The 2018–19 European Rugby Challenge Cup is the fifth edition of the
European Rugby Challenge Cup, an annual second-tier
rugby union competition for professional clubs. Including the predecessor competition, the original European Challenge Cup, this is the 23rd edition of European club rugby's second-tier competition. Clubs from five of the nations that participate in the
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ar ...
(
Scotland being the only exception), along with club-sides from
Romania and
Russia, are competing.
The first round of the group stage began on 12 October 2018, and the competition will end with the final on 10 May 2019 in
Newcastle upon Tyne,
United Kingdom.
This will be the second time the final will be held in
England in the era of the current Challenge Cup, and the 12th including finals of the original Challenge Cup.
Teams
A total of 20 teams qualified for the 2018–19 European Rugby Challenge Cup; 18 qualified from across the
Gallagher Premiership
Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
,
Guinness Pro14 and
Top 14, as a direct result of their domestic league performance, with two qualifying through the Continental Shield competition. Subject to the allocation of the 20th place in the
2018–19 Champions Cup as per EPCR rules,
the distribution of teams was:
* England: five teams
** Any teams finishing between 8th and 11th position in the