Investec Champions Cup predictions: England great ‘puts neck on the line’ with bold finalist call
Defending Investec Champions Cup winners Bordeaux-Begles with the trophy and former England wing Anthony Watson.
England great Anthony Watson has backed his former side Bath to make the final of this season’s Investec Champions Cup.
The great club tournament is set to begin this weekend with 24 teams, split into four pools, competing for the ultimate prize.
Union Bordeaux-Begles won the previous edition of the competition and will be among the favourites again, along with fellow French giants Stade Toulousain and Irish province Leinster.
Bordeaux-Begles defeated Northampton Saints in the final in 2024/25, but the general consensus has been that English sides don’t currently have the fiscal power or squad depth to challenge consistently.
England’s best bet in 2025/26
Bath, who claimed the PREM title last season, could change that, however, with Johann van Graan building an incredibly powerful squad.
Watson therefore believes the West Country outfit are genuine challengers in 2025/26.
Appearing on the For The Love Of Rugby Investec Champions Cup preview podcast alongside Ben Youngs, they went through each of the groups, starting rather aptly with Pool A.
It features record six-time winners Stade Toulousain and English giants Saracens, who themselves have claimed this title on three occasions.
They are joined by the Springboks-laden Sharks and their English namesake, Sale Sharks, with Clermont Auvergne and Glasgow Warriors completing the line-up.
“Tasty springs to mind,” was Youngs’ summation of the group before he asked Watson: “Who finishes top?”
The ex-England wing responded: “It’s Toulouse. Their strength in depth across the whole squad is a joke. [Antoine] Dupont’s back, he will change the game. I just can’t see past Toulouse right now.
“Pool A looks like the strongest pool.”
The second Investec Champions Cup group features Watson’s former team Bath, alongside RC Toulon, Munster, Gloucester, Edinburgh and Castres.
The 31-year-old initially predicted Toulon would finish top before discussing the chances of Van Graan’s outfit.
‘They will go far’
“I think they will definitely be there or thereabouts, they will definitely get to the knockout rounds, it’s kind of how the draw unfolds after that,” Watson said. “If they’ve got Leinster away, it could be a challenging one, but I think they will go far.
“Final, I’m going for it, putting my neck on the line.”
Youngs did find a hole in Watson’s argument, however, joking: “You’ve literally just said it depends what route they’ve got and now you’ve gone: ‘They’re getting to the final’.”
As for Pool C and D, both Watson and Youngs were rather definite over their predictions, with the former containing four-time winners and perennial challengers Leinster, and the latter having the defending champions.
“Who finishes top [of Pool C? Leinster. Fourteen Lions plus Slimani, RG Snyman and Rieko Ioane. If they don’t finish top, it’s a disgrace,” Watson said, before Youngs stated: “I don’t see how they cannot finish top.”
Watson then added: “Top of Pool D will undoubtedly be Bordeaux, we agree on that.”
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