The Investec Champions Cup kicks off this weekend, with 24 teams beginning their push toward the last 16 in what is widely considered the premier club rugby competition in the world. With elite sides from the URC, Premiership and Top 14 all involved, Round 1 promises a stacked schedule and plenty of betting angles.

This blog will track all things betting related throughout the weekend including handicaps, points lines, weather angles, market moves, and of course any suggested bets as they arise. If anything stands out in the EPCR Challenge Cup, those plays will also be added.

Fixtures, team news and early lines will be updated as soon as bookmakers price up the markets. As always, weather, travel and squad rotation will play a big part in shaping the betting opportunities.

BET: Bayonne v Stormers

Posted 05 Dec 07h56

2 units Bayonne win & Over 42.5 points at 2.35/1 at BetXchange

The Stormers opened slight favourites at -2.5 after their brilliant come-from-behind win at Munster in the URC. However, support quickly came for Bayonne and they were backed into -2.5, before team news saw the market settle at a virtual choice game.

I am firmly in the Bayonne camp. While neither side is at full strength, Bayonne are traditionally strong at home and I believe they can get the job done. I also have doubts about how focused the Stormers will be on the Champions Cup, given the excellent start they've made in the URC and how draining competing on both fronts can be.

Bayonne are 10/11 to win outright, but I’m inflating the price by adding Over 42.5 points, bringing the bet to 2.35/1.

There is rain around, but it looks like it could clear before kick-off. Before Bayonne’s last home match against Lyon , which produced exactly 42 points, their previous 11  games home and away had all exceeded this mark so as long as conditions are not biblical, this total is reachable.

My weekly betting newsletter will be out this evening - sign up in the box top right of page or click here 

Current Champions Cup Latest Handicaps 

Posted 4 Dec 06h20

Weather and match officials have been updated at the bottom of the page - team lineups will also be added there 

Latest betting below, markets have settled with some money for Glasgow +2.5 to +0.5 since the last update

• Bayonne -1.5 v Stormers

• Sale Sharks -0.5 v Glasgow

• Saracens -14.5 v Clermont

• Bulls -2.5 v Bordeaux-Bègles

• La Rochelle -11.5 v Leicester

• Leinster -23.5 v Harlequins

• Bath -11.5 v Munster

• Scarlets +7.5 v Bristol

• Pau +5.5 v Northampton

• Toulouse -36.5 v Sharks

• Gloucester -7.5 v Castres

• Edinburgh +5.5 v Toulon

Champions Cup Handicap Moves and Latest Handicaps

Posted 02 Dec 22h21

Major Moves (3 points or more)

Toulouse v Sharks: -30.5 → -36.5 (–6) 🔥 BIGGEST MOVE
Bayonne v Stormers: +2.5 → -1.5 (–4) 🔥 Strong move toward Bayonne
Bulls v Bordeaux-Bègles: +1.5 → -1.5 (–3)
Leinster v Harlequins: -20.5 → -23.5 (–3)
Pau v Northampton: +2.5 → +5.5 (+3)

Moderate / No Moves

Saracens v Clermont: -11.5 → -13.5 (–2)
Bath v Munster: -9.5 → -10.5 (–1)
Edinburgh v Toulon: +3.5 → +4.5 (+1)
Sale Sharks v Glasgow: -2.5 → -2.5 (no change)
La Rochelle v Leicester: -10.5 → -10.5 (no change)
Scarlets v Bristol: +7.5 → +7.5 (no change)
Gloucester v Castres: -7.5 → -7.5 (no change)

Betting Update - Sharks on the drift 

Posted 01 Dec 16h46 

The Sharks have drifted from -30.5 to -34.5 and there has also been money for Bayonne and the Bulls who have firmed to favourites on some books. 

Champions Cup – Early Handicaps

Posted 01 Dec 13h36

Bayonne +2.5 v Stormers

Sale Sharks -2.5 v Glasgow

Saracens -11.5 v Clermont

Bulls +1.5 v Bordeaux-Bègles

La Rochelle -10.5 v Leicester

Leinster -20.5 v Harlequins

Bath -9.5 v Munster

Scarlets +7.5 v Bristol

Pau +2.5 v Northampton

Toulouse -30.5 v Sharks

Gloucester -7.5 v Castres

Edinburgh +3.5 v Toulon

Investec Champions Cup – Pools with Outright Odds

Posted 01 Dec 09h00 

Here is a look at the pools with teams outright odds in brackets. 

Pool 1

1. Toulouse – 5/2

2. Glasgow Warriors – 25/1

3. Saracens – 43/2

4. Hollywoodbets Sharks – 39/1

5. Sale Sharks – 47/1

6. Clermont Auvergne – 129/1

Pool 2

1. Bath Rugby – 15/2

2. Toulon (RC Toulonnais) – 18/1

3. Munster Rugby – 25/1

4. Castres Olympique – 144/1

5. Gloucester Rugby – 179/1

6. Edinburgh Rugby – 194/1

Pool 3

1. Leinster Rugby – 51/20

2. La Rochelle (Stade Rochelais) – 14/1

3. Leicester Tigers – 39/1

4. DHL Stormers – 42/1

5. Harlequins – 114/1

6. Bayonne (Aviron Bayonnais) – 129/1

Pool 4

1. Bordeaux-Bègles – 33/10

2. Northampton Saints – 33/2

3. Vodacom Bulls (Blue Bulls) – 20/1

4. Bristol Bears – 81/1

5. Pau (Section Paloise) – 199/1

6. Scarlets – 324/1

Investec Champions Cup – Round 1 Fixtures

Weather, match officials and team line ups will be added later in the week

Weather and match officials updated Thursday 04 December 

FRIDAY, 5 DECEMBER 2025

Sale Sharks v Glasgow Warriors

📍 CorpAcq Stadium
🕙 22:00 SAST
Weather: 6 degrees, possible showers, humidity high 80's - click here for updates 

Sale Sharks: 15 Arron Reed, 14 Tom O’Flaherty, 13 Rekeiti Ma’asi-White, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Alex Wills, 10 Rob du Preez, 9 Raffi Quirke, 8 Tom Curry, 7 Ernst van Rhyn (captain), 6 Jacques Vermeulen, 5 Ben Bamber, 4 Tom Burrow, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Nathan Jibulu, 1 Si McIntyre
Replacements: 16 Ethan Caine, 17 Tumy Onasanya, 18 James Harper, 19 Hyron Andrews, 20 Ben Curry, 21 Gus Warr, 22 Ollie Davies, 23 Gurshwin Wehr

Glasgow Warriors: 15 Josh McKay, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Stafford McDowall, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Ollie Smith, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Max Williamson, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Gregor Hiddleston, 1 Nathan McBeth.
Replacements: 16 Seb Stephen, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Alex Samuel, 20 Gregor Brown, 21 Ally Miller, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Dan Lancaster.

Match Officials:
Referee: Pierre Brousset (FRA)
ARs: Vincent Blasco Baque (FRA), Julien Caulier (FRA)
TMO: Tual Trainini (FRA)

Bayonne v DHL Stormers

📍 Stade Jean Dauger
🕙 22:00 SAST
Weather: Rain most of the day, should be overcast but dry for the game, humidity early 80's temp 11 degrees - click here for updates 

Aviron Bayonnais:  15 Yohan Orabe, 14 Tom Spring, 13 Cheikh Tiberghien, 12 Federico Mori, 11 Victor Hannoun, 10 Joris Segonds, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Nika Lomidze, 7 Arthur Iturria, 6 Alexandre Fischer, 5 Lucas Paulos, 4 Alvaro Garcia Iandolino, 3 Marco Fepulea’i, 2 Vincent Giudicelli, 1 Ignacio Calles
Replacements: 16 Lucas Martin, 17 Swan Cormenier, 18 Pascal Cotet, 19 Manex Ariceta, 20 Facundo Bosch, 21 Raphael Marchesin, 22 Baptiste Tilloles, 23 Arnaud Erbinartegaray

Stormers: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Dylan Maart, 13 Wandisile Simelane, 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Clinton Swart, 9 Imad Khan, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Connor Evans, 4 Salmaan Moerat (captain), 3 Neethling Fouché, 2 JJ Kotzé, 1 Ntuthuko Mchunu.
Replacements: 16 Lukhanyo Vokozela, 17 Ali Vermaak, 18 Sazi Sandi, 19 Adré Smith, 20 JD Schickerling, 21 Evan Roos, 22 Dewaldt Duvenage, 23 Jonathan Roche.

Match Officials:
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (GEO)
ARs: Saba Abulashvili (GEO), Saba Makharadze (GEO)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WAL)

SATURDAY, 6 DECEMBER 2025

Saracens v Clermont Auvergne

📍 StoneX Stadium
🕒 15:00 SAST
Weather: 11 degrees, possible showers, humidity early 70's, windy - click here for updates 

Match Officials:
Referee: Hollie Davidson (SCO)
ARs: Ruairidh Campbell (SCO), Jonny MacKenzie (SCO)
TMO: Mike Adamson (SCO)

Vodacom Bulls v Bordeaux-Bègles

📍 Loftus Versfeld
🕠 17:15 SAST
Weather: Temp 26 degrees, possible passing showers, humidity in mid 40's - click here for updates 

Match Officials:
Referee: Karl Dickson (ENG)
ARs: Luke Pearce (ENG), Joe James (ENG)
TMO: Ian Tempest (ENG)

La Rochelle v Leicester Tigers

📍 Stade Marcel Deflandre
🕢 19:30 SAST
Weather: 14 degrees, overcast but should be dry, humidity early 80's, windy - click here for updates 

Match Officials: 
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRE)
ARs: Eoghan Cross (IRE), Robbie Jenkinson (IRE)
TMO: Olly Hodges (IRE)

Leinster Rugby v Harlequins

📍 Aviva Stadium
🕢 19:30 SAST
Weather: 10 degrees, light rain forecast, windy, humidity mid 80's - click here for updates 

Match Officials:
Referee: Craig Evans (WAL)
ARs: Adam Jones (WAL), Ben Breakspear (WAL)
TMO: Keith David (WAL)

Scarlets v Bristol Bears

📍 Parc y Scarlets
🕙 22:00 SAST
Weather: 10 degrees, rain likely, wind mid 30's, humidity mid 80's - click here for updates 

Match Officials:
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (ITA)
ARs: Filippo Russo (ITA), Franco Rosella (ITA)
TMO: Stefano Roscini (ITA)

Bath Rugby v Munster Rugby

📍 The Rec
🕙 22:00 SAST
Weather: 8 degrees, rain likely, humidity early 90's - click here for updates 

Match Officials:
Referee: Jeremy Rozier (FRA)
ARs: Thomas Charabas (FRA), Benjamin Hernandez (FRA)
TMO: Eric Gauzins (FRA)

SUNDAY, 7 DECEMBER 2025

Pau v Northampton Saints

📍 Stade du Hameau
🕒 15:00 SAST
Weather: 15 degrees, overcast, humidity mid 60's - click here for updates 

Match Officials:
Referee: Andrea Piardi (ITA)
ARs: Clara Munarini (ITA), Alberto Favaro (ITA)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (ITA)

Toulouse v Hollywoodbets Sharks

📍 Stade Ernest Wallon
🕠 17:15 SAST
Weather: 12 degrees, overcast, humidity around 90% - click here for updates 

Match Officials: Referee: Christophe Ridley (ENG)
ARs: Anthony Woodthorpe (ENG), Simon Harding (ENG)
TMO: Andrew Jackson (ENG)

Gloucester Rugby v Castres Olympique

📍 Kingsholm
🕠 17:15 SAST
Weather: 10 degrees, light rain forecast, humidity early 90's - click here for updates 

Match Officials:
Referee: Sam Grove-White (SCO)
ARs: Ian Kenny (SCO), Finlay Brown (SCO)
TMO: Andrew McMenemy (SCO)

Edinburgh Rugby v Toulon

📍 Hive Stadium
🕢 19:30 SAST
Weather: 7 degrees, light rain forecast, humidity early 90's - click here for updates 

Match Officials:
Referee: Matthew Carley (ENG)
ARs: Sara Cox (ENG), Greg MacDonald (ENG)
TMO: Daniel Jones (ENG)