After two opening rounds of Investec Champions Cup action in December that did not disappoint, we take a look at all the matches in Round 3 as the world’s greatest club rugby tournament prepares to make its return to centre stage.
Rounds 3 and 4 hold extra importance as qualification can be sealed. With a coveted spot at home in the knockouts at stake, the competition increases in intensity for the final pool stages.
UBB and Stade Toulousain look to maintain perfect starts; must-win for Castres Olympique and Vodacom Bulls and mouthwatering Stade Rochelais vs Leinster tie – all you need to know ahead of Round 3.
Friday: Glasgow Warriors host Racing 92
Racing 92’s visit to Glasgow Warriors in Pool 4 will open another spectacular rugby weekend.
The hosts, currently second after a Sale Sharks win (38-19) and a hard-fought bonus point loss to RC Toulon (30-29) in December, will be motivated to retain the 1872 Cup against Edinburgh Rugby over the festive period.
As for Racing 92, with their last win in all competitions being their Round 1 triumph over Harlequins, they will be looking to turn some unwanted form around for their trip to Scotland.
Saturday: Exeter Chiefs welcome formidable Union Bordeaux-Bègles and Vodacom Bulls visit Castres Olympique in a must-win tie for both.
It’s South Africa’s turn to bring up the curtain on Round 3 matchday 2 as DHL Stormers welcome Sale Sharks.
Stormers sit sixth in Pool 4 having come second best in their opening two Investec Champions Cup ties this season. However, impressive recent wins against Emirates Lions and Hollywoodbets Sharks during the festive period mean the South Africans will be confident of their chances of getting off the Pool 4 bottom spot.
As for Sale Sharks, fourth in Pool 4, impressive wins over Racing 92 in the Investec Champions Cup and Exeter Chiefs and Bristol Bears in the Gallagher Premiership in December mean they head to the Southern hemisphere off the back of some strong recent rugby.
Back in England, Exeter Chiefs host Union Bordeaux-Bègles with Chiefs looking to grab their maiden points of this campaign. Having achieved their first Premiership win over the festive period, they head back to Sandy Park with the Devon wind in their sails as UBB come to town.
The French side, with a perfect 10 points from a possible 10 to start their campaign, and seven wins from their last seven in all competitions giving them the top spot in the TOP 14, will look to spoil the party in Exeter and give themselves a chance of qualifying for the knockouts.
Looking to keep right on UBB’s tail, reigning champions Stade Toulousain head to 2024 EPCR Challenge Cup champions Hollywoodbets Sharks. Also with 10 points from a possible 10 thanks to wins over Ulster Rugby and Exeter Chiefs, TOP 14’s title-holders Stade Toulousain will be eyeing a bonus point win in the South African heat to secure qualification too.
As for their South African hosts, fourth after one win against Exeter Chiefs and one loss against Leicester Tigers, they will try to feed off some positive Christmas performances in the URC as they welcome the record six-time champions.
It’s then the turn of Munster to host Saracens as the Irish province, third in Pool 3, has impressed with a 33-7 win over Stade Français Paris and a hard-fought 16-14 loss to Castres Olympique.
As for Saracens, second after two wins from two this season, they head to Thomond Park off the back of an impressive 35-26 win over Bristol Bears at the weekend which, despite some fluctuating form in the Premiership, saw them move up into third.
Stade Français Paris then plays host to Northampton Saints for a top-versus-bottom affair in Pool 3. The hosts, sixth, will be looking to put two Investec Champions Cup losses against Munster and Saracens behind them and get some valuable points under their belt.
Saints, first, make the trip across the Channel following two impressive Round 1 and 2 wins against Castres Olympique and Vodacom Bulls. They carried this form into the Premiership’s festive fixtures with a 61-0 victory over Newcastle Falcons and a last-minute 35-34 win over league-leaders Bath last time out.
Leicester Tigers and Ulster Rugby play in one of Saturday’s evening slots, with the English side, currently third in Pool 1, looking to close the gap on Stade Toulousain and UBB. They will also be hoping to put some fluctuating Premiership results behind them as they host the Pool’s bottom side.
Ulster, tied with Exeter Chiefs on zero points, will be after a strong performance to forget their opening two Investec Champions Cup losses against Stade Toulousain and UBB. A win in their festive interpro derby against Connacht Rugby will go some way in giving the Irish side the confidence they need for their trip to England.
To close out Saturday’s action, Castres Olympique, fourth in Pool 3, host Vodacom Bulls, fifth. The French side, with a mixed bag of results over the TOP 14 festive period, will be keen to use the return to international club rugby to get back to winning ways.
As for the visiting Vodacom Bulls, two defeats to two English sides in Investec Champions Cup Rounds 1 and 2 mean they are in need of points in January. With Castres similarly poised in the pool, it promises to be a must-win for both sides in Round 3.
Sunday: Mouthwatering Stade Rochelais vs Leinster tie while RC Toulon host Harlequins; Bristol Bears, Benetton Rugby, Bath Rugby and ASM Clermont are all in action
Opening the final matchday of Round 3, three-time champions RC Toulon host Harlequins in an all-star affair. The French side, first in Pool 4 after two wins have had similar success in TOP 14, claiming six wins from their past seven in the French top flight.
As for Harlequins, third, up-and-down form means they are left looking over their shoulder with just one point separating them and fifth-placed Racing 92. The support shown from another sold-out ‘Big Game’ over Christmas should give the London side the motivation they need to bring out their best rugby.
Following from RC Toulon-Harlequins is arguably the tie of the round. Two-time champions Stade Rochelais host four-time winners Leinster for a remake of the 2021-22 and 2022-23 finals with neither side wanting to give up their nine-point strong starts.
Stade Rochelais, first in Pool 2, fresh off the back of a loss to USAP and a last-gasp win over a reduced Stade Toulousain in TOP 14, will want to put the record straight against a Leinster side who have looked formidable in recent weeks.
Leinster, second and unbeaten across all competitions so far this season, will be riding high from their two recent interpro derby wins, as they look to get the better of Stade Rochelais for the third time in as many outings.
Bristol Bears, currently sixth in Pool 2, then host Benetton Rugby for a match they will have targeted as a must-win. Having fallen to the pool’s two heavyweights in Stade Rochelais and Leinster, as well as riding an unwanted wave of back-to-back Premiership losses, the Bears will need to find their best rugby to prevail.
Five points ahead in fourth, Benetton impressed in Round 2 with their last-minute win over Bath. Continuing this form into the URC, two derby-day wins over fellow Italians Zebre Parma means they head to England confident they have what it takes.
Bath host ASM Clermont Auvergne to close out Round 3. The English side, having lost two tight encounters to Stade Rochelais and Benetton in the opening rounds, are fifth with two bonus points and will look to build off the form which has taken them to the top of the Premiership so far this season.
As for ASM Clermont, third, they will be keen to replicate the impressive form they showed in Rounds 1 and 2 against Benetton and Leinster rather than that of a couple of recent TOP 14 defeats.
