European Rugby Returns: Investec Champions Cup Preview ahead of Round of 16
Yesterday at 11:20 AM
European rugby returns this weekend, as the Round of 16 for the 2024/25 Investec Champions Cup gets underway with some scintillating contests in store. The action gets started tonight in the East Midlands, as Northampton Saints look to end their run of three consecutive losses, with a must-win battle with Clermont Auvergne.
Here is RUCK’s preview for all the matches set to grace your screens this weekend, as the top tier of the cross-continental club competition kick into gear once again.
INVESTEC CHAMPIONS CUP PREVIEW: ROUND OF 16
Northampton Saints vs Clermont Auvergne – Friday 4th April, 20:00 KO, Franklin’s Gardens
The Champions Cup resumes with this hotly anticipated match-up, as Northampton Saints host Clermont Auvergne at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens. The match will witness the return of England fly half Fin Smith to his green, black and gold club colours, and partner up in the halfbacks with Alex Mitchell for only the third time this season for the Saints.
Northampton are out to end a three match losing streak, which began with their Premiership Rugby Cup elimination at the hands of Championship side Ealing Trailfinders. A heavy derby day defeat to Leicester Tigers followed in the Premiership, before a hard fought loss to Sale was their latest defeat on the road. Clermont currently sit at sixth in the Top 14, and the French outfit recently ended their own losing streak just this past weekend.
Clermont ended a run of five matches without a win, as after losing to Pau, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Bayonne and Racing, the Montferrandaise side secured a long awaited 33-19 triumph over Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle. This could well be the turning point for the visitors, who would love nothing more than to dump out Northampton from the European Cup, in front of no less than a packed house of Franklin’s Gardens faithful.
RC Toulon vs Saracens – Saturday, April 5th, 12:30 KO, Stade Mayol
Saturday’s action in the Champions Cup then gets underway in France, with a blockbuster clash in store between RC Toulon and Saracens. Toulon have recently bolstered their back-line with the return of club legend and All Blacks icon Ma’a Nonu. The 42-year-old made an explosive appearance off the bench last weekend against Castres, and even provided a nice miss-pass for a try assist to Jiuta Wainiqolo.
Toulon currently sit at third in the Top 14, with their eyes firmly focused upon chasing down the league leading duo of Toulouse and Bordeaux Begles. It’s been a mixed bag of recent form for the French outfit, who picked up a solid win over Perpigan either side of defeats to Lyon and the aforementioned clash with Castres Olimpique. Saracens enter the fold sat at sixth in the Premiership, in what has been an underwhelming domestic season for the Londoners.
Sarries would normally be flying high in the Premiership play-off places come this late stage of the season, yet Mark McCall’s men have failed to make it click with a consistent string of performances. Saracens would certainly welcome their first Champions Cup title since 2019, as they head across the Channel hot off the back of a 29-22 away win over Leicester Tigers.
Leinster Rugby vs Harlequins – Saturday, April 5th, 15:00 KO, Croke Park
Another headline battle is in store, with Leinster and Harlequins set to bring the house down at Ireland’s immense sporting amphitheater. Croke Park, the home of GAA sports Hurling and Gaelic Football, will provide an 80,000 capacity back-drop for Harlequins’ trip to the Irish capital. Leinster have a formidable record at Croke Park, and rise to the occasion when playing in such a special venue.
Leinster’s latest battles at Croke Park include the Champions Cup semi-final victory over Northampton Saints. The 20-17 win put Phil Dowson’s Premiership Champions-to-be through their paces for their toughest test of the 2023/24 season, in a match heralded by the Saints DoR to have brought Test level intensity. More recently, Leinster and Munster brought over 80,000 fans to their URC clash, with the match setting a new attendance record, as Leinster secured the inter-provincial win back in October.
Leinster had their perfect start to the season ended a fortnight ago, as the Bulls secured a 21-20 win in Pretoria. This ended Leinster’s 12-match winning run in the URC, which the Dubliners have since rectified with a win over the Sharks, to cap off their tour of South Africa. Harlequins hop across the Irish Sea off the back of a heavy defeat 47-28 defeat to Bath. However, the recent derby win over Saracens at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ended Quins wait for an away win over their noisy neighbors, and proved that they can get the job done in a colossal yet neutral venue.
Castres Olimpique vs Benetton Treviso – Saturday April 5th, 15:00 KO, Stade Pierre Fabre
It’s been an interesting few weeks for Castres Olimpique, who come into this Round of 16 clash following a defeat, a draw and then finally a win this past weekend. Castres kicked off their month of March with a defeat on the road to Montpellier, before finishing level at 12-12 against La Rochelle. The aforementioned win over RC Toulon has put their tales up for this knock-out battle with Benetton, in what is quite a favorable draw for the side currently sat at fifth in the Top 14.
Benetton have welcomed back their stars of the Italian national team, with the likes of Lorenzo Cannone, Tomasso Menoncello and Juan Ignacio Brex all fit and firing for this taste of knock-out action. It’s a momentous occasion for Benetton, who find themselves in the knock-out stages of the tournament for the first time since the 2005 Heineken Cup. Benetton have not played in the Champions Cup since 2019/20, with the Treviso side set to leave it all on the line as they push for their first ever appearance in the Champions Cup quarter-finals.
La Rochelle vs Munster Rugby – Saturday, April 5th, 17:30 KO – Stade Marcel Deflandre
The mid-evening clash in the Champions Cup is another belter, with Ronan O’Gara at the heart of the story heading into this one. The head coach of La Rochelle welcomes the Irish province down to his club, with O’Gara holding nothing short of GOAT status in the hearts and minds of Munster fans. The former Munster and Ireland captain will have to leave his love for the province to one side for 80 minutes at least, in what could be a season defining match up for both La Rochelle and their incoming opponents.
La Rochelle are vying to end an abysmal run of form, which has now stretched to an eight-game wait for a win across the Top 14 and Champions Cup. Dating back to a two-point defeat to Leinster in January, Stade Rochelais have only achieved the aforementioned 12-12 draw with Castres, amongst a string of defeats to Benetton, Toulon, Lyon, Racing 92, Stade Francais and Clermont Auvergne. Will Ronan O’Gara’s former home of Munster provide the winning ticket for La Rochelle, or will a Champions Cup elimination further mount the pressure upon the shoulders of the former fly half.
Since the start of 2025, Munster have racked up four wins and three losses in all competitions. The definition of a side who loses momentum as quickly as they find it, Munster need to get their boots on the ground and gain traction with a win over a struggling La Rochelle. Jack Crowley will be out to make a statement after being overlooked as Ireland’s fly half during the 2025 Six Nations, with the Cork man backed by all those across Munster, to usurp Sam Prendergast and book himself a spot on Andy Farrell’s British & Irish Lions squad this Summer.
Glasgow Warriors vs Leicester Tigers – Saturday, April 5th, 20:00 KO – Scotstoun Stadium
The late kick off on Saturday night sees Glasgow Warriors host Leicester Tigers at Scotstoun Stadium. The defending URC champions are flying with four wins in their last five, having firmly shaken off the asterisk of a shock defeat to Ospreys on March 1st. Either side of being stunned by the Swansea side, Glasgow have been taking names across the URC, with Connacht, Dragons, Munster and Emirates Lions all falling to the Warrior’s sword.
Scotstoun is revered as one of the last true ‘fortresses’ within the top tier club game, as the Ospreys ended a three-and-a-half year run of success upon home soil. The cracks were certainly felt in the Glaswegian foundation, yet they were promptly paved over ahead of Leicester’s trip North of the border. However, if the Tigers sink their claws into any faint marks that remain, then we could well see an away win that goes against the odds.
Before Saracens handed Leicester a 29-22 defeat at Welford Road this past weekend, the Tigers had strung together a four match winning run through the Premiership Rugby Cup and into the return of the domestic league campaign. The 33-0 hammering of East Midlands rivals Northampton Saints was an emphatic statement that secured the annual bragging rights, with the Tigers on the prowl for another big victory as the business end of the season draws ever nearer.
Bordeaux-Begles vs Ulster Rugby – Sunday, April 6th, 12:30 KO – Stade Chaban-Delmas
Sunday afternoon’s early kick off is an enticing encounter, between two sides with polarising styles on the attacking foot. The flash ‘jouer’ approach of the high-flying Bordeaux-Begles, meets head on with the no nonsense forward-orientated grit of Ulster, in what will provoke a real tactical chess match at the Stade Chaban-Delmas this weekend. Bordeaux are currently second in the Top 14, whilst Ulster chase the URC play-offs at sixth in the table.
Boardeaux-Begles have welcomed home the stars of the French side, which won the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations this past March. However, a notable omission from the Bordeaux team to face Ulster is that of Louis Bielle-Biarrey, who broke the Six Nations try-scoring record with eight scores in one Championship. Bielle-Biarrey is out of the match day squad, just three days after collecting the Six Nations Player of the Tournament award.
Ulster have pieced together a nice amount of momentum, ahead of what will undeniably be a tall order to overcome this Sunday. The Belfast outfit have accrued three wins on the bounce in the URC, with high-scoring victories over the Scarlets (30-28), Dragons (34-30) and Stormers (38-34) in recent weeks. Ulster have scored 30-plus points in this past trio of matches, yet have also leaked at least 28 points against their respective opposition. Should the floodgates open against Bordeaux-Begles even without Bielle-Biarrey, a betting man would favour a win for the French titans.
Stade Toulousain vs Sale Sharks – Sunday, April 6th, 15:00 KO, Stadium de Toulouse
Like the world heavyweight champion going up last on a boxing pay-per-view, Stade Toulousain will be making rugby fans wait, until they are graced with the presence of the Champions Cup title holders. The reigning, defending and undisputed kings of professional club rugby are out to add to their record setting six previous titles, and extend their dominance upon Europe (and South Africa) for a magnificent seventh star on their famous red and black shirts.
The plucky underdogs to face them this weekend is Sale Sharks, but if anyone can pull of a Rocky-esque uppercut and knock Toulouse out of the Champions Cup, it’s Alex Sanderson’s hard-nosed Northerners. The England boys have been back in camp for a few weeks now, with the Curry twins firing on all cylinders alongside highly rated young prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour. Add in George Ford, who continues to age like a bottle of Toulouse’s finest ‘vin’, and Sale may well shock the rugby landscape this weekend.
The Sharks are riding a wave of back-to-back wins over Newcastle and Northampton, and currently sit at fifth in the Premiership – just two points off the play-off places. Toulouse currently rule the roost at the helm of the Top 14, yet a recent defeat to Bordeaux ended a six match winning run, and proved that Antoine Dupont’s superstar ensemble are in fact beatable.
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WIN A TRIP TO THE 2025 LIONS:
THE PACKAGE INCLUDES
- 2 x Return flight tickets from the UK to Australia
- 2 x Tickets to watch the 2nd Test in Melbourne
- 2 x Tickets to watch the 3rd Test in Sydney
- 4 x Night's accommodation in Melbourne with bed & breakfast (24-27 July)
- 7 x Night's accommodation in Sydney with bed & breakfast (28 July-3 Aug)
- 2 x Flight tickets Melbourne to Sydney including airport hotel group transfers
- 2 x Tickets to watch a private function with Lions legends
- Additional events to be announced
The winner will be part of the Lions supporters group with tour representatives on hand to oversee everything.
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