With the European Champions Cup reaching the final eight stage, let’s look at how teams will qualify for the competition in 2026/27.
The Champions Cup is Europe’s Premier rugby competition, and the Challenge Cup is its secondary partner.
Clubs will qualify from across Europe and South Africa through their league position. There are also alternate routes through performance in European competition this season.
The competition is made up of 24 teams who get divided into four pools of six teams.
Gallagher Prem
The Gallagher Prem in England contributes eight teams to the European Champions Cup decided by their league position.
Currently, the eight teams would be:
-Northampton Saints
– Bath
– Leicester Tigers
– Exeter Chiefs
– Bristol Bears
– Saracens
– Sale Sharks
– Gloucester
The two teams which would drop down to the Challenge Cup would be Harlequins and Newcastle Red Bulls.
Top 14
The Top 14 of France also has eight places for teams to qualify for the European Champions Cup, and again is decided by league position.
The eight teams currently would be:
– Toulouse
– Pau
– Stade Français
– Bordeaux
– Montpellier
– Clermont
– Racing 92
– Castres
La Rochelle, Bayonne, Toulon and Lyon all sit within three points of Castres in eighth place.
United Rugby Championship
Eight sides will also qualify for the Champions Cup from the URC. These are the eight teams that qualify for the URC playoffs.
These teams currently are:
-Glasgow Warriors
-Stormers
-Ulster
-Leinster
-Lions
-Cardiff
-Munster
-Bulls
Connacht sit just one point behind the Bulls, and the Sharks are still in with a chance, just seven points behind their fellow South Africans.
Champions Cup and Challenge Cup
There is a back door route into the Champions Cup. If a team wins the Champions Cup or the Challenge Cup but doesn’t finish in the top eight in their league, they will qualify for the Champions Cup or the following season. The place gets taken away from the eighth-placed team in their respective competition.
