Ben Youngs: Three ‘world-class partnerships’ and why it’s time for South African teams to ‘really show up’ in Investec Champions Cup
In his first exclusive column for Planet Rugby, For The Love Of Rugby co-host Ben Youngs recalls his memories of the Investec Champions Cup ahead of this weekend’s opening games and makes his prediction for this season’s winner.
To win the Investec Champions Cup in your club colours is the pinnacle. I never got to do it, but I can’t imagine there is anything better than that. I look at it and think, ‘Wow. It must be incredible.’
When Leicester Tigers lost to Leinster Rugby in the 2009 final in Edinburgh, I was a travelling non-reserve who did the whole warm-up, got showered and watched it from the stands, so the closest I ever got to the Cup as a player was when we played Racing 92 in the 2016 semi-finals at Nottingham Forest’s ground.
They put the Cup on that stand when you walk onto the pitch from the tunnel – and that was the closest I ever got to it. Anyone who goes on to win, you have to tip your hat because it is an incredibly competitive competition. It’s amazing.
Investec Champions Cup brings out the best in people
My earliest memory was watching Leicester when they beat Stade Français Paris to win it in 2001 and, of course, the 2002 final against Munster Rugby at the Principality Stadium, the Millennium as it was called then. I wasn’t at those games, but I just remember watching at home with my dad.
The European Cup was something I grew up watching and loved. When I first started playing, we had those double headers, the back-to-back weekends in rounds three and four.
That format with the French and the Irish teams was a challenge, but you look at the Champions Cup now with the South African teams involved, what a test it is to go and win there.
You have just seen all the nations battering each other over the last month in the Quilter Nations Series, and the players are now back at the clubs getting ready to go and do it again. The Investec Champions Cup brings out the best in people and the best out of the teams, as you don’t get to play these fixtures very often.
For instance, I only ever got to play Stade Rochelais once in my whole career. Even the Glasgow Warriors, I had never played them in my whole career away until last season, so it took me 19 seasons before I finally went up to play them. UBB Bordeaux-Bègles the same.
It highlights the beauty of the Investec Champions Cup; you play teams that you don’t play too often, and that’s pretty cool.
Having now retired from playing, I shall be sitting at home this weekend enjoying the non-stop action on Premier Sports. I’ll veg out watching. This is a tournament with a huge history and it definitely is a world-class competition.
2025/26 title prediction
French clubs have won the Investec Champions Cup the past five seasons and I can’t see past another French team, to be honest with you. Stade Toulousain missed out last year with Bordeaux winning it, and I do think Toulouse can win it this season.
The big thing about the French is their strength in depth and their power. Look at what the Springboks have done in international rugby with that power game; teams can’t handle it.
Can teams go toe-to-toe with the French? Some teams definitely can. Leinster are an obvious choice, but I think the depth and the power that the French have within their game grinds them down.
That is where they tip it against other teams. They have that power game in that last 20 minutes that teams just can’t quite match.
Out of the ordinary
Toulouse lost last year to Bordeaux and they will have the bit between their teeth. Antoine Dupont is back fit, they have created a bit of a dynasty in recent years, and I can see them putting down a benchmark in round one against Hollywoodbets Sharks.
Saying they just win collisions is quite broad. You just think, it’s a big human running at a slightly smaller one and winning the collision, but it’s the fact that their handling ability is phenomenal, certainly within their tight five.
It’s the little passes and how connected they are in attack. By being so connected, you have essentially got people flooding channels.
As a defence coach, you say you want two-man hits because two-man hits allow you to control the collision. Normally, you get the player on the floor and then compete for the ball.
But with Toulouse, because they flood the channels and have so many moving parts, it’s very hard to get two-man hits because there are so many people at the line at once.
So they get a little one-on-one, get behind you and offload. Then they are in behind you, get speed of ball and the whole cycle continues. It feels like an onslaught that you can’t really stop.
World-class match-ups
Sale Sharks versus Glasgow Warriors will be a good one Friday night, a really nice match-up that will set the tone for the weekend. Saracens versus ASM Clermont Auvergne will also be a good fixture, I’ll enjoy watching that.
I will also keep an eye on La Rochelle-Leicester, my old team. Leinster versus Harlequins could be one-way traffic for Leinster, but Bath Rugby versus Munster is the game of the round. You have got Northampton Saints going to Section Paloise, but the match at The Rec is the fixture of the weekend.
Munster have such a history; it’s a very iconic club. They haven’t had the trophy for a good while now, but when you think of European rugby, yes, it’s Leinster, yes, it’s Toulouse and La Rochelle in recent years, but Munster are always going to be that team because it does carry a lot of history.
World-class partnerships
Bordeaux’s Damian Penaud and Louis Bielle-Biarrey: They don’t stay on their wings. They roam around and all the strikes that Bordeaux do is to sit down the midfield and preserve all that space on the outside for those electric guys to do their thing. This partnership and the way they do it, with LBB occasionally going to full-back so he can pop into the line and link with Penaud, is just lethal.
Bath’s Ben Spencer and Finn Russell: When you look at what Bath are building, these two guys are critical. They are very clear about the process and the structures in place, whether that is Spencer getting out of Bath’s half with the kicking game and then Russell taking over in the second part of the field with the way he moves the ball. Their relationship is like when I played for Leicester with George Ford. You have that repetition and synergy. You just know each other so well that sometimes you don’t need to say anything.
Leinster’s Caelan Doris and Josh van der Flier: The way those guys work around the breakdown, they are two of the best at disrupting opposition ball, slowing that down. We all saw that 62-0 result last April against Harlequins in that knockout game, and this partnership will again be a pain for Quins this weekend. Doris will know which breakdown to go for and which one to leave. Van Der Flier is the same. Very rarely do you see them both competing for the same ball. They are selective and know best.
Must-watch world-class players
Will All Black Rieko Ioane play for Leinster this weekend? Is he available? If he is, that is great. Attracting a player of that profile – you saw it last season with Jordie Barrett – if Ioane is involved, you should definitely watch him.
As already mentioned, I love seeing Bordeaux and at the Vodacom Bulls, it could be Kurt-Lee Arendse versus Bielle-Biarrey or Arendse versus Penaud. That’s a mouth-watering match-up.
Finally, look out for the player that Anthony Watson mentioned on For The Love Of Rugby from Aviron Bayonnais, the centre Sireli Maqala. He is box office, and Manu Tuilagi speaks very highly about him.
The South Africans
It’s time for South African teams to really show up in Europe. You have seen some of the success they have had in the United Rugby Championship; I look at Europe now and say, right, we have got to see the best version of them now in their fourth season.
At home, they are formidable; away is obviously where they have come unstuck. They are like the French teams of old, win at home and travel badly. It’s time to see teams like the Bulls and DHL Stormers go deep in the tournament.
Coach with a must-watch game plan
If you want entertainment and a high-scoring game, watch Pat Lam’s Bristol take on Scarlets on Saturday night. Scarlets traditionally move the ball, and with the way that Lam likes to play the game with his Bristol team, especially last weekend when Northampton were put to the sword, this will be a high-scoring, entertaining fixture.
World-class kits
For The Love Of Rugby did the European launch last week, and I have got to say Leinster’s kit was by far the showstopper. I always like Toulouse’s kit, too. Toulouse, La Rochelle and Leinster – it’s a three-horse race for the best kit, I’d say.
EPCR Challenge Cup
Because Europe is so difficult, I love the Challenge Cup as well as you still get great fixtures. Racing are travelling to Ulster Rugby on Friday night. It’s a great fixture to start, and when you look at who is actually in the competition, you begin to realise that it’s not easy to win either. The rugby just keeps on coming and the Challenge Cup is great for the game as a whole.
Investec Champions Cup – The greatest club rugby competition in the world. Proudly sponsored by Investec, leading International Bank and Wealth Manager.