"Portugal and Pontypridd" - Teams you totally forgot competed in the EPCR Challenge Cup

In a move that couples with World Rugby's ambition to grow the game, the upcoming 30th edition of the competition will once again feature the inclusion of a Georgian club side. Black Lion are one of two invited teams for this year's competition, along with returning South African outfit the Toyota Cheetahs.

The 2025/26 EPCR Challenge Cup kicks off this weekend, with club sides from the URC, PREM Rugby and Top 14 all set for a fierce opening round. In this article, we take a look back upon a collection of teams from the history of the tournament that have not fallen to the annals of history. Lets take a look back at six forgotten Challenge Cup sides throughout history

November's meeting between URC powerhouses Munster Rugby and an uncapped XV of Argentina, reminded rugby fans on the exciting novelty of watching a national team take on domestic club sides. Back in the 1998/99 European Challenge Cup, English and Scottish clubs withdrew from the competition, which in result saw the tournament expand it's reach.

This list starts out with a double header, as in 1998, A Spain XV and Portugal XV were included for the Challenge Cup. However, due to the scarce competition records (and photos), it is unclear as to whether these sides were recognised as official national teams, or an invitational side akin to the 'New Zealand XV' which took on the Barbarians last year.

Spain XV went into Pool 1 and Portugal XV were drawn into Pool 3 for the re-constructed European Challenge Cup. The competition's third iteration saw three expanded pools of seven teams, with Portugal XV suffering six consecutive defeats in a row. Some of the defeats were rather emphatic, as Portugal XV lost their opening match to French side Brive 85-7.

The remainder of Portugal XV's campaign saw them well beaten by an additional trio of French sides; Biarritz (62-11), Pau (78-0) and Agen (81-13), as well as a high-scoring loss to Welsh club Bridgend (45-24) and a narrow defeat to Romanian side Dinamo-București (23-18).

Spain XV also lost six straight matches, in what is was a failed venture to branch European club rugby to the Iberian Peninsula. The Spaniards suffered similarly dramatic defeats to the French quartet of Bourgoin (55-10), Castres (61-15), Montferrand (88-13) and Dax (41-0), as well as closer losses to Italians Roma (25-21) and Welsh club Aberavon (18-6).

Former leading side in the French top division, CS Bourgoin-Jallieu hold the unique accolade of being the first ever winners of the European Challenge Cup. The first ever Challenge Cup was launched alongside the debuting Champions Cup in 1997, with the French sides out to dominate the secondary European competition. Following the blue-washed pool stages, seven of the eight quarter-finalists were French clubs, with the lonesome Northampton Saints out to maintain the reputation of the Premiership.

The Saints were soon dispatched by now Pro Rugby D2 side Narbonne, for an all-French final four. Bourgoin sent Narbonne out of the competition, and a date with Castres Olympique was set to determine the first ever winner of the newly founded 'European Shield.' Bourgoin claimed the first-ever honours, after an 18-9 triumph in Beziers.

Bourgoin would be back in the final two years later, yet could only bring runners-up medals home against a powerful Montferrand (today's Clermont Auvergne). A third trip to the final in 2009 saw Bourgoin defeated by Northampton Saints, with financial trouble set to come in the early 2010s. Bourgoin entered financial difficulties, and began to slip down the leagues, to the point where the side now currently plays in the French third division, Ligue Nationale.

Before the Challenge Cup's Welsh representatives came solely from the Pro12 and later the United Rugby Championship, Pontypridd had a phenomenal run in the early 2000s. The Welsh side was added from the Celtic League in 2001, after failing to earn a spot in the Champions Cup.

Pontypridd topped their group with four wins in six games, seeing off Leeds Tykes, Beziers and Parma to secure a spot in the knock-out stages. What followed was a defining 17-15 victory against a plucky Saracens side, before a thrilling 33-27 classic took the Welshmen past London Irish and into the final.

Pontypridd were unsuccessful in their third fixture against Premiership opposition, as they were beaten by Sale Sharks in a narrow 25-22 finale. Momentum was with Pontypridd, having just won the Welsh Principality Cup, yet they could not get their hands on what was then oddly called the 'Parker Pen Shield.'

Now, has the dust settled for long enough for Wasps to be added to a list of 'forgotten' teams? As we gear up for another European season to not feature Wasps, the upcoming campaign will lack a certain buzz, following the financial collapse of the notable absentees back in 2022. Wasps' heroics in the early days of the early 2000s Premiership and Champions Cup are well documented, however the black and yellow's also claimed Challenge Cup glory back in 2003.

Then known as London Wasps, a sub-par 2001/02 Premiership season saw the side finished seventh and earn a spot in the Challenge Cup. These were bizarre circumstances, given Wasps would go on to win three back-to-back Premiership titles in the coming years. Yet Wasps had to start somewhere, as they marked this new era of success with the 2002/03 European Challenge Cup and Premiership double.

Outclassing the opposition for much of the tournament, Wasps recorded a 82-24 aggregate win over Parma, before a similarly emphatic 72-29 double-legged triumph against Bordeaux-Begles. Wasps continued to walk the tournament, despatching Stade Francais and Pontypridd, before a showdown with age-old Premiership rivals Bath. The final saw Wasps topple their old enemy, in a 48-30 belter.

Romanian club Dinamo-Bucuresti were an essential part of mapping out the European Challenge Cup's initial growth to tier two and tier three nations. In 1996, The Bulldogs made history, as along with Italian side Petrarca, they became the first clubs from outside of the 'Five Nations' to participate in a top European club competition. Bucuresti had an impressive run in the first ever 'Challenge Shield', and recorded the best performance from any Romanian side.

Despite back-to-back defeats to French duo Narbonne and Castres, Dinamo rallied back and recorded the first points for a non tier one club side. Bucuresti played Bridgend to a 24-24 draw, before a monumental 38-31 victory over another Welsh club, Treorchy. Their most stunning victory came in the final round of the Pool stages, as they triumphed 19-18 over Bristol, putting Romanian rugby on the map.

A third placed pool stage finish was respectable, given the unrelenting dominance of Narbonne and eventual finalists Castres. Dinamo-Bucuresti would return to the European Challenge Cup the following year, before trading the spot with the likes of local rivals Steaua Bucuresti. Dinomo were eventually withdrawn in 2005, with newly formed Bucuresti Rugby pursuing European endeavours on behalf of Romania, with players selected for this invitational side in 'Lions Tour' style.