Reigning champions Union Bordeaux Bègles will kick off the defence of their Investec Champions Cup crown against the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria, while the DHL Stormers and Hollywoodbets Sharks both face tough away fixtures in France as the European showpiece gets underway this weekend.
The Capetonians are away to Aviron Bayonnais in Bayonne on Friday evening, and the Durbanites take on six-time European champions Stade Toulousain in Toulouse on Sunday afternoon.
At the same time, the Lions and Toyota Cheetahs will fly the South African flag in the EPCR Challenge Cup when they take on Benetton and the Exeter Chiefs in the opening round of the competition.
South African eyes will be on Stade Jean Dauger, Loftus Versfeld, and Stade Ernest Wallon this weekend when the DHL Stormers, Vodacom Bulls and Hollywoodbets Sharks kick-start their Investec Champions Cup campaigns.
The aerial battle should be key in the clash between Aviron Bayonnais and the DHL Stormers in the southwest of France on Friday evening (22h00 SA time), where the visitors will have to be extra sharp in the air, as Bayonne led the EPCR Challenge Cup statistics last year by retaining 20.7% of their kicks, and 13.3% of their restarts.
But the Capetonians will take a lot of momentum into their clash in Bayonne, topping the standings in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship with a perfect start from their first six matches, which includes a superb victory over Munster, the only other unbeaten team after round five, in Limerick last weekend.
The DHL Stormers had the highest ruck speed in the competition last season, and they also like to kick when on attack, with a competition high average of 8.8 attacking kicks per game.
Union Bordeaux Bègles will be looking to kick their title defence off with a victory over the Vodacom Bulls on Saturday afternoon (17h15) in Pretoria, where the hosts will be keen to reverse a slump in form after a good start to the season.
The visitors will be mindful of the Vodacom Bulls’ pack though, especially at lineout time, where they stole five lineouts and conceded only one maul penalty, while their goal-kicking success rate of almost 89% was the third best in the competition last year.
The French giants’ success last season was built on breakdown dominance – they led the competition for turnovers won (83) and jackals (42) – and the Vodacom Bulls will have to make sure they protect their possession at rucks.
The final match of the opening weekend featuring a South African team, kicks off at 17h15 (SA time) on Sunday in Toulouse, where the most successful team in the history of the Investec Champions Cup, Stade Toulousain, await the Hollywoodbets Sharks.
Toulouse are on a four-match win streak in the French Top 14 and top the standings with eight victories after 11 matches, while the KwaZulu-Natalians have not had the best start in the Vodacom URC, but what has happened so far this season won’t count on Sunday.
If the Hollywoodbets Sharks can replicate their scrumming feat from last season, when they achieved a 100% success rate, they can exert some pressure on their hosts.
They also led the carrying metrics with 4.5m carry, while their attacking prowess also extended to the lineout drive, with four maul tries placing them joint first on the list.
In the EPCR Challenge Cup, the Lions will welcome a well-known opponent to Ellis Park on Saturday (15h00), when they open their account against Italian club, Benetton.
Two months ago, Benetton beat the Lions in Italy in the Vodacom URC, while the Italians also won the corresponding fixture in Johannesburg last year, but this time around, the hosts will go into the clash on the back of three straight wins since they were downed in Treviso, two of them at home at Ellis Park.
Sunday’s clash against the Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park (19h30 SA time), will be the Toyota Cheetahs’ first against an English club in the EPCR Challenge Cup. After reaching the playoffs in the first two seasons, the Free Staters missed out last year and will be keen to turn that around in the coming months.
Last season, the Toyota Cheetahs boasted the best lineout success rate in the competition with 93.2% and will be looking at this facet again as an attacking weapon, but their defence will have to be spot on against Exeter, who converted 59% of their line breaks to tries, which placed them first in the Investec Champions Cup last season.
MATCH INFORMATION
Investec Champions Cup:
Aviron Bayonnais v DHL Stormers
Date: Friday, 5 December 2025
Venue: Stade Jean Dauger, Bayonne
SA Time: 22h00
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Geo)
TV: SuperSport
Vodacom Bulls v Union Bordeaux Bègles
Date: Saturday, 6 December 2025
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
SA Time: 17h15
Referee: Karl Dickson (Eng)
TV: SuperSport
Stade Toulousain v Hollywoodbets Sharks
Date: Sunday, 7 December 2025
Venue: Stade Ernest Wallon, Toulouse
SA Time: 17h15
Referee: Christophe Ridley (Eng)
TV: SuperSport
EPCR Challenge Cup
Lions v Benetton
Date: Saturday, 6 December 2025
Venue: Ellis Park, Johannesburg
SA Time: 15h00
Referee: Kevin Bralley (Fra)
TV: SuperSport
Exeter Chiefs v Toyota Cheetahs
Date: Sunday, 7 December 2025
Venue: Sandy Park, Exeter
SA Time: 19h30
Referee: Benoit Rousselet (Fra)
TV: SuperSport
Green Ghost
Kate Cross is the first woman in the world to play in the men’s Lancashire League.
Foot-long Fry
The Bledisloe Cup is a rugby union competition held annually between the Wallabies and their fierce rivals, the New Zealand All Blacks. The competition dates back to 1931, and while the All Blacks have been the more dominant team in the contest, the matches between these two nations are always highly competitive and intense.