Stats and Facts ahead of round one of the Champions and Challenge Cup Cup

Ahead of the kick-off of the new European season, we take a look at the stats and facts from the Champions cup and Challenge Cup.

Champions Cup:

• There are nine tournament winners in this season’s line-up with 36 European titles between them. 

• The two most recent Challenge Cup winners – Bristol Bears and ASM Clermont Auvergne – clash in Round 1 on Saturday at Ashton Gate.

• Scarlets’ away fixture against Bath Rugby on Saturday will be the Welsh region’s 150th tournament match.

• The Simmonds brothers, Sam and Joe, dominated last season’s individual landmarks with Sam finishing as leading try scorer with eight (a tournament record for a forward) as well as scooping the EPCR European Player of the Year Award, while Joe was leading scorer with 95 points, topped the goalkicking percentages and also captained Exeter Chiefs to success in the final.

• Montpellier’s home fixture against Leinster Rugby on Saturday will be their 50th tournament match.

• Leinster captain, Johnny Sexton, is just three points away from reaching 700 career tournament points. The four-time winner is currently in fourth place on the all-time list with 697 points (Leinster 641, Racing 92 56) behind Owen Farrell 794, Stephen Jones 869 and Ronan O’Gara 1,365.

• The Racing 92 trio - Henry Chavancy, Juan Imhoff and Bernard Le Roux – as well as Danny Care of Harlequins, Bath Rugby’s Rhys Priestland and Alex Waller of Northampton Saints could all make their 50th tournament appearances in Round 1.

Challenge Cup:

• Three tournament winners – Cardiff Blues 2010 and 2018, Pau 2000, and Stade Francais Paris 2017 – are included in this season’s new format.

• Of the competing clubs, Brive have made the most tournament appearances with 117, reaching the knockout stage 13 times.

• Heineken Champions Cup clubs will qualify for the knockout stage of the Challenge Cup for the first time since the 2013/14 season.

• Of the players registered for this season, Benetton Rugby’s Ian Keatley has scored the most tournament points with 202, all while he was playing for Connacht Rugby.

• Two of this season’s Head Coaches, Bayonne’s Yannick Bru and Steve Borthwick of Leicester Tigers, are former tournament winners. Bru was a try scorer in Colomiers’ victory over Agen in 1998 and Borthwick captained Bath Rugby to success against Worcester Warriors in 2008.

• Dragons are making a return to Europe’s top flight for the first time since the 2010/11 season.

• Of the players registered by the clubs for this season’s tournament, Leinster’s Cian Healy has made the most appearances with 86.