CLASH OF CHAMPIONS
WELCOME MESSAGE ROUNDS 3 OF THE INVESTEC CHAMPIONS CUP
It is my great pleasure to welcome you to Rounds 3 of the 2024/25 Investec Champions Cup. As we enter the decisive stages of the pool phase, the intensity continues to build, with clubs battling for crucial victories to secure their place in the knockout rounds.
This season holds particular significance as we celebrate 30 seasons of EPCR competitions – three decades of unforgettable moments, remarkable performances, and thrilling rivalries that have defined the very pinnacle of club rugby. Once again, the Investec Champions Cup has delivered an outstanding display of passion, skill and commitment, showcasing why this tournament remains the pinnacle of international club rugby.
We are incredibly proud to share this journey with Investec, our title partner, whose long-term support has been instrumental in enhancing the stature of this world-class competition. We also extend our heartfelt thanks to our official partners – Heineken, DHL, Georgia Tourism, OMODA | JAECOO, Tissot, Gilbert, Macron, and Qatar Airways –as well as to our broadcasters who bring the excitement of these matches into homes across the globe, connecting fans in over 100 countries.
Rounds 3 are always pivotal, as the road to the knockout stages becomes defined and every match, every try, and every moment takes on even greater importance. From the players striving to create history, to the passionate supporters filling stadiums with energy and colour, this is what makes the Investec Champions Cup so special.
Thank you for being part of this extraordinary journey. I wish all the competing teams, their fans, and everyone involved the very best as we move one step closer to the highly anticipated Finals Weekend in Cardiff next May 23rd and 24th. Enjoy the action!
Yours in rugby,
Dominic McKay, EPCR Chairman
SIYA KOLISI IN CORRIDOR SEE
MAJOR MATCHUP
FACTS,
FIXTURES
SPONSORS
MATCH PREVIEW
THE CLASH OF CHAMPIONS
WORDS: ALBERT HEENOP
It hardly gets bigger than this. Last year’s EPCR Challenge Cup cham-pions hosting the defending Investec Challenge Cup champions in the Shark Tank. The Hollywoodbets Sharks versus French giants Tou-louse. It is among the best matchups of the Champions Cup league phase, and not least because of the significance of today’s result…
The Investec Champions Cup is all about the best clubs of Europe and South Africa facing off against each other.
Indeed, if you’re looking for a game of the highest calibre between the best of the best, for booming fanfare and for utmost intrigue, look no further than today’s mouth-watering matchup at the hallowed Hollywoodbets Kings Park between the Hollywoodbets Sharks and Stade Toulousain.
For the home side, who qualified for the Champions Cup by winning the EPCR Challenge Cup in 2024, this presents an ideal opportunity to assess their development with an eye to con-quering the grandest club rugby prize of all.
To be sure, it doesn’t get any bigger than against a Toulouse outfit that has been
extremely tough to beat for a very long time and boasts a record six Champions Cup (previously the Hei-neken Cup) titles. Adding to the lustre of today’s monumental occasion is the fact that the Hollywoodbets Kings Park playing field is set to be graced by a legion of Springbok and French internationals.
The Shark Tank faithful, in particular, will be delighted to welcome back a host of their injured superstars. However, this excitement is tempered by recent injuries sustained by fullback Aphelele Fassi and centre André Esterhuizen in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship encounter with the Stormers a fortnight ago.
Their collective influence, in launching lethal counter-attacks from the rear or smashing across the advantage line respectively, will be sorely missed. Yet,
the Hollywoodbets Sharks still boast more than enough firepower in their arsenal to back themselves big time against the undisputed “Kings of Europe”.
Toulouse are still undefeated in their current Champions Cup campaign, having thrashed both Ulster (61-21) and the Exeter Chiefs (6421) during the first two rounds of the pool stage. The Hollywoodbets Sharks also saw off the Chiefs (39-21) during the opening round of the com-petition, but a week later an understrength outfit went down 17-56 to a rampant Leicester away from home.
Thus, the importance of winning at home today, with a view to advancing through to the Round of 16 that kicks off in early April, goes without saying. Even more so, considering that the Durban-based club is off to France next week to take on the Union Bordeaux-Bègles at the Stade Chaban-Delmas on Sunday.
TO BE SURE, IT DOESN’T GET ANY BIGGER THAN AGAINST A TOULOUSE ...
Bordeaux walloped Stade Francais 46-19 last Saturday to knock Toulouse off the top of the French Top 14 table, while the latter, resting a host of key players for today’s Champions Cup clash in Durban, suffered a narrow 19-22 defeat at the hands of Stade Rochelais.
For now, though, the Hollywoodbets Sharks are fiercely committed to giving Stade Toulou-sain a taste of what it is like to face the menacing men in black in their fortress, Hollywood-bets Kings Park, and in front of the most passionate support in the business.
L’OX MAGNIFIQUE
The Hollywoodbets Sharks powerhouse followed up his World Cup success of 2023 by delivering another standout season for South Africa last year. Many pundits believed he should have been nominated for World Rugby’s Player of the Year award. Now, Ox Nché is pumped to pack down in style for the new year against one of the most formidable front rows in the business…
WORDS: ALBERT HEENOP
It was at Rugby World Cup 2023 in France that Ox Nché established himself as a household name on the international stage and one feared by front-rowers the world over.
With 25 test caps for the Springboks already under the belt, Nché came on in the 51st minute of the quarter-final against France and, from that moment on, excelled as not only the cornerstone of South Africa’s ultimate RWC triumph but arguably also the most disruptive scrummaging unit in world rugby.
No doubt the tighthead props of Les Blues, England (semi-final) and the All Blacks (final) would concur.
Today, the Hollywoodbets Sharks are hosting the Investec Champions Cup title-holders, Toulouse, with Nché and Co coming up, for the first time since RWC 2023, against French front-row bruisers Dorian Aldegheri, Peato Mauvaka and Cyril Baille.
It is a challenge that Nché is fizzing to accept.
“The French Top 14 is all about scrummaging and the set piece,” he says.
“Toulouse boast a brilliant pack, as they have shown in the Top 14. Based on form, they’re probably the best team in the competition at the moment.
“What I do remember about our scrum encounters with the French is that they’re very adaptable. They have many tricks up their sleeve; they have a system that works for them and they don’t deviate much from that.
“They work together well and challenge one at scrum time. You might gain the upper hand in one scrum, but in the very next one, they’ll hit back.
“There’s no doubt that they have a formidable set piece and they want to dominate you physically.”
That is what the Hollywoodbets Sharks can expect. With the French, however, there is always the unexpected to contend with too.
“Toulouse have a lot of internationals and, naturally, they play according to the French DNA,” Nché says.
“They play with typical French flair, doing the unexpected. We have a number of internationals who have often played against those guys, so we’ll have to rely quite a bit on our experience of competing with France.
“It is pretty much a case of a lot of French DNA versus a lot of Springbok DNA.”
To be sure, the Hollywoodbets Sharks will rely heavily today on the Springbok DNA of Ox Nché, who last year simply reinforced
his status as the most lethal loosehead in the business. In fact, so authoritative were his performances for South Africa during 2024 in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship and Autumn Nations Series that Britain’s Independent newspaper expressed its surprise over the fact that Nché had not been nominated for World Rugby’s Player of the Year award.
“Loosehead Nche had appeared to be among the standout candidates for the award after an outstanding year at international level,” The Independent observed.
HOLLYWOODBETS SHARKS PLAYER PROFILES
OX NCHE
BORN: 23/07/1995 HEIGHT: 1.76 m
WEIGHT: 117KG
BORN: 27/05/2002
HEIGHT: 2.03 m WEIGHT: 105KG
MANU TSHITUKA
BORN: 22/06/1996 HEIGHT: 1.74m
BORN: 07/01/1991 HEIGHT: 1.87 m WEIGHT: 105KG
BORN: 02/12/1995 HEIGHT: 2.03 m WEIGHT: 124KG
SIYA KOLISI (C)
BORN: 16/06/1991 HEIGHT: 1.86m WEIGHT: 77KG WEIGHT: 105KG
BORN: 14/03/2000 HEIGHT: 1.82 m
WEIGHT: 122KG
BORN: 16/06/2000 HEIGHT: 1.96m WEIGHT: 106KG
JADEN HENDRIKSE
BORN: 23/03/2000 HEIGHT: 1.79m WEIGHT: 87KG
JORDAN HENDRIKSE FRANCOIS VENTER
BORN: 01/10/1996 HEIGHT: 1.81 m WEIGHT: 86KG
BORN: 26/07/1990 HEIGHT: 1.84m
BORN:19/04/1991 HEIGHT: 1.85 m WEIGHT: 93KG
HOLLYWOODBETS SHARKS PLAYER PROFILES
BORN: 20/01/2003 HEIGHT: 1.94 m WEIGHT: 98KG
BORN: 15/01/1999 HEIGHT: 1.83 m
BORN: 03/04/1997 HEIGHT: 1.81 m WEIGHT: 82KG
WEIGHT: 106KG
BORN: 17/07/1999 HEIGHT: 1.92m
WEIGHT: 104KG
BORN: 16/09/1990 HEIGHT: 1.85 m
BORN: 02/02/2003 HEIGHT: 1.83 m WEIGHT: 90KG
WEIGHT: 115KG
BORN: 10/11/1998 HEIGHT: 1.95m
BORN: 30/07/2002 HEIGHT: 1.76m WEIGHT: 79KG
WEIGHT: 107KG
BORN: 04/05/1989 HEIGHT: 1.78m
WEIGHT: 121KG TREVOR
BORN: 17/01/2003 HEIGHT: 1.91m
BORN: 11/05/2004 HEIGHT: 1.78 m
WEIGHT: 96KG
WEIGHT: 103KG
ETHAN HOOKER
DYLAN RICHARDSON
RUAN DREYER
LAPPIES LABUSCHAGNE
VINCENT TSHITUKA
NICK HATTON
YAW PENXE
HAKEEM KUNENE
HOLLYWOODBETS SHARKS
HAKEEM KUNENE
YAW PENXE
ETHAN HOOKER
FRANCOIS VENTER
MAKAZOLE MAPIMPI
JORDAN HENDRIKSE
JADEN HENDRIKSE
SIYA KOLISI (C)
MANU TSHITUKA
PHEPSI BUTHELEZI
JASON JENKINS
CORNE RAHL
VINCENT KOCH
BONGI MBONAMBI
OX NCHE
DYLAN RICHARDSON
JOHN PLUMTREE
MANAGER
TREVOR BARNES HEAD COACH
RUAN DREYER
TREVOR NYAKANE
JEANDRE LABUSCHAGNE
VINCENT TSHITUKA
NICHOLAS HATTON
BRADLEY DAVIDS
JURENZO JULIUS
KICK OFF 17H15
REFEREE
LUKE PEARCE
STADE TOULOUSAIN
THOMAS RAMOS
BLAIR KINGHORN
PIERRE-LOUIS BARASSI
SANTIAGO CHOCOBARES
MATTHIS LEBEL
ROMAIN NTAMACK
ANTOINE DUPONT (C)
JACK WILLIS
ANTHONY JELONCH
FRANÇOIS CROS
EMMANUEL MEAFOU
THIBAUD FLAMENT
DORIAN ALDEGHERI
PEATO MAUVAKA
RODRIGUE NETI
JULIEN MARCHAND
CYRIL BAILLE
ASSISTANT REFEREES
ADAM
STADE TOULOUSAIN PLAYER PROFILES
BORN: 26/04/1995 HEIGHT: 1.85m WEIGHT: 124KG
BORN: 28/08/1997 HEIGHT: 1.96 m
WEIGHT: 119KG
BORN: 28/07/1996 HEIGHT: 1.93m WEIGHT: 105KG
BORN: 10/01/1997 HEIGHT: 1.83
WEIGHT: 124KG
BORN: 12/07/1998 HEIGHT: 2.03 m
WEIGHT: 145KG
BORN: 24/12/1996 HEIGHT: 1.91m
BORN: 04/08/1993 HEIGHT: 1.80m
WEIGHT: 119KG
BORN: 25/03/1994 HEIGHT: 1.91 m
WEIGHT: 107KG
WEIGHT: 116KG
BORN: 01/05/1999 HEIGHT: 1.85m
BORN: 15/11/1996 HEIGHT: 1.75m WEIGHT: 85KG
BORN: 25/03/1999 HEIGHT: 1.85m
WEIGHT: 91KG WEIGHT: 86KG
BORN: 31/03/1999 HEIGHT: 1.89m WEIGHT: 96KG
FRANÇOIS CROS
JACK WILLIS
PEATO MAUVAKA
DORIAN ALDEGHERI
EMMANUEL MEAFOU
ANTOINE DUPONT (C)
RODRIGUE NETI
THIBAUD FLAMENT
ANTHONY JELONCH
STADE TOULOUSAIN PLAYER PROFILES
BORN: 22/04/1998 HEIGHT: 1.88m WEIGHT: 93KG
BORN: 10/05/1995 HEIGHT: 1.80m
BORN: 16/08/2002 HEIGHT: 1.91m
BORN: 18/01/1997 HEIGHT: 1.93m WEIGHT: 105KG
BORN:25/10/2001 HEIGHT: 1.93m
BORN:23/071995 HEIGHT: 1.78m
WEIGHT: 87KG
BORN: 31/01/2000 HEIGHT: 1.88m
100KG WEIGHT: 100KG
BORN: 05/06/2002 HEIGHT: 1.88m
BORN: 11/09/1996 HEIGHT: 1.83m
BORN: 25/07/1997 HEIGHT: 1.78m
BORN: 30/04/1999 HEIGHT: 1.78m
WEIGHT: 88KG
LEO BANOS
JOSHUA BRENNAN
BLAIR KINGHORN
PIERRE-LOUIS BARASSI
THOMAS RAMOS
CYRIL BAILLE
JULIEN MARCHAND
JOEL MERKLER
JUAN CRUZ MALLIA
PAUL GRAOU
PROUD SPONSOR OF THE SHARKS
MAJOR MATCHUP KOLISI VS WILLIS
Siya Kolisi is renowned as the most decorated Springbok captain of all time, having piloted South Africa to back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles. He has done so from the side of the Bok scrum as one of the leading openside flankers in world rugby and is closing in on a century of caps in the green and gold.
Recently, though, Hollywoodbets Sharks coach John Plumtree has shifted Kolisi to No. 8, where he has excelled as a dynamic ball carrier. According to Plumtree, Kolisi (33) is such a skilful and intelligent footballer that the back of the scrum might prove to be his long-term future.
Equally at home anywhere across the back row, Jack Willis will be operating at No. 8 for today’s “Clash of the Champions”.
The England loose forward has been in superlative form this season for Toulouse, putting in one powerhouse performance after another. He is ferocious in the tackle, difficult to stop with the ball in hand and a terror at the breakdown.
Since joining Toulouse, Willis has helped his adopted club to the Champions Cup and Top 14 double in 2023/24.
He boasts 14 caps for England, but the RFU ban on selecting overseasbased players has prevented him from adding to that tally since RWC 2023.
STATS & TRIVIA
BIENVENUE AU SHARK TANK FACTS,
Today marks a special occasion as the Hollywoodbets Sharks wel-come to Durban, for the very first time, the undisputed kings of Euro-pean rugby, Stade Toulousain. The French powerhouse can be brand-ed the “Real Madrid” of Rugby Union, and rightfully so…
Did you know:
* Founded in 1907, Toulouse reached the final of the French Championship (now Top 14) a mere two years later and would go on to establish themselves as the most successful Euro-pean rugby outfit by winning a record 23 Top 14 and six Investec Champions Cup (previ-ously Heineken Cup) titles.
* Toulouse won the inaugural Heineken Cup in 1996, seeing off Cardiff 21-18 at Arms Park. Thereafter, they clinched the Champions Cup a further five times, in 2003, 2005, 2010, 2021 and, most recently, 2024.
* Frédéric Michalak, France’s top points-scorer of all time (422 points in 74 tests), holds the record as the individual player who has won the most Champions Cup titles (6). Michalak, who also won the Currie Cup with the Sharks in 2008, boasts three winners' medals each with Toulouse and Toulon.
* Other notable former Toulouse representatives include Fabian Pelous, France’s most-capped player of all time (118 caps), and the legendary Jean-Pierre Rives, who captained France with such panache and pluck from 1978 to 1984.
INVESTEC CHAMPIONS CUP FIXTURES / RESULTS
HOLLYWOODBETS SHARKS VS EXETER CHIEFS | 39 - 21
LEICESTER TIGERS VS HOLLYWOODBETS SHARKS | 56 - 17
HOLLYWOODBETS SHARKS VS STADE TOULOUSAIN
UNION BORDEAUX-BEGLES VS HOLLYWOODBETS SHARKS
HOME HOLLYWOODBETS KINGS PARK, DURBAN
AWAY MATTIOLI WOODS WELFORD ROAD STADIUM HOME HOLLYWOODBETS KINGS PARK, DURBAN
AWAY STADE CHABAN-DELMAS
