European Rugby Challenge Cup

Last updated

European Rugby Challenge Cup
Current season or competition:
Rugby football current event.svg 2021–22 European Rugby Challenge Cup
European Rugby Challenge Cup Logo.png
Sport Rugby union
Inaugural season1996
Number of teams15
NationsFlag of England.svg  England
Flag of France.svg  France
IRFU flag.svg Ireland
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales
Holders Flag of France.svg Montpellier (2nd title) (2020–21)
Most titles Flag of France.svg Clermont
Flag of England.svg Harlequins (3 titles)
Website EPCR website
Related competitions European Rugby Champions Cup
European Rugby Continental Shield

The European Rugby Challenge Cup is an annual European rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). [1] It is the second-tier competition for European clubs behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception in 1996 to 2014, it was known as the European Challenge Cup and governed by European Rugby Cup (ERC). Following disagreements in the structure of the tournament's format and division of revenue, the English and French leagues withdrew to form the EPCR, which organized the Challenge Cup and the Champions Cup since the 2014–15 season. [2]

Contents

The Challenge Cup is currently contested between 15 teams; all of which qualify from the three main European domestic leagues (Premiership Rugby, Top 14, and United Rugby Championship).

Montpellier are the current Challenge Cup holders, having won the 2020–21 European Rugby Challenge Cup.

Format

Qualification

15 teams qualified for the European Rugby Challenge Cup in 2021–22.

All of these teams automatically qualified from the English Premiership Rugby, the French Top 14 and the United Rugby Championship.

Continental Shield

Until 2019–20 the 19th and 20th teams qualified via a Qualifying Competition, organised by European Professional Club Rugby and Rugby Europe. [3]

For the 2014–15 season, this took the form of 2 two-legged play-off matches, with the aggregate winner of each taking one of the two Rugby Europe spots in the draw, and it involved the 2 best teams from Italy's Top12, plus a Romanian and Georgian selections. [4]

An expanded format, which was expected to feature more matches and more nations, for qualification into the 2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup, and subsequent seasons, was expected to be announced 15 September 2014. [5] [6] However, on 5 September 2014, it was announced that no such competition would take place during the 2014–15 season, and negotiations continue to create the new competition as soon as possible. [7]

Subsequently, on 22 December 2014, EPCR announced negotiations for a new format for the competition had now been completed, and the Qualifying Competition for entry into the 2015–16 Challenge Cup would begin in January. [8]

The expanded format includes clubs from Rugby Europe member unions Russia, Spain and Portugal alongside representatives from the Italian Eccellenza, and is being jointly organised by EPCR, Rugby Europe, and the Federazione Italiana Rugby (FIR).

The teams in the competition are split into two pools. Each team participates in a pool stage, before the two pool winners compete in a two-legged play-off against the teams currently competing in the Challenge Cup from the previous season.

The winners, on aggregate, of these two play-offs will take up the two final places in the Challenge Cup. [8]

In 2017, the competition was rebranded as the European Rugby Continental Shield, and introduced a final to be held as part of the main finals weekend and contested by the two play-off winners. [9]

Competition

Group stage

For the pool stage there are three pools of five teams. The teams are ranked based on domestic league performance the previous season, and arranged into three tiers of five teams. Teams are then drawn from the tiers into pools at random. [10]

Teams will play the other four teams in the pool once only, at home or away, and match points will be awarded depending on the result of each game, with teams receiving four points for a win, and two for a draw. Teams can also earn 1 try bonus point for scoring four or more tries, and 1 losing bonus point for losing a match by seven points or fewer. [11]

Following the completion of the pool stage, the top three in each pool and the best ranked fourth placed team qualify for the knock-out stage. They are joined in the round of 16 by the teams placed 9th to 11th in each Champions Cup pool. [3]

Knock-out stage

The eight quarter-finalists are ranked – pool winners from 1 to 5, and runners-up from 6 to 8 – based on performance in their respective pool. The four pool winners with the best pool record receive home advantage for the quarter-finals against one of the four lower-ranked teams, in a 1v8, 2v7, 3v6, 4v5 format. Unlike the later formats of the old European Challenge Cup, no teams will drop down into the competition from the Champions Cup.

The winners of the quarter-finals will contest the two semi-finals, the semi-final matches will be determined by criteria, and the winners of the semi-finals will contest the final, which is usually held in May. [12]

2020 / 2021 Season

Because of the Coronavirus Pandemic the 2020/2021 competition took on a revised format.

2020–21 European Rugby Challenge Cup

Finals

European Challenge Cup Finals
SeasonCountryWinnersScoreRunners-upCountryVenueAttendance
1996–97 Flag of France.svg  France Bourgoin 18–9 Castres Flag of France.svg  France Flag of France.svg Stade de la Méditerranée, Béziers 10,000
1997–98 Flag of France.svg  France Colomiers 43–5 Agen Flag of France.svg  France Flag of France.svg Stade des Sept Deniers, Toulouse 12,500
1998–99 Flag of France.svg  France Montferrand 35–16 Bourgoin Flag of France.svg  France Flag of France.svg Stade de Gerland, Lyon 31,986
1999–00 Flag of France.svg  France Pau 34–21 Castres Flag of France.svg  France Flag of France.svg Stade des Sept Deniers, Toulouse 6,000
2000–01 Flag of England.svg  England Harlequins 42–33 Narbonne Flag of France.svg  France Flag of England.svg Madejski Stadium, Reading 10,013
2001–02 Flag of England.svg  England Sale 25–22 Pontypridd Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales Flag of England.svg Kassam Stadium, Oxford 12,000
2002–03 Flag of England.svg  England Wasps 48–30 Bath Flag of England.svg  England Flag of England.svg Madejski Stadium, Reading 18,074
2003–04 Flag of England.svg  England Harlequins 27–26 Montferrand Flag of France.svg  France Flag of England.svg Madejski Stadium, Reading 13,123
2004–05 Flag of England.svg  England Sale 27–3 Pau Flag of France.svg  France Flag of England.svg Kassam Stadium, Oxford 7,230
2005–06 Flag of England.svg  England Gloucester 36–34 (aet) London Irish Flag of England.svg  England Flag of England.svg The Stoop, London 12,053
2006–07 Flag of France.svg  France Clermont 22–16 Bath Flag of England.svg  England Flag of England.svg The Stoop, London 10,134
2007–08 Flag of England.svg  England Bath 24–16 Worcester Flag of England.svg  England Flag of England.svg Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester 16,157
2008–09 Flag of England.svg  England Northampton 15–3 Bourgoin Flag of France.svg  France Flag of England.svg The Stoop, London 9,260
2009–10 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales Cardiff 28–21 Toulon Flag of France.svg  France Flag of France.svg Stade Vélodrome, Marseille 48,990 [13]
2010–11 Flag of England.svg  England Harlequins 19–18 Stade Français Flag of France.svg  France Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff 12,236 [14]
2011–12 Flag of France.svg  France Biarritz 21–18 Toulon Flag of France.svg  France Flag of England.svg The Stoop, London 9,376 [15]
2012–13 IRFU flag.svg Ireland Leinster 34–13 Stade Français Flag of France.svg  France IRFU flag.svg RDS Arena, Dublin [16] 20,396 [17]
2013–14 Flag of England.svg  England Northampton 30–16 Bath Flag of England.svg  England Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff 12,483 [18]
European Rugby Challenge Cup Finals
SeasonCountryWinnersScoreRunners-upCountryVenueAttendance
2014–15 Flag of England.svg  England Gloucester 19–13 Edinburgh Flag of Scotland.svg  Scotland Flag of England.svg The Twickenham Stoop, London 14,316
2015–16 Flag of France.svg  France Montpellier 26–19 Harlequins Flag of England.svg  England Flag of France.svg Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Lyon 28,556
2016–17 Flag of France.svg  France Stade Français 25–17 Gloucester Flag of England.svg  England Flag of Scotland.svg Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 24,494
2017–18 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales Cardiff 31–30 Gloucester Flag of England.svg  England Flag of Spain.svg San Mamés, Bilbao 32,543
2018–19 Flag of France.svg  France Clermont 36–16 La Rochelle Flag of France.svg  France Flag of England.svg St James' Park, Newcastle 28,438
2019–20 Flag of England.svg  England Bristol 32–19 Toulon Flag of France.svg  France Flag of France.svg Stade Maurice David, Aix-en-Provence [lower-alpha 1] 1,000
2020–21 Flag of France.svg  France Montpellier 18–17 Leicester Flag of England.svg  England Flag of England.svg Twickenham Stadium, London [lower-alpha 2] 10,000 [lower-alpha 3]
2021–22 Flag of France.svg Stade de Marseille, Marseille
2022–23 Flag of England.svg Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London

Wins by club

ClubWonRunner-upYears wonYears runner-up
Flag of France.svg Clermont 31 1998–99, 2006–07, 2018–19 2003–04
Flag of England.svg Harlequins 31 2000–01, 2003–04, 2010–11 2015–16
Flag of England.svg Gloucester 22 2005–06, 2014–15 2016–17, 2017–18
Flag of England.svg Sale 20 2001–02, 2004–05
Flag of England.svg Northampton 20 2008–09, 2013–14
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Cardiff 20 2009–10, 2017–18
Flag of France.svg Montpellier 20 2015–16, 2020–21
Flag of England.svg Bath 13 2007–08 2002–03, 2006–07, 2013–14
Flag of France.svg Bourgoin 12 1996–97 1998–99, 2008–09
Flag of France.svg Stade Français 12 2016–17 2010–11, 2012–13
Flag of France.svg Pau 11 1999–00 2004–05
Flag of France.svg Colomiers 10 1997–98
Flag of England.svg Wasps 10 2002–03
Flag of France.svg Biarritz 10 2011–12
IRFU flag.svg Leinster 10 2012–13
Flag of England.svg Bristol 10 2019–20
Flag of France.svg Toulon 03 2009–10, 2011–12, 2019–20
Flag of France.svg Castres 02 1996–97, 1999–00
Flag of France.svg Agen 01 1997–98
Flag of France.svg Narbonne 01 2000–01
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Pontypridd 01 2001–02
Flag of England.svg London Irish 01 2005–06
Flag of England.svg Worcester 01 2007–08
Flag of Scotland.svg Edinburgh 01 2014–15
Flag of France.svg La Rochelle 01 2018–19
Flag of England.svg Leicester 01 2020–21

Wins by nation

NationWinnersRunners-up
Flag of England.svg England 129
Flag of France.svg France 1014
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales 21
IRFU flag.svg Ireland 10
Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland 01

History

European Challenge Cup

1996–1999

The Challenge Cup logo used while the tournament was sponsored by Amlin Amlin Challenge Cup logo.png
The Challenge Cup logo used while the tournament was sponsored by Amlin

European rugby competition began with the launch of the Heineken Cup in the summer of 1995.

The Challenge Cup began as the 'European Conference' (later renamed the European Shield) in 1996 with 24 teams from England, France, Italy, Romania, Scotland and Wales divided into four groups of six. All seven of the French teams made it to the quarter-finals with English club Northampton Saints filling the other berth. Predictably, the final was an all-French affair with Bourgoin beating Castres Olympique 18–9 to win the shield.

The following year's competition had an increased entry with eight groups of four teams. Colomiers continued the French dominance of the European Shield, defeating Agen 43–5 in the final.

The absence of English and Scottish clubs in 1998–99 saw the competition reduced to 21 teams divided into three groups of seven teams with representative sides of Spain and Portugal taking part. Once again, a French team was triumphant, with Montferrand beating Bourgoin 35–16 in the final held in Lyon.

With English and Scottish clubs back in the competition in 1999, there were 28 teams split in seven groups of four and London Irish and Bristol reached the semi-finals of the competition, but couldn't prevent another all-French final with Section Paloise crowned champions after a 34–21 defeat of Castres.

2000–2006

The competition structure remained unchanged for the 2000–01 season, although no team from Romania participated. The semi-final draw was an all-English and all-French affair to leave Harlequins and Narbonne contesting the first final on English soil. Harlequins ended French dominance of the European Shield, defeating RC Narbonne 27–26 after extra time in the final.

There was a new sponsor and a name change in 2001. The new Parker Pen Shield saw 32 teams divided into eight groups of four competing for the title. For the first time there were two Spanish club teams (Valladolid RAC and UC Madrid) and Romania was represented. Only one French club reached the quarter-finals along with five English and two from Wales and for the first time no French club reached the semi-finals after Pau lost to London Irish. For the first time, a Welsh team, Pontypridd, made it to the final but Sale Sharks emerged victorious, coming from behind to win 25–22 at the Kassam Stadium in Oxford.

The league format was abandoned in 2002 and the tournament became a knock-out competition. This involved 32 clubs from eight nations, half of them seeded and drawn against an un-seeded team on a home and away basis. The name Parker Pen Shield was now applied to a reprechage knock-out tournament for those teams that did not qualify for the second round of the Challenge Cup. The Parker Pen Challenge Cup winner now automatically qualified for the Heineken Cup. London Wasps beat Bath 48–30 to win the renamed Parker Pen Challenge Cup at the Madejski Stadium, Reading.

In 2003–04, the Welsh Rugby Union voted to create regions to play in the Celtic League and represent Wales in European competition. Henceforce Wales entered regional sides rather than the club sides which had previously competed. With a reduction from nine professional clubs to just five, there was no Welsh entry in that year's competition. Romania also did not take part in the Challenge Cup. Harlequins won the cup with a 27–26 last-second victory over Montferrand at the Madejski Stadium to become the first side to win the tournament twice.

Sale eased to victory in the 2005 final 27–3 over a disappointing Pau side. In 2006, Gloucester edged out London Irish 36–34 after extra time.

The Parker Pen Shield was abandoned in 2005 due to restructuring of the European Challenge Cup. The competition reverted to being a league format followed by knock-out phase with five pools of four teams and home and away matches. Romanian interest returned to the competition in the form of București Rugby who had been formed to represent Romania in European competition, however, there was no representation from Spain or Portugal.

2006–2009

Clermont were the first French winners of the title for seven years after they beat Bath in the 2006–07 competition; Clermont also reached the Top 14 final this year after finishing poorly the previous couple of years.

Beaten 2007 finalists Bath won the 2007–08 tournament after beating fellow English club Worcester Warriors in the final in Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester. Spanish representation resumed in the 2007–08 Challenge Cup when Spanish Champions CR El Salvador took part.

Northampton Saints won the 2009 final after beating Bourgoin 15–3 at the Twickenham Stoop; that season Northampton avoided relegation, they finished 2nd in the regular season of the Guinness Premiership, reached the Heineken Cup quarter-finals and won the Anglo-Welsh Cup the next season. Northampton became the eighth English club to win the competition in 9 seasons.

2010–2014

The competition organiser, European Rugby Cup, announced several changes to the Challenge Cup effective in 2009–10: [19]

  • Only the five pool winners will qualify for the knockout stage of the competition. They will be joined by three clubs that parachute in from the pool stage of the Heineken Cup, specifically the third- through fifth-highest ranked second-place teams from pool play. Because of the demise of their third professional side, Scotland representation stopped but now Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors may play in the competition if they finish 3rd, 4th or 5th best runners-up in the Heineken Cup.
  • The European Challenge Cup winner will continue to receive an automatic berth in the following season's Heineken Cup; for the first time, this place will not come at the expense of its country's allocation. The only exception to this new rule will occur when England or France produces the winners of both the Heineken Cup and ECC in the same season. Both countries are capped at seven Heineken Cup places; in that scenario, the Heineken and ECC winners remain in the Heineken Cup while a berth is granted to the top club in the ERC rankings from another country that has not already qualified for the Heineken Cup.

Cardiff Blues benefited from the new format in its first year, winning the first ever Challenge Cup for the club and were also the first Welsh Club to win any European club tournament. Cardiff beat Toulon 28–21 in the final at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, which was also the first final to have no English involvement for 10 years.

England made a triumphant return to the final in 2011, with Harlequins defeating Stade Français 19–18. with a try in the last five-minutes by Argentinian wing, Gonzalo Camacho. This meant Harlequins became the first team to win the Challenge Cup three times and with this entered the Heineken Cup. The final was also notable in that it involved two teams that began the season in the Challenge Cup.

The 2011–12 competition was dominated by French sides, with all four semi-finalists coming from that country. Biarritz, which had parachuted in from the Heineken Cup, defeated Toulon to claim their first Challenge Cup.

The 2012–13 season again saw the Challenge Cup claimed by a team that parachuted in from the Heineken Cup. This time, the victor was Leinster, which became the first team from Ireland to win the Challenge Cup. [20]

Northampton Saints won the last edition of the European Challenge Cup in 2014, beating Bath 30–16 in the final.

European Rugby Challenge Cup

2014–present

On 10 April 2014, following almost two years of negotiations, a statement was released under the aegis of European Professional Club Rugby announcing that the nine stakeholders to the new competition, the six unions and three umbrella club organisations (Premiership Rugby, Ligue Nationale de Rugby and Regional Rugby Wales), had signed Heads of Agreement for the formation of the European Rugby Champions Cup, the European Rugby Challenge Cup and a new, third tournament, called the Qualifying Competition. [21] On the same day, BT and Sky signed an agreement that divided coverage of the new European competitions. Both would split the pool matches, quarter-finals, and semi-finals equally, and both would broadcast the final. BT would receive first choice of English Premiership club matches in the Champions Cup, with Sky receiving the same privilege for the Challenge Cup. [22] Subsequently, BT have signed an exclusive deal for the Challenge Cup between 2018–19 and 2021–22. [23]

Sponsorship & suppliers

Sponsors

Following the introduction of the European Rugby Challenge Cup, organisers decided to introduce a Champions League-style sponsorship system, including 3–5 principal partners, in lieu of one title sponsor.

Principal Partners

Heineken, who had sponsored the Heineken Cup since 1995, signed on as the first partner for the Challenge Cup in 2014, and were credited as the Founding Partner of European Rugby
Announced as the second principal partner at the 2015–16 tournament launch, signing on for three seasons [24]

Secondary Sponsors

Suppliers

Following their appointment as an Official Supplier, Tissot began sponsoring the Match Officials kit.

Media coverage

For Australia, Europe (unsold markets), and Southeast Asia, all matches of the EPCR package (both Champions and Challenge Cups) available on Rugby Pass.

Some games are also livestreamed for free on EPCR TV. [32]

Notes

  1. Relocated from Stade de Marseille due to COVID-19 pandemic.
  2. Relocated from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to Stade de Marseille and subsequently to Twickenham due to COVID-19 pandemic.
  3. Capacity limited to 10,000 due to national restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

See also

Related Research Articles

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