Bath given brutal Investec Champions Cup schedule as fixtures confirmed

As the English Prem’s most successful team in last season’s Investec Champions Cup, Bath Rugby will be hoping to one better in 2026/27 and reach the final of northern hemisphere’s elite club competition.

However, the fixture schedule, confirmed today by EPCR, the competition’s organisers, has not been kind to Johann van Graan’s men with a long-distance trip to his former club, the Vodacom Bulls, handed to them.

Bath will take on the Pretoria-based side at their Loftus Versfeld citadel on Saturday 9, January, straight off the back of the busy festive period.

While South African sides have had limited success in the once-European only competition, the logistical challenges presented by a 10-hour-plus journey across contintents are well-documented.

Before facing the Bulls in their own backyard, Bath are at home to Challenge Cup winners Montpellier and then away to Cardiff, at a venue yet to be disclosed, before signing off with a home game against resurgent Top 14 powerhouse, Stade Francais.

Click here for the full 2026/27 Investec Champions Cup pool fixtures

Reigning champions Bordeaux, who beat Bath in the semi-finals, begin their title defence away at Gloucester on Friday, 16 October.

As for the winners of the three domestic leagues, Toulouse and Northampton are at home and Leinster are away in round one.

URC Champions and last season’s Champions Cup runners-up Leinster begin their search for a fifth title in France, at ASM Clermont Auvergne, before hosting Sale Sharks in a quarter-final rematch.

Next, their first meeting with Section Paloise since 1996 follows, before an away challenge against Leicester Tigers.

Prem champions Saints open up at home to Cardiff, followed by back-to-back games in France, against Stade Francais and Montpellier, before rounding off the pool stages with a match against the Bulls under the Friday night lights at Franklin’s Gardens.

Toulouse’s quest for a seventh star and a first since 2024 begins at home to Exeter Chiefs. The French giants then fly to Johannesburg to face the Lions before heading over to west Ireland to play Connacht. Toulouse welcome Saracens to the Stade Ernest Wallon in round four.

2026/27 INVESTEC CHAMPIONS CUP POOLS

Pool 1: Leinster Rugby Glasgow Warriors, Section Paloise, Sale Sharks, Leicester Tigers, ASM Clermont Auvergne
Pool 2: Stade Toulousain, Lions, Saracens, Stade Rochelais, Exeter Chiefs, Connacht Rugby
Pool 3: Union Bordeaux Begles, DHL Stormers, Racing 92, Munster Rugby, Bristol Bears, Gloucester Rugby
Pool 4: Northampton Saints, Bath Rugby, Cardiff Rugby, Montpellier Hérault Rugby, Stade Français Paris, Vodacom Bulls

2026/27 Match Weekends

Round 1 – 16/17/18 October 2026
Round 2 – 11/12/13 December 2026
Round 3 – 8/9/10 January 2027
Round 4 – 15/16/17 January 2027
Round of 16 – 2/3/4 April 2027
Quarter-Finals – 9/10/11April 2027
Semi-Finals – 30 April/1/2 May 2027
Final: 22 May, 2027