EPCR Announce Key Dates For 2026/27

26th February 2026 By The Editor

The opening Pool games in EPCR competitions next season will be in October. Inpho

EPCR, the tournament organiser of the Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup, has confirmed key dates for the 2026/27 season, with the EPCR Finals Weekend set to take place on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 May in the French sporting capital of Lyon.

The Pool Draws will take place on Wednesday 1 July 2026, setting the scene for the Pool Stages that will get underway on Friday 16 October, in a return to an October start. Round 2 will remain in its usual December window.

EPCR CEO Jacques Raynaud said: “We are pleased to confirm next season’s key dates for the Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup. The 2026/27 season, starting once again in October as our competitions did pre-Covid, will build to a wonderful finale in Lyon’s superb OL Stadium, where we will return after a successful Finals weekend in 2016. We are delighted to be returning to this venue, which has already staged EPCR Finals, Rugby World Cup and Six Nations matches.

“The Road to Lyon will get underway on Wednesday 1 July, when we will broadcast the Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup Pool Draws live from Premier Sports’ studio, and we thank our UK and Ireland broadcast partner for their support in delivering this key element in mapping out the Pool Stages.

“We are also excited to see the opening round of those Pool Stages return to the pre-Covid October slot, a recommendation put forward by EPCR and unanimously agreed by the three Leagues, with EPCR competitions part of the club rugby dynamic from the start of the season in a move that is welcomed by fans and commercial partners alike.”