EPCR Challenge Cup: Dates, venues, format, history and more

18 teams from across Europe and South Africa are set to battle it out for the European Rugby Challenge Cup trophy.

Europe's second-tier competition has a proud history going back to the turn of the professional era in rugby union and all sides involved will be determined to get their hands on the prize.

Previously just for teams in Europe, the competition has expanded to teams in the southern hemisphere in South Africa.

European Rugby Challenge Cup dates

This year's competition will kick-off on Friday 6th December and follows a similar calendar to the European Rugby Champions Cup. 

The Pool stage will held over four weekends, the last of which is the weekend of Friday 17th January 2025.

The Round of 16 will take place over the three days from Friday 4th April, with the quarter-finals the following weekend.

The semi-finals will take place between Friday 2nd and Sunday 4th May before the final on Friday 23rd May 2025.

European Rugby Challenge Cup venues

The Pool stages of the competition will take place across the home grounds of all 18 clubs involved, with matches to be played in England, France, Georgia, Italy, Scotland, South Africa and Wales.

The Round of 16 and quarter-finals will be played on home grounds decided by the draw, before neutral venues are introduced for the semi-finals.

The final of the European Rugby Challenge Cup will take place at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

European Rugby Challenge Cup qualification

In the Premiership, teams placed 8th and 9th that do not qualify for the Champions Cup will play in the Challenge Cup. The final Challenge Cup place is offered to either the team that finished 10th in the Premiership or the team promoted from the Championship.

In France's Top 14, all clubs that do not qualify for the Champions Cup automatically qualify for the Challenge Cup and the same applies to the United Rugby Championship, with those ranked 9th to 16th all featuring in the Challenge Cup.

Additionally, two teams are invited to participate in the Challenge Cup competition.

European Rugby Challenge Cup format

The 18 teams competing have been split into three groups of six, with the fixtures organised in a way that means they will not face a team from their own competition.

The top four in each pool will progress to the Round of 16 and will be joined by the four clubs who finished fifth in their European Rugby Champions Cup groups.

It is a straight knockout from the Round of 16 onwards, with the one-off ties concluded with the final.

European Rugby Challenge Cup history

Including the first 1996/97 season, there have been 28 previous European Rugby Challenge Cup campaigns, with the 2024/25 edition the 29th.

There have been 19 different winners of the competition, with French outfit Bourgoin becoming the first champions in the 1996/97 season.

The first four winners of the competition came from France, with Colomiers, Clermont and Pau following in Bourgoin's success.

Harlequins became the first English champions in 2000/01, with six other English clubs also getting their hands on the trophy.

Quins and Clermont are the clubs to have won the European Rugby Challenge Cup the most, with both sides getting their hands on the trophy on three occasions.

Sharks are the defending champions after the South African side defeated Gloucester 36-22 in the final at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.