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European Challenge Cup Information
In this Rugby Union Betting Guide, we will be taking a look at the 13th edition of the EPCR Challenge Cup era, which is due to start in late 2026 and end in May 2027.
The tournament has been governed by the EPCR since 2014; it was previously governed by the ERC when it was created in 1996.
Below, we are going to look at the upcoming season, look back at past champions and look at betting odds to enhance your betting experience with the EPCR Challenge Cup.
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European Challenge Cup Preview
Who won the European Challenge Cup?
The 2025–26 EPCR Challenge Cup final saw Montpellier and Ulster contesting for the title, the French side looking for a third success, whilst it was Ulster's first final.
Montpellier eliminated the Dragons in the semi-final, whilst Ulster overcame Exeter Chiefs to book their spot.
In the final itself, despite an early try from Nick Timoney to give Ulster the lead, Montpellier hit back just three mins later to tie up the game thanks to a Gabriel N'Gandebe try.
Montpellier scored three more tries in the first half through Taofifénua, Vunipola & Bécognée whilst Izuchukwu added to Ulster's tally with the French side leading 26-12 at half-time.
The second half saw the tries continue flowing, Taofifénua added a 2nd and then Nouchi, Erdocio, Hounkpatin and Vincent all scored, helping Montpellier to a comfortable 59-26 victory over the Irish side.
When is the European Challenge Cup?
The exact dates for the tournament will be announced later in the year.
Who are the favourites to win the European Challenge Cup?
Given the English and French dominance in this tournament, you would expect teams from those countries to head the market like Exeter, Lyon, Newcastle and Montpellier.
Who will win the European Challenge Cup?
Head over to the OLBG Rugby Tips to see who they are tipping to win, not only the outright winner but also matches throughout the tournament.
Additionally, if you only want to view the tips from the top tipsters, those who have shown a profit on rugby over the past year, then head over to the Best Rugby Tipsters page.
What is the European Challenge Cup Format?
The tournament is made up of 18 teams from three different tournaments, as well as invited teams.
- (2) England - Teams finishing in 9th & 10th
- (6) France - Teams finishing 9th-13th & Pro D2 Champions
- (8) URC - Teams finishing 9th or worse
- (2) Invited teams
That makes up the 18 teams who take part in the pool stage, which consists of three pools of six teams, with the top four from each pool moving on to the round of 16.
The other four teams in the knockout stage are teams that finished 5th in the pool stage of the Champions Cup.
European Challenge Cup Broadcast & Scheduling Info
You can watch the EPCR Challenge Cup live on Premier Sports.
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European Challenge Cup Past Winners
Montpellier's win in 2026 was their third success, having previously won it in 2016 & 2021; they are now one of three teams that can boast winning this tournament three times.
Clermont and Harlequins are the other two clubs to have won it three times whilst there are five teams who have multiple wins in the tournament with two apiece.
In terms of nationalities, England was just leading the way with 13 teams from there winning; however, Montpellier's success in 2026 moved France on to 13 too. The others have come from Wales (x2), Ireland (x1) and South Africa (x1).
Last Ten Challenge Cup Winners
| Year | Winner | Score | Runners-up | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 | Montpellier | 59–26 | Ulster | San Mamés, Bilbao |
| 2024–25 | Bath | 37–12 | Lyon | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff |
| 2023–24 | Sharks | 36–22 | Gloucester | Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London |
| 2022–23 | Toulon | 43–19 | Glasgow | Aviva Stadium, Dublin |
| 2021–22 | Lyon | 30–12 | Toulon | Stade de Marseille, Marseille |
| 2020–21 | Montpellier | 18–17 | Leicester | Twickenham Stadium, London |
| 2019–20 | Bristol | 32–19 | Toulon | Stade Maurice David, Aix-en-Provence |
| 2018–19 | Clermont | 36–16 | La Rochelle | St James' Park, Newcastle |
| 2017–18 | Cardiff | 31–30 | Gloucester | San Mamés, Bilbao |
| 2016–17 | Stade Français | 25–17 | Gloucester | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh |
European Challenge Cup Favourite Statistics
The favourite statistics for the Challenge Cup have jumped around a bit with each season, for example, in 2016-17 it was 85%, a season later it was only 75% and then a season later 88%, which makes it hard to believe the favourites are reliable.
Overall, for the last ten seasons, there have been 80.12% of successful favourites, so they are not that bad; it's just making sure you don't catch a bad season. The 2020-21 season was only 66.67%; however, circumstances would have played a part there.
If you are looking for a team to follow when the favourites, then Benetton would be that, who are 20-0 when favourites, with both Montpellier and Clermont boasting 14-0-1 records.
Favourite Statistics for the Past Ten Seasons
| Year | Favourites | Winners | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-17 | 65 | 55 | 84.62% |
| 2017-18 | 68 | 51 | 75.00% |
| 2018-19 | 66 | 58 | 87.88% |
| 2019-20 | 66 | 54 | 81.82% |
| 2020-21 | 27 | 18 | 66.67% |
| 2021-22 | 41 | 35 | 85.37% |
| 2022-23 | 51 | 39 | 76.47% |
| 2023-24 | 51 | 41 | 80.39% |
| 2024-25 | 31 | 25 | 80.65% |
| 2025-26 | 52 | 39 | 75.00% |
| Total | 518 | 415 | 80.12% |
Tournament Betting Comparison
The Challenge Cup comes out third on the list of the tournaments that we have looked at, with only the World Cups beating it for winning favourites.
Here is a comparison between some of the top rugby union tournaments (Knockouts) for winning favourites.
| League | Games | Winning Favs | Overall Fav % |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Cup | 195 | 166 | 85.13% |
| Women's World Cup | 85 | 72 | 84.71% |
| European Challenge Cup | 518 | 415 | 80.12% |
| European Champions Cup | 612 | 479 | 78.27% |
| Premiership Cup | 229 | 179 | 78.17% |
European Challenge Cup Teams
Here are the sixteen teams that have qualified for the 2025-26 Challenge Cup via the three different tournaments. Once the 2026-27 are decided, we will update.
Premiership Qualifiers
| Team | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Exeter Chiefs | Sandy Park | 15,600 |
| Newcastle Falcons | Kingston Park | 10,200 |
Top 14 Quilifiers
| Team | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Lyon ⭐ | Matmut Stadium de Gerland | 25,000 |
| Montpellier ⭐⭐ | Altrad Stadium | 15,697 |
| Perpignan | Stade Aimé Giral | 14,593 |
| Racing 92 | Paris La Défense Arena | 30,681 |
| Stade Français ⭐ | Stade Jean-Bouin | 20,000 |
United Rugby Championship Qualifiers
| Team | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Benetton | Stadio Comunale di Monigo | 5,000 |
| Cardiff ⭐⭐ | Cardiff Arms Park | 12,125 |
| Connacht | MacHale Park | 25,369 |
| Dragons | Rodney Parade | 8,700 |
| Lions | Ellis Park Stadium | 62,567 |
| Ospreys | Swansea.com Stadium | 20,827 |
| Ulster | Ravenhill Stadium | 18,196 |
| Zebre Parma | Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi | 5,000 |
Others
| Team | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Montauban (Pro D2 Champions) | Stade Sapiac | 9,210 |
| Black Lion (Invited) | Mikheil Meskhi Stadium | 27,223 |
| Cheetahs (Invited) | NRCA Stadium | 5,000 |
The ⭐ indicates the number of times they have won the tournament.
European Challenge Cup Records
Most Challenge Cup Appearances
Michael Swift leads the way when it comes to most appearances in the Challenge Cup; he has played in a total of 67 games, with the majority of those (65) coming for Connacht, and the other 2 were with Richmond.
He is the only player to have featured in over 60 games, whilst there is a whole host of players in the 50s, the closest to Swift is Micky Ward, who played 58 times for Newcastle Falcons, and just one behind him is Florin Vlaicu.
Most Tries in the Challenge Cup
Only four players have scored 20+ tries in the Challenge Cup, and there are just five between them. Top of the pile is Tom Varndell, who scored 25 with 20 for Wasps and 5 for Bristol.
With 13 tries for Stade Francais and 9 for Colomiers, Julien Arias is next on the list with a total of 22. The other two both have 20 tries; they are Richard Haughton and Topsy Ojo.
Most Points in the Challenge Cup
Ludovic Mercier is the only player who has managed to surpass 500 points with a total of 520 spread across six clubs, the most coming when at Petrarca, where he scored 134.
The closest to him is Jonny Wilkinson, who scored 317 for Newcastle Falcons and 168 for Toulon, bringing his total to 485, still some 35 points behind Mercier.
Two others have passed the 400 mark during their careers in this tournament, Eric Elwood with all his 473 coming with Connacht and Olly Barkley with 418, 408 of which came with Bath.
Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. The data in this European Challenge Cup Preview & Betting Guide is managed by Andy Powell, who looks after the Rugby Tipsters and results in the Rugby Tips Section. Our Commercial Content Manager, Luke Bradshaw-Lee, is a keen Rugby fan; he fact-checks the article for accuracy and publication. Together, they produce our Rugby Union Previews and Rugby League Previews.
Andy Powell
Expert Guide
Luke Bradshaw Lee
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