The pool draw has been made for the 2026-27 EPCR Challenge Cup, with the Scarlets facing the prospect of some exciting ties against top-quality opposition.
The West Walians were one of the last names to be drawn at the Premier Sports studio in Dublin and were put in Pool 2 alongside Wayne Pivac’s Benetton Rugby, star-studded South Africans Hollywoodbets Sharks, ambitious Gallagher PREM side Newcastle Red Bulls and French duo LOU Rugby (Lyon) and Castres Olympique.
With the Pools now set, fixture schedules for both tournaments including dates, venues, kick-off times and TV coverage will be announced later this month. Fixtures are determined following the input of individual club calendar and venue considerations, broadcast requirements and league calendar restrictions into an algorithm with the outcomes of the Pool Draws, all of which are considered to deliver the optimum fixture schedules.
Scarlets will know all about URC opponents Benetton and of course, our former coach Pivac, who guided the team to the Guinness Pro12 title in 2017.
The Durban-based Sharks were Challenge Cup champions in 2024 and boast a squad crammed with Springboks.
Scarlets have never played Newcastle or 2022 winners LOU Rugby in European competition, but faced Castres at their Stade Pierre-Fabre fortress in 2023.
The competition will again be played over eight weekends with four rounds of matches in the pool stage starting in October, followed by a knockout stage consisting of a Round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, culminating in the EPCR Finals Weekend in French city of Lyon on and May 21/22.
2026/27 MATCH WEEKENDS
Round 1 – October 16/17/18 2026
Round 2 – December 11/12/13 2026
Round 3 – January 8/9/10 2027
Round 4 – January 15/16/17 2027
Round of 16 – April 2/3/4 2027
Quarter-finals – April 9/10/11 2027
Semi-finals – April 30 May 1/2 2027
Final – Friday May 21 2027 (Lyon)
