CHAMPIONSHIP CUP PREVIEW: English clubs face a daunting mission up against the elite squads of France, South Africa, and Ireland – but Mark McCall’s Saracens side will try and grab the Bulls by the horns in Pretoria

• The Premiership title-holders kick off their captain in formidable territory 
• But too often the storied competition has been blighted by squad rotation
• Sarries chief Mark McCall is relishing the magnitude of his side’s opening fixture 

The England clubs know they face a daunting mission in the Champions Cup, against French super squads, South African power and Irish pedigree, but they are ready to embrace the uphill battle.

That is literally the equation for Saracens on Saturday evening, when the Premiership title-holders confront the Bulls on the Highveld in Pretoria, where the air is thin and the hosts are formidable. But their director of rugby, Mark McCall, is relishing the magnitude of the opening fixture and the whole campaign, so much so that he urged all those involved to commit their full resources.

In the past, several French clubs have treated what used to be the European Cup as an unavoidable irritation which disrupts their league season. And in recent years, some English sides have travelled to places like Dublin – where defeat against Leinster was deemed a foregone conclusion – with many leading lights missing. McCall hopes that won’t be a factor this time.

‘It’ll be interesting to see which clubs put out full-strength sides this weekend,’ he said. ‘For me, this should be an elite competition and every club should be putting out the best side they can. If people start sending their second teams for away matches, it devalues the competition in a big way. I hope everyone takes the competition as seriously as they should and goes for it from the start.

‘If teams fight hard to qualify for this competition then don’t give it their all, I don’t understand why you want to qualify for it in the first place. So I’m hoping everyone wants to do the best that they can in this top-level competition.’

Owen Farrell will lead Saracens at altitude in their tough Champions Cup opener in Pretoria

Director of rugby Mark McCall is relishing the idea of a test and a full-strength opponent

The Bulls mean business with the inclusion of World Cup winner Willie le Roux in their team

Premiership clubs are operating within the confines of a lower salary cap – currently £5million – which leaves them at a distinct disadvantage when taking on the heavyweight teams from across the Channel, the Irish Sea and the equator. But Saracens have claimed this coveted prize three times and they intend to have another shot, without trepidation.

‘I’m not sure which English teams can get into the play-offs and fight against clubs which have much bigger squads and budgets,’ said McCall. ‘We’ve come here to Loftus Versfeld to win, that’s for sure. It feels different this week. It feels special.’

Another club hoping to carry the flag for the English contingent are Sale, who launch their campaign on Sunday with a home clash against Parisians Stade Francais. Alex Sanderson, the Sharks’ director of rugby, echoed McCall in delivering a statement of intent to ignore reputations and budgets, in the quest to claim some major scalps.

After the opening weekend, Sale also have to take on Leinster, the Stormers and holders La Rochelle, and Sanderson said: ‘It’s Europe; big teams and a big competition. It is difficult (for English clubs) but you will see from the team we put out, how competitive we are. We don’t want to be the whipping boys of this pool, which I think most people had us down to be. That’s proper motivation for us.

‘Stade are almost top of their tree and beat Toulouse. We’ve got Leinster the week after – perennial finalists, and current champions La Rochelle, not to mention the Stormers, who were probably the best in South Africa last season. It’s as close to international rugby as you can get.

Alex Sanderson of Sale Sharks will also look to claim major scalps despite the budget cap

His side will play La Rochelle in time as the French side gun for their third consecutive title

‘Some of the luck of the draw is who you play away. We are playing in Cape Town on January 7, in 30 degrees, after Dublin next week. You’ve got to go for it; bag your home games, steal points in the away games, put a few noses out of joint and prove people wrong.’

While Saracens are the Premiership champions and Sale are the current league leaders, Exeter are the last English club to conquer Europe, in 2020. But Rob Baxter is now overseeing a transition phase and he is being realistic about the objectives for his promising but inexperienced Chiefs, as they face Toulon on Saturday on the Cote d’Azur.

‘For me this is a great opportunity for the team to learn and gain a fantastic experience about the kind of games that, in the future, we will have some expectation of winning,’ he said. ‘I’m certainly not going to run before I can walk and put too much pressure on the guys.

‘I’m not going to talk about it being a shot to nothing because it’s not. We’re not going there to just throw the ball around and smile and laugh in the sun, we’re going there to play a serious game of rugby and take everything out of the game we can.’

Rob Baxter is managing expectations as he sees Exeter through their transitional period

As Sanderson said, the luck of the draw in a revamped format comes down to which teams have to be faced away from home. Each club play four of their five pool rivals, either home or away. Removing the spectre of dull domestic derbies is a plus, but it is an imperfect system when the competing sides do not have identical pool-stage campaigns.

Saracens have to go to Pretoria and Bordeaux. Very tough. Sale have to go to Dublin and Cape Town. Also very tough. Exeter have two away-days in France; at Toulon and Bayonne. Likewise, Leicester have to go to Stade Francais and La Rochelle. It is hard to envisage many English wins out of all that lot, unless certain Gallic sides lose interest, which is possible. Bath and Harlequins both have winnable trips to Cardiff, which will enhance their hopes of reaching the last 16.

Frankly, if half of the eight English teams qualify for the knock-out rounds, that will be a reasonable return in the circumstances. The wider hope must be that there is some variety and novelty factor when it comes to the business end of a tournament which features eight English sides, eight French, four Irish, two South Africans, one each from Wales and Scotland, and none from Italy.

This has the distinct feel of a preliminary phase, without sufficient jeopardy for the true elite. Sadly, that is bound to lead to a certain amount of squad rotation which, as McCall rightly says, is an affront to what should be a blue-riband event.

Chris Foy’s guide to the Investec Championship Cup groups 

POOL 1 

Bordeaux (7), Bristol (8), Bulls (3), Connacht (8), Lyon (12), Saracens (4)

The final placings will depend on how committed the two French clubs are to progressing in this tournament. Saracens to qualify and a good shot for Bristol too, plus the Bulls and Bordeaux.

POOL 2 

Bath (2), Cardiff (12), Harlequins (3), Racing (1), Toulouse (6), Ulster (7) 

Racing could emerge as title favourites, as the Parisians are armed with a raft of Galacticos and lead the Top 14. They will progress, Toulouse too, and two out of Bath, Quins and Ulster. 

POOL 3

Bayonne (10), Exeter (6), Glasgow (2), Munster (4), Northampton (5), Toulon (2) 

A big opportunity for Exeter and Northampton, as the Premiership pair can reach the last 16 along with Toulon and Munster, although URC high-fliers Glasgow are a significant threat too. 

POOL 4

La Rochelle (9), Leicester (7), Leinster (1), Sale (1), Stade Francais (5), Stormers (10) 

A true pool of death, featuring last year’s finalists. Leinster and La Rochelle will qualify (although the latter are struggling in their league) plus one English side and either Stade or the Stormers.

(Current league position in brackets)

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