Some people have begun to enjoy January, a time of moderation and self-improvement, as well as a necessary reset from the past. Of course, there’s little reason to postpone any attempt to improve yourself beyond any arbitrary date, but a new page on the calendar can still serve as necessary motivation.
There will be many in the club game looking to put the mistakes of 2025 into the past. With the return of the Investec Champions League and the Prem and United Rugby Championship (URC) events now halfway through, the hierarchy on both sides is starting to separate. The first week of 2026 has seen both Gloucester and Harlequin make somewhat ambiguous statements, but both have highlighted the need for improvement in a lost season – and for the pair and others, the new goals that a new year and a new campaign may bring may be welcome.
The Investec Champions League needs a new direction (Getty Images)
In fact, the same can be said for the games they will play over the next two weekends. The new year has not brought any imminent new solutions to the myriad problems plaguing the Champions League – nearly all stakeholders agree that reform is needed, but finding a structure that works for all parties seems impossible. Many are leaning toward moving the entire continental competition into one block, possibly after the domestic season ends, which would fit neatly into the Club World Cup at the start of 2028, but convincing France’s top 14 sides to abandon a relatively active format could be an insurmountable hurdle.
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There are plenty of critics and naysayers about the current state of the Champions League, but this feels like a weekend that could provide a necessary tonic. The maze of formats and qualifying queues is starting to sort itself out, at least on paper, with round three offering plenty of intrigue and a series of connections that could whet the appetite of even a temperate determinationist.
Munsterman Ronan O’Gara (left) returns to Dublin with La Rochelle after two consecutive Dublin titles (PA Wire)
Northampton’s trip to Bordeaux and Leinster’s meeting with La Rochelle reunite 2025 and 2023 finals combatants respectively, with Henry Pollock and Ronan O’Gara ready to take on the feud. Saracens’ game against Toulouse and Toulon’s game against Munster were full of dominant class pedigree. Add in an unbeaten Stormers side taking on Harlequins, a game that’s almost taking center stage now, and you’ve got yourself a classic European weekend – and if this round doesn’t go well, then maybe the Champions League really needs to be given away.
“We’re obviously busy getting going,” Northampton’s Tommy Freeman said this week. “This is somewhere Saints haven’t been since 1997 and it’s going to be a big home crowd, 34,000 people, and they’re going to be cheering and shouting and booing, so we’ll definitely be up to the challenge.
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“It will be a new experience and that’s why we’re doing it. It’s a top game against top players and you want to test yourself at that level.” The Pollock factor will give the game an extra edge after May’s clash with Bordeaux at the final whistle in Cardiff and the subsequent taunting images of the victorious players.
(Action photo via Reuters)
Northampton’s route to last year’s final is one that other clubs around Prem are focusing on when plotting their European route this season. Unable to stretch their budgets to meet the French heavyweights and replicate Leinster’s stellar form, there is a growing sense that English clubs need to box smart if they are to remain rocking when the final bell rings. With Saints’ domestic title defense never really getting off the ground last year, Saints’ ability to adjust priorities and really lean in is proof it can be done – and if these circumstances and Northampton’s side look good, it’s already instilled confidence elsewhere.
“I actually think Northampton are really close,” Harlequins senior coach Jason Gilmour said this week as his side pick up the pieces of the Premier League. “The way they play and the style of team we aspire to be is what we aspire to be. Obviously they didn’t do well in the Premier League but they took their chances in Europe and did well to get to the final. I think we have the blueprint for that – but it’s a lot of work.”
Harlequins need a fresh start after recent dismal run of form (Getty Images)
In a schedule full of promise, it’s a shame that there isn’t a greater danger in every game, no matter how important it might be to secure home advantage into the semi-finals – imagine if, for example, Saracens and Toulouse were treated like winner-take-all after narrow defeats in Durban and Glasgow last time out. The stakes aren’t that obvious, but the intricacies of Pool 1 could get tricky if Pool 1 is beaten again. If the tournament is to be great again, it needs to provide more scenarios in the future – a great weekend could be the start of the new year, giving much-needed hope for the future.
