French flavour awaits SA teams in Investec Champions Cup

Reigning champions Union Bordeaux Bègles will kick off the defence of their Investec Champions Cup crown against the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria, while the DHL Stormers and Hollywoodbets Sharks both face tough away fixtures in France as the European showpiece gets underway this weekend.

The Capetonians are away to Aviron Bayonnais in Bayonne on Friday evening, and the Durbanites take on six-time European champions Stade Toulousain in Toulouse on Sunday afternoon.

At the same time, the Lions and Toyota Cheetahs will fly the South African flag in the EPCR Challenge Cup when they take on Benetton and the Exeter Chiefs in the opening round of the competition.

South African eyes will be on Stade Jean Dauger, Loftus Versfeld, and Stade Ernest Wallon this weekend when the DHL Stormers, Vodacom Bulls and Hollywoodbets Sharks kick-start their Investec Champions Cup campaigns.

The aerial battle should be key in the clash between Aviron Bayonnais and the DHL Stormers in the southwest of France on Friday evening (10pm SA time), where the visitors will have to be extra sharp in the air, as Bayonne led the EPCR Challenge Cup statistics last year by retaining 20.7 per cent of their kicks, and 13.3 per cent of their restarts.

But the Capetonians will take a lot of momentum into their clash in Bayonne, topping the standings in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship with a perfect start from their first six matches, which includes a superb victory over Munster, the only other unbeaten team after round five, in Limerick last weekend.

The DHL Stormers had the highest ruck speed in the competition last season, and they also like to kick when on attack, with a competition high average of 8.8 attacking kicks per game.

Union Bordeaux Bègles will be looking to kick their title defence off with a victory over the Vodacom Bulls on Saturday afternoon (5:15pm) in Pretoria, where the hosts will be keen to reverse a slump in form after a good start to the season.

Bordeaux Begles head to Loftus for the opening round of the #InvestecChampionsCup 🍿

The Vodacom Bulls will need to be at the best because the defending champions play some incredible rugby ✨

📺 Saturday | 17:15 Kick-Off#SSRugby | #InvestecChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/SUtzo5M1E6
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) December 3, 2025

The visitors will be mindful of the Vodacom Bulls’ pack though, especially at lineout time, where they stole five lineouts and conceded only one maul penalty, while their goal-kicking success rate of almost 89 per cent was the third best in the competition last year.

The French giants’ success last season was built on breakdown dominance – they led the competition for turnovers won (83) and jackals (42) – and the Vodacom Bulls will have to make sure they protect their possession at rucks.

The final match of the opening weekend featuring a South African team, kicks off at 5:15pm (SA time) on Sunday in Toulouse, where the most successful team in the history of the Investec Champions Cup, Stade Toulousain, await the Hollywoodbets Sharks.

Toulouse are on a four-match win streak in the French Top 14 and top the standings with eight victories after 11 matches, while the KwaZulu-Natalians have not had the best start in the Vodacom URC, but what has happened so far this season won’t count on Sunday.

If the Hollywoodbets Sharks can replicate their scrumming feat from last season, when they achieved a 100 per cent success rate, they can exert some pressure on their hosts.

They also led the carrying metrics with 4.5m carry, while their attacking prowess also extended to the lineout drive, with four maul tries placing them joint first on the list.

In the EPCR Challenge Cup, the Lions will welcome a well-known opponent to Ellis Park on Saturday (3pm), when they open their account against Italian club, Benetton.

Two months ago, Benetton beat the Lions in Italy in the Vodacom URC, while the Italians also won the corresponding fixture in Johannesburg last year, but this time around, the hosts will go into the clash on the back of three straight wins since they were downed in Treviso, two of them at home at Ellis Park.

Sunday’s clash against the Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park (19h30 SA time), will be the Toyota Cheetahs’ first against an English club in the EPCR Challenge Cup. After reaching the playoffs in the first two seasons, the Free Staters missed out last year and will be keen to turn that around in the coming months.

Last season, the Toyota Cheetahs boasted the best lineout success rate in the competition with 93.2 per cent and will be looking at this facet again as an attacking weapon, but their defence will have to be spot on against Exeter, who converted 59 per cent of their line breaks to tries, which placed them first in the Investec Champions Cup last season.

MATCH INFORMATION

Investec Champions Cup:

Aviron Bayonnais v DHL Stormers

Date: Friday, 5 December 2025

Venue: Stade Jean Dauger, Bayonne

SA Time: 10pm

Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Geo)

TV: SuperSport

Vodacom Bulls v Union Bordeaux Bègles

Date: Saturday, 6 December 2025

Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria

SA Time: 5:15pm