Investec Champions Cup Pool 4 Round 4 Preview: A 16th Seed Thunderdome
Investec Champions Cup Pool 4 Round 4 Preview: A 16th Seed Thunderdome
Pool 4 enters its final week with top seeds and one spot in the Round of 16 at stake. Here’s how UBB, Bristol, Northampton, Pau, Bulls and Scarlets advance.
Welcome to the Round of 16, No. 16-seed Thunderdome. Three teams enter. One will leave.
Three of the four Round of 16 spots from Pool 4 are clinched, but the group FloRugby dubbed the “Pool of Death” back in November doesn’t lack drama entering the final week.
Union Bordeaux-Bègles is trying to capture the No. 1 seed in the Round of 16 on the road at Ashton Gate against the current No. 2 team in the pool, Bristol. The Bears themselves very well could end up as the No. 1 seed with a win and losses by Glasgow and Leinster in Pool 1 and Pool 3.
- More Information On How To Stream The Investec Champions Cup
- Investec Champions Cup Round 2 Highlights: Best Tries Of The Weekend
- Check Out More Investec Champions Cup News
A loss by the Bears, the No. 1-ranked club in the world this week, to UBB means the Saints (last week's No. 2 club) — with a win over the tied-for-last Scarlets — could push them into the No. 2 seed in the pool and a home playoff match come April.
And then there’s the matter of the fourth, and final, spot in the pool, the Thunderdome.
That race includes the second-best Top 14 club all season, Pau, which has had a rocky Champions Cup campaign. But Pau, or Section Paloise, survived its trip to Wales in Round 3 and picked up a bonus point in the process, giving it a three-point lead over the Scarlets and the Vodacom Bulls.
The Bulls played in one of the most action-packed matches in the 31-year history of the Champions Cup, but still lost to the Bristol Bears in Pretoria in Round 3.
Here Are The Champions Cup Pool 4 Scenarios In Round 4
Let's work this out, rugby fans.
How UBB Wins The No. 1 Seed In The Investec Champions Cup Round Of 16
Bordeaux needs to win and pick up a bonus point to lock in the spot.
UBB owns the tiebreaker over Glasgow via points difference at plus-64. UBB is the top team in the competition, points-wise. However, as good as Saracens is — having just beaten Toulouse — UBB clearly has a tougher match in Round 4, given how poorly Top 14 teams have played on the road all season.
Bordeaux, though, has been road-tested. The group threw the Bulls’ entire Champions Cup season into a hurricane with a win in Pretoria.
Because of UBB’s impressive points-difference number, the defending champions won’t have to sweat most tiebreaker scenarios.
How The Bristol Bears Win The No. 1 Seed In The Investec Champions Cup Round Of 16
Bristol went down to Pretoria and scored 61 points on the Bulls, putting the Bears in position to win just about any playoff tiebreaker outside of Harlequins and UBB.
A win over Bordeaux, plus a bonus point — and a Glasgow Warriors loss — means Bristol would claim the top seed.
What About The Northampton Saints And The Round Of 16?
None of the bottom three clubs in the standings can catch the Saints. And the Saints can’t catch both UBB and Bristol, but a Saints win, combined with a Bristol loss, would make Northampton the No. 2 seed.
A Saints win with a bonus point, and a UBB loss, also would give Northampton the No. 2 seed.
Let's Talk About The Battle Royale That Is The No. 16 Seed And How It All Works
Pau, the Vodacom Bulls and Scarlets all have realistic chances to make the field as the No. 16 playoff team, and in Pau's case, maybe even better than 16.
Here's how the playoff seeding works: The four highest-ranked clubs in each pool qualify for the Round of 16. All clubs are then ranked in descending order, based first on pool finish and then on match points accumulated, to create an overall ranking from 1 to 16.
Tiebreakers are point difference, tries scored and then if that doesn't do it, there's a "drawing lots."
That means, if pool play had ended after Round 3, the order would be:
- Union Bordeaux-Bègles — 15 points, plus-64
- Glasgow Warriors — 15 points, plus-24
- Leinster Rugby — 14 points, plus-26
- Bath Rugby — 11 points (current No. 1 in Pool 2)
- Bristol Bears — 14 points, plus-62
- Harlequins — 11 points, plus-88
- Sale Sharks — 11 points, plus-32
- Edinburgh — 10 points, minus-18
These eight clubs would host Round of 16 matches. The top four would host quarterfinals, and the top two would host semifinals.
The remaining field would be:
- Northampton Saints — 11 points, plus-31
- Saracens — 10 points, plus-38
- Toulon — 9 points, even
- DHL Stormers — 9 points, minus-21
- Toulouse — 7 points, plus-24
- Munster — 6 points, even
- La Rochelle — 6 points, minus-3
- Pau — 5 points, minus-48
That's why Pau, the Bulls and the Scarlets are in a Thunderdome situation this weekend.
How Pau Rugby Makes The Investec Champions Cup Round Of 16
The fourth spot in this pool comes down to how seriously the Vodacom Bulls want the 16th seed — or a Challenge Cup playoff spot. And if they do take it seriously, they’ll have to beat the second-place team in the Top 14 in one of the toughest places in the world to play rugby.
Pau is in the playoffs with a win.
If Pau loses, the squad be overtaken in the standings by the Bulls, and its Challenge Cup hopes would rest with the Scarlets, who enter the round with a points-difference tiebreaker of minus-39 to minus-48.
How The Vodacom Bulls Make The Investec Champions Cup Round Of 16
Three points behind Pau and tied with the Scarlets — but with a massive points-difference disadvantage — the Bulls would have to win in France, while keeping Pau from adding a bonus point.
If those two things happen, they would also need the Scarlets to lose at Northampton.
If the Bulls lose and the Scarlets lose and there’s a tie on points, the Bulls would need to make up a 31-point differential to win the tiebreaker — which probably isn’t happening.
How The Scarlets Make The Investec Champions Cup Round Of 16
They need to somehow, some way muster the courage of the great Welsh bowmen of the 14th and 15th centuries — the ones who helped England win at Agincourt and Poitiers — and defeat the Northampton Saints on the other side of the island.
Then, they need Pau to forget how to play rugby in France and lose to the Bulls, but do so without scoring four tries. Then, they need the Bulls to either match, or fail to match, whatever bonus points the Scarlets could hypothetically earn.
Felly’r hyn rwy’n ei ddweud yw: mae siawns. (So, what I'm saying, is there's a chance).
Here’s A Quick Preview Of The Three Matches
Section Paloise vs. Vodacom Bulls, 3 p.m. ET, Friday, Jan. 16 — Stade du Hameau
All those scenarios, and it might mean nothing for the Scarlets before they even head to Northampton, because this is one of two 3 p.m. ET matches on Friday.
Bristol Bears vs. Union Bordeaux-Bègles, 8 a.m. ET, Sunday, Jan. 18 — Ashton Gate
In a vacuum, this probably is the best rugby match in the world this weekend. But because of the Pool 2 insanity, it might not even be the most important one.
Bordeaux just crushed Northampton. The Bears just scored 61 points on the Bulls in the Southern Hemisphere. The No. 1 seed in the playoffs is at stake.
This match will rock.
Bordeaux knows that a win here would mean never leaving continental Europe in the playoffs and barely leaving France, even if the team's destiny is a trip to the final. Bristol is in the same boat with a win.
Looming over this match is the Friday showdown — which, if Pau wins, would make the Northampton–Scarlets match rather anticlimactic, with the Scarlets having next to nothing to play for after already clinching a Challenge Cup spot.
Northampton Saints vs. Scarlets, 10:15 a.m. ET, Sunday, Jan. 18 — cinch Stadium @ Franklin’s Gardens
The Saints made the final last year and did it via a win in Dublin, so they aren’t afraid of road matches in the Champions Cup Round of 16.
They’ll know by kickoff whether the No. 2 seed in the pool is still available. If it is — and Pau loses to the Vodacom Bulls on Friday — this has the potential to become one of the more surprising and interesting matches of the weekend.
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 Challenge 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.