PREM Rugby: Which teams qualified for the Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup? How many English clubs compete in Europe?
Updated 29/06/2026 at 16:16 GMT+1
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The 2025/26 Gallagher PREM season reached a dramatic conclusion in June as Northampton Saints edged a thrilling final against Exeter Chiefs 26-17. The campaign will live long in the memory, but now fans will have one eye on next term, with English clubs ready to compete on the continent.
Highlights: Northampton regain PREM title after dramatic victory over Exeter
Video credit: TNT Sports
The Investec Champions Cup will be back next season after eight English teams were unsuccessful in their bid to lift the iconic trophy in 2026.
The 2026 Champions Cup final saw French giants Bordeaux Begles battle to an impressive 41-19 win over a star-studded Leinster side.
French and Irish sides also collided in the climax of the 2025/26 EPCR Challenge Cup, as Montpellier beat Ulster 59-26 in Bilbao.
The new season will give the English giants involved in both competitions another chance at European glory.
But which PREM teams have qualified to compete in which European competitions next season?
How many teams qualified for Europe last season?
All 10 of the clubs that competed in the 2025/26 Gallagher PREM season will be involved in European competition next term.
That has been the case since the 2020/21 campaign, when relegation from the league was removed.
However, not every club will play in the same competition...
Who is playing in the Champions Cup?
Northampton Saints will compete in the Champions Cup after a superb season that saw them finish top of the table before storming to victory in the Gallagher PREM final.
They will be joined in the competition by Exeter Chiefs, who secured third place in the regular season before putting together an impressive, but ultimately unsuccessful, run to the final.
The team they beat in the semi-finals, Bath, finished second in the table and will compete in next season’s Champions Cup as a result.
As will Leicester Tigers, who finished fourth to secure the final spot in the play-offs.
That is not all, though. The four teams that finished between fifth and eighth will also go head-to-head with Europe’s elite next season, including Saracens, who secured fifth in the table.
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They will be joined by sixth-placed side Bristol Bears as well as Sale Sharks, who secured seventh spot.
Gloucester finished one point above Harlequins in eighth, and they will also take part in the Champions Cup as a result.
Who is playing in the Challenge Cup?
Only two Gallagher PREM teams will compete in the Challenge Cup during the 2026/27 season.
Harlequins will take part after finishing ninth in the table, while Newcastle Red Bulls will also be there despite ending last term rooted to the bottom of the table.
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