Club rugby’s premier competition returns this Friday for its latest instalment – and Your Sharks will kick off the competition by hosting a Glasgow Warriors side boasting a host of international talent including Lions stars Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones. Tickets are still available here!
It’s the first of four huge challenges that Alex Sanderson’s men will have to overcome in the pool stage if they want to make it through to the knockout stage.
But how does the competition work? Here’s all you need to know about the competition PLUS our next pool stage opponents – Glasgow Warriors.
How does the competition work?
The Investec Champions Cup kicks off with a multi-pool format, as launched in the 2023/24 season, in which 24 elite clubs – eight each from the Gallagher Prem, URC and TOP 14 – are split into four pools of six.
Each club plays against four different opponents, home or away, in the pool stage and the four highest-ranked clubs in each pool qualify for the Round of 16.
The Investec Champions Cup will be played over eight weekends with four pool stage rounds and four knockout stage rounds culminating in the 2026 final which will be staged at Bilbao’s San Mamés Stadium on Saturday 23rd May.
2025/26 WEEKENDS
Round 1 – 5/6/7 December 2025
Round 2 – 12/13/14 December 2025
Round 3 – 9/10/11 January 2026
Round 4 – 16/17/18 January 2026
Round of 16 – 3/4/5 April 2026
Quarter-finals – 10/11/12 April 2026
Semi-finals – 1/2/3 May 2026
2026 Investec Champions Cup final – Saturday 23 May, San Mamés Stadium, Bilbao
Our next opponents at the CorpAcq Stadium: Glasgow Warriors (Friday 5th Dec, 8pm KO – live on Premier Sports)
Your Sharks begin their campaign with a big challenge against URC side Glasgow Warriors.
The Warriors have never made it past the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup, reaching that stage on three occasions. The Warriors were beaten by eventual champions Saracens on their first two visits to the last-eight, losing out in London in both 2017 and 2019, before falling at the hands of Leinster in Dublin in 2025.
In the URC, the Warriors have tasted recent success, picking up their second title in 2024 in memorable fashion, as a Franco Smith-led squad defeated the Vodacom Bulls 21-16 in thrilling fashion at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
Glasgow Warriors possess a proud track record of producing international talent, with 21 members of the squad selected for the 2015 Rugby World Cup – more than any other club side in world rugby.
This track record continues to the present day, with 20 Warriors selected in their respective international squads across the 2022/23 season and ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
This season Franco’s Smith’s side have won four and lost two of their first six URC games and currently sit in 5th place, seven points behind unbeaten leaders The Stormers.
They suffered a heavy defeat in their most recent game, going down 23-0 to the Scarlets at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday.
Player to watch: Sione Tuipulotu
A genuine superstar of the world game, Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu represented Australia at Schoolboy, U17 and U20 level, and played Super Rugby for Melbourne Rebels and then in the Japanese Top League.
Eligible for Scotland through his grandmother, Tuipulotu signed a deal with Glasgow Warriors ahead of the 2021/22 season and his form earned him a Scotland debut against Tonga in the 2021 Autumn Nations Series.
Tuipulotu was named in the Team of the Championship on the back of outstanding displays, and ahead of the 2024 Autumn Nations Series, he was given the Scotland captaincy, a role he held for the 2025 Quilter Nations Series.
This summer he was part of the British and Irish Lions squad that toured Australia.
