European Club Rugby
EPCR Challenge Cup
European club rugby’s international Challenge Cup, bringing together clubs from the Premiership, United Rugby Championship, Top 14 and invited competitions.
Season
2026/27
Clubs
18
Holding champions
Montpellier
Challenge Cup Knockouts
Route to the Final
Follow every knockout tie from the Round of 16 through to the Challenge Cup championship decider in Lyon.
Pool Stage
Challenge Cup Pools
Three pools of six clubs compete for twelve Challenge Cup qualification places. Four Champions Cup clubs complete the Round of 16.
Challenge Cup
Pool 1
Challenge Cup
Pool 2
Challenge Cup
Pool 3
Qualification Key
Road to the Round of 16
Twelve clubs qualify through the Challenge Cup pool stage. Four additional clubs enter from the Champions Cup.
Pool leader
Position 1 in each pool
Each pool winner qualifies automatically for the Round of 16 and earns the strongest available Challenge Cup seeding.
Automatic qualification
Positions 2–3 in each pool
The clubs finishing second and third in each pool qualify automatically for the Round of 16.
Cross-pool qualification
Three highest-ranked remaining clubs
The three strongest remaining Challenge Cup clubs across all pools complete the competition’s twelve qualifying places.
Champions Cup entry
Four additional clubs
Four clubs arriving from the Champions Cup complete the sixteen-team Round-of-16 field.
Tournament Structure
From the pools to Lyon
01
Pool Stage
Eighteen clubs compete across three pools of six, with every club playing four pool-stage fixtures.
02
Automatic Qualifiers
The top three clubs in each pool qualify automatically, creating nine of the sixteen knockout places.
03
Cross-pool Ranking
The three highest-ranked remaining clubs across all three pools also advance to the Round of 16.
04
Champions Cup Entries
Four clubs arriving from the Champions Cup join the twelve Challenge Cup qualifiers in the Round of 16.
05
Knockout Route
The Round of 16 is followed by quarter-finals and semi-finals before the two remaining clubs contest the final.
06
The Final
The final two clubs meet at OL Stadium in Lyon to decide the 2026/27 EPCR Challenge Cup champion.
Competition Records
Champion information and historical markers from the EPCR Challenge Cup.
Holding champions
Montpellier
Most titles
Clermont
Competition founded
1996
Final destination
Lyon