FloRugby's Game Of The Week Brings Gloucester And Toulon Together Again
FloRugby's Game Of The Week Brings Gloucester And Toulon Together Again
FloRugby’s Game of the Week sees Gloucester Rugby host Toulon in a high stakes Investec Champions Cup clash that reignites a rivalry last played in 2005.
Across professional club rugby, finding a rivalry that has not been renewed for two decades is something of a rarity in an era defined by ever-expanding calendars and repeat matchups.
Yet, that is exactly the case for Gloucester Rugby and RC Toulon, which will meet this weekend for the first time since Dec. 17, 2005.
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On that afternoon at Kingsholm, Gloucester completed a ruthless double over the French side, backing up its earlier 74-3 demolition with a commanding 66-5 victory to move 3-1 ahead in the all-time head-to-head series.
At the time, Toulon still was finding its feet in the elite tier, while Gloucester already was firmly established at the top table of European rugby.
Toulon had only just returned to the Top 14 after winning Pro D2 in 2005, a step that marked the beginning of a journey few clubs in World Rugby have ever matched.
Gloucester, by contrast, already was one of England’s dominant forces. Premiership champions in 2002-2003 and again in 2006-2007, the Cherry and Whites entered the 2005-2006 campaign as heavy favorites to lift the Challenge Cup.
That season remains one of the great high-water marks in English club rugby.
All five Challenge Cup pools were topped by English sides, with Gloucester finishing first in Pool 2 and as the top seed overall.
After dispatching Brive in the quarterfinals, Gloucester booked an all-English semifinal against the Worcester Warriors. London Irish and the Newcastle Falcons, now Red Bulls, completed an unprecedented all-English final four.
Gloucester edged Worcester 31-23, before surviving a classic final against London Irish, winning 36-34 to cap a remarkable run of silverware.
At that moment, Gloucester was eyeing a future among Europe’s elite, targeting sustained runs in the Heineken Cup, now the Investec Champions Cup.
For Toulon, however, the story was only just beginning.
Seven years after promotion, the club would be transformed by the vision and financial backing of president Mourad Boudjellal. What followed was one of the most extraordinary squad builds the sport has ever seen.
Led by 2003 World Cup winner Jonny Wilkinson, Toulon assembled a cast of global superstars.
Matt Giteau. Bryan Habana. Drew Mitchell. Juan Smith. Bakkies Botha. The Armitage brothers. It was a roll call that redefined what was possible at club level.
Between 2012 and 2017, Toulon won four Top 14 titles and, more memorably, secured an unprecedented three-peat of Champions Cup triumphs in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Toulon did not just win, the squad dominated, playing a brand of rugby that blended brutal forward power with sublime skill and tactical control. Toulon became the benchmark for professional rugby, paving the way for the era of modern super clubs.
Gloucester’s trajectory went in the opposite direction.
As power shifted toward the Irish provinces, the French giants, and a select few English rivals, sustained success proved elusive.
Since that meeting with Toulon in 2005, Gloucester has added just one Premiership title (2006-2007) and one Challenge Cup crown (2014-2015).
Two decades on, the clubs meet again in a very different landscape. There will be no repeat of a 70-plus point margin this weekend, but the stakes remain enormous.
Gloucester arrives with its league campaign effectively over, a top-4 Premiership finish already out of reach. In that context, Europe offers the clearest path to salvaging the season.
George Skivington’s side showed signs of life in Round 3, pushing Edinburgh all the way on the road, and already proved the team can overpower French opposition at Kingsholm, based on an opening-round victory over Castres Olympique.
Toulon comes to Gloucester buoyed by a late two-point win over Munster in Round 3, a result that underlined both resilience and growing cohesion.
Domestically, Toulon sits fifth in the Top 14, firmly in the playoff picture, while Gloucester is second from bottom in the Premiership with just one win.
Despite the contrasting league form, the European equation is finely balanced.
A win for either side this weekend would, in all likelihood, secure passage to the last 16.
For Toulon the route is straightforward. Any victory, or even a draw, guarantees progression, while a losing bonus point probably still would be enough.
Gloucester must win to control its own destiny, likely at the expense of Toulon, which then would need Munster to lose at home to Castres with no bonus points changing the arithmetic.
On the field, Toulon arrives with a clear advantage up front. Built around a powerful core of English forwards, the pack dismantled reigning Premiership champion Bath in Round 2, setting a physical benchmark few sides can live with. That challenge now falls to Gloucester, which will need to match fire with fire to make Kingsholm a fortress once more.
For Toulon, there is even more at stake. A bonus-point win would secure a more favorable knockout route and reinforce the team's credentials as a genuine Champions Cup contender. Anything less risks condemning Toulon to a brutal away path to the final.
Two clubs whose paths could not have diverged more dramatically since 2005 now collide again on the European stage. Gloucester, searching for relevance and redemption. Toulon, driven by ambition and the weight of its own history.
The stage is set for a contest that bridges eras, legacies and ambitions, broadcast live, and exclusively, on FloRugby for rugby fans in the United States, with far more than just bragging rights on the line.
How To Watch Investec Champions Cup Round 4 Matches
All Investec Champions Cup matches stream live on FloRugby and the FloSports app.
Investec Champions Cup Round 4 Fixtures
Friday, Jan. 16
- 3 p.m. ET: Pau vs. Vodacom Bulls, Stade du Hameau
- 3 p.m. ET: Bath Rugby vs. Edinburgh Rugby, The Rec
Saturday, Jan. 17
- 8 a.m. ET: Hollywoodbets Sharks vs. Clermont Auvergne, Hollywoodbets Kings Park
- 10:15 a.m. ET: Bayonne vs. Leinster Rugby, Stade Jean Dauger
- 10:15 a.m. ET: DHL Stormers vs. Leicester Tigers, DHL Stadium
- 12:30 p.m. ET: Toulouse vs. Sale Sharks, Stade Ernest Wallon
- 12:30 p.m. ET: Munster Rugby vs. Castres Olympique, Thomond Park
- 3 p.m. ET: Gloucester Rugby vs. Toulon, Kingsholm
Sunday, Jan. 18
- 8 a.m. ET: Bristol Bears vs. Bordeaux-Bègles, Ashton Gate
- 10:15 a.m. ET: Northampton Saints vs. Scarlets, cinch Stadium @ Franklin’s Gardens
- 10:15 a.m. ET: La Rochelle vs. Harlequins, Stade Marcel Deflandre
- 12:30 p.m. ET: Glasgow Warriors vs. Saracens, Scotstoun Stadium
How To Watch Investec Champions Cup Round 4 Matches
All EPCR Challenge Cup matches stream live on FloRugby and the FloSports app.
EPCR Challenge Cup Round 4 Fixtures
Fri, Jan. 16, 2026
- 2 p.m. ET: Dragons RFC vs. Newcastle Red Bulls, Rodney Parade
Sat, Jan. 17, 2026
- 7 a.m. ET: Ulster Rugby vs. Stade Français Paris, Affidea Stadium
- 7 a.m. ET: Black Lion vs. Zebre Parma, Mikheil Meskhi Stadium
- 11:30 a.m. ET: Perpignan vs. Lions, Stade Aimé Giral
- 2 p.m. ET: Connacht Rugby vs. US Montauban, Dexcom Stadium
- 2 p.m. ET: Ospreys vs. Montpellier Hérault Rugby, Dunraven Brewery Field
Sun, Jan. 18, 2026
- 7 a.m. ET: Exeter Chiefs vs. Cardiff Rugby, Sandy Park
- 7 a.m. ET: Lyon O.U. vs. Benetton Rugby, Matmut Stadium de Gerland
- 11:30 a.m. ET: Racing 92 vs. Toyota Cheetahs, Paris La Défense Arena
How To Watch Rugby Matches In The United States On FloRugby
The URC will stream all its matches on FloRugby and the FloSports app in the United States. FloRugby and FloSports also are the U.S. home to:
FloRugby also is home to match archives and match replays.