This season Fixtures of the European Rugby Champions Cup kicks off in October, with Bordeaux Bègles looking to become the first team to win three in a row since Toulon in 2015.
Their victory in 2026 extended an unprecedented period of dominance for clubs on the other side of the Channel Tunnel, with the last six titles ending in France. But who is the last team from Britain or Ireland to get their hands on Europe’s most prestigious rugby?
Read on to find out the identity of the competition’s most recent non-French winners, when they did it, and whether any other country has been so dominant in the tournament’s three-decade history.
When was the last time a British or Irish team won the European Rugby Champions Cup?
Exeter Chiefs were the last British or Irish side to lift the European Rugby Champions Cup. They did so after beating Racing 92 in Bristol in 2020, at an Ashton Gate stadium that was completely empty due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Since then, the trophy has made its home in France with two victories for Toulouse. La Rochelle and current champions Bordeaux Bègles.
Have French teams always been so dominant?
No, one country winning five titles in a row is unprecedented in the history of the tournament which began life as the Heineken Cup in 1995.
The closest any country had previously come was England’s three consecutive titles between 2000 and 2002 (Northampton Saints and Leicester Tigers twice), and France’s hat-trick between 2013 and 2015 (all Toulon).
There has been at least one French side in 13 of the last 14 Rugby European Champions Cup finals, but even so, they have not lifted the trophy at all between 2016 and 2021.
During that period English sides became the dominant force in the competition, with Saracens winning three titles and Exeter Chiefs one. This English winning streak was only interrupted by Leinster, who in 2018 won the last of their four European titles to date.
Reigning champions Bordeaux Bègles extended their period of French dominance in Europe’s most prestigious club competition (David Rogers/Getty Images)
Honors were paid more evenly in the past?
France is the most successful country in the history of the European Rugby Champions Cup, having won 14 of the 31 available titles.
But the French sides have only improved during their current, record-breaking run of six in a row. Prior to that, honors were much more uniform, with English teams winning the European Rugby Champions Cup on 10 occasions. Irish teams have come out on top seven times, although clubs from Wales, Scotland, Italy or South Africa have yet to etch their name on the coveted trophy.
England top the table for the most individual winners, however, with six champion clubs coming from the PREM(iership): Bath Rugby, Northampton Saints, Leicester Tigers, Wasps, Saracens and Exeter Chiefs. Five French teams won (Toulouse, Brive, Toulon, La Rochelle and Bordeaux Bègles), while three Irish teams were successful (Leinster, Munster and Ulster).
Toulouse is the most successful team in the European Rugby Champions Cup with six wins. Leinster’s four wins put them second on the all-time list, just ahead of Saracens and Toulon with three wins each.
What about the European Challenge Cup?
You don’t have to go back nearly that far to find a British or Irish Challenge Cup winner, with Bath taking first place as part of their famous trinity for 2025.
French teams, however, have been similarly dominant in the Champions Cup’s sister competition in recent years, winning seven of the last 11 titles available – including last season’s win by Montpellier.
Who are the previous winners of the European Rugby Champions Cup?
Leinster were the last Irish side to win the 2018 European Champions Cup (David Rogers/Getty Images)
Here is the complete list winners of the premier club competition in European rugby:
- 1995-96: Toulouse
- 1996-97: Shave
- 1997-98: Bath Rugby
- 1998-99: Ulster
- 1999-2000: Northampton Saints
- 2000-01: Leicester Tigers
- 2001-02: Leicester Tigers
- 2002-03: Toulouse
- 2003-04: Wasps
- 2004-05: Toulouse
- 2005-06: Munster
- 2006-07: Wasps
- 2007-08: Munster
- 2008-09: Leinster
- 2009-10: Toulouse
- 2010-11: Leinster
- 2011-12: Leinster
- 2012-13: Toulon
- 2013-14: Toulon
- 2014-15: Toulon
- 2015-16: Saracens
- 2016-17: Saracens
- 2017-18: Leinster
- 2018-19: Saracens
- 2019-20: Exeter Chiefs
- 2020-21: Toulouse
- 2021-22: La Rochelle
- 2022-23: La Rochelle
- 2023-24: Toulouse
- 2024-25: Bordeaux Bègles
- 2025-26: Bordeaux Bègles
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