2024–25 EPCR Challenge Cup

Not to be confused with 2024–25 European Rugby Champions Cup.

The 2024–25 EPCR Challenge Cup, known colloquially as the 2024-25 European Challenge Cup^[1] will be the eleventh edition of the EPCR Challenge Cup, an annual second-tier rugby union competition for professional clubs competing in elite European competition. Including the predecessor competition, the original European Challenge Cup, this is the 29th edition of European club rugby's second-tier competition.

2024–25 EPCR Challenge Cup
The EPCR Challenge Cup
Tournament details
Countries	England  France  Georgia  Ireland  Italy  Scotland  South Africa  Wales
Date	6 December 2024 — 23 May 2025
Tournament statistics
Teams	22
Matches played	36
Attendance	233,259 (6,479 per match)
Highest attendance	14,073 – Lyon v Cardiff 7 December 2024
Lowest attendance	1,450 – Zebre v Lyon 14 December 2024
Tries scored	255 (7.08 per match)
Top point scorer(s)	Axel Desperes (Pau) 52 points
Top try scorer(s)	Josh Macleod (Scarlets) Chay Mullins (Connacht) 4 tries
Final
Venue	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
← 2023–24 (Previous) (Next) 2025–26 →

The final will be played at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales.^[2][3]

Teams

Sixteen teams qualified for the 2024–25 EPCR Challenge Cup from Premiership Rugby, the Top 14 and the United Rugby Championship as a direct result of their domestic league performance having not qualified for the Champions Cup. Two further sides received invitations, South Africa's Cheetahs and Georgia's Black Lion.^[3]

The distribution of teams are:

• England: two teams
  • Teams in the 2024–25 Premiership season that did not qualify for the 2024–25 Champions Cup.
• France: six teams
  • Teams taking part in the 2024–25 Top 14 season that did not qualify for the 2024–25 Champions Cup.
• Georgia, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa and Wales: ten teams
  • Eight teams in the 2024–25 United Rugby Championship season that did not qualify for the 2024–25 Champions Cup. This season, these consist of four teams from Wales, and a single team each from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and South Africa.
  • Two teams invited – one each from Georgia and South Africa – with the South African team, Cheetahs, playing their home games in the Netherlands.^[4]

Entry Point	Premiership	Top 14	United Rugby Championship					Invited
—	England	France	Ireland	Italy	Scotland	Wales	South Africa		Georgia
Pool stage	Gloucester Newcastle Falcons	Bayonne Lyon Montpellier Pau Perpignan Vannes	Connacht	Zebre Parma	Edinburgh	Cardiff Dragons Ospreys Scarlets	Lions	Cheetahs	Black Lion
Knockout stage	from 2024–25 European Rugby Champions Cup pool stage
	Bath Rugby	Racing 92					Bulls Sharks

Team details

Team	Coach / Director of Rugby	Captain	Stadium	Capacity	Method of qualification
Entering at Pool stage
Bayonne	Grégory Patat	Denis Marchois	Stade Jean-Dauger	14,370	Top 14 bottom six (12th)
Black Lion	Richard Cockerill	Luka Matkava	Mikheil Meskhi Stadium	27,223	Invited
Cardiff	Matt Sherratt	Liam Belcher	Cardiff Arms Park	12,125	URC bottom eight (12th)
Cheetahs	Izak van der Westhuizen	Victor Sekekete	NRCA Stadium, Netherlands	5,000	Invited
Connacht	Peter Wilkins	Cian Prendergast	Dexcom Stadium	8,129	URC bottom eight (11th)
Dragons	Filo Tiatia	Ben Carter	Rodney Parade	8,700	URC bottom eight (15th)
Edinburgh	Sean Everitt	Grant Gilchrist Ben Vellacott	Edinburgh Rugby Stadium	7,800	URC bottom eight (10th)
Gloucester	George Skivington	Lewis Ludlow	Kingsholm	16,115	Premiership bottom two (9th)
Lions	Ivan van Rooyen	Marius Louw	Emirates Airline Park	62,567	URC bottom eight (9th)
Lyon	Fabien Gengenbacher	Baptiste Couilloud Jordan Taufua	Stade de Gerland	25,000	Top 14 bottom six (11th)
Montpellier	Joan Caudullo	Alexandre Bécognée Yacouba Camara Arthur Vincent	GGL Stadium	15,697	Top 14 bottom six (13th)
Newcastle Falcons	Steve Diamond	Callum Chick	Kingston Park	11,200	Premiership bottom two (10th)
Ospreys	Toby Booth	Jac Morgan	Swansea.com Stadium	20,827	URC bottom eight (8th)[a]
Scarlets	Dwayne Peel	Josh Macleod	Parc y Scarlets	14,870	URC bottom eight (13th)
Pau	Sébastien Piqueronies	Luke Whitelock	Stade du Hameau	18,324	Top 14 bottom six (9th)
Perpignan	Franck Azéma	Mathieu Acebes	Stade Aimé Giral	14,593	Top 14 bottom six (10th)
Vannes	Jean-Noël Spitzer	Clément Payen	Stade de la Rabine	11,303	Pro D2 Champions
Zebre Parma	Massimo Brunello	Danilo Fischetti	Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi	5,000	URC bottom eight (16th)
Entering at Knockout Stage (transferred from Champions Cup)
Bath	Johann van Graan	Ben Spencer	Recreation Ground	14,509	Champions Cup Pool 2 5th place
Bulls	Jake White	Marcell Coetzee	Loftus Versfeld	51,762	Champions Cup Pool 3 5th place
Sharks	John Plumtree	Lukhanyo Am	Hollywoodbets Kings Park	52,000	Champions Cup Pool 1 5th place
Racing 92	Patrice Collazo	Henry Chavancy	París La Défense Arena	30,680	Champions Cup Pool 4 5th place

Pool stage

Main article: 2024–25 EPCR Challenge Cup pool stage

Teams were drawn into pools on 2 July in Cardiff.^[3] Teams were awarded four points for a win, two for a draw, one for scoring four tries in a game, and one for losing by less than eight points.

Pool 1

EPCR Challenge Cup Pool 1

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	Connacht (1)	4	4	0	0	154	73	+81	25	10	4	0	20	Home round of 16
2	Lyon (5)	4	3	0	1	150	118	+32	21	19	2	0	14
3	Perpignan (8)	4	2	1	1	100	92	+8	12	14	1	0	11
4	Cardiff (16)	4	1	0	3	91	98	−7	13	13	2	1	7	Away round of 16
5	Cheetahs	4	1	1	2	73	132	−59	10	19	0	0	6
6	Zebre Parma	4	0	0	4	70	125	−55	10	17	0	2	2

Source: EPCR^[5]
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers for teams tied on points: 1) Number of matches won; 2) Difference between points for and against; 3) Total number of points for; 4) Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams; 5) Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled.

Pool 2

EPCR Challenge Cup Pool 2

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	Montpellier (2)	4	4	0	0	131	41	+90	19	6	3	0	19	Home round of 16
2	Ospreys (4)	4	3	0	1	111	116	−5	16	17	3	0	15
3	Pau (7)	4	2	0	2	119	108	+11	10	10	3	1	12
4	Lions (14)	4	2	0	2	122	103	+19	18	13	2	0	10	Away round of 16
5	Dragons	4	1	0	3	61	116	−55	8	15	0	1	5
6	Newcastle Falcons	4	0	0	4	55	115	−60	8	16	0	0	0

Source: EPCR^[6]
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers for teams tied on points: 1) Number of matches won; 2) Difference between points for and against; 3) Total number of points for; 4) Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams; 5) Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled.

Pool 3

EPCR Challenge Cup Pool 3

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	Edinburgh (3)	4	3	0	1	127	67	+60	18	9	3	1	16	Home round of 16
2	Bayonne (6)	4	3	0	1	125	101	+24	18	12	2	0	14
3	Scarlets (13)	4	2	0	2	97	94	+3	13	13	2	1	11	Away round of 16
4	Gloucester (15)	4	2	0	2	82	115	−33	12	16	1	0	9
5	Vannes	4	1	0	3	115	108	+7	14	14	2	2	8
6	Black Lion	4	1	0	3	71	132	−61	6	17	0	0	4

Source: EPCR^[7]
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers for teams tied on points: 1) Number of matches won; 2) Difference between points for and against; 3) Total number of points for; 4) Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams; 5) Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled.

Knockout stage

The knockout stage begins with a single-leg round of 16 matches, consisting of the top 4 teams from each pool, and the teams ranked 5th in each pool of the 2024–25 European Rugby Champions Cup. The round of 16 follows a pre-determined format, while the quarter-finals and semi-finals guarantee home advantage to the higher-ranked team.

Seeding

Rank	Team	Pts	Diff	TF
Pool leaders
1	Connacht	20	+81	25
2	Montpellier	19	+90	19
3	Edinburgh	16	+60	18
Pool runners-up
4	Ospreys	15	-5	16
5	Lyon	14	+32	21
6	Bayonne	14	+24	18
Top two third placed teams
7	Pau	12	+11	10
8	Perpignan	11	+8	12
Champions Cup teams
9	Racing 92	9	−12	12
10	Bath Rugby	7	−12	14
11	Bulls	5	−29	12
12	Sharks	5	−87	10
Third best third placed team
13	Scarlets	11	+3	13
Fourth placed teams
14	Lions	10	+19	13
15	Gloucester	9	−33	12
16	Cardiff	7	−7	13

Bracket

	Round of 16					Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Final
	1	Connacht
	16	Cardiff
	8	Perpignan
	9	Racing 92
	4	Ospreys
	13	Scarlets
	5	Lyon
	12	Sharks
	2	Montpellier
	15	Gloucester
	7	Pau
	10	Bath Rugby
	3	Edinburgh
	14	Lions
	6	Bayonne
	11	Bulls

Round of 16

4 April 2025 20:00

Edinburgh (3)	v	(14) Lions

Edinburgh Rugby Stadium, Edinburgh Referee: Ludovic Cayre (France)

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4 April 2025 21:00

Pau (7)	v	(10) Bath Rugby

Stade du Hameau, Pau Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)

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5 April 2025 13:30

Bayonne (6)	v	(11) Bulls

Stade Jean-Dauger, Bayonne Referee: Christophe Ridley (England)

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5 April 2025 18:30

Montpellier (2)	v	(15) Gloucester

GGL Stadium, Montpellier Referee: Morné Ferreira (South Africa)

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5 April 2025 20:00

Connacht (1)	v	(16) Cardiff

Dexcom Stadium, Galway Referee: Luc Ramos (France)

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5 April 2025 21:00

Perpignan (8)	v	(9) Racing 92

Stade Aimé Giral, Perpignan Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)

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6 April 2025 17:30

Ospreys (4)	v	(13) Scarlets

Swansea.com Stadium, Swansea Referee: Matthew Carley (England)

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6 April 2025 18:30

Lyon (5)	v	(12) Sharks

Stade de Gerland, Lyon Referee: Federico Vedovelli (Italy)

Quarter-finals

11 / 12 / 13 April 2025

	v

(Higher-ranked team home venue)

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11 / 12 / 13 April 2025

	v

(Higher-ranked team home venue)

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11 / 12 / 13 April 2025

	v

(Higher-ranked team home venue)

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11 / 12 / 13 April 2025

	v

(Higher-ranked team home venue)

Semi-finals

2 / 3 / 4 May 2025

	v

(Higher-ranked team home venue)

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2 / 3 / 4 May 2025

	v

(Higher-ranked team home venue)

Final

23 May 2025

	v

Principality Stadium, Cardiff

Leading scorers

Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under World Rugby eligibility rules, or primary nationality for players who have not yet earned international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-WR nationalities.

Most points As of 19 January 2025 Source:[8] Rank Player Club Points 1 Axel Desperes Pau 52 2 Luka Matkava Black Lion 39 3 Antoine Aucagne Perpignan 37 4 Dan Edwards Ospreys 31 5 Léo Berdeu Lyon 28 6 Camille Lopez Bayonne 25 7 Ben Healy Edinburgh 24 8 Baptiste Germain Bayonne 21 Ioan Lloyd Scarlets 10 Josh Macleod Scarlets 20 Chay Mullins Connacht

Most tries As of 19 January 2025 Source:[8] Rank Player Club Tries 1 Josh Macleod Scarlets 4 Chay Mullins Connacht 3 Josh Adams Cardiff 3 Alexis Bernadet Montpellier Paul Boyle Connacht Wes Goosen Edinburgh Lucas Martin Bayonne Ben Murphy Connacht Cheikh Tiberghien Bayonne 10 44 players 2

Discipline

Citings/bans

Player	Match[N 1]	Citing date	Law breached	Result	Refs
Alessandro Fusco	Zebre Parma vs. Lyon (Round 2 – 14 December 2024)	18 December 2024	9.18 – Tip Tackle (Red card)	3-match ban	[10] [11]
Lado Chachanidze	Black Lion vs. Scarlets (Round 2 – 15 December 2024)	18 December 2024	9.18 – Tip Tackle (Red card)	Red card rescinded	[10] [12]
Giorgi Tsutskiridze	Black Lion vs. Scarlets (Round 2 – 15 December 2024)	18 December 2024	9.28 – Match Official Abuse (Citing)	2-match ban	[10] [13]
Giorgi Sinauridze	Black Lion vs. Bayonne (Round 3 – 11 January 2025)	14 January 2025	9.20(d) – Dangerous Play in a Ruck (Citing)	1-match ban	[14]
Magnus Bradbury	Edinburgh vs. Black Lion (Round 4 – 19 January 2025)	22 January 2025	9.13 – Dangerous Tackling (Red card)	3-match ban[N 2]	[16]

Notes:

1. The cited player's club is listed in bold italics.^[9]
2. The ban is reduced by one match, subject to the player's completion of the World Rugby Coaching Intervention Programme.^[15]

Notes

1. Although Ospreys finished in the URC top eight – which would have qualified them for the 2024–25 Champions Cup – they were displaced by the Sharks, who were the winners of the 2023–24 Challenge Cup.