The final continental club rugby action of the calendar year takes place this weekend with the fourth round of the 2014/15 European Rugby Champions Cup and fans can watch all ten games live across BT Sport and Sky Sports.
Replacing the Heineken Cup as European rugby union’s premier club competition, the inaugural Champions Cup pits the cream of continent against one another over the next eight months as 20 sides aim to secure their place in rugby history.
After many months of protracted negotiations, the newly re-branded competition was given the go-ahead earlier this year and a few significant tweaks have been made to the format to the competition, which shares many similarities with its hugely successful predecessor.
The number of teams involved has been reduced from 24 to 20, with 19 qualifying automatically based on their position in their respective leagues, while the final spot goes to the winner of a play-off competition.
BT Sport and Sky Sports subscribers will be able to watch every match from the new-look competition live, with both broadcasters screening 35 matches each as they start the first year of a ground-breaking four-year TV deal with the newly formed European Professional Club Rugby.
The European Rugby Champions Cup was confirmed as the replacement to previous Heineken Cup, which ran from 1995 to 2014, following two years of political wrangling that eventually has yielded a 60 per cent hike in TV rights revenues and meritocratic qualification.
On the field of play, the action is set to be just as exciting and intense as the former Heineken Cup with all the star names from European rugby gunning to lift the spectacular new trophy at Twickenham next May.
French powerhouse Toulon won the final Heineken Cup last season and will undoubtedly be among the favourites to lift the new trophy, but reigning Premiership champions Northampton will be looking to back up their success in the Amlin Challenge Cup with victory at Europe’s top table.
Also vying for a place in the final at Twickenham in May are Irish heavyweights Leinster, Munster and Ulster while Clermont Auvergne are making waves in the Top 14 and are expected to mount a serious challenge.
England’s representatives will also have a huge say in the final reckoning of this season’s inaugural competition with Aviva Premiership sides Saracens, Leicester and Harlequins also firmly in the mix for the title.
As well as the European Champions Cup, BT Sport and Sky Sports will also bring rugby fans selected fixtures from the new second-tier competition, the European Rugby Challenge Cup.
A number of English clubs, including Gloucester and Exeter, pit themselves against some of Europe’s big teams and, as with the Champions Cup, a few tweaks have been made from the format adopted by the competition’s predecessor, the Amlin Challenge Cup.
Northampton Saints lifted the Challenge Cup last season after defeating Bath in the final at Cardiff Arms Park, becoming the sixth English club to claim the prize.
With the domestic rugby season well under way, Europe’s elite now take centre stage for the opening exchanges of the new European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup.
Full details of the opening round of live European rugby action can be found below, as well as details of how BT Sport and Sky Sports will be covering this season’s competition, as both broadcaster’s go directly head-to-head on the rugby field for the first time.
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BT Sport covers live European rugby for the first time this season and will screen some of the competitions biggest matches featuring sides from the Aviva Premiership.
In the European Champions Cup, BT Sport will show at least five matches exclusively live from each of the opening rounds of the tournament, plus two quarter-finals and one semi-final exclusively live, as well as the final, which will shared with Sky Sports.
As part of the shared deal with Sky, BT has the choice in the Champions Cup fixtures of first pick matches involving clubs from the Aviva Premiership, meaning many of the European ties involving English sides will screened on its channels.
BT Sport’s coverage of the fourth round of European action kicks off at The Rec on Friday night as Bath, who excelled with a 30-5 win in the mud of Montpellier last week, need another victory in the reverse fixture against the French side to keep up with the pace in Pool 4.
Three more games follow on Saturday, including two more big showdowns between European giants, starting with reigning champions Toulon, lead Pool 3 by a point, at home to Leicester Tigers, who beat the French side 25-21 in the reverse fixture last weekend.
This will be followed by Harlequins’ trip to Dublin to face Leinster. The English side lead Pool 2 by three points after their 24-18 defeat of the Pro 12 champions at the Stoop last weekend.
Ulster take on Scarlets in the final BT-televised match of the weekend on Sunday, with the Irish team having beaten their fellow Pro 12 competitors 24-9, and claimed the bonus point, in last weekend’s Pool 3 clash in Belfast.
BT Sport’s European Champions Cup coverage will be anchored live from the grounds around Europe for key matches, with further games broadcast live from the BT Sport studio in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London.
Craig Doyle leads the channel’s presentation team alongside its regular rugby union experts, including Lawrence Dallaglio, Ben Kay, Matt Dawson and Austin Healey, plus BT Sport’s new signing, former Ireland and Leinster centre Brian O’Driscoll.
Match commentary will be led by Nick Mullins and Alastair Eykyn, with Andrew Cotter also part of the roster, while reporting and additional presenting duties fall to Sarra Elgan and Martin Bayfield.
BT Sport’s rugby magazine show Rugby Tonight moves to a new slot of Monday nights and will recap on all the action from the new European tournaments every week during the seasno.
It will continue to be hosted by Martin Bayfield, Matt Dawson, Craig Doyle plus Sarra Elgan and will offer a mixture of rugby analysis, debate and lively entertainment around the tournaments, as well as the wider world of rugby.
Alongside live high-definition TV coverage, all the action will be available to watch online and on the go via the BT Sport website and app.
For more information about BT Sport’s rugby union coverage, visit btsport.com.
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Sky Sports will continue to broadcast some of the biggest head-to-heads from European rugby’s biggest competition this season in the inaugural European Champions Cup.
All the top sides from the French Top 14 and Guinness Pro12 will feature extensively on Sky Sports during the competition, with the channel possessing top picks for Champions Cup matches featuring Scottish, Welsh and Irish sides as part of its new shared deal with BT.
Subscribers can enjoy at least five live matches per weekend and there are many fascinating clashes to feast on from this week’s line-up in the fourth round.
Beaten 2013/14 Heineken Cup semi-finalists Munster and Clermont Auvergne meet at Thomond Park in the pick of Sky’s pool games on Sunday afternoon, one of five live matches from the Champions Cup over the course of the weekend.
Munster have won their opening two pool games. A last gasp drop goal from Ian Keatley stole the spoils at Sale on the opening weekend before a comprehensive victory over last season’s Heineken Cup runners-up Saracens.
Clermont were beaten by Sarries in their opening game but produced a devastating display to crush Sale 35-3 on the second weekend, with the two English sides in the pool going head to head once again in front of Sky cameras on Saturday.
Sky Sports’ on-air line-up of commentators and analysts includes some of the biggest names in rugby union with over 650 caps between them.
Expert analysis is provided by Will Greenwood, Dewi Morris, Ieuan Evans, Scott Quinnell, Sean Fitzpatrick, Michael Lynagh, Stuart Barnes, Shane Horgan and Paul Wallace, with additional faces also appearing in the Sky Sports studios throughout the season.
England’s 2003 World Cup-winning hero Jonny Wilkinson has also been signed by Sky Sports as a regular pundit on its rugby union coverage ahead of the start of the new European competitions.
Sky’s live European rugby coverage will be presented by Alex Payne and James Gemmell from pitchside at key games or in the studio, with match commentary coming from Miles Harrison, Mark Robson, Martin Gillingham and Johnnie Hammond.
The European Rugby Champions Cup forms part of Sky Sports’ biggest ever rugby union season, offering viewers more than 360 live matches from the international, European and domestic game.
All of Sky Sports’ live matches will be available to watch in HD, on demand and on the go through Sky Go, the leading sports mobile TV service in the UK, while to support the live match experience, Sky Sports customers can also benefit from the innovative Sky Sports smartphone and iPad apps, which offer additional viewing options and analysis.
For more information about Sky Sports’ rugby union coverage, visit skysports.com.
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Welsh language channel S4C will be the only place to watch free-to-air highlights from the new European Rugby Champions Cup and European Rugby Challenge Cup this season.
In a last-minute deal ahead of the start of the new competitions, S4C will screen a one-hour highlights show either on Saturday or Sunday night during the competition, with a further round-up show to follow on Mondays.
The S4C highlights show, presented by Gareth Roberts alongside former Wales captain Gwyn Jones, will feature action from key matches in both competitions featuring the Welsh regions, plus the pick of the other top European ties, from the opening round to next May’s final at Twickenham.
Every programme will be available to watch on-demand via the S4C website for up to 30 days after transmission.
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Indicates European Champions Cup / European Challenge Cup matches
Thursday 11th December
STADE FRANCAIS v NEWCASTLE FALCONS – Pool 3
Kick-off: 19:45 LIVE: 7.30pm-10.00pm Sky Sports 1
Friday 12th December BATH v MONTPELLIER – Pool 4 Kick-off: 19:45 LIVE: 7.00pm-10.00pm BT Sport 2
Saturday 13th December GLASGOW WARRIORS v TOULOUSE – Pool 4 Kick-off: 13:00 LIVE: 12.30pm-3.15pm Sky Sports 2 TOULON v LEICESTER TIGERS – Pool 3 Kick-off: 15:15 LIVE: 2.30pm-5.15pm BT Sport 1 NORTHAMPTON SAINTS v TREVISO – Pool 5 Kick-off: 15:15 LIVE: 3.00pm-5.30pm BT Sport 2 SARACENS v SALE SHARKS – Pool 1 Kick-off: 17:15 LIVE: 5.00pm-7.30pm Sky Sports 2 RACING METRO v OSPREYS – Pool 5 Kick-off: 17:15 LIVE: 5.10pm-7.15pm Sky Sports 2 Red Button LEINSTER v HARLEQUINS – Pool 2 Kick-off: 19:45 LIVE: 7.15pm-10.00pm BT Sport 2 Match Highlights Rygbi: Cwpan Pencampwyr Ewrop 10.00pm-11.00pm S4C
Sunday 14th December WASPS v CASTRES – Pool 2 Kick-off: 13:00 LIVE: 12.30pm-3.00pm Sky Sports 2 CLERMONT AUVERGNE v MUNSTER – Pool 1 Kick-off: 15:15 LIVE: 3.00pm-5.30pm Sky Sports 2 SCARLETS v ULSTER – Pool 3 Kick-off: 17:15 LIVE: 4.30pm-8.00pm BT Sport 2 Match Highlights European Rugby Special 8.00pm-9.30pm Sky Sports 3 Rygbi: Cwpan Pencampwyr Ewrop 10.00pm-11.00pm S4C
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