Champions Cup Opponents Revealed For Leinster And Munster

Co-presented by Elma Smit and Vincent Pochulu, this afternoon’s pool draw for EPCR’s elite tournament took place in the Premier Sports studios in Dublin, with the balls drawn out of the drum by former Ireland international Ian Madigan.

The 24 Investec Champions Cup teams that qualified on merit from the BKT United Rugby Championship, the Gallagher Premiership, and the Top 14 will once again compete in four pools of six – Pool 1, Pool 2, Pool 3, and Pool 4.

Following the draw of the four tier 1 teams, the remaining 20 qualifiers were either drawn or allocated into the four pools in keeping with the draw’s key principles.

During the pool phase, each team will play four matches against four different opponents who are not from the same league, either home or away.

Placed in Pool 2, Munster have some mouth-watering pool clashes to look forward to. For Clayton McMillan’s first Champions Cup campaign, Munster will come up against English champions Bath, who are coached by Johann van Graan, the province’s head coach between 2017 and 2022.

McMillan’s men will also play French clubs Toulon and Castres Olympique, and Gloucester during the four pool rounds. Bath return to the Champions Cup after winning the EPCR Challenge Cup and a domestic double this past season.

Munster lost 24-21 to van Graan’s charges in a pre-season friendly at the Recreation Ground last August, and interestingly they are set to play both Gloucester and Bath in pre-season games this September, the latter one taking place at Virgin Media Park.

October 2000 was the last time that Munster faced Bath in European action, the teams trading pool wins just five months after a Mick Galwey-led side had narrowly lost that’s year final to Northampton Saints at Twickenham.

Gloucester, who were 33-19 winners of a pre-season fixture in Cork last year, were beaten twice by the Munstermen during the 2018/19 Champions Cup, going down 36-22 in Limerick, and 41-15 at home. Their summer arrivals include Ross Byrne and Rob Russell from Leinster.

Munster only have to go back to the 2023/24 season for their most recent meeting with Toulon, who were beaten semi-finalists in the Top 14 recently. The province won 29-18 at the Stade Mayol courtesy of tries from Alex Nankivell, Simon Zebo, Tom Ahern, and Calvin Nash.

Munster and Castres Olympique are set for their 20th meeting in Champions Cup history, which shows the pair’s impressive tournament pedigree. Captain Tadhg Beirne and his team-mates will have revenge on their minds after losing 16-14 at Stade Pierre-Fabre last December.

Meanwhile, newly-crowned URC champions Leinster head up Pool 3 and have Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle in their group for the third year running. They are also set to play Leicester Tigers, Harlequins, and Bayonne across December and January.

Amazingly, this is the sixth year in a row that Leinster and La Rochelle will cross paths. The Top 14 outfit were victorious in the 2021 semi-final and both the 2022 and 2023 finals, but Leo Cullen’s men have won the last three encounters – 16-9 and 40-13 in 2023/24, and 16-14 last January.

Their pool match seven months ago at Stade Marcel-Deflandre was defined by a terrific defensive display from Leinster. Joe McCarthy scored their only try, Sam Prendergast kicked the other points, and Josh van der Flier charged down Antoine Hastoy’s late drop goal attempt.

Cullen’s former club Leicester, who lost the recent Gallagher Premiership final to Bath, are frequent visitors to Dublin. Geoff Parling takes over from Michael Cheika as Leicester’s new head coach next month.

Leinster have recorded three knockout wins over Tigers since 2022, including 55-24 and 36-22 victories at the Aviva Stadium on the way to reaching the 2023 and 2024 deciders.

Harlequins are also recent opponents for Pool 3’s top seeds, who cruised to a 62-0 quarter-final win over ‘Quins at Croke Park in April. Leinster scored 10 tries that day, including a brace from James Lowe whose career tally for the province now stands at 67 tries in 92 appearances.

Bayonne will provide a novel match-up, with Grégory Patat’s men having a particularly strong home record, winning all 14 of their games at Stade Jean-Dauger on the way to reaching the Top 14 semi-finals this year.

With the pool line-ups now in place, the first four rounds of Champions Cup fixtures, including dates, venues, kick-off times, and TV coverage, will be announced later this month.

Fixtures are determined following the input of individual team calendar and venue considerations, broadcast requirements, and league calendar restrictions into an algorithm with the outcome of today’s pool draw, all of which are considered to deliver the optimum fixture schedule.

2025/26 INVESTEC CHAMPIONS CUP POOLS:

POOL 1: Stade Toulousain, ASM Clermont Auvergne, Hollywoodbets Sharks, Saracens, Glasgow Warriors, Sale Sharks

POOL 2: Bath Rugby, RC Toulon, MUNSTER RUGBY, Castres Olympique, Edinburgh Rugby, Gloucester Rugby

POOL 3: LEINSTER RUGBY, Leicester Tigers, Harlequins, Stade Rochelais, Aviron Bayonnais, DHL Stormers

POOL 4: Union Bordeaux-Bègles, Scarlets, Bristol Bears, Section Paloise, Northampton Saints, Vodacom Bulls

MATCH WEEKENDS:

Round 1 – December 5/6/7
Round 2 – December 12/13/14
Round 3 – January 9/10/11
Round 4 – January 16/17/18

Round Of 16 – April 3/4/5
Quarter-Finals – April 10/11/12
Semi-Finals – May 1/2/3

Investec Champions Cup Final – San Mamés Stadium, Bilbao, Saturday, May 23