With the Autumn Internationals done and dusted for another year, European rugby returns to the spotlight this weekend with the third round of pool stage matches in the new-look Champions Cup and fans can watch all 10 matches live on 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 third round kicks off on Friday night with the opening Champions Cup match of the weekend as high-flying Bath make the trip across the Channel to face Montpellier.
Four more live Champions Cup games follow over the course of the weekend on BT, featuring a mouth-watering double header on Sunday afternoon Harlequins host three-time European champions Leinster, followed by Leicester Tigers’ home clash against defend champions Toulon.
In addition, BT Sport will also have live coverage of a fixture from the second-tier European Challenge Cup on Saturday afternoon as Cardiff Blues host London Irish.
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 third round of the pool stages.
Beaten 2013/14 Heineken Cup semi-finalists Munster and Clermont Auvergne meet at Thomond Park in the pick of Sky’s live Champions Cup games.
Munster have won their opening two pool games. A lastgasp 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.
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 4th December
LA ROCHELLE v EXETER CHIEFS – Pool 2
Kick-off: 19:45 LIVE: 7.30pm-10.00pm Sky Sports 1
Friday 5th December MONTPELLIER v BATH – Pool 4 Kick-off: 19:45 LIVE: 7.00pm-10.00pm BT Sport 2
Saturday 6th December SALE SHARKS v SARACENS – Pool 1 Kick-off: 13:00 LIVE: 12.30pm-3.00pm Sky Sports 2 TREVISO v NORTHAMPTON SAINTS – Pool 5 Kick-off: 13:00 LIVE: 12.55pm-3.00pm Sky Sports 2 Red Button OSPREYS v RACING METRO – Pool 5 Kick-off: 15:15 LIVE: 3.00pm-5.15pm Sky Sports 2 CARDIFF BLUES v LONDON IRISH – Pool 1 Kick-off: 19:45 LIVE: 3.00pm-5.15pm BT Sport 1 MUNSTER v CLERMONT AUVERGNE – Pool 1 Kick-off: 17:30 LIVE: 5.15pm-8.00pm Sky Sports 2 ULSTER v SCARLETS – Pool 3 Kick-off: 19:45 LIVE: 7.30pm-10.00pm BT Sport 2 Match Highlights Rygbi: Cwpan Pencampwyr Ewrop 10.30pm-11.30pm S4C
Sunday 7th December CASTRES OLYMPIQUE v WASPS – Pool 2 Kick-off: 13:00 LIVE: 12.30pm-3.00pm Sky Sports 2 HARLEQUINS v LEINSTER – Pool 2 Kick-off: 15:15 LIVE: 2.30pm-5.15pm BT Sport 2 TOULOUSE v GLASGOW WARRIORS – Pool 4 Kick-off: 15:15 LIVE: 3.10pm-5.15pm BT Sport Extra GLOUCESTER v ZEBRE – Pool 5 Kick-off: 19:45 LIVE: 3.00pm-5.30pm Sky Sports 2 LEICESTER TIGERS v TOULON – Pool 3 Kick-off: 17:30 LIVE: 5.15pm-8.00pm BT Sport 2 Match Highlights European Rugby Special 11.00pm-12.30am Sky Sports 4
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