Three PREM groups prepared to finish French monopoly on Champions Cup says ex-England star

The former England wing Anthony Watson believes Bath are one of three English teams that can challenge

Bath are one of three English teams capable of ending the French monopoly in the Investec Champions Cup, according to former England and Lions star Anthony Watson.

Top 14 heavyweights have lifted the trophy in each of the past four seasons, with two titles apiece for La Rochelle, Toulouse and most recently, Union Bordeaux-Bègles. Watson, who racked up 56 caps for England and toured with the British & Irish Lions in both 2017 and 2021, admits Bordeaux remain the team to beat as they try to emulate Toulon as the only side to win three in a row.

But he feels his former side Bath, along with Gallagher PREM champions Northampton Saints and three-time winners Saracens, are best placed to challenge the French giants.

“I think Bath will be right up there again,” said Watson, speaking at this week’s EPCR season launch in Lyon for Premier Sports. “The three English teams that I’m really looking at in contention as we get to the knockout rounds are probably Bath, Northampton and Saracens.

“That’s not to say that the others can’t mix it there, but the teams who can really potentially win it, I would say, come from those three. In terms of what I can expect from Bath, I think they’ll be gutted. Last year, they were right in there in the semi-final against Bordeaux. They got off to a poor start, and then they got control back really well.

“They’ll take a lot of confidence from being right there in the semi-final, away in Bordeaux.”

Over the last two seasons, Bath have won the EPCR Challenge Cup and then reached the semi-final of the Investec Champions Cup, re-establishing themselves among the competition’s elite. They will kick off their campaign in 2026/27 against Montpellier, pitting the last two Challenge Cup winners against one another at the Rec on October 17, with the earlier start one of a number of changes to this year’s competition, which will also see a changed format where only the top three from each pool progress, while try bonus points will be awarded for scoring three more tries than your opponent, as opposed to scoring four tries.

For Bath, the task of facing Montpellier will be made trickier by the presence of former England No.8 Billy Vunipola. Rejuvenated since his move to France, Vunipola has been captaining the side and led them to the Top 14 final last year, with Watson warning Bath that they cannot afford to start slowly.

He added: “The pool stage is everything. And as we found out with Bath two years ago, you just can’t afford to rotate and mix things around. You’ve got to go all out in this competition if you want to win it from Round 1. So I’d be very surprised if Bath tried to rotate, and I think they’re going to be trying to do one better than they did last year.

“In terms of Montpellier, they look rejuvenated from the Montpellier we saw two or three years ago. Obviously, they had a good Top 14 campaign and then won the Challenge Cup. They’ve got some real talent out there.

“Lennox Anyanwu is definitely one to watch from a Montpellier perspective. And then my old mate Billy Vunipola, who’s still trucking it up, still doing his thing. Billy is one of a kind. Billy Vunipolas don’t come around too often, and so any team who has him is extremely lucky to have him.

“Obviously, he’s got the size and the power that we’re all aware of, but he’s got the subtlety of footwork and the subtlety of handling that makes him an unbelievable addition to any pack, irrespective of how you want to play the game.

“That duality of how he can beat defenders, but bring defenders to him and then move the ball, is unbelievably special.”

Anthony Watson is part of the Premier Sports team bringing every game live from the Investec Champions Cup. To join in visit www.premiersports.com for 400+ live rugby games every season plus every game from the Rugby League World Cup.