The Vodacom Bulls have arguably the toughest fixture list of the local teams for the group phase of the 2025/2026 Investec Champions Cup as they have been drawn in the same Pool as the two finalists from this past season, the winners Bordeaux-Begles and Northampton Saints.
The Bulls haven’t played Bordeaux in the Champions Cup before but they were upset by Saints at Loftus last season and were also outplayed by the same team in the 2023/2024 quarterfinal at Franklin Gardens.
So regardless of where the game is to be played, with that to be decided later, the Bulls will feel they owe their opponents one.
Not that the Bulls are alone in having to face tough opponents in the early phases of the competition.
Indeed, all three South African teams participating in next season’s edition of the Champions Cup will have matches against teams who have won the competition within the last three seasons on their schedule.
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— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) July 1, 2025
Some big clashes to come in the opening rounds of the competition đź’Ş
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Whether or not the local sides will see it as an intimidating prospect or a chance to measure themselves against the best, they will be up against a stiff challenge as current champions Bordeaux, the previous season’s winners Toulouse and the side that won it the for two consecutive years before that, feature among their pool phase opponents.
The Hollywoodbets Sharks hosted Toulouse in Durban this year and as they are in the same pool as the French heavyweights again it looks likely they may have to travel to France this time around if they want to avenge the 20-8 defeat they suffered in January.
The Sharks lost the 2022/2023 quarterfinal in Toulouse.
There are four pools of six teams each, with each team having to play the four sides that don’t feature in their domestic competitions.
So for instance the Sharks are included in the same group as Glasgow Warriors, the Vodacom United Rugby Champions of the 2024 term, but won’t get to play them.
Apart from Toulouse, they will play the other Sharks, Sale Sharks from England, plus Saracens and Clermont Auvergne.
They beat the latter in a tight semifinal on route to winning the 2023/2024 EPCR Challenge Cup.
Investec Champions Cup 2025/26
— The Sharks (@SharksRugby) July 1, 2025
🚨 POOL 1 🚨
The competition kicks off the weekend of December 5–7.#InvestecChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/pBTrNN6J9L
SISTER CLUBS TO CLASH
The Sharks’ match against Saracens could be interesting from the viewpoint that the two clubs have the same companies featuring in their ownership.
In soccer teams are disqualified from playing in the same European competitions as teams that are linked to them through ownership.
If Saracens come to Durban for their Champions Cup pool game it will be their second visit in a couple of months as it is understood Saracens are slated to play a pre-season warmup game at Hollywoodbets Kings Park.
The Stormers find themselves back in the same pool (Pool 3) as La Rochelle, who they beat in a memorable pool game in Cape Town in December 2023 before narrowly losing out to the same team in the round of 16 knockout game at the same venue three months later.
The Stormers are in the same pool as Leinster, who of course they won’t play against, but they will be playing two teams they have played in the pool phase of the competition before - Leicester Tigers (lost away in 2023/2024) and Harlequins (lost away last season but beat them in round of 16 in Cape Town in 2022/2023).
The other side the Stormers will face is the French club Bayonne, who they have not played before.
We'll be facing Leicester Tigers, Stade Rochelais, Harlequins and Bayonne in Pool Three of the 25/26 Investec Champions Cup. Dates, times and venues to be confirmed. #iamastormer #InvestecChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/ab0qjz10fK
— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) July 1, 2025
The Bulls are in the same pool (Pool 4) as Scarlets and will fancy their chances of finishing higher on the log than the Welsh team, who are back in the Champions Cup for the first time in several years, but they won’t play them.
Their other games aside from the games against last season’s finalists will be against Bristol Bears and Pau.
Tier 1 clubs – including defending champions Union Bordeaux Bègles, TOP 14 title-winners Stade Toulousain, Gallagher Premiership champions Bath Rugby, and URC winners Leinster Rugby – were each drawn first into separate pools, ensuring high-stakes matchups from the outset.
The EPCR finals weekend next season will be hosted by the vibrant Basque city of Bilbao on 22 and 23 May.
INVESTEC CHAMPIONS CUP POOLS FOR 2025/2026
Pool 1: Toulouse, Hollywoodbets Sharks, Sale Sharks, Clermont Auvergne, Saracens, Glasgow Warriors.
Pool 2: Bath, Toulon, Munster, Castres, Edinburgh, Gloucester.
Pool 3: La Rochelle, Leinster, Leicester Tigers, DHL Stormers, Harlequins, Bayonne.
Pool 4: Bordeaux-Begles, Northampton Saints, Vodacom Bulls, Scarlets, Bristol Bears, Pau.
2025/26 EPCR CHALLENGE CUP POOLS
Pool 1: Ospreys, Zebre Parma, Montpellier HĂ©rault Rugby, US Montauban, Black Lion, Connacht Rugby.
Pool 2: Lyon Olympique Universitaire, Newcastle Falcons, Dragons RFC, Benetton Rugby, Lions, USAP.
Pool 3: Toyota Cheetahs, Cardiff Rugby, Exeter Chiefs, Racing 92, Stade Français Paris, Ulster Rugby