Champions Cup 2026/27: everything you need to know including format changes, new bonus point system and more

The latest edition of the Investec Champions Cup gets under way this weekend as teams from the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and South Africa begin their bid for European rugby’s biggest club prize.

This year marks the 24th edition of the tournament, known previously as the Heineken Cup, with Glasgow Warriors representing Scotland. They begin their campaign away to Sale Sharks of England on Saturday.

Ahead of that match we’ve taken a look at the latest changes to the competition structure, identified the key dates and more. Here is everything you need to know about the 2026/27 Investec Champions Cup:

The 2026/27 Champions Cup features 24 clubs with England’s PREM and France’s Top 14 contributing eight each and eight more coming from the URC. The teams are split into four pools of six with each domestic competition contributing two teams per pool.

From there the clubs play four matches, two at home and two away, against the sides not from their domestic league competitions. Once all fixtures have been played the top three teams in each pool qualify for the knockout stages along with the four other teams who did not occupy those spots with the best overall records.

While clubs compete in their respective pools they are also ranked in an adjacent league table with those who qualify for the knockout stages ranked 1-16. This then determines the bracket for the Round of 16 where the team who finished first plays 16th, the team in second plays 15th and so on.

Finishing higher up that table also rewards sides with home advantage throughout the knockout stage. The clubs who finish 1-8 are at home in the Round of 16, 1-4 in the quarter-finals if they qualify and first and second in the semi-finals if they qualify before the final is played at a neutral venue.

Two major changes have been made to the Champions Cup format for the 2026/27 season. The first concerns the qualification process for the knockout stages.

Previously it was the top four teams in each pool who automatically qualified for the Round of 16. However, as explained, only the top three teams will automatically qualify this season along with the four teams from any pool with the best overall record.

The second change concerns the try scoring bonus point system. Previously bonus points were rewarded for scoring four or more tries in a match but the new rule, which is also implemented in France’s Top 14, will see teams only given a try scoring bonus point for scoring three tries more than their opponents in a match at full time.

Here are the dates for the 2026/27 Investec Champions Cup:

Round 1 - 16/17/18 October 2026

Round 2 - 11/12/13 December 2026

Round 3 - 8/9/10 January 2027

Round 4 - 15/16/17 January 2027

Round of 16 - 2/3/4 April 2027

Quarter-Finals - 9/10/11 April 2027

Semi-Finals - 30 April / 1/2 May 2027

EPCR Challenge Cup Final - Friday 21 May 2027

Investec Champions Cup Final - Saturday 22 May 2027

The final will be played at the 59,186-seat OL Stadium in Lyon, France.