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EXPLAINED: 2026-27 EPCR CHALLENGE CUP FORMAT
Newcastle Red Bulls embark on their EPCR Challenge Cup journey on Saturday when they travel to Wales to take on the Scarlets, but how does the tournament format work for 2026-27?
This season's competition sees three pools of six, drawn as follows.
Pool 1: Cheetahs, Ulster, Perpignan, Dragons, Bayonne, Zebre.
Pool 2: Benetton, Lyon, Newcastle Red Bulls, Sharks, Castres, Scarlets.
Pool 3: Ospreys, Edinburgh, Black Lion, Harlequins, Toulon, Vannes.
Each team plays four group games against four of the teams in their pool - two at home and two away.
Following the culmination of those matches the three highest-ranked teams in each group will progress through to the round of 16.
The next three round of 16 places will go to the three clubs with the highest number of match points across all pools, regardless of which group they are in.
The last four places then go to four clubs dropping down from the Investec Champions Cup, with single-match knock-out games deciding the round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals before the final in Lyon on Friday May 21.
A major change for this season concerns the criteria for attacking bonus points, which moves to the system which has operated for a number of years in the French Top 14.
An attacking bonus point will be awarded to any team scoring a minimum of three more tries than their opponents during a game. A defensive bonus point remains the same as in previous years, and is awarded to any team losing by seven or fewer points.
Both of Newcastle Red Bulls’ home group games are included on the 2026-27 season ticket, and Saturday night’s opening fixture away to Scarlets is being shown live on S4C.
EPCR CHALLENGE CUP FIXTURES
Sat Oct 17: v Scarlets (Parc Y Scarlets, 8pm, S4C)
Sat Dec 12: v Castres (Kingston Park, 8pm, EPCR TV)
Fri Jan 8: v Benetton (Kingston Park, 8pm, Premier Sports)
Sun Jan 17: v Lyon (Matmut Gerland, 1pm UK time, EPCR TV)
Round of 16 - April 2/3/4 2027
Quarter-finals - April 9/10/11 2027
Semi-finals - April 30 May 1/2 2027
Final - Friday May 21 2027 (Lyon)
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