Gloucester will be looking to get their season back on track as they face Black Lion, with their opposition becoming the first Georgian team to play in European club competition on the opening weekend of the EPCR Challenge Cup.
The Cherry and Whites' trip to Tbilisi is the one of a magnificent seven fixtures to get the tournament underway across Friday and Saturday with as many countries involved.
It all begins on Friday night as three-time winners Clermont Auvergne host 2015 finalists Edinburgh.
Friday
Stade Marcel-Michelin, whilst still being a lively and iconic European Rugby venue, no longer holds the same fear it has previously in the Champions Cup.
Since Clermont Auvergne's eight-year, 25-match winning run at home in Europe was ended by Bordeaux-Begles in 2016 they have been vastly more beatable at home, and have lost six out of eight European home matches since the initial suspension of rugby in early 2020 at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Alongside that record, Edinburgh will come into the match at 7:45pm full of confidence having won five of their first seven matches this term. That's just one fewer than they managed all season last campaign in the United Rugby Championship (URC) in an 18-game season.
Clermont have also got five wins in the Top 14 and although this has come from nine games, they will be boosted by last weekend's victory over table-toppers Racing 92 as they look to kickstart a campaign to become the first team to win four European Challenge Cup crowns.
Saturday
Gloucester‘s visit to Black Lion opens a bumper Saturday of action at 1pm, with the West Country team desperate to end a miserable six-match losing run in the Premiership that has left them second-last, back where they finished last season.
Since their formation in 2021, Black Lion have won each of the Rugby Europe Super Cups held since that tournament began in the same year and face Tel-Aviv Heat in the final for the second straight year later this month.
The Challenge Cup will be crucial to show in showing they deserve the invite handed to them by EPCR, so Gloucester will be hard pushed to get an away win against a motivated, in-form opposition.
At the same time, Zebre host the other invited team to the tournament, the Cheetahs. The Cheetahs have not been in action since last year's tournament, as they are not one of South Africa's four teams represented in the URC, but with their sister team winning the Currie Cup earlier this year they will pose a strong test to Zebre – who started their URC season brightly but have recently suffered heavy consecutive defeats to South African opposition.
Later on at 3:15pm, the Cheetahs' fellow South Africans Sharks take on 2000 Challenge Cup winners Pau. Pau made an excellent start in the Top 14, winning five of their first six games, but have lost two of their last three and all their defeats this season have come on the road. Sharks have had a rocky start to this season's URC, but a 69-14 victory against Dragons in their last home game will give them hope that their South African internationals can get their continental campaign off to a strong start.
Meanwhile Castres host Scarlets, also in the prime afternoon slot, and though it would typically hard to look past their high-flying French hosts the Llanelli side will feel they have a chance. A victory on the road in Cardiff last weekend gave them a boost, and with Castres not typically committing their strongest playing resources to Europe they will be hunting another away win to kickstart another deep run in the tournament, after they made the semi-finals last year.
For the second consecutive week Ospreys are up against Benetton at 5:30pm, looking to get revenge on home soil after last Saturday's defeat away in the URC. With three wins out of four at home so far this season, a long-serving coach and an impressive performance in last year's Champions Cup pool stages, Ospreys will feel they have solid foundations to make a winning start.
Benetton have only lost one URC game so far this season though, and with last week's win and a run to the semi-finals last season in this competition behind them, will look to launch another strong European campaign and finally reach a final after 29 years of trying.
The last match on Saturday sees Dragons host Oyonnax, with both sides languishing at the wrong end of their domestic leagues. For Oyonnax, however, there will be much more positivity surrounding their preparation for the fixture after three wins in their last five games and vastly improved performances that have seen successes against La Rochelle, Lyon, and a win on the road at Montpellier.
Dragons produced a quality display of their own to beat Ospreys 20-5 three weeks ago but have since lost two games in South Africa by an aggregate margin of -70, and are now at the foot of the URC. A return to Rodney Parade may well provide them with a much-needed boost, and they will also be hoping that Oyonnax's relegation battle takes precedence over their Challenge Cup ambitions.
Written by Nick Powell
Pick up a copy of The Rugby Paper this Sunday to find reports for all these matches and previews of the games taking place on that day, or subscribe to our website, digital edition, or newspaper from as little as 14p a day
