Challenge Cup

Connacht set to blood new players in Challenge Cup home tie against Zebre

Province rotates quartet of first-teamers after Ireland's Autumn Nations Series

Sam Prendergast starts at outhalf for Leinster as Jordie Barrett named on the bench

Champions and Challenge Cup team news: Leo Cullen confirms Hugo Keenan’s wrist injury will keep him out for ‘around four weeks’

Connacht boss Pete Wilkins wants ‘to see a response from the players’ against Zebre

Head coach wants side to make positive Challenge Cup statement after loss to Bulls last time out

Rugby enters new phase as Premier Sports gains blanket coverage of Irish provinces

Channel will offer live coverage of all Champions Cup games involving Leinster, Munster and Ulster, plus Connacht’s Challenge Cup matches

Leinster and Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle meet once again in Champions Cup pool stages

Munster get Northampton and Bulls, Ulster drawn against Toulouse and Leicester

Connacht exit Challenge Cup as they are undone by Benetton’s first-half blitz

Pete Wilkins’s side scored the opening try before home side hit them with four of their own before half-time

Ulster capitulate in the second half as Clermont Auvergne run up half century

Richie Murphy’s side were no match physically for the France Top 14 outfit

Iain Henderson and Steven Kitshoff fit to start as Ulster eye up Challenge Cup semi-final spot

Uplifted Ulster aim to continue their mini-revival under new coach Richie Murphy with a trip to take on Clermont

Jarrad Butler and Shayne Bolton to miss Connacht’s Challenge Cup quarter-final through injury

Butler is undergoing return to play protocols after a head injury while a thigh issue will keep Bolton out of the trip to Benetton

Connacht fight back in Pau to set up Italian job

Pete Wilkins’s side trailed at the break but finished strongly to earn a last-eight date with Benetton

Ulster produce rare result in Europe after Montpellier implosion in second half

Paul Willemse’s red card saw French side reduced to 12 players at one point

Champions Cup and Challenge Cup last 16: TV details, kick-off times, team news and more

Everything you need to know about the Irish provinces and their routes to the finals

Connacht fully locked and loaded for Pau clash

Connacht coach Peter Wilkins adds internationals Bundee Aki and Finlay Bealham to an already vastly experienced starting XV for Challenge Cup clash away to Pau

Challenge Cup team news: Aki and Bealham back for Connacht, Henderson fit for Ulster

Connacht line out against Pau while Ulster also travel to France to take on Montpellier in the round of 16

Ulster’s Iain Henderson says Kitshoff ‘speculation’ will not be a distraction against Montpellier

Ulster prop is set to return to South Africa at the end of the season

‘We have to score tries’ - Connacht to come out firing in Challenge Cup knockouts

Pete Wilkins’ side travels to France to take on Pau who currently sit seventh on the Top 14 table

Gerry Thornley: Repeats and reprises also bring chance for revenge in Champions Cup

The Irish provinces have had a mixed campaign but Leinster and Connacht carry more momentum with them than Munster and Ulster

The Offload: Ultan Dillane plays his part as La Rochelle tear Tigers to shreds

Leinster’s Luke McGrath has racked up 200 caps for Leinster, a milestone he reached when coming on in the 43-7 victory over Stade Francais

Champions Cup and Challenge Cup Q&A: The competition formats explained

European rugby: Your guide to what has changed and what has stayed the same in Europe’s top two club competitions

Leinster hoping for a favour from La Rochelle as new European format unveiled

Champions Cup will consist of four groups of six teams but will still have just four rounds of pool games

Toulon end their Challenge Cup drought in fine style as Glasgow blown away

Three-time Champions Cup winners earn a first Challenge Cup at the fifth time of asking

Toulon hoping it’s third time lucky in Challenge Cup decider against Glasgow Warriors

French side have suffered final defeats in 2020 and last year but have happy memories of the Aviva Stadium

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to host 2024 Champions Cup final

The London venue will also host the final of the Challenge Cup

Connacht boosted for season-defining URC clash with Cardiff as Carty, Bealham and Buckley return

Victory over Welsh side will almost certainly seal place in play-offs for Champions Cup

Connacht make disappointingly tame exit from Challenge Cup as they are thrashed by Benetton

From start to finish the Italians have never delivered such a complete victory over the Irish province

Connacht take no risks in team selection as they head to Italy

Benetton have traditionally made life difficult for Connacht at their home venue

Connacht look to frank Challenge Cup credentials against wounded Newcastle Falcons

Although qualified, province keen to take top-two spot and secure best possible draw for round of 16

Connacht not bothered about Bundee Aki as they prepare for Newcastle

Coaching director Andy Friend says all is going to plan for Ireland centre, who is ‘probably going to be sensational in the Six Nations’

Connacht coach Pete Wilkins insists Bundee Aki ‘absolutely available’ for selection

Coach admits there’s a ‘fair amount of competition’ among talented group of centres

Champions Cup: Leinster on course to be top seeds with possible Munster or Ulster clash in last-16

Distinct possibility exists of Leinster hosting Munster or Ulster in last 16 tie

Connacht overwhelm Brive to ease into last 16

Alex Wootton tops scoring honours with a hat-trick as rampant home side run in nine tries against brittle French outfit

Alex Wootton grabs hat-trick as Connacht score nine tries in Brive bashing

Third straight win puts Connacht on top of Pool A of the Challenge Cup

Connacht hoping to maintain their winning ways as Brive come to town

French side arrive in the Sportsground having lost their first two Challenge Cup matches

Pete Wilkins ready and waiting to take over from Andy Friend in Connacht top job

Head coach has yet to be interviewed by province as Friend announces departure: ‘I definitely want to have that conversation with the club’

Connacht must be wary of a cornered animal

French side Brive are coming off the back of an embarrassing 41-0 defeat in Cardiff, a result which is likely to galvanise a strong response

Andy Friend warns Connacht that Brive will be a different beast on home turf

French side are bottom of the Top 14 and suffered 41-0 loss away to Cardiff in Challenge Cup opener

Champions Cup may yet deliver vintage tournament despite its perplexing, spectator-unfriendly format

EPCR have managed the curious trick of both curtailing and expanding the tournament at the same time

Connacht welcome old adversaries Newcastle for Challenge Cup opener

Falcons bringing a strong side for their third trip to the Sportsground in the second tier competition

Connacht have quickly ‘turned the dial’ to European action with Newcastle coming to town

‘You can feel it when you see the logo going up on the first Monday meeting of the week. The excitement is huge’

Owen Doyle: Why was Etzebeth cheap shot not a cheap shot?

South African lock courted controversy for a collision with Lyon’s Davit Niniashvili in Challenge Cup final

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