Three French sides will be competing in the Champions Cup round of 16 this weekend as European rugby returns to our television screens.

Among the teams vying for a quarter-final spot are the reigning champions La Rochelle and Toulouse, the most successful side in the competition’s history.

Montpellier completes the trio and will be in search of their maiden title.

Dupont and Ntamak return as Toulouse prepare to battle the Bulls

The five-time champions are raring to go and will be enlivened by the return of their international stars, who were given time off following the conclusion of the Six Nations.

Toulouse last won the tournament in 2021, beating La Rochelle in the final. Admittedly the runaway Top 14 leaders are coming off a shock loss to Castres, but with the likes of Antoine Dupont, Romain Ntamack and Julien Marchand back in the mix, they will welcome the Bulls believing they can redirect their hunt for a record-breaking sixth Champions Cup trophy win.

Standing in their way is a wounded Bulls team that is struggling for consistency. Indeed, the South Africans have lost their last four fixtures in the URC, including losses to national rivals the Stormers and Lions, which has forced them down to seventh in the league standings.

The Bulls’ first outing in the Champions Cup has so far gone to plan, but they may be about to meet their match as they travel to the south of France.

They’ll be relying upon a bit of magic from winger Kurt-Lee Arendse and stalwart Ruan Nortje, who has played more minutes than any other player in the URC so far this season.

La Rochelle, the heavy favourites against out-of-form Gloucester

Of all the games this weekend, La Rochelle’s home tie with Gloucester is the one with the clearest favourite.  

La Rochelle are the reigning champions and are in a rich vein of form, having just annihilated playoff rivals Bordeaux Bègles 36-6, to cement second spot in the league.

By comparison, Gloucester has won just twice this calendar year. Their slump in form has crippled their resolve and has forced them to slip down to ninth in the Premiership when at one stage, they had appeared genuine title contenders.

In truth, the challenge for the Cherry and Whites will be to keep the score respectable, especially after they were trounced twice by Leinster in the group stages.

Much of the game will fall upon the shoulders of Gloucester’s back row, as they are tasked with handling an incredibly physical and domineering La Rochelle pack, spearheaded by Grégory Alldritt, who was exceptional in the latter stages of the Six Nations.

Back row partners Ruan Ackermann and Lewis Ludlow will need to be on top form if they are to give Gloucester even the slightest opening of an upset.

Montpellier travel to Exeter to take on prospective summer signings

Last season Montpellier won the Top 14 for the first time in their history. This season they will be hoping to achieve a similar feat in the Champions Cup as they continue their trophy hunt with a flight to England to take on the Exeter Chiefs.

Montpellier are coming off a frantic 23-22 win over Perpignan, sealed with a last-gasp Paolo Garbisi penalty in the dying minutes of the game.

Their next challenge will be a battle of wills as the current cohort in Exeter attempts to close out an era on a high, with many high-profile players set to leave the club in the summer.

Incidentally, the two clubs are bound by the fact that a trio of Chiefs players are destined for Montpellier come the end of the season. Prop Harry Williams is rumoured to be joining teammates Luke Cowan-Dickie and Sam Simmonds on the plane to France, which makes the Sunday lunchtime matchup all the more enticing. 

Written by Stefan Frost