Rugby’s ode to the Champions League kicks off the weekend with Round 1 of the 2023/24 Champions Cup getting underway on Friday the 8th of September. Darry Worthing previews the tournament.
The competition has gone back to a far more sustainable model which Darry Worthington will run the rule over in his outright preview. He also gives his betting tips for the comp below:
Format
After a year in which an awful, convoluted two-pool system was trialled the Champions Cup moves back to a multiple-pool format with the round-robin phase seeing four pools of six teams.
The pools consist of 24 clubs from the three major European domestic and regional leagues. with the following allotments:
England: 8
The top eight clubs from the Gallagher Premiership
France: 8
Top 8 teams from the Top 14
United Rugby Championship: 8
Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, Wales
Seedings
Saracens, Toulouse, Munster and La Rochelle were drawn as the top seeds in each pool with the first three sides winning their domestic leagues while La Rochelle are the reigning champions.
The rest of the sides were drawn at random which has resulted in some tasty-looking pools. Take a look at them below:
Pool Phase Format
The top four teams from each pool at the close of the regular season will advance to a Round of 16 while the fifth-placed team will drop down to the second tier – the Challenge Cup play-offs – and the team to finish at the foot of each pool will be eliminated from all European competition for the season.
While the new format is slightly better there are still some issues. For example, teams from the same regional competition will not play against each other in the pool phase of the competition despite being drawn in the same group.
The tournament then proceeds to a Round of 16 with teams ranked first in each pool playing teams ranked fourth and teams ranked second playing teams ranked third.
Following that it’s the quarter-finals, semi-finals and then the final, which will be staged at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday the 25th of May.
Teams by Country
I usually break this down into contenders and dark horses but change is as good as a holiday so I’ve gone for a country-by-country format this time around that will touch on each team, although more page space will go to the teams likely to compete.
La Rochelle’s win last season made the French the most successful side in the tournament’s history with French teams having won the tournament on 11 occasions with Toulouse – who last won the tournament in 2020-21 season having five trophies to their name.
While Toulouse have history behind them, they will be without their dynamic duo of Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack for most of the competition with the former trying his hands at Rugby Sevens as he bids for an Olympic medal while the latter is still sidelined with an ACL injury that ruled him out the World Cup.
Perhaps the second most successful French team in the tournament’s history is worth a dabble? This happens to be Toulon and while they have shown a lot more promise on the domestic front this term – they currently lie second on the Top 14 ladder with six wins from their first nine domestic fixtures – they are still a side synonymous with patchy form.
While they do have a rather kind seeding as Bayonne, Exeter Northampton and Glasgow are in their pool, I can’t see them trumping the big guns should they advance to the quarter-finals.
Maybe reigning champions La Rochelle are worth an investment? They’re a vastly experienced side who love a cup run but there are signs of a meltdown at La Rochelle HQ with coach Ronan O’Gara hitting out after being charged with another disciplinary breach by the Top 14 authorities, while they’ve also struggled on the domestic front so far winning four of their opening nine games.
One French side that does look decent value is Stade Francais. They have enjoyed a fast start to the Top 14 campaign and currently sit fifth on the domestic ladder having won six of their first nine fixtures. They have been playing some slick rugby at times but they will need to overcome their poor away day form if they are to be a real threat in the competition.
Another team that looks like they could be real value for punters is resurgent Racing 92. The Parisians currently lead the Top 14 ladder and look great on attack this term. If Racing can sort out their defensive frailties, then they may well go the distance.
If you support Lyon, Bordeaux or Bayonne it’s advisable to skip ahead to the England segment as you’re not going to like the following couple of sentences. I give all three of these teams no hope and expect them all to drop to the Challenge Cup or out of Europe come the close of the regular season.
Lyon are the patchiest side in Europe at the moment and Bordeaux aren’t much better when it comes to consistency. And while I think Bayonne are the luckiest team in Europe and have caused some big upsets already in the Top 14, they just don’t have the squad depth to compete at this level and manage a domestic campaign.
Over to the second-most successful country in the competition’s history, England. Will one of the Gallagher Premiership outfits be able to claim a win this season and ensure England draw level with the French for Heineken Cups?
Three-time champions Saracens will want to be the team to do so. The North London outfit has three titles already with their latest coming in the 2018-19 season. They’ve had a good start but not spectacular start to the Gallagher Premiership claiming five wins from their opening six fixtures.
While they haven’t shot the lights out on the domestic front, they are a solid team stacked with English internationals including Owen Farell and Maro Itoje, who have both won the tournament on multiple occasions.
Current Gallagher Premiership joint-leaders Bath represent some really good value especially after their cracking start to the domestic campaign that has seen them win five of their eight fixtures and pick up three bonus points.
They have some players in red-hot form with the likes of Finn Russell, hooker Alfie Barbeary and Sam Underhill starring in recent weeks. Bath don’t have the biggest of squads, however, so they may well struggle when injuries take their toll in the new year.
Bath’s current mates at the summit of the Premiership, the Sale Sharks are another side that represent some good value on the beating boards. They’re stacked with a load of South Africans with the Du Preez brothers mainstays of the club. This will help them as they won’t have a lot of their big guns competing in the Six Nations.
They have been placed in an extremely difficult pool, however, which features Irish big boys Leinster, the Stormers, French duo Stade Francais and La Rochelle as well as local rivals the Leicester Tigers. If they can come out of this difficult pool, they may well be in the hunt for a title.
While Bath and Sale are more workmanlike, our next English contender, Harlequins are a bunch of entertainers. The men who play out of the Twickenham Stoop have enjoyed a good start to their domestic campaign winning five of their eight games. Marcus Smith has been at the forefront of their good early season form with the England international enjoy some solid showings.
While ‘Quins are a flash side on the attack, they aren’t the best defensively and have shipped points plenty in the Gallagher Premiership – they have conceded over 28 points in three of their domestic fixtures thus far. While attacking flair does win you fans, it hardly ever wins titles.
I can’t see any of the other English teams having a real tilt this year. Exeter’s squad looks unbalanced and while they should get through their pool, I can’t see them going deeper than the quarters.
Leicester have endured a very slow start to their domestic campaign and look a side who are finding themselves so I think this will not be their year, especially considering how difficult a pool they are in. The Bristol Bears look a side on the wane and I expect them to drop down to the Challenge Cup after the round-robin phase, while Northampton have improved but are nowhere near ready for a run at European glory.
New-look Leinster are probably Ireland’s biggest hope here. The new Leinster era sans-Johnny Sexton has gotten off to a decent enough start with the Irish giants winning six of their seven URC fixtures.
They’ve looked a decent side without the legendary Irish ten but you have to worry that they may not be able to produce the goods in high-stakes rugby without their former talisman who was so key to so many of their title tilts.
Munster could be the real Irish threat this year. They’re playing some decent rugby at the minute despite only winning four of their first seven URC fixtures. They have a vastly experienced squad with a lot of depth. They also know how to grind out wins with that heavy forward pack of theirs.
I hate writing both these sides off as they are great to watch but I can’t see Connacht and Ulster doing much. They’re in easy enough pools but I can’t see them beating the French big guns in the quarters or semis.
Will this be the year the Scots break their duck in the Champions Cup? Not likely! A handful of their best players are plying their trade overseas and while Glasgow are a competitive side, they’ve got nothing on the big guns in the comp.
They are having a good run in the URC winning five of their first seven but I expect that form to drop off as the fixture list mounts up and the Six Nations rolls around.
The Cardiff Blues will be the sole Welsh hope here and while they are a decent enough side, I can’t see them doing much in the tournament. They have struggled in the United Rugby Championship winning just two of their seven fixtures and they are unlikely to fare any better against Europe’s best.
The Stormers and Bulls are South Africa’s two representatives in the Champions Cup with the Sharks and Lions plying their trade in the Challenge Cup this term. The two sides have been the best adaptors to European Rugby with the Stormers claiming the 2021-22 URC title which was played against the Bulls.
The duo have the going tougher in the Champions Cup. however, with the Bulls bowing out in the Round of 16 last season, while the Stormers exited at the quarter-final stage.
Both sides have a year’s more experience in the Heineken Cup and they both possess vastly experienced squads littered with ex and current Springboks. The duo should be a real threat this term.
Overall Winner Verdict: 16/1
While I fancy the South African side to go deep in the tournament, I feel they are still a couple years away from winning it. Leinster and Saracens should be a threat but the stand-out side for me is Racing 92. The Parisians seem in inspired form and if they can sort out their defensive issues, they could definitely lift the cup this year. They also represent great value. I will be having a small crack on the Stormers to win it as well.
