There is no better argument for why rugby matters in Scotland than watching the opening pageantry of a Scottish Rugby match in Murrayfield Stadium. 

Princess Anne will show up at A Six Nations match and shake the hands of all the players while the crowd sings “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by the Scottish band the Proclaimers. 

Moments later, the lone piper at the top of the stadium will begin playing the opening chords of the national anthem, “Flower of Scotland” and then an entire army of bagpipers begin to play on the field before they go silent and the crowd sings the rest.

There are few venues better in the world to watch a sporting event than when Murrayfield Stadium hosts the Scottish National Rugby team. 

“It’s great,” said Toulouse Rugby star and Scottish National Blair Kinghorn at the Investec Champions Cup Media Day in October before admitting that all other stadiums, even Tottenham, are second to Murrayfield. 

This is to say: Scotland fans care about rugby a lot. 

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Yet, while it’s understandable why the small country has never won a Rugby World Cup, why a professional Scottish rugby club has never even reached the Investec Champions Cup Final is a little puzzling to outsiders. But as FloRugby analyst Philip Bendon explains, not surprising. 

“Scottish clubs have historically struggled to match the big budgets and squad of the other top nations such as Ireland, France and England,” Bendon said. “Outside of the occasional talent in the Celtic League (Now URC), the Scottish sides have struggled to compete deep in the season when injuries mount up. 

“Unlike sides such as Leinster, La Rochelle, Toulouse, Saracens and Toulon who have won the Champions Cup, Glasgow and Edinburgh, even when fit, didn’t quite have the forward packs to match these clubs.”

In 29 years of Champions Cup play, no Scottish club has ever reached the Final. But despite only having one shot to do so in the 30th edition of the competition, 2024-2025 just may be the best chance for a Scottish Rugby club to win it all. 

Why The Glasgow Warriors Are Ready To Win The Investec Champion Cup

Harking back to the home field advantage that Scottish National teams have at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, the Glasgow Warriors are among the toughest teams in the world to beat on their home grounds, Scotstoun Stadium (more on that in a moment). 

But this past summer, the Glasgow Warriors became the Road Warriors and beat Munster Rugby in Limerick at Thomand Park in the United Rugby Championship Semifinals. Then they beat the Vodacom Bulls in Pretoria, South Africa in the URC Grand Final. 

It was the first domestic league championship since 2015 for the club, when the URC was known as the Pro 12. 

“Special, I say,” Glasgow Warriors flanker Sione Vailanu said at Investec Champions Cup Media Day. “It was a special occasion and obviously for the club, it’s huge. It was something we’d been looking for a few years and we were real happy about it.”

Vailanu, 29, joined Glasgow in 2022 after having played in the Gallagher Premiership. He also plays for the Tonga National team. He is on a team that features five players ranked in the top 100 of FloRugby’s player list. And it’s that type of talent that makes Glasgow the No. 6 club in the world. 

In a debate of who could be a “dark horse” to win the Investec Champions Cup, it may be impulsive to say the Warriors, despite the fact that as defending URC Champions, who currently sit at No. 2 on the URC table at 4-0-2, the Warriors are anything but a dark horse. 

They are among the legitimate favorites to win the whole thing. 

What Makes The Glasgow Warriors A Threat To Win The Investec Champions Cup In 2024-2025?

For starters, the Warriors now have a championship pedigree. 

“We’d like to carry the momentum from last year,” Vailanu said. “And we know we’re going to play against the best this year and we’d love to test ourselves on the best stage of the Investec Champions Cup. We love the challenge and we can’t wait for what challenges us.”

And they have that momentum because Sione Tuipulotu is among the best players in the world. The No. 11-ranked player on the FloRugby Top 100, the 27-year-old Scottish National who is originally from Australia, joined the Warriors in 2021. When the initial 2024 FloRugby Top 100  list was published, Tuipulotu was No. 65. He has shot up over the summer internationals and the early URC rounds. The center is a “brute force” wrote Bendon with an extensive skillset. 

He’s joined by Rory Darge, Huw Jones, Zander Fagerson and Kyle Steyn as top 100 players. 

“This Glasgow team has more depth than previous Warriors teams with talent across the board which gives the chance to stay in the hunt even if they get a few injuries,” Bendon said. 

Scotstoun Stadium And Investec Champions Cup Pool 4

Since the start of the 2022-2023 URC season, the Warriors are 21-1 at Scotstoun Stadium in league play. That one loss was in the playoffs to eventual 2023 Grand Final winner Munster Rugby. So far, they are 2-0 at home in the URC this season 

In that same time span across Champions Cup and Challenge Cup competition, the Warriors are 5-1 at Scotstoun Stadium. The loss was to eventual Gallagher Cup Champion Northampton Saints in Round 1 last December. 

This is all to say that if the Warriors win Pool 4 and are able to get at least the first two matches in the knockout stages in Scotland, a trip to the semifinals seems likely. 

The Warriors host the Sale Sharks and Racing 92 at home and a pair of winnable, albeit tough, road games against Toulon and the Harlequins in pool play. 

Away from Scotstoun, the Warriors are 2-2 in URC play with losses in Belfast against Ulster in the final minutes of the match and a narrow loss to the Hollywoodbets Sharks in Durban, South Africa (28-24). 

Can The Glasgow Warriors Make Scottish Rugby History?

This could be the best team the Warriors have ever had entering the Investec Champions Cup. While 1872 Cup rivals Edinburgh Rugby would love to be in Glasgow’s position, Edinburgh isn’t in the Champions Cup this year, but the Challenge Cup. So it’s up to Glasgow in 2024-2025. 

“This year’s Glasgow Warriors squad is as good as any Scottish club side outside of perhaps the 2014/15 Warriors squad that I have seen,” Bendon said. “Guided by the superbly innovative head coach Franco Smith and with the bulk of Scotland’s star players, they are a real challenge for any team in the competition. 

“Their biggest challenge as ever is when it gets to the business end of the season can they match the physicality of the big sides in the competition?”

Don’t miss the Glasgow Warriors take on the Sale Sharks to start Champions Cup play on Dec. 7 on FloRugby. 

When Do The Glasgow Warriors Play In The Investec Championship Cup?

Here is the Glasgow Warriors Champions Cup schedule.

Glasgow Warriors vs. Sale Sharks Kickoff In Round 1 

• Round 1:  Glasgow Warriors vs. Sale Sharks  , 3:00 pm ET, Sat, Dec 7, 2024, Scotstoun Stadium

Toulon vs. Glasgow Warriors Kickoff In Round 2

• Round 2:  RC Toulon vs. Glasgow Warriors  , 8:00 am ET, Sun, Dec 15, 2024, Felix Mayol Stadium

Glasgow Warriors vs. Racing 92 Kickoff In Round 3

• Round 3:  Glasgow Warriors vs. Racing 92  , 3:00 pm ET, Fri, 10 Jan 2025, Scotstoun Stadium

Harlequins vs. Glasgow Warriors Kickoff In Round 4 

• Round 4:  Harlequins vs. Glasgow Warriors  , 3:00 pm ET, Sat, 18 Jan 2025, Twickenham Stoop

How To Watch Glasgow Warriors Play In The Investec Champions Cup?

Every Glasgow Warriors match in the Investec Champions Cup is streaming live in the United States and Canada on FloRugby and the FloSports app.

Investec Champions Cup Format 

Key points of the 2024/25 Investec Champions Cup:

• A multi-pool format, as launched in the 2023/24 season
• 24 elite clubs - eight each from the Gallagher Premiership, URC and TOP 14 - in four pools of six
• sporting jeopardy with each club playing against four different opponents home or away in the pool stage
• 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 2025 final which will be staged at Cardiff's Pincipality Stadium on Saturday, 24 May

Investec Champions Cup Weekends

• Round 1 – 6/7/8 December 2024
• Round 2 – 13/14/15 December 2024
• Round 3 – 10/11/12 January 2025
• Round 4 – 17/18/19 January 2025
• Round of 16 – 4/5/6 April 2025
• Quarter-finals – 11/12/13 April 2025
• Semi-finals – 2/3/4 May 2025
• 2025 Investec Champions Cup final – Saturday 24 May, Principality Stadium, Cardiff

Champions Cup Qualifications 

Twenty-four clubs have qualified for the 2024/25 Investec Champions Cup as follows:

• United Rugby Championship (8): The eight highest-ranked clubs based on their final finishing positions.
• TOP 14 (8): The eight highest-ranked clubs based on their final finishing positions.
• Gallagher Premiership Rugby (8): The eight highest-ranked clubs based on their final finishing positions.
• If not already qualified, the winner of the 2024 Investec Champions Cup will take the place of the eighth-ranked club in its league.

Investec Champions Cup Qualifiers 

• TOP 14 – Stade Toulousain, Union Bordeaux-Bègles, Stade Français Paris, RC Toulon, Stade Rochelais, Racing 92, Castres Olympique, ASM Clermont Auvergne
• GALLAGHER PREMIERSHIP – Northampton Saints, Bath Rugby, Sale Sharks, Saracens, Bristol Bears, Harlequins, Exeter Chiefs, Leicester Tigers
• UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP – Glasgow Warriors, Vodacom Bulls, Munster Rugby, Leinster Rugby, DHL Stormers, Ulster Rugby, Benetton Rugby, Hollywoodbets Sharks

EPCR Challenge Cup Format 

Key points for the 2024/25 EPCR Challenge Cup:

• A multi-pool format, as launched in the 2023/24 season
• 18 clubs in three pools of six
• sporting jeopardy with each club playing against four different opponents home or away in the pool stage
• Four highest-ranked clubs in each pool qualify for the knockout stage
• Eight weekends with four pool stage rounds and four knockout stage rounds culminating in the 2025 final at Cardiff's Principality Stadium on Friday, 23 May

EPCR Challenge Cup Weekends

• Round 1 – 6/7/8 December 2024
• Round 2 – 13/14/15 December 2024
• Round 3 – 10/11/12 January 2025
• Round 4 – 17/18/19 January 2025
• Round of 16 – 4/5/6 April 2025
• Quarter-finals – 11/12/13 April 2025
• Semi-finals – 2/3/4 May 2025
• 2025 EPCR Challenge Cup final – Principality Stadium, Cardiff; Friday May 23

EPCR Challenge Cup Qualifiers 

Clubs from the United Rugby Championship, the TOP 14 and the Gallagher Premiership who have not qualified for the 2024/25 Investec Champions Cup will compete in the 2024/25 EPCR Challenge Cup.

NB If not already qualified, the winner of the 2024 EPCR Challenge Cup will secure a place in the 2024/25 Investec Champions Cup, replacing the eight-ranked club in its league.

EPCR Challenge Cup Qualifiers 

• UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP   – Ospreys, Emirates Lions, Edinburgh Rugby, Connacht Rugby, Cardiff Rugby, Scarlets, Dragons RFC, Zebre Parma
• TOP 14   – Section Paloise, USAP, Lyon Olympic University, Aviron Bayonnais, Montpellier Hérault Rugby, RC Vannes
• GALLAGHER PREMIERSHIP  – Gloucester Rugby, Newcastle Falcons
• INVITED   – Black Lion, Toyota Cheetahs

When Does The 2024-2025 Investec Champions Cup Begin? When Is The Champions Cup Final?

The Investec Champions Cup and the EPCR Challenge Cup begin on Dec. 6 and the four-round pool play action ends on Jan. 19, 2025. The Round of 16 starts on April 4, while the quarterfinals are April 11-13 and the semifinals are May 2-4. 

The EPCR Championships weekend is in Cardiff, Wales at Principality Stadium. There are championship games on May 23 (EPCR Challenge Cup) and May 24 (Investec Champions Cup). 

What Are The Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup Pools?

Here are the pools. 

Investec Champions Cup: 

• Toulouse (Stade Toulousain)
• Bordeaux-Bègles (Bordeaux-Bègles Union)
• Hollywoodbets Sharks
• Exeter Chiefs
• Leicester Tigers
• Ulster Rugby

Pool 2:

• Leinster Rugby
• Clermont Auvergne (ASM Clermont Auvergne)
• La Rochelle (Rochelais Stadium)
• Bristol Bears
• Benetton Rugby
• Bath Rugby

Pool 3:

• Northampton Saints
• Munster Rugby
• Vodacom Bulls
• Stade Français Paris
• Saracens
• Castres Olympic

Pool 4:

• Glasgow Warriors
• Racing 92
• Sale Sharks
• DHL Stormers
• Toulon (RC Toulon)
• Harlequins

EPCR Challenge Cup

Pool 1:

• Cardiff Rugby
• Connacht Rugby
• Toyota Cheetahs
• Perpignan (USAP)
• Lyon Olympic University (Lyon OU)
• Zebra Parma

Pool 2:

• Montpellier Herault Rugby
• Pau (Pau Section)
• Newcastle Falcons
• Dragons RFC
• Emirates Lions
• Ospreys

Pool 3:

• RC Vannes
• Black Lion
• Bayonne (Bayonne Rowing)
• Scarlets
• Edinburgh Rugby
• Gloucester Rugby

How To Watch Rugby Matches In the United States On FloRugby

FloRugby and FloSports also are the US home to: 

• Investec Champions Cup
• EPCR Challenge Cup
• Currie Cup
• Top 14
• Super Rugby
• And more

FloRugby also is home to match archives and match replays. 

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