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The bookies' four favourites for the Champions Cup and other talking points

By PA
Leinster have dominated the Pro14 for the past two seasons. (Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

The Heineken Champions Cup will see teams from three leagues – Gallagher Premiership, Guinness PRO14 and French Top 14 – battle it out to be crowned kings of Europe this season.

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Here, the PA news agency looks at how the competition might pan out and who are the players to watch as the tournament swings into action.

The format
The Champions Cup has increased to 24 teams this season, comprising two seeded pools of 12. Each side plays four group games – against two opponents home and away – in December and January. The top four teams in each pool will secure quarter-final places, with those matches being played over two legs in April. Sides that finish fifth to eighth in each group will form the European Challenge Cup round of 16 alongside eight Challenge Cup qualifiers. The finals of both competitions take place at Stade Velodrome in Marseille on May 21 and 22.

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The RugbyPass Offload: James Lowes’ journey from NZ cast-off to Ireland starter:

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The RugbyPass Offload: James Lowes’ journey from NZ cast-off to Ireland starter:

The contenders
European title holders Exeter could again be the team to beat. Their memorable victory over French challengers Racing 92 in last season’s final saw them become England’s sixth different European Cup-winning club, and they have made a blistering start to the current Premiership campaign, posting three successive bonus point victories. Paris-based Racing again look well-equipped, along with record four-time European champions Leinster and Toulouse, but with just four group fixtures, the margin for error is tiny.

The dark horses
Rugby union’s European Cup has been contested for 25 seasons, but the fact that only 12 teams have won it underlines an acute degree of difficulty. Of those former winners, nine are among the title hopefuls this time around, and the bookmakers’ odds strongly suggest the champions will come from Leinster, Exeter, Racing or Toulouse. But a host of challengers are lining up behind them, including twice winners Wasps, who were Premiership finalists last season, another double European champion in Irish heavyweights Munster, and perhaps the strongest dark horse of all – Bristol – on their European Cup return after a 12-year absence.

Vive la France!
France boasted the inaugural European Cup winners when Toulouse, inspired by Thomas Castaignede, triumphed at Cardiff Arms Park in 1996. Just two other French clubs – Brive (1997) and Toulon (2013-2015) – have won the tournament since then, but it would be no surprise if they featured strongly this time. The French national team has been revitalised under head coach Fabien Galthie, finishing second in last season’s Six Nations and then being beaten by England during extra-time in the Autumn Nations Cup final five days ago. If clubs like Toulouse, Racing, Bordeaux-Begles and current Top 14 leaders La Rochelle can thrive against the back-drop of that feelgood factor, then a first French winner since 2015 could easily materialise.

The players to watch
European Cup rugby has always been a stage for many of the world’s leading players to showcase their ability, and this season will be no exception. Fresh from helping England win the Six Nations and Autumn Nations Cup, stars like Jonny May, Henry Slade, Tom Curry and Sam Underhill now prepare for the Champions Cup arena, with Scotland captain Stuart Hogg, Ireland skipper Johnny Sexton, France’s Six Nations player of the tournament Antoine Dupont and South African World Cup winners Faf de Klerk and Cheslin Kolbe also among those aiming to make an impression. It promises to be pure box-office.

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J
JW 20 minutes ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Where? I remember saying "unders"? The LNR was formed by the FFR, if I said that in a way that meant the 'pro' side of the game didn't have an equal representation/say as the 'amateur' side (FFR remit) that was not my intent.


But also, as it is the governing body, it also has more responsibility. As long as WR looks at FFR as the running body for rugby in France, that 'power' will remain. If the LNR refuses to govern their clubs use of players to enable a request by FFR (from WR) to ensure it's players are able to compete in International rugby takes place they will simply remove their participation. If the players complain to the France's body, either of their health and safety concerns (through playing too many 'minutes' etc) or that they are not allowed to be part in matches of national interest, my understanding is action can be taken against the LNR like it could be any other body/business. I see where you're coming from now re EPCR and the shake up they gave it, yes, that wasn't meant to be a separate statement to say that FFR can threaten them with EPCR expulsion by itself, simply that it would be a strong repercussion for those teams to be removed (no one would want them after the above).


You keep bringing up these other things I cannot understand why. Again, do you think if the LNR were not acting responsibly they would be able to get away with whatever they want (the attitude of these posters saying "they pay the players")? You may deem what theyre doing currently as being irresponsible but most do not. Countries like New Zealand have not even complained about it because they've never had it different, never got things like windfall TV contracts from France, so they can't complain because theyre not missing out on anything. Sure, if the French kept doing things like withholding million dollar game payments, or causing millions of dollars of devaluation in rights, they these things I'm outlining would be taking place. That's not the case currently however, no one here really cares what the French do. It's upto them to sort themselves out if they're not happy. Now, that said, if they did make it obvious to World Rugby that they were never going to send the French side away (like they possibly did stating their intent to exclude 20 targeted players) in July, well then they would simply be given XV fixtures against tier 2 sides during that window and the FFR would need to do things like the 50/50 revenue split to get big teams visiting in Nov.

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