Investec Champions Cup, Round One: Predictions, teams, kick-off times, how to watch and referee appointments
The 2026/27 Investec Champions Cup season gets underway this weekend, with 12 games set to take place across the three days.
Reigning champions Bordeaux-Bègles begin their title defence in the English South West against PREM table toppers Gloucester. Saturday then sees eight fixtures scheduled, with Sale Sharks v Glasgow Warriors, Bulls v Stade Français, Clermont Auvergne v Leinster, Stormers v Bristol Bears, Connacht v Saracens, La Rochelle v Lions, Munster v Racing 92 and Bath v Montpellier pencilled in.
Things then conclude on Sunday with three more games as Pau welcome Leicester Tigers to France, Toulouse play Exeter Chiefs and Northampton Saints face Cardiff.
Check on all the Investec Champions Cup team news, our predictions, how to watch and more below.
Friday
Gloucester v Bordeaux-Bègles
Prediction: Bordeaux by 15
Gloucester: 15 George Barton, 14 Will Joseph, 13 Max Llewellyn, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Ben Loader, 10 Charlie Atkinson, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Jack Clement, 7 Jac Morgan, 6 Deain Gwynne, 5 Arthur Clark, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Ciaran Knight, 2 Dewi Lake (c), 1 Dian Bleuler
Replacements: 16 Seb Blake, 17 Val Rapava Ruskin, 18 Eliot Salt, 19 Freddie Thomas, 20 Will Trenholm, 21 Lewis Ludlow, 22 Caolan Englefield, 23 Will Knight
Venue: Kingsholm
Kick-off: 20:00 UK & IRE / 21:00 FRA, ITA & SA
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Ita)
Assistant referees: Franco Rosella (Ita), Dario Merli (Ita)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Ita)
Live on: Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby, EPCR.TV
Saturday
Sale Sharks v Glasgow Warriors
Prediction: Glasgow by 7
Sale Sharks: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 11 Arron Reed, 10 George Ford, 9 Gus Warr, 8 Elia Canakaivata, 7 Ben Curry, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Ben Bamber, 4 Ernst van Rhyn (c), 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Nathan Jibulu, 17 Si McIntyre, 18 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 19 Christ Tshiunza, 20 Tom Curry, 21 Dom Hanson, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Ponipati Loganimasi
Glasgow Warriors: 15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Kyle Steyn (c), 13 Stafford McDowall, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Jamie Dobie, 10 Dan Lancaster, 9 George Horne, 8 Ruwald van der Merwe, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Euan Ferrie, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Seb Stephen, 1 Nathan McBeth
Replacements: 16 Gregor Hiddleston, 17 Patrick Schickerling, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Jare Oguntibeju, 20 Gregor Brown, 21 Ally Miller, 22 Callum Reidy, 23 Ollie Smith
Venue: CorpAcq Stadium
Kick-off: 13:00 UK & IRE / 14:00 FRA, ITA & SA
Referee: Craig Evans (Wal)
Assistant referees: Gareth Newman (Wal), Lucas Yendle (Wal)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wal)
Live on: Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby, EPCR.TV
Bulls v Stade Français
Prediction: Bulls by 12
Bulls: 15 Luan Giliomee, 14 Sebastian de Klerk, 13 Sango Xamlashe, 12 Harold Vorster, 11 Cheswill Jooste, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Paul de Wet, 8 Cameron Hanekom, 7 Elrigh Louw (c), 6 Marco van Staden, 5 JF van Heerden, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Khutha Mchunu, 2 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 1 Alu Tshakweni
Replacements: 16 Johan Grobbelaar, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Francois Klopper, 19 Jaco Grobbelaar, 20 Jeandre Rudolph, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Stravino Jacobs, 23 Willie le Roux
Stade Français: 15 Leo Monin, 14 Aisake Nawaqadrua, 13 Freddy Duguivalu, 12 Julien Delbouis, 11 Lester Etien, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Martin Blum, 8 Juan-Martin Scelzo (c), 7 Mathieu Hirigoyen, 6 Pierre Huguet, 5 Fabrice Metz, 4 Jacques Botha, 3 Moses Alo-Emile, 2 Alvaro Garcia Albo, 1 Thomas Bue
Replacements: 16 Ethan Tia, 17 Sergo Abramishvili, 18 Braxton Asi, 19 Petero Mailulu, 20 Setareki Turagacoke, 21 Louis Foursans-Bourdette, 22 Samuel Ezeala, 23 Rufus McLean
Venue: Loftus Versfeld
Kick-off: 13:00 UK & IRE / 14:00 FRA, ITA & SA
Referee: Christophe Ridley (Eng)
Assistant referees: George Selwood (Eng), Jamie Parr (Eng)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (Wal)
Live on: Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby, EPCR.TV
Clermont Auvergne v Leinster
Prediction: Leinster by 5
Clermont: 15 Justin Bouraux, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 AJ Lam, 12 Léon Darricarrere, 11 Joris Jurand, 10 Harry Plummer, 9 Baptiste Jauneau, 8 Kevin Noah, 7 Anthime Hemery, 6 Killian Tixeront, 5 Darcy Swain, 4 Thibaud Lanen, 3 Nohem Ez Zahouany, 2 Barnabe Massa, 1 Giorgi Akhaladze
Replacements: 16 Peniami Narisia, 17 Sacha Lotrian, 18 Matheo Frisach, 19 Leo Michaux Vargas, 20 Antoine Chalus-Cercy, 21 Louis Vermeulen, 22 Baptiste Germain, 23 Mathys Belaubre
Leinster: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Tommy O’Brien, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Jimmy O’Brien, 10 Sam Prendergast, 9 Fintan Gunne, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Ryan Baird, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Dan Sheehan (c), 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements: 16 Rónan Kelleher, 17 Alex Usanov, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Conor O’Tighearnaigh, 20 Scott Penny, 21 Oliver Coffey, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Jamie Osborne
Venue: Stade Marcel-Michelin
Kick-off: 15:15 UK & IRE / 16:15 FRA, ITA & SA
Referee: Matthew Carley (Eng)
Assistant referees: Hamish Smales (Eng), Jonathan Healy (Eng)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (Eng)
Live on: Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby, EPCR.TV
Stormers v Bristol Bears
Prediction: Stormers by 15
Stormers: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel (c), 12 Jonathan Roche, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 JD Schickerling, 4 Adré Smith, 3 Sazi Sandi, 2 JJ Kotzé, 1 Vernon Matongo
Replacements: 16 André-Hugo Venter, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Riley Norton, 21 Deon Fourie, 22 Haashim Pead, 23 Warrick Gelant
Bristol Bears: 15 Tobi Wilson, 14 Max Pepper, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Jack Bates, 11 Aidan Boshoff, 10 Sam Worsley, 9 Kieran Marmion (c), 8 Luka Ivanishvili, 7 Kenzie Jenkins, 6 Joe Owen, 5 Josh Caulfield, 4 Pedro Rubiolo, 3 Jimmy Halliwell, 2 Tomas Gwilliam, 1 Jake Woolmore
Replacements: 16 Sol Moody, 17 Andrew Turner, 18 Sam Scott, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Paddy Pearce, 21 Ollie Harris, 22 James Williams, 23 Victor Worsnip
Venue: DHL Stadium
Kick-off: 15:15 UK & IRE / 16:15 FRA, ITA & SA
Referee: Kevin Bralley (Fra)
Assistant referees: Vincent Blasco Baque (Fra), Flavien Hourquet (Fra)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (Fra)
Live on: Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby, EPCR.TV
Connacht v Saracens
Prediction: Saracens by 3
Connacht: 15 Sam Gilbert, 14 Finn Treacy, 13 Cathal Forde, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Shane Jennings, 10 Ciaran Frawley, 9 Colm Reilly, 8 Sean Jansen, 7 Shamus Hurley-Langton, 6 Cian Prendergast (c), 5 Josh Murphy, 4 Darragh Murray, 3 Sam Illo, 2 Matthew Victory, 1 Francois van Wyk
Replacements: 16 Eoin de Buitlear, 17 Billy Bohan, 18 Thomas Connolly, 19 Niall Murray, 20 Sean O’Brien, 21 Caolin Blade, 22 Josh Ioane, 23 Daniel Ryan
Saracens: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Noah Caluori, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Sione Vaenuku, 11 Rotimi Segun, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Toby Knight, 6 Maro Itoje (c), 5 Hugh Tizard, 4 Olamide Sodeke, 3 Marcus Street, 2 Jamie George, 1 Eroni Mawi
Replacements: 16 Eoghan Clarke, 17 Phil Brantingham, 18 Corne Weilbach, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Nathan Michelow, 21 Alfie Barbeary, 22 Tom James, 23 Fergus Burke
Venue: Dexcom Stadium
Kick-off: 17:30 UK & IRE / 18:30 FRA, ITA & SA
Referee: Pierre Brousset (Fra)
Assistant referees: Luc Ramos (Fra), Julien Caulier (Fra)
TMO: Tual Trainini (Fra)
Live on: Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby, EPCR.TV
La Rochelle v Lions
Prediction: La Rochelle by 15
La Rochelle: 15 Sacha Elissalde, 14 Tevita Ofa, 13 Semi Lagivala, 12 Jules Favre, 11 Davit Niniashvili, 10 Antoine Hastoy, 9 Valentin Bouju, 8 Grégory Alldritt (c), 7 Oscar Jegou, 6 Theo McFarland, 5 Watisoni Waqanisaravi, 4 Charles Kante Samba, 3 Karl Sorin, 2 Pierre Bourgarit, 1 Alexandre Kaddouri
Replacements: 16 Tolu Latu, 17 Louis Penverne, 18 Aleksandre Kuntelia, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Paul Boudehent, 21 Matthias Haddad, 22 Dillyn Leyds, 23 Avakuki Niusalelekitoga
Lions: 15 Quan Horn, 14 Kelly Mpeku, 13 Henco van Wyk, 12 Bronson Mills, 11 Erich Cronje, 10 Chris Smith (c), 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Siba Qoma, 6 Siba Mahashe, 5 Ruan Delport, 4 Etienne Oosthuizen, 3 Conraad van Vuuren, 2 Morne Brandon, 1 Boan Venter
Replacements: 16 Tiaan Lange, 17 SJ Kotze, 18 RF Schoeman, 19 Dylan Sjoblom, 20 Batho Hlekani, 21 Nico Steyn, 22 Richard Kriel, 23 Boeta Chamberlain
Venue: Stade Marcel-Deflandre
Kick-off: 17:30 UK & IRE / 18:30 FRA, ITA & SA
Referee: Sam Grove-White (Sco)
Assistant referees: Jonny MacKenzie (Sco), Rob McDowell (Sco)
TMO: Dave Sutherland (Sco)
Live on: Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby, EPCR.TV
Munster v Racing 92
Prediction: Munster by 3
Munster: 15 Ben O’Connor, 14 Shay McCarthy, 13 Alex Nankivell, 12 Dan Kelly, 11 Sean O’Brien, 10 Charlie O’Shea, 9 Craig Casey, 8 Brian Gleeson, 7 John Hodnett, 6 Sean Edogbo, 5 Tadhg Beirne (c), 4 Tom Ahern, 3 Jack Aungier, 2 Marnus van der Merwe, 1 Jeremy Loughman
Replacements: 16 Max Clein, 17 Josh Wycherley, 18 Kieran Brookes, 19 Fineen Wycherley, 20 Gavin Coombes, 21 Ben O’Donovan, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Jack O’Donoghue
Racing 92: 15 Geronimo Prisciantelli, 14 Wilfried Hulleu, 13 Vinaya Habosi, 12 Joey Manu, 11 Sione Tupou, 10 Antoine Gibert, 9 Antoine Latrasse, 8 Maxime Baudonne (c), 7 Nicolas Martins, 6 Lekima Tagitagivalu, 5 Jordan Joseph, 4 Thomas Lainault, 3 Gia Kharaishvili, 2 Diego Escobar, 1 Edouard Jabea Njocke
Replacements: 16 Yanis Basse, 17 Lehopoame Leota, 18 Demba Bamba, 19 Nathan Hughes, 20 Soumaila Camara, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Sam James, 23 Arthur Roche
Venue: Thomond Park
Kick-off: 20:00 UK & IRE / 21:00 FRA, ITA & SA
Referee: Karl Dickson (Eng)
Assistant referees: Joe James (Eng), Richard Gordon (Eng)
TMO: Dean Richards (Eng)
Live on: Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby, EPCR.TV
Bath v Montpellier
Prediction: Bath by 5
Bath: 15 Santi Carreras, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Max Ojomoh, 11 Charlie Griffin, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben Spencer (c), 8 Arthur Green, 7 Guy Pepper, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Will Jeanes, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Dan Frost, 17 Scott Kirk, 18 Archie Griffin, 19 Ewan Richards, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Bernard van der Linde, 22 Cameron Redpath, 23 Kepueli Tuipulotu
Montpellier: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Dimitri Delibes, 13 Lennox Anyanwu, 12 Justo Piccardo, 11 Donovan Taofifenua, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Ali Price, 8 Lenni Nouchi (c), 7 Alex Becognee, 6 Yacouba Camara, 5 Bastien Chalureau, 4 Ruben van Heerden, 3 Wilfrid Hounkpatin, 2 Lyam Akrab, 1 Reda Wardi
Replacements: 16 Ricky Riccitelli, 17 Luca Tabarot, 18 Valentin Welsch, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Tyler DuGuid, 21 Billy Vunipola, 22 Sebastien Bezy, 23 Jon Echegaray
Venue: The Rec
Kick-off: 20:00 UK & IRE / 21:00 FRA, ITA & SA
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Ita)
Assistant referees: Filippo Russo (Ita), Alberto Favaro (Ita)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (Ita)
Live on: Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby, EPCR.TV
Sunday
Pau v Leicester Tigers
Prediction: Leicester by 7
Pau: 15 Theo Attissogbe, 14 Clement Laporte, 13 Rodrigo Marta, 12 Fabien Brau-Boirie, 11 Aaron Grandidier Nkanang, 10 Axel Desperes, 9 Thomas Souverbie, 8 Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer, 7 Loic Credoz, 6 Sacha Zegueur, 5 Mickael Capelli, 4 Thomas Jolmes, 3 Jon Zabala, 2 Youri Delhommel, 1 Alexandre Etchebehere
Replacements 16 Yon Caperaa, 17 Hugo Parrou, 18 Guram Papidze, 19 Remi Picquette, 20 Santiago Grondona, 21 Facundo Isa, 22 Gonzalo Garcia, 23 Quentin Valentino
Leicester Tigers: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Will Wand, 12 Orlando Bailey, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Billy Searle, 9 Tom Whiteley, 8 Olly Cracknell, 7 Joaquin Moro, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Ollie Chessum (c), 4 Cameron Henderson, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Jamie Blamire, 1 Archie van der Flier
Replacements: 16 Sam Moli, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Will Hurd, 19 James Thompson, 20 Finn Carnduff, 21 Jack van Poortvliet, 22 Joseph Woodward, 23 Gabriel Hamer-Webb
Venue: Stade du Hameau
Kick-off: 13:00 UK & IRE / 14:00 FRA, ITA & SA
Referee: Eoghan Cross (Ire)
Assistant referees: Robbie Jenkinson (Ire), Andrew Cole (Ire)
TMO: Olly Hodges (Ire)
Live on: Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby, EPCR.TV
Toulouse v Exeter Chiefs
Prediction: Toulouse by 20
Toulouse: 15 Matias Remue, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Kalvin Gourgues, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Ange Capuozzo, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 8 Théo Ntamack, 7 Efrain Elias, 6 François Cros, 5 Joel Merkler, 4 Joshua Brennan, 3 Dorian Aldegheri, 2 Thomas Lacombre, 1 Rodrigue Neti
Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Benjamin Bertrand, 18 Georges-Henri Colombe, 19 Romeo Bonnard Martin, 20 Anthony Jelonch, 21 Marc-Elie Kouassi, 22 Paul Graou, 23 Tommaso Menoncello
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Sam Harris, 14 Zack Wimbush, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Will Butt, 11 Tom Wyatt, 10 Harvey Skinner, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Greg Fisilau, 7 Ross Vintcent, 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Dafydd Jenkins (c), 4 Tom Hooper, 3 Josh Iosefa-Scott, 2 Jack Yeandle, 1 Will Goodrick-Clarke
Replacements: 16 Louie Gulley, 17 Ethan Burger, 18 Jimmy Roots, 19 Harry Wilson, 20 Kane James, 21 Sam Wolstenholme, 22 Will Haydon-Wood, 23 Ben Hammersley
Venue: Stadium de Toulouse
Kick-off: 15:15 UK & IRE / 16:15 FRA, ITA & SA
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Sco)
Assistant referees: Rob McDowell (Sco), Finlay Brown (Sco)
TMO: Dave Sutherland (Sco)
Live on: Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby, EPCR.TV
Northampton Saints v Cardiff
Prediction: Northampton by 15
Northampton Saints: 15 James Pater, 14 Ollie Sleightholme, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Toby Thame, 11 George Hendy, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Callum Chick (c), 7 Josh Taylor, 6 Josh Kemeny, 5 JJ Van Der Mescht, 4 Tom Lockett, 3 Cleopas Kundiona, 2 Robbie Smith, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Curtis Langdon, 17 Jordan Els, 18 Ion Neculai, 19 Ed Prowse, 20 Charlie Ulcoq, 21 Archie McParland, 22 Fin Smith, 23 Fraser Dingwall
Cardiff: 15 Matty Young, 14 Mason Grady, 13 Harri Millard, 12 Steff Emanuel, 11 Tom Bowen, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 Semisi Paea, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Tom Manz, 3 Sam Wainwright, 2 Dafydd Hughes (c), 1 Danny Southworth
Replacements: 16 Evan Lloyd, 17 Rhys Barratt, 18 Joe Cowell, 19 Josh McNally, 20 Lucas de la Rua, 21 Johan Mulder, 22 Callum Sheedy, 23 Josh Adams
Venue: DPD Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens
Kick-off: 17:30 UK & IRE / 18:30 FRA, ITA & SA
Referee: Jeremy Rozier (Fra)
Assistant referees: Thomas Charabas (Fra), Cyrille Boulay (Fra)
TMO: Julien Castaignede (Fra)
Live on: Premier Sports, beIN Sports, France.TV, SuperSport, FLO Rugby, EPCR.TV