Heineken Cup: Difference between revisions

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The '''Heineken Cup''' was established in 1995 with the intention of providing a new stage for club [[rugby union|rugby]].  It has grown since then to become the premier club competition in the northern hemisphere.  The tournament was originally set up under the auspices of the (then) Five Nations Committee by European Rugby Cup Ltd (now ERC) under the name of 'European Rugby Cup', but within days of its announcement it succeeded in attracting a title sponsor and the name was changed to the Heineken Cup.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/121_266.php |title=European Rugby Cup |accessdate=2009-06-01 |author= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format=html |work= |publisher=ERC |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote="Within days the five nation, 12 team tournament had been renamed the Heineken Cup and one of rugby's greatest competitions was ready for the off." }}</ref>
==Format of competition==
The Heineken Cup is played between the top 24 club teams drawn from the countries competing in the [[Six Nations Championship]]: [[Irish national rugby union team|Ireland]], [[English national rugby union team|England]], [[Scottish national rugby union team|Scotland]], [[Welsh national rugby union team|Wales]], [[French national rugby union team|France]] and [[Italian national rugby union team|Italy]].  Teams are seeded and divided into six pools of four teams each. 
Each team plays every other team in its pool, both home and away.  Four points are awarded for a win, and two are awarded for a draw.  An interesting innovation, though, is that teams can score bonus points: a Try Bonus of one point is awarded if a team scores four or more [[Try (rugby)|tries]] in a match, and a Losing Bonus of one point is awarded if a team loses by seven points or less.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/31_264.php |title=European Rugby Cup |accessdate=2009-06-01 |author= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |year= |month= |format=html |work= |publisher=ERC |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote=}}</ref>  This has the effect of making games a more interesting spectacle as teams attempt to win bonus pool points with exciting plays to score tries or minimise the winning team's margin.
The six pool winners and the two best placed runners-up (in terms of points scored) go through to the quarter-finals.  The quarter-final winners go through to the semi-finals, and the semi-final winners meet in the final.
==History==
The first competition, in 1995/96, was played between twelve teams from Ireland, France, Wales, Italy and [[Romanian national rugby union team|Romania]] (who have not competed since).  England and Scotland entered teams for the 1996/97 competition, which was expanded to 20 teams.  English teams didn't compete in 97/98, despite [[Bath rugby union team|Bath]] having won the previous year.  Since 98/99 on, all of the Six Nations countries have entered teams.
{{Image|LeinsterRugby.jpg|right|350px|The Leinster squad thank the fans after their Heineken Cup semi-final victory over Munster at Croke Park.}}
On 2nd May, 2008, the world record for attendance at a club rugby game was broken when 82,208 supporters watched [[Leinster rugby team|Leinster]] beat Munster 25-6 in a Heineken Cup semi-final at [[Croke Park]], [[Dublin]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/12_12634.php |title=World record crowd witness Leinster win |accessdate=2009-05-02 |author=ERC Rugby |authorlink= |coauthors= |date=2009-05-02 |year=2009 |month=05 |format=html |work= |publisher=ERC Rugby |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= }}</ref>  Leinster went on to win the 08/09 competition, beating Leicester Tigers 19-16 in the final, played in [[Murrayfield]] on 24th May, 2009.
==Final results==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width=5%|Season
!width=20%|Winner
!width=10%|Score
!width=20%|Runner-up
!width=20%|Venue
!width=10%|Attendance
|-
|1995–96
|'''[[Stade Toulousain|Toulouse]]'''
|'''21 – 18'''
|[[Cardiff RFC|Cardiff]]
|[[Cardiff Arms Park]]
|21,800
|-
|1996–97
|'''[[CA Brive|Brive]]'''
|'''28 – 9'''
|[[Leicester Tigers]]
|[[Cardiff Arms Park]]
|41,664
|-
|1997–98
|'''[[Bath Rugby|Bath]]'''
|'''19 – 18'''
|[[CA Brive|Brive]]
|[[Stade Lescure]]
|36,500
|-
|1998–99
| '''[[Ulster Rugby|Ulster]]'''
|'''21 – 6'''
|[[US Colomiers|Colomiers]]
|[[Lansdowne Road]]
|49,000
|-
|1999–2000
|'''[[Northampton Saints]]'''
|'''9 – 8'''
|[[Munster Rugby|Munster]]
|[[Twickenham Stadium|Twickenham]]
|68,441
|-
|2000–01
|'''[[Leicester Tigers]]'''
|'''34 – 30'''
|[[Stade Français Paris|Stade Français]]
|[[Parc des Princes]]
|44,000
|-
|2001–02
|'''[[Leicester Tigers]]'''
|'''15 – 9'''
|[[Munster Rugby|Munster]]
|[[Millennium Stadium]]
|74,000
|-
|2002–03
|'''[[Stade Toulousain|Toulouse]]'''
|'''22 – 17'''
|[[USA Perpignan|Perpignan]]
|[[Lansdowne Road]]
|28,600
|-
|2003–04
|'''[[London Wasps]]'''
|'''27 – 20'''
|[[Stade Toulousain|Toulouse]]
|[[Twickenham Stadium|Twickenham]]
|73,057
|-
|2004–05
|'''[[Stade Toulousain|Toulouse]]'''
|'''18 – 12'''
|[[Stade Français Paris|Stade Français]]
|[[Murrayfield Stadium|Murrayfield]]
|51,326
|-
|2005–06
| '''[[Munster Rugby|Munster]]'''
|'''23 – 19'''
|[[Biarritz Olympique|Biarritz]]
|[[Millennium Stadium]]
|74,534
|-
|2006–07
|'''[[London Wasps]]'''
|'''25 – 9'''
|[[Leicester Tigers]]
|[[Twickenham Stadium|Twickenham]]
|81,076
|-
|2007–08
| '''[[Munster Rugby|Munster]]'''
| '''16 – 13'''
|[[Stade Toulousain|Toulouse]]
|[[Millennium Stadium]]
| 74,417
|-
|2008–09
| '''[[Leinster Rugby|Leinster]]'''
| '''19 – 16'''
|[[Leicester Tigers]]
|[[Murrayfield Stadium|Murrayfield]]
| 66,523
|-
|2009–10
|
| v
|
|[[Stade de France]]
|
|}
==References==
<references/>

Revision as of 00:09, 1 June 2009

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The Heineken Cup was established in 1995 with the intention of providing a new stage for club rugby. It has grown since then to become the premier club competition in the northern hemisphere. The tournament was originally set up under the auspices of the (then) Five Nations Committee by European Rugby Cup Ltd (now ERC) under the name of 'European Rugby Cup', but within days of its announcement it succeeded in attracting a title sponsor and the name was changed to the Heineken Cup.[1]

Format of competition

The Heineken Cup is played between the top 24 club teams drawn from the countries competing in the Six Nations Championship: Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, France and Italy. Teams are seeded and divided into six pools of four teams each.

Each team plays every other team in its pool, both home and away. Four points are awarded for a win, and two are awarded for a draw. An interesting innovation, though, is that teams can score bonus points: a Try Bonus of one point is awarded if a team scores four or more tries in a match, and a Losing Bonus of one point is awarded if a team loses by seven points or less.[2] This has the effect of making games a more interesting spectacle as teams attempt to win bonus pool points with exciting plays to score tries or minimise the winning team's margin.

The six pool winners and the two best placed runners-up (in terms of points scored) go through to the quarter-finals. The quarter-final winners go through to the semi-finals, and the semi-final winners meet in the final.

History

The first competition, in 1995/96, was played between twelve teams from Ireland, France, Wales, Italy and Romania (who have not competed since). England and Scotland entered teams for the 1996/97 competition, which was expanded to 20 teams. English teams didn't compete in 97/98, despite Bath having won the previous year. Since 98/99 on, all of the Six Nations countries have entered teams.

(CC) Photo: Anton Sweeney
The Leinster squad thank the fans after their Heineken Cup semi-final victory over Munster at Croke Park.

On 2nd May, 2008, the world record for attendance at a club rugby game was broken when 82,208 supporters watched Leinster beat Munster 25-6 in a Heineken Cup semi-final at Croke Park, Dublin.[3] Leinster went on to win the 08/09 competition, beating Leicester Tigers 19-16 in the final, played in Murrayfield on 24th May, 2009.

Final results

Season Winner Score Runner-up Venue Attendance
1995–96 Toulouse 21 – 18 Cardiff Cardiff Arms Park 21,800
1996–97 Brive 28 – 9 Leicester Tigers Cardiff Arms Park 41,664
1997–98 Bath 19 – 18 Brive Stade Lescure 36,500
1998–99 Ulster 21 – 6 Colomiers Lansdowne Road 49,000
1999–2000 Northampton Saints 9 – 8 Munster Twickenham 68,441
2000–01 Leicester Tigers 34 – 30 Stade Français Parc des Princes 44,000
2001–02 Leicester Tigers 15 – 9 Munster Millennium Stadium 74,000
2002–03 Toulouse 22 – 17 Perpignan Lansdowne Road 28,600
2003–04 London Wasps 27 – 20 Toulouse Twickenham 73,057
2004–05 Toulouse 18 – 12 Stade Français Murrayfield 51,326
2005–06 Munster 23 – 19 Biarritz Millennium Stadium 74,534
2006–07 London Wasps 25 – 9 Leicester Tigers Twickenham 81,076
2007–08 Munster 16 – 13 Toulouse Millennium Stadium 74,417
2008–09 Leinster 19 – 16 Leicester Tigers Murrayfield 66,523
2009–10 v Stade de France

References

  1. ↑ European Rugby Cup (html). ERC. Retrieved on 2009-06-01. “"Within days the five nation, 12 team tournament had been renamed the Heineken Cup and one of rugby's greatest competitions was ready for the off."”
  2. ↑ European Rugby Cup (html). ERC. Retrieved on 2009-06-01.
  3. ↑ ERC Rugby (2009-05-02). World record crowd witness Leinster win (html). ERC Rugby. Retrieved on 2009-05-02.
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