{"id":398013,"date":"2026-01-07T18:04:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T18:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/398013\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T18:04:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T18:04:08","slug":"pool-4-preview-champions-cup-stakes-rise-for-bulls-bristol-and-saints","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/398013\/","title":{"rendered":"Pool 4 Preview: Champions Cup Stakes Rise for Bulls, Bristol And Saints"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pool 4 offers a sharp contrast in form, as Round 3 brings together sides moving in opposite directions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Vodacom Bulls<\/a> return home desperate to halt a five-match skid that has bled into their European campaign. Despite flashes of attacking promise, heavy defeats to Bordeaux and the Lions have exposed defensive cracks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Bristol Bears<\/a> arrive in ruthless form, unbeaten in five matches and brimming with confidence after emphatic Champions Cup wins over Scarlets and Pau. The Bears will be wary, however, of a Bulls side that claimed this fixture last January and now plays with nothing to lose.<\/p>\n

In Llanelli, the Scarlets and Pau<\/a> square off in a contest defined by urgency.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Scarlets have struggled to translate domestic grit into European success, while Pau\u2019s own Champions Cup outings have been punishing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With both teams anchored near the bottom of the pool, discipline and composure could prove decisive.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

2026 Vodacom Bulls vs Bristol Bears<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

The round culminates in a marquee clash between Union Bordeaux B\u00e8gles and the Northampton Saints<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Both sides are perfect through two European rounds and riding dominant domestic momentum.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bordeaux\u2019s explosive attack meets Northampton\u2019s relentless pace in a matchup that could shape the entire pool.<\/p>\n

How To Watch The Investec Champions Cup 2025-2026<\/p>\n

Stream all Champions Cup games, live and archived, on FloRugby and the FloSports app.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Investec Champions Cup Round 3\u00a0Friday, Jan. 93 p.m. ET: Castres Olympique vs. Bath Rugby, Stade Pierre-Fabre3 p.m. ET: Edinburgh Rugby vs. Gloucester Rugby, TBDSaturday, Jan. 108 a.m. ET: Vodacom Bulls vs. Bristol Bears, Loftus Versfeld10:15 a.m. ET: Clermont Auvergne vs. Glasgow Warriors, Stade Marcel-Michelin12:30 p.m. ET: Leinster Rugby vs. La Rochelle, TBD12:30 p.m. ET: Sale Sharks vs. Hollywoodbets Sharks, Salford Community Stadium3 p.m. ET: Scarlets vs. Pau, Parc y Scarlets3 p.m. ET: Leicester Tigers vs. Bayonne, Mattioli Woods Welford RoadSunday, Jan. 118 a.m. ET: Harlequins vs. DHL Stormers, Twickenham Stoop8 a.m. ET: Toulon vs. Munster Rugby, Stade F\u00e9lix Mayol10:15 a.m. ET: Bordeaux-B\u00e8gles vs. Northampton Saints, Stade Chaban-Delmas12:30 p.m. ET: Saracens vs. Toulouse, StoneX StadiumInvestec Champions Cup Pool 4Round 1\u00a0Saturday, Dec. 6 \u2013 10:15 a.m. ET: Vodacom Bulls vs. Bordeaux-B\u00e8gles, Loftus VersfeldSaturday, Dec. 6 \u2013 3 p.m. ET: Scarlets vs. Bristol Bears, Parc y ScarletsSunday, Dec. 7 \u2013 8 a.m. ET: Pau vs. Northampton Saints, Stade du HameauRound 2Saturday, Dec. 13 \u2013 12:30 p.m. ET: Bordeaux-B\u00e8gles vs. Scarlets, Stade Chaban-DelmasSunday, Dec. 14 \u2013 10:15 a.m. ET: Northampton Saints vs. Vodacom Bulls, cinch Stadium @ Franklin\u2019s GardensSunday, Dec. 14 \u2013 12:30 p.m. ET: Bristol Bears vs. Pau, Ashton GateRound 3\u00a0Saturday, Jan. 10 \u2013 8 a.m. ET: Vodacom Bulls vs. Bristol Bears, Loftus VersfeldSaturday, Jan. 10 \u2013 3 p.m. ET: Scarlets vs. Pau, Parc y ScarletsSunday, Jan. 11 \u2013 10:15 a.m. ET: Bordeaux-B\u00e8gles vs. Northampton Saints, Stade Chaban-DelmasRound 4Friday, Jan. 16 \u2013 3 p.m. ET: Pau vs. Vodacom Bulls, Stade du HameauSunday, Jan. 18 \u2013 8 a.m. ET: Bristol Bears vs. Bordeaux-B\u00e8gles, Ashton GateSunday, Jan. 18 \u2013 10:15 a.m. ET: Northampton Saints vs. Scarlets, cinch Stadium @ Franklin\u2019s GardensHow To Watch Rugby Matches In The United States On FloRugby<\/p>\n

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:\u00a0<\/p>\n

FloRugby also is home to match archives and match replays.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Join The Rugby Conversation On FloRugby Social<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pool 4 offers a sharp contrast in form, as Round 3 brings together sides moving in opposite directions.\u00a0…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":398014,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-398013","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-rugby","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=398013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398013\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/398014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=398013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=398013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=398013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}