Champions Cup: Kick-off times and match information for SA teams
12/05/2024 07:38 AM
The Sharks, Stormers and Bulls will looking to make an early statement in the Champions Cup against teams from France and England this weekend, while the Cheetahs and Lions kick off their EPCR Challenge Cup campaigns away from home.
The 2023/24 EPCR Challenge Cup winners, the Sharks, will play in the Champions Cup this season and will get the action underway on Saturday when they host last season's quarter-finalists, the Exeter Chiefs in Durban.
That match will be followed by clashes between the Stormers and French giants Toulon in Nelson Mandela Bay, and the Bulls – who also advanced to the top eight in the competition last season – against Saracens in London.
The Sharks are in one of the most formidable groups this year. They are in Pool 1 along with champions Toulouse, who are the most successful team in Champions Cup history with six titles, as well as Bordeaux Begles, Exeter Chiefs, Leicester Tigers and Ulster. There are no weak teams in that group.
The Bulls have English champions Northampton Saints to contend with in their group, along with the likes of Saracens. The Bulls beat Saracens in Pretoria last year, but Saracens will be eager to avenge that result when they start their respective campaigns at the Saracens homeground in Barnet on Saturday night.
There is no such thing as an easy group in the Champions Cup, as shown by Pool 4, where the Stormers find themselves vying with newly crowned URC champions Glasgow Warriors, Racing 92, Sale Sharks, Toulon and Harlequins.
The mighty Leinster and the recent two time champions, La Rochelle, once again find themselves in the same group – Pool 2.
Match information – Champions Cup Round 1:
Sharks v Exeter Chiefs
Date: Saturday, 7 December
Venue: Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban
SA Time: 15h00
Referee: Jeremy Rozier
TV: SuperSport
Stormers v Toulon
Date: Saturday, 7 December
Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Gqeberha
SA Time: 17h15
Referee: Karl Dickson
TV: SuperSport
Saracens v Bulls
Date: Saturday, 7 December
Venue: StoneX Stadium, London
SA Time: 19h30
Referee: Craig Evans
TV: SuperSport
Meanwhile, both EPCR Challenge Cup matches involving SA teams will play out on Sunday, with the Toyota Cheetahs going up against Perpignan in Amsterdam, while Ospreys welcome the Emirates Lions to Swansea in the closing match of the weekend.
Cheetahs v Perpignan
Date: Sunday, 8 December
Venue: NRCA Stadium, Amsterdam
SA Time: 15h00
Referee: Federico Vedovelli
TV: SuperSport
Ospreys v Lions
Date: Sunday, 8 December
Venue: Swansea.com Stadium, Swansea
SA Time: 17h15
Referee: Kevin Bralley
TV: SuperSport
What are your match predictions?
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