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European Challenge Cup Information
In this Rugby Union Betting Guide, we will be taking a look at the 12th edition of the EPCR Challenge Cup era, which is due to start in late 2025 and end in May 2026.
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 2024–25 EPCR Challenge Cup final saw Bath and Lyon contesting for the title, both headed into the final having previously won the tournament once in the past.
Bath eliminated Gloucester in the semi-final whilst Lyon overcame Racing 92 to book their spot.
In the final itself, despite an early try from Ethan Dumortier to give Lyon the lead, Bath soon hit back with two tries and headed in at half time with a 17-5 lead.
Lyon caught Bath cold just after the break with Arno Botha going over, but could not close the gap and tries from Beno Obano and Ben Spencer secured a comfortable 37-12 win for Bath.
When is the European Challenge Cup?
The 2025-26 final will be played on the 22nd May 2026 at the San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao, Spain.
It's the second time it has hosted the final, having done so in 2018 when Cardiff beat Gloucester 31-30.
Who are the favourites to win the European Challenge Cup?
Once the odds are compiled by the bookmakers, we will add a list of them here.
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 22 teams from three different tournaments, as well as invited teams.
- (2) England - Teams finishing in 9th & 10th
- (6) France - Teams finishing 9th or worse
- (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
Bath's win in 2025 was their second success, having previously won it in 2008; they are now one of eight teams that can boast winning this tournament at least twice.
Six teams in total have won the tournament twice, however, it is Clermont and Harlequins who are at the top of the list, having both won it three times.
In terms of nationalities, England is just leading the way with 13 teams from there winning, one ahead of France on 12 and then the others have come from Wales (x2), Ireland (x1) and South Africa (x1).
Last Ten Challenge Cup Winners
| Year | Winner | Score | Runners-up | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 2015–16 | Montpellier | 26–19 | Harlequins | Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Lyon |
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 81.43% 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 favourites, then Benetton would be that, that are 17-0 when favourites, just ahead of Lyon (15-1), Clermont (14-1) and Newcastle Falcons (13-1).
Favourite Statistics for the Past Ten Seasons
| Year | Favourites | Winners | Win Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 67 | 58 | 86.57% |
| 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% |
| Total | 533 | 434 | 81.43% |
Tournament Betting Comparison
Here is a comparison between some of the top rugby union tournaments (Knockouts) for winning favourites.
The Challenge Cup comes out third on the list of the tournaments that we have looked at, with only the World Cup beating it for winning favourites.
Winning Favourites Comparison (10 Seasons)
| League | Games | Winning Favs | Overall Fav % |
|---|---|---|---|
| World Cup | 195 | 166 | 85.13% |
| Womens World Cup | 85 | 72 | 84.71% |
| European Challenge Cup | 533 | 433 | 81.24% |
| 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.
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 |
| Vannes | Stade de la Rabine | 11,500 |
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 |
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
Content Editor
Luke Bradshaw Lee
Senior Sports Betting Editor
