South Africa’s involvement in the top-flight of Northern Hemisphere club rugby has received a massive boost with the confirmation on Thursday that the four Vodacom United Rugby Championship teams and Toyota Cheetahs will play in next season’s two European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) knockout competitions, the Heineken Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup.
South Africa’s involvement in the top-flight of Northern Hemisphere club rugby has received a massive boost with the confirmation on Thursday that the four Vodacom United Rugby Championship teams and Toyota Cheetahs will play in next season’s two European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) knockout competitions, the Heineken Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup.
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This means that the South African teams will now cross swords with the best clubs from England and France, after already successfully integrating with teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales in the Vodacom URC.
Under EPCR qualification, the four Shield winners and the next four highest-ranks clubs in the final league table of the Vodacom URC will take part in the Heineken Champions Cup, with the remaining in the EPCR Challenge Cup.
As a result, the DHL Stormers, Cell C Sharks, and Vodacom Bulls, all of whom finished in the top eight of the Vodacom URC, will play in the Heineken Champions Cup, while the Emirates Lions and the Toyota Cheetahs will contest the EPCR Challenge Cup.
Both these competitions’ Finals for this season took place at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille last weekend, with three of the four sides in action from France and the results leading to two historical firsts.
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In the EPCR Challenge Cup Final on Friday, Lyon secured their first-ever European title and first silverware for 89 years, while La Rochelle beat Leinster in a nail-biting match to win their first Heineken Champions Cup. Both matches showcased the best of European rugby, with the result of the Heineken Champions Cup going right to the last minute.
Next year’s EPCR showpiece Finals will take place on 19 and 20 May 2023 at Dublin’s famed Aviva Stadium.