European Challenge Cup

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European Challenge Cup

Sport	Rugby union
Founded	1996
No. of teams	20
Country	England France Ireland Italy Romania Scotland Wales
Current champions	Gloucester

The European Challenge Cup in rugby union, known as the Parker Pen Shield from 2001 to 2003 and Parker Pen Challenge Cup from 2003, is the sister competition to the Heineken Cup. It is competed for by teams from England, France, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Romania on a knock-out basis. The current holders are English club Gloucester, who defeated London Irish 36-34 in 2006.

1 History
2 Draw
3 2006/7 teams
4 2006/7 Quarter final qualifiers
5 Results
- 5.1 By total wins
6 External links

[edit] History

European club rugby 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 twenty-four teams from England, France, Italy, Romania, Scotland and Wales divided into four groups of six. Eight teams went on to the knock-out stages. The final was an all-French affair with Bourgoin beating Castres 18-9 to win the shield.

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

In 1998 there were three groups of seven teams with the Spanish and Portuguese national teams taking part. Once again, a French team was triumphant, with Montferrand beating holders Bourgoin 35-16 in the final held in Lyon.

In 1999 there were seven groups of four. Pau eventually beat Castres to become the fourth French side to lift the trophy. In 2000 for once there was no change in format, but the competition was without any teams from Romania. NEC 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 thirty-two teams divided into eight groups of four competing for the title. For the first time there were two Spanish club teams and Romania was represented. 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. London Wasps beat Bath Rugby 48-30 to win the renamed 'Parker Pen Challenge Cup' by twenty points at the Madejski Stadium, Reading. 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.

In 2003/4 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. NEC 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, the tournament witnessed its closest final to date, when 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 back 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 Bucureşti Rugby who had been formed to represent Romania in European competition, however there was no representation from Spain or Portugal.

[edit] Draw

Diagram showing how qualification is obtained for Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup.

England, France, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland set their own criteria for qualification for the Heineken Cup. All the clubs that do not qualify for the Heineken Cup enter the European Challenge Cup. Italy enters 4 clubs: those finishing 3rd and 4th in the Super 10, and the winners of play-offs between 5th and 8th, and 6th and 7th. Romania is represented by Bucureşti Rugby who are specially formed for this competition.

There are five pools of four teams who play each other home and away matches. The winners of each pool and the three best runners up will qualify for the quarter-finals. The semi-finals will be one-off matches played at home venues and the final at a neutral venue.

[edit] 2006/7 teams

Pool 1 – Bayonne, Bristol, Bucureşti, Newport Gwent Dragons

Pool 2 – G.R.A.N. Parma, Glasgow Warriors, Narbonne, Saracens

Pool 3 – Brive, Montauban, Newcastle Falcons, Petrarca Padova

Pool 4 – Bath, Connacht, Montpellier, Harlequins

Pool 5 – Albi, Clermont Auvergne, Viadana, Worcester Warriors,

[edit] 2006/7 Quarter final qualifiers

The Quarter finals will be played on the weekend of 30 / 31 March and 1 April:

Match A Clermont Auvergne vs Newcastle Falcons
Match B Saracens vs Glasgow Warriors
Match C Bath vs Bristol
Match D Newport Gwent Dragons vs Brive

[edit] Results

Season	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Venue	Crowd
1997 European Shield	Bourgoin	18-9	Castres	Stade de la Méditerranée, Béziers	10,000
1998 European Shield	Colomiers	43-5	Agen	Stade des Sept Deniers, Toulouse	12,500
1999 European Shield	Montferrand	35-16	Bourgoin	Stade de Gerland, Lyon	31,986
2000 European Shield	Pau	34-21	Castres	Stade des Sept Deniers, Toulouse	6,000
2001 European Shield	NEC Harlequins	42-33	Narbonne	Madejski Stadium, Reading	10,013
2002 Parker Pen Shield	Sale	25-22	Pontypridd	Kassam Stadium, Oxford	12,000
2003 Parker Pen Challenge Cup	London Wasps	48-30	Bath	Madejski Stadium, Reading	18,074
2004 Parker Pen Challenge Cup	NEC Harlequins	27-26	Montferrand	Madejski Stadium, Reading	13,123
2005 Parker Pen Challenge Cup	Sale	27-3	Pau	Kassam Stadium, Oxford	7,230
2006 European Challenge Cup	Gloucester	36-34	London Irish	The Stoop, London	12,053
2007 European Challenge Cup

[edit] By total wins

Ranking	Country	Team	Country specific competition	Times won	Times runners-up
1	England	NEC Harlequins	Guinness Premiership	2	0
1	England	Sale Sharks	Guinness Premiership	2	0
2	France	Bourgoin	Top 14	1	1
2	France	Monteferrand	Top 14	1	1
2	France	Pau	Top 14	1	1
3	France	Colomiers	Top 14	1	0
3	England	London Wasps	Guinness Premiership	1	0
3	England	Gloucester	Guinness Premiership	1	0
4	France	Castres	Top 14	0	2
5	England	Bath	Guinness Premiership	0	1
5	England	London Irish	Guinness Premiership	0	1
5	France	Narbonne	Top 14	0	1
5	Wales	Pontypridd	Welsh Premier Division	0	1