Bilbao, Amsterdam, Milan: Where should Champions Cup rugby go next? Sport Business The best thing about the Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup finals weekend is its location: Bilbao. It is not the first time the two premier continental fixtures have ventured to El Botxo – the San Mames Stadium hosted Leinster’s victory over Racing 92 in 2018 and Cardiff’s Challenge Cup win over Gloucester a [...]
Winning Champions Cup players should get mega cash bonuses Sport Business Sometimes I think Investec Champions Cup matches with something on the line could do with even more jeopardy. Bordeaux Begles, Bath Rugby, Leinster and RC Toulon will battle it out this weekend across the Atlantic and Aviva Stadiums. But what if there was a briefcase full of cash pitchside for the winners of each of [...]
Saracens hit out at disjointed rugby calendar amid £9m loss Sport Business Saracens have hit out at the disjointed rugby calendar after the London club made losses of £9m last season. The side, who finished sixth last year and missed out on the semi-finals, used their accounts to criticise rugby’s domestic calendar, which features huge spells without matches to ensure that players can play international rugby and [...]
DHL chief on English rugby ‘concern’, Formula 1 and Manchester United April 15, 2026 “I’d say it’s a concern,” Elliott Santon, the head of global sponsorships at DHL Express, says on the state of rugby in England. The global logistic giant is the front-of-shirt sponsor of Prem Rugby club Harlequins and has its distinctive yellow and red logo plastered on the quartered strip of the London team. DHL is [...]
Champions Cup hits attendance lows as Leinster crowds slump at Aviva Stadium April 13, 2026 The Investec Champions Cup quarter-finals at the weekend saw the lowest collective attendance figure since the current scheduling format was introduced. The four quarter-finals across England, France, Ireland and Scotland were played a week after the round of 16 phase of the continental competition and total attendances were down 11 per cent on last season. [...]
Investec Champions Cup needs two-legged quarter-finals. Here’s why April 10, 2026 It occurred to me, while watching predominantly dominant performances from home teams in the round of 16 last weekend, that the Investec Champions Cup needs two-legged quarter-finals. It was a little depressing to watch a depleted Leicester Tigers side who had won just one match in the group phase get smashed by defending champions Bordeaux [...]
Bath sell-out bright spark as Champions Cup attendances fall April 6, 2026 Bath Rugby’s return to the top flight Investec Champions Cup saw the only sell-out for an English team across the intercontinental competition. A packed Recreation Ground saw the West Country side beat Saracens and earn a spot in the quarter-finals for the first time since the single-legged round of 16 was reintroduced in the 2022-23 [...]
Investec Champions Cup organisers should meddle with knockouts April 3, 2026 On Wednesday the amount of tickets still available for Harlequins’ Investec Champions Cup round of 16 fixture against Sale Sharks was well over 6,000. Against their registered capacity of 14,800, that could result in an attendance of less than 9,000 – or around 40 per cent empty – come Saturday night. It is a better [...]
English Investec Champions Cup winner good for franchise investment January 16, 2026 Despite Northampton Saints’ loss at the weekend to tournament favourites Bordeaux Begles, the Investec Champions Cup could see its first English winner in over five years. Phil Dowson’s team, as well as Bristol Bears and Bath Rugby, are flying high in the European competition while Harlequins and others have qualified for the next round with [...]
A chance to test yourself: Youngs and Watson on the Investec Champions Cup January 7, 2026 For all they achieved in their distinguished careers, there remains one prize that has eluded Ben Youngs and Anthony Watson. Between them, the former England internationals amassed over 200 caps, toured with the British and Irish Lions and played in some of the game’s most iconic stadiums. Yet the Investec Champions Cup never found its [...]