Dangerous Tackling
(Red card) 		3-match ban[N 2] [12]
[13]
France Baptiste Pesenti Ireland Munster vs. France Stade Français
(Round 1 – 7 December 2024) 		10 December 2024 9.13 – Dangerous Tackling
(Red card) 		2-match ban [12]
[14]
France Yannick Youyoutte South Africa Stormers vs. France Toulon
(Round 1 – 7 December 2024) 		11 December 2024 9.13 – Dangerous Tackling
(Red card) 		5-match ban[N 2] [12]
[15]
France Sekou Macalou France Stade Français vs. England Saracens
(Round 2 – 15 December 2024) 		17 December 2024 9.13 – Dangerous Tackling
(Red card) 		To be determined [16]
Scotland Stafford McDowall France Toulon vs. Scotland Glasgow
(Round 2 – 15 December 2024) 		19 December 2024 9.12 – Contact with Eye Area
(Citing) 		[16]

Notes:

  1. ^ The cited player's club is listed in bold italics.[10]
  2. ^ a b The ban is reduced by one match, subject to the player's completion of the World Rugby Coaching Intervention Programme.[11]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Champions Cup: Cardiff to host 2025 final before 2026 return to Bilbao". www.bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 31 January 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b "2024/25 EPCR season and Pool Draws dates". www.epcrugby.com. European Professional Club Rugby. 12 June 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  3. ^ "Qualification". www.epcrugby.com. European Professional Club Rugby. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  4. ^ "What does the Sharks' maiden title mean for Champions Cup qualification in the United Rugby Championship?". Planet Rugby. 25 May 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  5. ^ "Pool Tables | Investec Champions Cup". www.epcrugby.com. European Professional Club Rugby. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Pool Tables | Investec Champions Cup". www.epcrugby.com. European Professional Club Rugby. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  7. ^ "Pool Tables | Investec Champions Cup". www.epcrugby.com. European Professional Club Rugby. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  8. ^ "Pool Tables | Investec Champions Cup". www.epcrugby.com. European Professional Club Rugby. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  9. ^ a b "Season Statistics". EPC Rugby. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
  10. ^ "Disciplinary hearing decisions: 2024/25 Season". European Professional Club Rugby. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  11. ^ "World Rugby Coaching Intervention Programme changing tackle behaviour". World Rugby. 30 November 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  12. ^ a b c "Disciplinary Decisions – Round 1". European Professional Club Rugby. 12 December 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  13. ^ "Pierre-Henri Azagoh: 3 weeks suspension" (PDF). European Professional Club Rugby. 10 December 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  14. ^ "Baptiste Pesenti: 2 weeks suspension" (PDF). European Professional Club Rugby. 10 December 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  15. ^ "Yannick Youyouette: 5 weeks suspension" (PDF). European Professional Club Rugby. 11 December 2024. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  16. ^ a b "Disciplinary Hearings – Round 2". European Professional Club Rugby. 17 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
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