A Test match in club colours and heavyweight battles: Champions Cup has the potential to showcase its value in Round Three

Eben Etzebeth's Sharks host European champions Toulouse in Round Three of the Champions Cup
©Photo by Michael Steele - World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images

January isn’t usually selected as a favourite month of the year, but as a rugby fan, this weekend of Champions Cup action has the potential to banish any post-Christmas sluggishness.

The game’s biggest star in Antoine Dupont is set to play his first game in the southern hemisphere for eight years while Leinster will look to claim a statement away win at former champions La Rochelle.

English sides Harlequins and Saracens will also be keen for victories on their travels in the challenging venues of the Stade Felix Mayol and Thomond Park while Bristol and Bath will be looking for results to keep their competition hopes alive.

The Champions Cup has a tendency to produce games that are the closest to Test match rugby and there are two fixtures this week that, if all goes to plan, will definitely hold up to the quality of an international contest, especially with all the stars on show.

European powerhouses La Rochelle will host Leinster, two sides with huge history in this competition in recent years and both are currently unbeaten in Europe this season.

Leinster are coming off the back of a recent 28-7 victory over Munster in the United Rugby Championship and are currently 10 points clear at the top of the table.

Young fly-half Sam Prendergast is running the show and this could be one of his biggest games and a good acid test for his level. He will want to put in a performance and stake another claim for that Ireland number 10 jersey.

It will also be a huge test for Leinster as in recent years, a lot of their success in the Champions Cup has come when they have played in Ireland. Can they now show they can do it away from home in the vibrant surroundings of the Stade Marcel Deflandre and let big signings such as Jordie Barrett show their worth?

In competition for ‘game of the weekend’ is the flair of Toulouse going to South Africa to face a Sharks side full of Springboks, including Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth.

This fixture is brilliant for the Champions Cup as it seems like Toulouse will be sending the big guns over to Durban whereas in the past, we have seen teams such as the Sharks rest star players for big away trips which arguably devalues the competition.

A contest such as this is what we want to see and exactly why the South Africans have been brought into the tournament as this is a huge game full of internationals, and will have the intensity of a Test match.

The added element of Dupont and his other French international teammates going on trips to the southern hemisphere adds more excitement for us rugby fans.

For the actual competition, this weekend is huge and games like the two I have just mentioned have the potential to remove a lot of the doubts many have over the current structure of the tournament.

For English sides, it can be a struggle competing against teams with a higher wage bill, but clubs like Harlequins had huge scalps last season after they defeated Racing 92 and notably Bordeaux-Begles away from home.

Adding a victory in Toulon to that list on Sunday afternoon could be huge for their season and for their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages.

Toulon, who are in sparkling form after a 36-24 win against Racing at the weekend, will be eager for scrum-half Baptiste Serin to pull out some more magic moments as they target a third straight win in Pool 4.

Danny Care, if selected to start, may go up against Serin and the 38-year-old will want to prove to Quins fans that the decision to remain at the club next season for his 20th campaign is the right one.

Elsewhere, Saracens go to Munster, a side struggling at the moment, but Sarries haven’t been massively consistent either.

What has been consistent from a Saracens perspective though has been some solid performances from fly-half Fergus Burke - who may well be on Scotland’s radar for the upcoming Six Nations - while Tom Willis continues to bang on the England door.

Either way, this game could be a great contest, as both sides aim to top Pool 3. A win for the hosts against the former European champions could kickstart their season as well, with Munster currently 11th in the URC.

Two of the Premiership’s form teams this year - Bath and Bristol - both desperately need victories after both sides lost their opening two fixtures.

Bath - especially as they top the Premiership - would have wanted to make more of an impact on the European stage, and you feel that a Saturday evening game against Clermont with The Rec rocking will give them the perfect chance to do that.

As for Bristol, they will want to turn the tide on their recent home form (successive losses to Sale Sharks in the Premiership and Leinster in Europe) and Benetton will be the latest side to visit Ashton Gate on Sunday.

So, this Champions Cup weekend could provide three days of sensational rugby to kick off 2025 and we’d all love for it to set a positive precedent for the way the game can go this year.

 
 
 
 

European Rugby Champions Cup Points Table