WELCOME MESSAGE
INVESTEC CHAMPIONS CUP 2025/26
It is my great pleasure to welcome you to Round 4 of the Investec Champions Cup 2025/26, the greatest club rugby competition in the world.
As we move deeper into the pool stage, the competition enters a defining phase. Every match now carries added weight. Every point matters. The road ahead begins to take shape and the intensity rises as clubs push for position and momentum. This 31st edition is already building on the remarkable standards set last season. Packed stadiums, global audiences and unforgettable performances once again underline why this competition remains the benchmark of international club rugby. From established forces to emerging contenders, the unpredictability and quality on display continue to set this tournament apart.
Rounds 3 and 4 are always pivotal. They sharpen ambitions, test depth and demand consistency at the highest level. For the players, this is where seasons are defined. For supporters, this is where belief grows. And for clubs, this is where the margins become decisive.
The journey towards the 2026 Final in Bilbao is well underway and these rounds represent a crucial step on that path. Ticket demand continues to reflect the global appeal of the competition and for those planning their Finals Weekend experience, Destination Champions Club is available to take care of accommodation and hospitality, so supporters can focus purely on the rugby. Full details are available at destinationchampionsclub.com.
Across Europe, South Africa and beyond, the Investec Champions Cup continues to deliver intensity, drama and moments that stay with us long after the final whistle.
EPCR remains committed to driving international club rugby forward. Our impACT strategy continues to guide our work towards carbon-neutral Finals, stronger community engagement and long-term sustainability. Recognition such as our EcoVadis Silver Medal reflects real progress and strengthens our determination to keep raising standards on and off the field.
We are proud to work alongside our broadcast partners who connect fans around the world with the competition. Live coverage is available on Premier Sports in the UK and Ireland, beIN SPORTS in France, SuperSport in South Africa, S4C in the UK and FloRugby in the USA and Canada, with some free-to-air matches available on France Télévisions. Supporters can also follow the action via EPCRugby.TV, our OTT platform.
Our sincere thanks also go to our partners whose support is vital to the success of the competition. We warmly thank Investec, Heineken, Emirates, DHL, Georgia Tourism, JAECOO, Gilbert and Macron for their continued commitment and trust.
Whether you are in the stadium or following from afar, thank you for being part of this journey. Your passion and energy are at the heart of everything we do.
Enjoy the action as the season reaches another decisive moment.
Yours in rugby,
Dominic McKay, EPCR Chairman
MATCH PREVIEW ALL OR NOTHING
WORDS: ALBERT HEENOP
The Hollywoodbets Sharks must beat Clermont Auvergne today in their final Investec Champions Cup pool game to have a chance of progressing to the round of 16 in April.
Springbok powerhouse prop and double Rugby World Cup winner, Ox Nché, acknowledged during the weekly press briefing that the Hollywoodbets Sharks cannot let it slide in their decisive Investec Champions Cup pool clash with French outfit Clermont Auvergne this afternoon.
JP Pietersen’s side are lying fifth in Pool 1, two and five points adrift, respectively, of Toulouse (fourth) and Saracens (third). With a young and relatively inexperienced side showing heaps of heart in going down 10-26 to the second-placed Sale Sharks away from home in Manchester last Saturday, the Hollywoodbets Sharks must win today, preferably with a bonus point, to keep their hopes alive of finishing in the top four of the pool and reaching the round of 16 in the world's greatest rugby club competition.
“We aim to obtain maximum points, as well as reduce the negative points difference,” Nché said.
“We’re viewing today’s game as a playoff, so we’re going all out.”
Even if they do manage to emerge with a full haul of championship points today, the Durban-based outfit may still have to rely on one or two other results going their way, especially in Toulouse, where they’ll be hoping that the home side comes off second best against Sale.
Clermont have yet to register a win in the current Investec Champions Cup and are propping up the bottom of the table in Pool 1. Yet, the Hollywoodbets Sharks are not underestimating the visitors from France - even without a number of their leading players.
“They possess a big pack, and also have quality among the loose forwards,” Nché observed.
“They play an expansive game, and although their set piece is solid, they thrive
on offloading the ball. They will provide a stiff challenge; therefore, our focus will be on containing their forwards so that their backs don’t shine.”
The previous time these two sides met was in the semi-final of the Investec Challenge Cup at Twickenham Stoop, with the Hollywoodbets Sharks prevailing for a heart-stopping 32-31 win. Thereby, the Durbanites became the first South African team to reach the final of one of the prestigious European leagues, and they went on to clinch the Challenge Cup by walloping Gloucester 36-22 at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
To be sure, the semi-final battle against Clermont proved far tougher than the actual final, with the Hollywoodbets Sharks only really hitting their straps in the last 10 minutes when Makazole Mapimpi finished a sensational counter-attack from well inside their own territory and Siya Masuku, who was on target with all eight his goal attempts, converting from touch to put his side in front by a solitary point. Thereafter, the boys put their bodies on the line to deny Clermont any more scoring opportunities and seal an epic win.
IT’S JUST A CHANGE IN MINDSET THAT COACH
JP IS WORKING ON...
The same level of commitment will be required today to achieve a favourable outcome.
“We have guys with amazing ability in the team,” Nché concluded.
“It’s just a change in mindset that coach JP is working on, with the guys having to really start believing in themselves.
“Generally, we have played well, we’ve created opportunities, but our skillsets have let us down. We have also played well for parts of a game, while we need to stay focused for the entire 80 minutes.”
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CAPTAIN!
Nick Hatton will lead the Hollywoodbets Sharks into battle against Clermont Auvergne on his birthday. It is amazing that the Old Hiltonian, who is already a seasoned skipper of the men in black, is only turning 23…
Victory over the visitors from France, with a view to qualifying for the round of 16 in the Investec Champions Cup, would be the best birthday present, Hatton acknowledges.
Born on January 17, 2003, he was educated at DPHS and Hilton College, which, of course, is the alma mater of legendary Springbok and Sharks captain, Gary Teichmann. Incidentally, Teichmann, who celebrated his birthday on January 9, and Hatton are both Capricorns.
“Gary was a proper player and captain, whom I hold in the highest regard,” Hatton says. “I’m fortunate that I got to know him, and he is a great guy to talk to.”
Teichmann, whose career peaked in the 1990s, more than a decade before Hatton was born, was not the youngster’s hero growing up, though. That honour belongs to a Kiwi by the name of Kieran Read.
As a matter of fact, the mere physical resemblance between Hatton and the 127-test former All Black No. 8 and captain is uncanny.
“I loved watching Read play,” Hatton admits, “and admired his consistency. He formed part of an amazing All Blacks team that hardly lost.
“Read had such balance as a No. 8; he could play the power game, but also boasted a fantastic skillset and was equally physical on attack and defence.”
Like Read, Hatton excelled in all aspects of school life, and especially on the sports field. He was Head of School at Hilton in 2021, and a true all-rounder, captaining both the First XV and XI.
“I was blessed to attend a school steeped in tradition like Hilton, with teaching and coaching of the highest quality,” Hatton says. “It provides everything a boy needs.
“The late Tony Richter, who tragically passed away in a car crash in early 2021, had a huge impact on my friends and me as a U16 coach, while former Sharks No. 8 Brad MacLeod-Henderson also knew how to get the best out of us and was most professional as First XV coach.”
Hatton made his Carling Currie Cup debut for the Hollywoodbets Sharks barely six months after leaving school, and two years later, followed his Vodacom URC baptism of fire in Glasgow as a young and inexperienced side, sans half a dozen Boks, fought back from a 16-point halftime deficit to emerge with a most credible 10-21 defeat at the hands of the Warriors, who would go on to clinch the title.
“That week in Glasgow came as a surprise. Glasgow is a tough place to play, especially when the crowd gets behind their team.
“However, I was still pretty naive and just super excited and keen to have a crack at that level, and the way we fought to stay in it was great.”
Shortly thereafter, Hatton was appointed Hollywoodbets Sharks captain for the 2024 Carling Currie Cup campaign and did a terrific job guiding the team to the playoffs, yet he featured in neither the semi-final nor the final.
“We had a tough start to that campaign,” he recalls. “As a group, we hadn’t been together for long, and we struggled initially.
“However, we got the mix right between some seniors finishing their careers and a host of youngsters breaking through, we fought for one another under coach JP (Pietersen), and we ended up with a memorable run of wins.
“The plan was always for the URC players to come in for the last couple of round-robin matches and the playoffs, though. It was something new for the franchise to manage, and they did it as well as they could.
“I’m just chuffed that we got the job done in the end with that dramatic win against the Lions in the final, courtesy of Jordan Hendrikse's monster penalty goal at the death.”
Hatton was again entrusted with the campaign captaincy for the 2025 Currie Cup, which proved an even taller order than 2024. “The start to last year’s tournament was probably the toughest few weeks of my entire career,” he admits. “I learnt a lot about myself both as a player and as a leader, and am definitely better and stronger for it.
“We had a most exciting group of players who showed massive improvement towards
the end, which was really good to see.”
Over the past couple of seasons, Hatton has also been thrown in at the deep end of the European campaign, as captain in tough overseas assignments against French and English giants Lyon, Toulouse and Sale Sharks.
“We fielded a mixed group of experience and youth in all three of those games, but the one thing about fielding sides like that is that the players are hungry for an opportunity to play, and they just want to give their best. The Champions Cup results haven’t gone our way yet; we got things wrong at crucial moments, which cost us, so it has been a learning curve.
“It is, however, a tournament that we truly value.”
As for the future under interim head coach JP Pietersen, Hatton sees only brightness for the Hollywoodbets Sharks.
“I’ve worked under JP since my U19 days. He is a tough but fair taskmaster and only wants what is best for the Hollywoodbets Sharks.
“He wants to take us from being good to becoming great.
“That means that activities on the training track are becoming more and more demanding. We are determined to turn the season around.”
HOLLYWOODBETS SHARKS PLAYER PROFILES
MANU TSHITUKA NICK HATTON (C) BORN: 22/06/1996 HEIGHT: 1.74m BORN: 17/01/2003 HEIGHT: 1.91m WEIGHT: 77KG WEIGHT: 103KG
121KG BORN: 04/05/1989 HEIGHT: 1.78m
WEIGHT: 96KG HANRO JACOBS
JADEN HENDRIKSE BORN: 23/03/2000 HEIGHT: 1.84m WEIGHT: 83KG
ROUX MALAN BORN: 31/03/1999 HEIGHT: 1.91 m WEIGHT: 96KG
20/10/2000
1.86
SWART PHATU GANYANE
FASSI BORN: 23/01/1998 HEIGHT: 1.89 m WEIGHT: 87KG
EMILE VAN HEERDEN PHEPSI BUTHELEZI ROSS BRAUDE
BORN: 08/08/2000 HEIGHT: 2.00 m BORN: 30/05/1999 HEIGHT: 1.86m BORN: 18/01/2000 HEIGHT: 1.68m WEIGHT: 110KG WEIGHT: 105KG WEIGHT: 82KG YAW PENXE BORN: 03/04/1997 HEIGHT: 1.81 m WEIGHT: 82KG
HOLLYWOODBETS SHARKS
ASM CLERMONT AUVERGNE
APHELELE FASSI
YAW PENXE LE ROUX MALAN
JURENZO JULIUS
PK SOBAHLE
JORDAN HENDRIKSE
JADEN HENDRIKSE
NICK HATTON (C)
MANU TSHITUKA
MATT ROMAO
JASON JENKINS
CORNE RAHL
HANRO JACOBS
BONGI MBONAMBI
NCHE
EDUAN SWART
PHATU GANYANE
VINCENT KOCH
EMILE VAN HEERDEN
PHEPSI BUTHELEZI
ROSS BRAUDE
SIYA MASUKU
HAKEEM KUNENE
KYLAN HAMDAOUI
YERIM FALL
TIMEO FRIER
ALIFERETI LOALOA
JORIS JURAND
LUCAS
LUCAS
OJOVAN
ETIENNE FOURCADE MATHEO FRISACH
SEILALA LAM
GIGA TUTISANI
GIORGI DZMANASHVILI
BAPTISTE VESCHAMBRE
PIO MUARUA
NIEK DOORNENBAL
CHRISTOPHE URIOS
MANAGER
KEVIN WASIOLEK.
RIDLEY
ASSISTANT REFEREES
WOODTHORPE, RICHARD GORDON
JACKSON
ASM CLERMONT AUVERGNE PLAYER PROFILES
BORN: 10/02/2006 HEIGHT: 1.88m WEIGHT: 127KG
BORN: 31/03/1998 HEIGHT: 1.96m WEIGHT: 106KG
BORN: 07/02/1999 HEIGHT: 1.88m WEIGHT: 96KG
BORN: 10/07/1995 HEIGHT: 1.93m
BORN: 11/04/1997 HEIGHT: 1.80m
BORN: 04/01/1997 HEIGHT: 1.83m WEIGHT: 103KG WEIGHT: 118KG
BORN: 20/09/2007 HEIGHT: 1.88m WEIGHT: 95KG
BORN: 24/06/2003 HEIGHT: 1.78m WEIGHT: 90KG
BORN: 15/04/1994 HEIGHT: 1.82m
WEIGHT: 91KG
BORN: 16/09/2007 HEIGHT: 2.03 m WEIGHT: 102KG WEIGHT: 125KG
BORN:09/01/2001 HEIGHT: 1.89m
BORN: 10/11/1995 HEIGHT: 1.89m
BORN: 22/01/2002 HEIGHT: 1.96m WEIGHT: 107KG
BORN: 29/11/2004 HEIGHT: 1.70m WEIGHT: 80KG
BORN: 09/12/2000 HEIGHT: 1.83m WEIGHT: 99KG
BORN: 18/02/1989 HEIGHT: 1.83m
WEIGHT: 110KG
BORN: 02/02/2004 HEIGHT: 1.83m
WEIGHT: 120KG
BORN: 16/06/2002 HEIGHT: 1.86m
WEIGHT: 122KG
BORN: 27/06/1996 HEIGHT: 1.91m
BORN: 11/05/2007 HEIGHT: 2.03m WEIGHT: 115KG WEIGHT: 116KG
BORN: 26/07/2004 HEIGHT: 1.79m
BORN: 16/12/2005 HEIGHT: 1.77m
WEIGHT: 82KG
BORN: 20/04/2006 HEIGHT: 1.89m
76KG WEIGHT: 86KG
HEMERY ETIENNE FOURCADE CRISTIAN OJOVAN
LEO MICHAUX
LUCAS ZAMORA
MATHEO FRISACH
THIBAUD LANEN
LUCAS DESSAIGNE
PIO MUARUA
BAPTISTE VESCHAMBRE
YERIM FALL TIMEO FRIER
KYLAN HAMDAOUI
GIGA TUTISANI
SEILALA LAM
GIORGI DZMANASHVILI
TOM RAFFY
AXEL GUILLAUD
MAJOR MATCHUP SOBAHLE VS JURAND
One of the exciting prospects to have emerged from the Hollywoodbets Sharks’ Carling Currie Cup campaign last year, PK Sobahle is renowned for his pace and power on the wing.
These dynamic attributes enable the 29-year-old to score some spectacular tries and are sure to establish him as a firm crowd favourite in the Shark Tank.
A former Junior Springbok, Sobahle had a brief stint with the Pumas in 2024, before making his Vodacom URC debut for the Hollywoodbets Sharks against the Dragons in Newport in 2025. He also featured in the Investec Champions Cup clash with Toulouse at the end of last year.
At 30 years of age, veteran Joris Jurand is equally acclaimed for his speed and scoring ability on the wing.
He has been a regular member of the Clermont Auvergne squad in both the Investec Champions and Challenge Cup tournaments since 2023, having previously turned out 82 times for Brive in the Pro D2.
Jurand toured South America in 2024 with a French Development side, featuring in the 43-28 victory over Uruguay at the Estadio Charrúa in Montevideo.
WELCOME TO THE ‘MICHELIN MEN’ FACTS, STATS & TRIVIA
We are welcoming Clermont Auvergne, aka “Les Jaune et Bleu” (The Yellow and Blues), to the Shark Tank for the very first time today, although the Hollywoodbets Sharks and Clermont have met once before, in the Investec Challenge Cup semi-final two years ago in London…
The 115-year-old Clermont Auvergne club hails from the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeast-central France. Apart from twice winning the French Top 14 and being crowned Investec Challenge Cup champions three times, they have also been runnersup in the prestigious Investec Champions Cup on three occasions.
Did you know:
* The Clermont Auvergne rugby club forms part of the multi-sport club, AS Montfer-rand (established 1911)
* The club was launched by Marcel Michelin, son of the founder of the Michelin tyre manufacturing company, André Michelin. It was originally called AS Michelin, but was legally forced in 1922 to change the name to AS Montferrandaise.
* Clermont Auvergne’s home base is also the Stade Marcel-Michelin, with a capacity of 19,000.
* The club clinched the then European Challenge Cup for the first time in 1999, beating CS Bourgoin-Jallieu 35-16 in Lyon. They repeated the feat in 2007 and 2019.
* Clermont Auvergne were runners-up in the Investec Champions Cup in 2013, 2015 and 2017, losing twice to the mighty Toulon and once to Saracens.
* The club produced a host of French international players, while Sharks and Springbok stars John Smit (2007-’08) and Brent Russell (2008-’12) also turned out for Clermont Auvergne.
THE SHARKS ACADEMY
THE SHARKS ACADEMY IS A WORLD-CLASS SOCCER AND RUGBY ACADEMY WHICH IS BACKED BY STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SHARKS.
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INVESTEC CHAMPIONS CUP FIXTURES /
HOLLYWOODBETS SHARKS VS ASM CLERMONT AUVERGNE
