Jonathan ‘Fox’ Davies has named the club he believes can spring a major shock by being crowned winners of the Investec Champions Cup this season.
One nation has dominated club rugby’s premier competition since Exeter Chiefs became the most recent non-French team to lift the trophy in the Covid year of 2020.
Union Bordeaux Bégles have won the last two editions and are fancied by many to match Toulon’s achievement in winning three in a row. Toulouse are bookies’ favourites to land an unprecedented seventh star, while nobody is ruling out La Rochelle, back-to-back winners in 2022 and 2023.
Wales legend Davies needs no reminding of the strength of the French challenge having spent two years playing in the Top 14 for Clermont Auvergne.
Saints backed
But the British and Irish Lions midfield great has an alternative take on who he thinks can lift the trophy in Lyon next May and he is prepared to put his money where his mouth is.
“The way they have started the season, I’d put a fiver on Northampton,” Davies says. “The manner in which they are attacking, the tries they are scoring, I’d enjoy watching how that fiver goes.”
Last weekend the English champions outgunned Bath 71-48, scoring 11 tries to emphatically win a repeat of last season’s Gallagher PREM final. In three league games they have crossed the try line 24 times.
“We talk about French flair and how their top teams are able to stay on top and Bordeaux last year were incredible, how once they got momentum, they were able to keep it constantly until they scored,” adds the Premier Sports pundit.
“Northampton are in that vein at the moment. Obviously the big French teams have deeper pockets and so tend to have greater strength in depth. But Saints have an extremely strong squad and one of the best attacking teams in the whole tournament.
“For me, they have the ability to go toe to toe with any French team.”
European champions in 2000, Northampton have twice reached the final since, losing narrowly to Leinster in 2011 and Bordeaux in 2025.
Northampton have 18 months more experience since the last of those two defeats. Henry Pollock has emerged as an international force, Tommy Freeman is one of the world’s best finishers, Fin Smith and Alex Mitchell (or even Archie McParland) are half-backs of the highest order.
“Phil Dowson and Sam Vesty have done such a great job in upskilling the whole squad,” Davies says. “They apply relentless pressure. You want to get to them but their skill set is so high.”
All in all, not the ideal opponents for Wales’ sole Investec Champions Cup qualifier to face first up, at Franklin’s Gardens on Sunday, though Saints have elected to take on Cardiff without Freeman and Pollock and play Smith and Fraser Dingwall only off the bench.
It is 30 years since Wales’ capital club reached the inaugural Heineken Cup final. Since then the only Welsh representation in a final has come when the country has staged the showpiece.
Few expect Cardiff to buck that trend, even if they have made an encouraging start in the United Rugby Championship.
The likelihood of the Welsh making more of an impression on the tournament as a whole, however, is high, given the impact Wales stars have had on the opening weekends of the Gallagher PREM.
Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan sit on top of the table with Gloucester, Aaron Wainwright, Tommy Reffell and Gabe Hamer-Webb have lit up Leicester, Tomos Williams has hit the ground running at Saracens and Louis Rees-Zammit is back to his pre-NFL best in the colours of Bristol.
Davies says: “Some of our best players have left the country and whilst that is sad for the Welsh regions, they are showcasing their talents in what is one of the best leagues in the world.
Welsh stars shining
“They probably feel they’re out of the uncertainty that clouds Welsh rugby, and that has given them a freedom to go out and express themselves and enjoy their rugby.
“Tomos is surrounded with some world-class operators at Saracens that will increase his talent, put him on another level in terms of expectancy.
“Owen Farrell was one of the best players I ever played with. Tomos will see how Owen operates in the week, how he goes about his business and learn from that.
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“Dewi and Jac at Gloucester are already leaders for Wales. But the test they have week in, week out in the Gallagher is sure to elevate their individual games.”
All of which should spell good news for Wales when Steve Tandy gets the squad together later this month ahead of Nations Championship games with Japan, New Zealand and Australia.
“And I believe it will,” continues Davies, on punditry duty this weekend at Clermont, Stade Francais and La Rochelle. “I know from personal experience how much I grew from playing outside Wales, both in France and for the Lions.”
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