Heineken Cup

The Heineken Cup sponsored by Heineken (known as the H Cup in France due to alcohol advertising laws) is an annual rugby union competition involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the Six Nations: England, France, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Italy.

History

The Heineken Cup was launched in the summer of 1995 on the initiative of the then Five Nations Committee to provide a new level of professional cross border competition. Twelve sides representing Ireland, Wales, Italy, Romania (though Romanian teams no longer take part) and France competed in four pools of three with the group winners going directly into the semi-finals. English and Scottish teams did not take part in the inaugural competition as they were already committed to their domestic schedules. From an inauspicious beginning in Romania, where Toulouse thrashed Farul Constanţa 54-10 in front of a small crowd, the competition gathered momentum and crowds grew. Toulouse went on to become the first European rugby union champions, eventually beating Cardiff RFC in extra time in front of a crowd of 21,800 at Cardiff Arms Park.

England and Scotland joined the competition in 1996/7 and the tournament now had 20 teams divided into four pools of five. Only Leicester and Brive reached the knock-out stages with 100 per cent records and ultimately made it to the final, Cardiff and Toulouse falling in the semi-finals. After 46 matches, Brive beat Leicester 28-9 in front of a crowd of 41,664 at Cardiff Arms Park, the match watched by an estimated television audience of 35 millions in 86 countries.

1997/8 saw the introduction of teams meeting on a home and away basis in the pool games. The five pools of four guaranteed each team a minimum of six games and the three quarter-final play-off matches all added up to a 70-match tournament. Brive reached the final again but were beaten late in the game by Bath with a penalty kick. However English clubs had decided to withdraw from the competition due to a dispute between European Rugby and the RFU over fixture scheduling and money.

Without English clubs the 1998-99 tournament revolved around France, Italy and the Celtic fringes. Sixteen teams took part in four pools of four, French clubs filled top spot in three of the groups and for the fourth consecutive year a French club, in the shape of Colomiers from the Toulouse suburbs, reached the final. Despite this it was to be Ulster's year as they beat Toulouse (twice) and reigning French champions Stade Français on their way to the final at Lansdowne Road, Dublin. Ulster carried home the trophy after a 21-6 win in front of a capacity 49,000 crowd.

English clubs returned in 1999. The pool stages were spread over three months to allow the competition to develop alongside the nations’ own domestic competitions, and the knockout stages were scheduled to take the tournament into the early spring. For the first time four different nations - England, Ireland, France and Wales - made it through to the semi-finals. Munster's defeat of Toulouse in Bordeaux ended France's record of having contested every final and the Saints' victory over Llanelli made them the third different English club to make it to the final. The competition was decided with a final between Munster and Northampton, with Northampton coming out on top by a single point.

England supplied two of the 2000/2001 semi-finalists - the Tigers and Gloucester - with Munster and French champions Stade Francais also reaching the last four. Both semi-finals were close, Munster going down by a point 16-15 to Stade Français in Lille and Leicester beating Gloucester 19-15 at Vicarage Road, Watford. The final, at Parc des Princes, Paris, attracted a crowd of 44,000 and the result was in the balance right up until the final whistle, but The Tigers walked off 34-30 winners.

Munster got to the 2002 final with quarter-finals and semi-finals victories on French soil against Stade Francais and Castres Olympique. Leicester pipped Llanelli in the last four, the Scarlets having already halted their 11-match Heineken Cup winning streak in the pool stages. A record crowd saw the Leicester Tigers become the first side to successfully defend their title.

Toulouse's victory over French rivals Perpignan in 2003 meant that they joined the Tigers as the only teams to win the title twice. Toulouse saw a 19-points half-time lead whittled away as the Catalans staged a dramatic comeback in a match in which the strong wind and showers played a major role, but survived to win.

Wasps had earned their first final appearance by beating Munster 37-32 in a Dublin semi-final while Toulouse triumphed 19-11 in the all-French contest with Biarritz Olympique in a packed Chaban Delmas, Bordeaux. The 2004 final at Twickenham saw English side London Wasps defeat defending champions 27-20 Toulouse at Twickenham to win the Heineken Cup for the first time. The match was widely hailed as the best of the nine finals. With extra time looming at 20-20, an 11th hour opportunist try by scrum half Rob Howley settled the contest. Wasps’ victory denied Toulouse the honour of being the first club to win the Heineken Cup crown three times – albeit only delaying that honour for another 12 months.

The tenth anniversary Heineken Cup final saw the inaugural champions Toulouse battle with rising stars Stade Français. Murrayfield was the venue for the first Heineken Cup final to be played in Scotland. Fabien Galthié’s Paris side led until two minutes from the end of normal time before Frédéric Michalak levelled the contest for Toulouse with his first penalty strike. He repeated this in the initial stages of extra time and then sealed his side's success with a superb opportunist drop-goal. Toulouse became the first team to win three Heineken Cup titles. In 2006, Munster defeated Biarritz in the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, 23-19. It was third time lucky for the Irish provincial side, who had been denied the ultimate prize twice by Northampton and Leicester. South African import, Trevor Halstead and man of the match, Peter Stringer scored Munster's two tries, having gone behind early in the first half to a try by Biarritz's Fijian winger, Sireli Bobo. French international Dimitri Yachvili kept the side from the Basque country in contention with a 100% goal kicking record, but it was Irish international Ronan O'Gara who kicked the most important penalty goal to stretch the lead to 4 points with under 10 minutes of the game left. Despite pressure from Biarritz, Munster held on and a penalty awarded by referee Chris White against Yachvilli for being offside at the scrum ended the 2005/06 French champions' hopes of a double. Stringer kicked the ball out into touch to spark mass celebrations inside the stadium and in Limerick and Cork.

Qualification

Places in the Heineken Cup are allocated to the six competing nations on the following basis:

6 France (top 6 in Top 14)

6 England (top 5 in Guinness Premiership, plus winner of Anglo-Welsh Cup if English)

3 Ireland (top 3 Irish sides in Celtic League)

3 Wales (top 3 Welsh sides in Celtic League)

2 Scotland (top 2 Scottish sides in Celtic League)

2 Italy (top 2 in Super 10)

The remaining two places in the 24 team tournament are allocated as follows:

One team comes from France, England or Italy; the place is allocated to the country whose team progressed further in the previous season's Cup. As Toulouse won the 2004-05 Cup, there were seven French teams in the 2005-06 competition. Similarly, there will be seven French teams in the 2006-07 competition, courtesy of Biarritz advancing to the Cup final against Irish side Munster.

The other team is the winner of a playoff in Italy between

(a) the best-placed team in the Celtic League who has not already qualified, and

(b) the team finishing 3rd in the Italian Super 10.

In 2005-06, this team was Cardiff, who beat Viadana in the playoff.

In 2006-07, this team was Overmach Parma, who beat Newport Gwent Dragons in the playoff.

Each nation sets its own criteria for qualification for the Heineken Cup, but must give places to the Cup winners and the winners of the European Challenge Cup. Clubs that do not qualify for the Heineken Cup can enter the European Challenge Cup.

From 2005 one team from each nation will be seeded.

Rules

Six pools of four teams play both home and away games. Four points are awarded for a win and two points for a draw.

A bonus point is awarded for a loss by seven points or fewer, or for scoring four tries or more.

Quarter-finals

The six Pool winners (ranked 1-6 by number of points scored) and two best placed runners-up (ranked 7 and 8) qualify for the Quarter-Finals.

Teams ranked 1-4 have home advantage. The Quarter-Finals are: Team 1 v Team 8; Team 2 v Team 7; Team 3 v Team 6; Team 4 v Team 5.

Semi-finals and final

All matches are played at nominally neutral venues. Each of the two semifinal venues are in the country of the first team out of the hat when the draw is made. For example, in 2004, Munster v Wasps was played at Lansdowne Road in Dublin, while Toulouse v Biarritz was played in Bordeaux.

However, the "neutrality" requirement is satisfied simply by the designated "home" team playing outside of its normal stadium. Both 2005 semifinals were held in the host's home city; Leicester Tigers v Toulouse was held at Walkers Stadium in Leicester, not far from Leicester's normal home of Welford Road, while Stade Français v Biarritz was played at Parc des Princes in Paris, across the street from Stade's normal home field. The semifinal venue must also meet the following additional criteria:

It must be in the same country as the designated "home" team. However, the Board of ERC (European Rugby Cup), which organises the competition, may allow exceptions. In 2005-06, Biarritz, located in a city less than 20 km from the Spanish border, was allowed to host a semifinal across the border at Estadio Anoeta in Donostia/San Sebastián.
The venue must have a capacity of at least 20,000.

The final is held at a predetermined site, next year it's Twickenham

2006/07 groups

Pool 1: Benetton Treviso, Perpignan, Wasps, Castres

Pool 2: Edinburgh, SU Agen, Gloucester Rugby, Leinster

Pool 3: Sale Sharks, Stade Français, Calvisano, Ospreys

Pool 4: Cardiff Blues, Bourgoin, Leicester Tigers, Munster

Pool 5: Ulster, Toulouse, London Irish, Llanelli Scarlets

Pool 6: Biarritz, Northampton Saints, Overmach Rugby Parma, Border Reivers

Winners

By year

For more details, see Heineken Cup finals.

Season	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Venue
1995/96 Details	Toulouse	21-18	Cardiff	21,800
1996/97 Details	Brive	28-9	Leicester Tigers	41,664
1997/98 Details	Bath	19-18	Brive	36,500
1998/99 Details	Ulster	21-6	Colomiers	49,000
1999/00 Details	Northampton Saints	9-8	Munster	68,441
2000/01 Details	Leicester Tigers	34-30	Stade Français	44,000
2001/02 Details	Leicester Tigers	15-9	Munster	74,000
2002/03 Details	Toulouse	22-17	Perpignan	28,600
2003/04 Details	London Wasps	27-20	Toulouse	73,057
2004/05 Details	Toulouse	18-12	Stade Français	51,326
2005/06 Details	Munster	23-19	Biarritz	74,534

By total wins

France
England
England
France
Ireland
England
Ireland
England

Ranking	Country	Team	Country specific competition
1	Toulouse	Top 14	3
2	Leicester Tigers	Guinness Premiership	2
3	Bath	Guinness Premiership	1
3	Brive	Top 14	1
3	Munster	Celtic League	1
3	Northampton Saints	Guinness Premiership	1
3	Ulster	Celtic League	1
3	London Wasps	Guinness Premiership	1

External links

Rugby union competitions | European Rugby Cup

Coupe d'Europe de rugby | Heineken Cup

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