When the Fidelity SecureDrive Lions managed to grab a losing bonus point in their final round Vodacom URC loss to Munster in Limerick last weekend, it was automatically assumed that meant they were certain of their first ever participation in the Investec Champions Cup as it meant they ended seventh on the final log.
Normally eighth place in the URC is enough to qualify a team for the more elite of the two European competitions, but the appearance of Ulster in this week’s EPCR Challenge Cup final in Bilbao threw out a curveball to whichever team finished eighth.
The Challenge Cup winner automatically qualifies for the next season’s Challenge Cup, as is the case for the European Cup winner automatically qualifying for the Champions League in soccer. It was what secured the Hollywoodbets Sharks their Champions Cup status in 2024/2025 after they had finished a lowly 14th in the previous season’s URC.
Unlike in English soccer, the entrance to the higher competition does not increase the number of participants in that competition from a particular league or country, but instead comes in place of a team that otherwise would have qualified for the Champions Cup through the URC. Which means that the eighth-placed team in this year’s URC will be watching Friday night’s Challenge Cup final with more than just passing interest. In this case it will be Connacht who will be hoping that Montpellier beat their fellow Irish team, thus extinguishing any chance of the Galway-based team not being part of the Champions Cup next season.
However, the Lions should also be watching the game feeling a little nervous. For if Ulster win it doesn’t mean Connacht’s chances of playing in next season’s Champions Cup are extinguished - they can still get there by winning the URC, which is another way of automatically qualifying for the elite competition. If Ulster win the Challenge Cup and Connacht win the URC, then the Lions will drop back into the Challenge Cup next year.
The chances of Connacht winning the URC might appear remote given that they finished eighth in the URC and had to win their last game just to make the cut, but they are among the form teams in the URC currently and must quietly be fancying their chances of knocking over Glasgow in their first Finals Series game in Glasgow next Friday night. After that, they may well end up having to head to Pretoria for their semifinal, in which case, for once, the Lions will become firm Vodacom Bulls supporters.