Champions Cup & EPCR — Saturday 25 April 2026

The quarter-final matchup between Bath and Northampton Saints, which will initially be contested at Bath’s home ground, The Rec, is far from the final word on where the semi-final action will take place. Due to the competition’s structure, the winners of the Saints/Bath clash will actually head to Milton Keynes’ Stadium MK for their semi-final fixture. This dramatic shift occurs because the semi-final round mandates a venue based on “home country advantage,” rather than the standard home-ground advantage. Bath secured the initial advantage for the quarter-final because they held a higher seeding (ranked fourth compared to Saints' fifth). But once the tournament reaches the semi-final, that local advantage evaporates, requiring the winner to play in the English venue chosen for the final stages. This means the winner of the quarter-final is destined to take on their semi-final opponent at Stadium MK.

The hype surrounding the Saints/Bath contest has been relentless, prompting the BBC to label the quarter-final "one of the greatest games in European history." However, the real story is the logistics: the winner is not playing in Bath or Northampton, but in Milton Keynes. For the high-level rugby action to transition to the Stadium MK—a ground more known for the EFL League Two’s MK Dons—is a significant change of scenery for the continent's elite clubs. It underscores the unpredictable nature of modern knockout rugby, where even a seeding advantage only guarantees a local venue for the next round, not the eventual semi-final.