Top Five Investec Champions Cup Grounds: Sensational Fans And Atmospheres

The flair. The fans. The fireworks.

Some of the best parts about the game of rugby don’t technically involve the sport at all. In fact, oftentimes, it’s a fanbase or a stadium that helps make a mammoth matchday special, giving the home venue a festival-like atmosphere in which the environment feels like a big deal — because it is.

Certain clubs around the world do it better than others, though, whether that’s due to unique locations, loud and proud support, elite-level rugby or some combination of the three. 

Every rugby fan has a stadium bucket list, but for some fans of the sport, what may be others’ must-go spot is their home ground, where they add to the atmosphere themselves with every home matchday.

Prepare the vocal chords and get your food and drink in hand. Let’s take a trip around the globe to find the top places to watch a match in this year’s Champions Cup. You might discover a new favorite along the way.

Here’s a look at five of the best grounds to watch a rugby match among this year’s Champions Cup entrants, spread far and wide across the world with rich histories and atmospheres:

Stade Mayol, Toulon

Though many stadiums in France require at least some travel for many home supporters, as they’re based away from city centers, Stade Mayol is instead a jewel of Toulon itself and located in the heart of the city on the Mediterranean coast. 

Communal buildings surround the ground, making it truly a part of the community in Toulon, rather than an extension of it; Mont Faron overlooking the action is merely an added bonus to the already-stunning views. 

Holding around 17,300 people at capacity, it often feels much bigger on a raucous Toulon matchday and gets outright rabid whenever the home support breaks out into the ear-splitting “Pilou Pilou” chant before each match, describing the club’s players as savage warriors arriving from the mountains to the sea. 

It has been the home ground at one point or another of some of rugby’s greatest players, such as legendary English fly-half Jonny Wilkinson, powerful All Blacks center Ma’a Nonu and many others, and the fans’ passion has been rewarded with plenty of domestic and continental accolades recently, to boot, most notably Toulon’s three-peat of Champions Cup titles from 2013-2015, a Top 14 title in 2014 and a Challenge Cup win in 2023.

The Recreation Ground, Bath

Is The Recreation Ground’s facilities worth salivating over? Hardly. Will you be treated to world-class amenities upon your visit to the venue, located in a city of under 100,000 people in the southwest of England? Not really, unless you’re hitting the spas nearby before or after the match. 

But the history and true community aspect of The Recreation Ground has few equals in world rugby, and it is beloved by much of its home support for those reasons.

The home of Bath Rugby since 1894 (frequently called “The Rec” for short), the roughly 14,500-seat stadium is nestled in the center of the…