The 2023/24 European Rugby Champions Cup Pool stage starts on Saturday, December 8th, with 24 of the top sides in the Rugby Union competing for the coveted prize. La Rochelle are the defending champions, and the French side will be looking for a hat-trick of wins this season. But the bookmakers see it differently and make Leinster (+260) the favorite. It promises to be another bone-crunching competition. Here, we look ahead to it in our latest rugby futures.
- The competition kicks off on December 8th, 2023, with the pool stages and finishes with the final at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 25th, 2024
- La Rochelle are the defending champions. Against the odds, the French team has won the competition in 2022 and 2023, defeating Leinster on both occasions
- Leinster starts this season as the favorites. The Irish provincial side is +260 to win the competition for a record-equaling fifth time
2023/24 European Rugby Champions Cup Format
The format for the 2023/24 season sees the 24 teams separated into four groups of six. In what looks to be a slightly complicated way of doing things, the teams will only play four group games, meaning that they play two at home and two away. There is a method to this apparent madness, though. As we are about to explain
POOLS HAVE BEEN DRAWN 🔥
Some huge match ups – which game are you most looking forward to? 👀
Remember, teams will play 4 Pool Stage games home or away with no repeats and no same-league clashes… pic.twitter.com/fNb25ktniB
— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) June 21, 2023
The 24 teams are made up of teams from three different leagues, the English Premiership, the French Top 14, and the United Rugby Championship. This means all three leagues have two representatives in each Pool. The four-match format means that each team only plays the four sides not in their league.
Further complicating matters is the presence of South African teams in what is called a European rugby competition. The United Rugby Championship was previously made up of teams from Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Italy. But in the 2017/18 season, two South African teams were invited to join. This format has continued, with four teams from the Rainbow Nation now participating.
As a result, the South African teams can now qualify for the European Rugby Champions Cup via the United Rugby Championship. So, if you’re wondering why they’re here, now you know.
Still keeping up? Next, the top four teams from each Pool qualify for the Round of 16. From that point on, it's simple. The competition becomes a straight knockout.
Who is the favorite to win the 2023/24 European Rugby Champions Cup?
As we all have recently witnessed, South Africa is good at rugby. The South Africans may have won the 2023 Rugby World Cup, but when it comes to the rugby betting odds to win the Champions Cup, their teams are not betting favorites.
The betting is dominated by Leinster of Ireland and the best of the Top 14 league sides from France. The best online rugby betting sites make Leinster their favorites at +260. The Irish province has been a favorite for the past two seasons, and on both occasions, they have been turned over by La Rochelle of France in the final.
💛 BACK-TO-BACK 🖤
La Rochelle produce a brilliant comeback to beat Leinster 27-26 in Dublin as @RonanOGara10 leads the French club to consecutive @ChampionsCup titles.#HeinekenChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/zcAzzx7wCd
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) May 20, 2023
Along with fellow Top 14 team Toulouse, La Rochelle is the joint-second favorite to win the 2024 Champions Cup at +325. Toulouse is the most successful team in the competition, with five wins. Leinster are one behind on four, and the Irish giants will feel that they’ve missed out on one or two trophies over the past two seasons.
Following the three leading teams in the betting is Saracens at +900. The English side are three-times European Champions Cup winners themselves. And they will be buoyed by the news that Owen Farrell has decided to skip the Six Nations next year, allowing him to play more for his club side.
The top South African side in the betting is the Stormers at +1600. They look to have their work cut out to beat Europe’s elite. But if the recent World Cup taught us one thing, it was to never write off a South African Rugby Union team.
| Winning Team |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leinster | +260 | +260 | +260 |
| La Rochelle | +325 | +325 | +325 |
| Toulouse | +325 | +325 | +325 |
| Saracens | +900 | +900 | +900 |
| Munster | +1000 | +1000 | +1000 |
| Stormers | +1600 | +1600 | +1600 |
| Toulon | +1600 | +1600 | +1600 |
| Racing 92 | +2000 | +2000 | +2000 |
| Harlequins | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 |
| Leicester | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 |
| Sale | +3300 | +3300 | +3300 |
| Bordeaux | +3300 | +3300 | +3300 |
| Bulls | +3300 | +3300 | +3300 |
| Exeter | +5000 | +5000 | +5000 |
| Glasgow | +5000 | +5000 | +5000 |
| Lyon | +6600 | +6600 | +6600 |
| Bath | +6600 | +6600 | +6600 |
| Northampton | +6600 | +6600 | +6600 |
| Stade Francais | +10000 | +10000 | +10000 |
| Bristol | +10000 | +10000 | +10000 |
| Connacht | +10000 | +10000 | +10000 |
| Bayonne | +20000 | +20000 | +20000 |
| Cardiff | +20000 | +20000 | +20000 |
Our Picks to win the 2023/24 European Rugby Champions Cup
The above odds highlight that there are three standout teams in this competition, and it is hard to see anybody other than one of Leinster, La Rochelle, or Toulouse winning the cup.
As we mentioned, Leinster will be smarting from losing the previous two finals. They may look short at +260, and after what’s happened in the past two finals, it is difficult to trust them. But Leinster still look like the strongest team, and they may be more determined than ever to win again this season.
Toulouse is also historically one of the strongest teams in this competition. It would surprise no one if they won again in 2024. But a few months ago, the French giants were smashed 41-22 in the semi-final by Leinster. That was in Dublin, which gave the Irish team an advantage. But it also shows how strong Leinster is.
For our pick, we are going to go with Leinster. Picking them now gives us better odds, as they will be favorites on the day if they reach the final. This will also allow us to hedge our bets on the day and back the outsiders if we start to get itchy feet about the Irish province blowing it again.
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