'Brutally difficult': The task awaiting Scotland's rugby glitterati at European rugby's top table

Rugby’s elite European club competition turns 30 this season and there would be no better way to mark the landmark birthday than with a long-awaited Scottish triumph.

It won’t be easy because the top-tier Champions Cup has been something of a closed shop, with the previous 29 winners drawn from just three territories. France lead the way on 12 triumphs followed by England on ten and Ireland on seven. No Scottish club has made it even as far as the final and Edinburgh’s run to the semis in 2012 remains the high-water mark for a team from north of the border.

Glasgow Warriors are all in for a tilt at it and their players and coaching staff have spoken regularly about mounting a serious challenge, buoyed by last season’s stunning triumph in the United Rugby Championship, which was this week voted the Sporting Moment of the Year at the Scottish Sports Awards.

Kyle Steyn in action for Warriors during an Investec Champions Cup match between Glasgow Warriors and RC Toulon last season. | SNS Group

Glasgow reached the last 16 last time and were unlucky to lose at the death away at Harlequins. They’ll return to the Stoop in January for the last of their four Pool 4 matches and a chance for revenge against their old boss, Danny Wilson. But before that they open their campaign against Sale Sharks at Scotstoun on Saturday night.

“I think it's a brutally difficult competition to win, brutally difficult even to qualify for the latter stages,” said Chris Paterson, Scotland’s all-time record points scorer who’ll be part of the Premier Sports team covering this season’s Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup in a new TV deal.

“I actually think the defeat at the Stoop will be a big driver for Glasgow this year because it's a game they probably should have won. They went on to clinch the URC in such good fashion and winning those big games away from home against quality opposition who were hugely physical will help the belief and the understanding of what's needed to win.”

As well as Sale and Quins, Glasgow will face French sides Toulon (away) and Racing 92 (at home) in Pool 4. The Stormers are also in the group but teams from the same league do not play each other in the Champions Cup pool phase. The top four from each of the four six-team groups go through to the last 16 while the fifth-place teams drop into the Challenge Cup. It means only the bottom-placed sides will have nothing left to play for which strips some of the jeopardy from the competition.

Toulouse, with Scotland full-back Blair Kinghorn playing a pivotal role, defeated Leinster in last season’s final for a record-breaking sixth triumph and, unsurprisingly, Paterson expects the French giants to be in the mix again this time.

Blair Kinghorn lifts the Champions Cup last season. | AFP via Getty Images

“If you were to look for favourites there would be three or four that everybody would point to in terms of Toulouse with their history, Leinster with their squad, La Rochelle with their size, who are all recent winners, but also Bordeaux.

“But I think Glasgow will have the respect of every opponent they come up against because of the quality they have and the balance to their game, whether it's their set-piece, their defence, their mindset or their spark in attack.

“Home form will be important but I think it's probably more likely that you can qualify if you lose a game than it used to be. But you don't want to be losing at home and I'd imagine there won't be many teams that would relish going to Scotstoun, and Glasgow should use that to their advantage.”

Finn Russell and Bath get the ball rolling on Friday with a home tie against La Rochelle who won the competition in 2022 and 2023.

Edinburgh are also in action on Friday, in the second-tier Challenge Cup, and their opening opponents, Gloucester, are familiar foes. They beat Sean Everitt’s side at Hive Stadium in the last 16 of the same competition last season then met again in a friendly in September, with Edinburgh coming out on top. Most memorably of all, they faced each other in the 2015 Challenge Cup final at the Stoop, with Greig Laidlaw leading Gloucester to a 19-13 win over his former club.

Sione Tuipulotu wraps up warm ahead of Glasgow Warriors' opener against Sale. | SNS Group

Gloucester reached the final of the Challenge Cup again last season, but lost out to the Sharks who became the first South African side to win one of the European competitions.

Given that four from the six-team group will qualify for the last 16, both Edinburgh and Gloucester will be confident of progression. Bayonne, Vannes, Black Lion and Scarlets are the other sides in Pool 3, although Edinburgh will not play the latter.