Rugby’s leading club competition, the Champions Cup, begins this weekend with clubs from the URC, English Premiership and Top 14 getting their campaigns underway.
Cardiff are the sole Welsh representative in the competition and start their pool stage with a tough assignment away to French champions Toulouse. Superstar scrum-half Antoine Dupont will be the main threat for the hosts, with the France captain having hit the ground running following his country’s heartbreaking World Cup exit.
Their match is part of Saturday’s fixture list, with 12 fixtures taking place across a packed opening weekend. The pool stage has reverted to being a group format, with Matt Sherratt’s side facing a tough task to progress as they have also been drawn against Bath, Racing 92, Harlequins and Ulster.
European rugby's finals weekend in 2024 will be hosted at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this season, with the biggest names in the game vying for glory. The state-of-the-art arena will play host to back-to back matches, with the Challenge Cup final on Friday, 24 May followed by the Champions Cup final on Saturday, 25 May and you can buy a weekend ticket for both finals.
From £91.25
Tottenham Hotspur TicketingThe action gets underway on Friday night, with Connacht vs Bordeaux kicking off at 8pm as Glasgow also host Northampton in the same time slot. This is then followed by six matches on Saturday as Toulon face Exeter Chiefs at 1pm before Bath vs Ulster kicks off in the same 3:15pm time slot as Cardiff’s opening fixture, with each match live on TNT Sports.
Saturday’s action continues at 5:30pm, with three-times winners Saracens travelling to South Africa for their match against the Bulls in what will be a hugely physical test for both sides. Munster will also host Bayonne at the same time before Bristol Bears host Lyon at Ashton Gate in the prime-time 8pm slot.
Last season’s Premiership runners-up Sale Sharks will host Stade Français in Sunday’s opening fixture, which will be live on ITV as well as TNT Sports at 1pm. Then, in what is expected to be the highlight of the round, defending champions La Rochelle host Leinster in a repeat of last season’s final at 3:15pm.
The weekend’s action is rounded off by Leicester v Stormers, also at 3:15pm, before two of rugby’s great entertainers meet in the final Round One fixture as Racing 92 host Harlequins in Paris at 5:30pm.
It is a star-studded competition, with many of the sport’s biggest names competing to earn their place in this season’s showpiece final at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. That match will take place as part of a double-header on 24-25 May, with the Challenge Cup final taking place the day before.
Wales’ other three regional representatives will all be competing in the Challenge Cup, all holding strong hopes of going all the way and you can buy weekend tickets for both finals here.
Champions Cup Round One Fixtures:
Fri 8 December
Connacht v Bordeaux-Bègles (8pm) Live on TNT Sports
Glasgow Warriors v Northampton (8pm) Live on TNT Sports
Sat 9 December
Toulon v Exeter Chiefs (1pm) Live on TNT Sports
Bath v Ulster (3.15pm) Live on TNT Sports
Toulouse v Cardiff (3.15pm) Live on TNT Sports & S4C
Bulls v Saracens (5.30pm) Live on TNT Sports
Munster v Bayonne (5.30pm) Live on TNT Sports & RTÈ
Bristol Bears v Lyon (8pm) Live on TNT Sports
Sun 10 December
Sale Sharks v Stade Français (1pm) Live on ITV & TNT Sports
La Rochelle v Leinster (3.15pm) Live on TNT Sports
Leicester v Stormers (3.15pm) Live on TNT Sports
Racing 92 v Harlequins (5.30pm) Live on TNT Sports
How to watch Champions Cup rugby this season:
You can watch all of the action live across TNT Sports and you can get TNT Sports on Amazon Prime by subscribing to Discovery+ Premium for £29.99 a month on top of your Amazon Prime subscription meaning you don't have to sign up BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media to watch.
You can get TNT on BT from £18 month which will include every TNT Sports channel, Eurosport and discovery+ Premium which is a 24 month contract requiring you to pay £30 upfront. You can also add TNT Sports to your Sky TV package for a cut price of £28 on a rolling monthly contract.
Welsh teams’ matches will also be broadcast live on S4C with Welsh language commentary as well as selected other matches being shown live free-to-air on ITV.
