Bordeaux to edge Northampton in Cardiff Champions Cup thriller May 23, 2025 It’s that time of year again when rival fans pack into one of Europe’s great stadiums to watch the Investec Champions Cup final. This year it is Northampton Saints and Bordeaux Begles in the superb Principality Stadium in Cardiff. And what a final we’re in for. It’s an Anglo-French battle, a classic match-up from days [...]
Premiership run-in: Saints and Bath will impact top four May 9, 2025 Look at the Premiership table and you’ll see that the top team and Challenge Cup finalists Bath are 15 points clear of second-placed Leicester Tigers, and Champions Cup finalists Northampton Saints are 17 points safe from dropping out of the top eight. And with just three games remaining for each team, and a maximum of [...]
Northampton Saints a Champions Cup tonic for English Premiership May 6, 2025 With Northampton Saints in the Investec Champions Cup final, the English Premiership has a representative for the first time since 2020. At the end of January former Investec Champions Cup winners Exeter Chiefs were dumped out of the competition without a win to their name, Premiership leaders and title favourites Bath were dumped out with [...]
Saints and Bordeaux prove Champions Cup magic remains May 5, 2025 Whether or not you are a betting person you only needed to have a gander at the bookmakers’ predictions for the Investec Champions Cup semi-finals to get a good read on how each of the two matches last weekend should have gone. The first semi-final of the weekend saw tournament favourites Leinster host English champions [...]
Champions Cup prize money: Why profits in semis are shared May 2, 2025 As the Investec Champions Cup semi-finals get underway, why are the clubs involved not guaranteed all of the profits generated? Over the last couple of days the Uefa Champions League semi-finals have played out at London’s Emirates Stadium and Barcelona’s Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys. The final four teams are battling for prize money that could [...]
Rugby: The Henry hype is far from a load of Pollocks, he’s class April 18, 2025 I did laugh to myself when I saw the abuse Northampton Saints star Henry Pollock got for his celebration during his side’s Investec Champions Cup victory over Castres last weekend. I thought: “What a load of bollocks!” The 20-year-old has a swagger about him, he reminds me of a cross between Lewis Moody and Lawrence [...]
Northampton Saints chief: Champions Cup run is financial tonic April 10, 2025 Northampton Saints may be the sole English representative remaining in the Investec Champions Cup but they’re out only to look out for themselves. A run in the world’s premier club rugby competition is a money spinner, up until a certain point, and can open doors to countless commercial and fan activation opportunities. For Julia Chapman, [...]
Premiership clubs cannot get bored of Champions Cup failures, it’s the pinnacle April 8, 2025 Looking across the results from the Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup at the weekend with a focus on the seven English teams, there were six results that went the way many expected and one that didn’t. Gloucester’s victory in France against Montpellier was a real surprise, but wins for Northampton Saints and Bath, [...]
Which English teams can win this weekend in the Investec Champions Cup? April 3, 2025 There’s always a fuzzy feeling when the Investec Champions Cup returns to the calendar, especially during the knockout stages. There are six French teams, five English sides and five URC outfits left in the competition but I do fear for the Gallagher Premiership contingent this weekend. Usually the five competing teams – Northampton Saints, Saracens, [...]
Investec Champions Cup Barometer: Quins lay down Leinster marker March 24, 2025 In the lead up to the 2024-25 Investec Champions Cup round of 16, City A.M. has put together a barometer in partnership with Investec to assess which teams are hot – and which are not – ahead of April’s knockouts. Team of the week: Harlequins, England Before the London derby between Harlequins and Saracens at [...]