European Rugby Challenge Cup
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| Current season | Season 2019/20 |
| sport | Rugby union |
| Association | European Rugby Cup |
| League foundation | 1996 |
| Teams | 20th |
| Country countries |
 England France Ireland Italy Scotland Wales Romania Spain Portugal       
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| Title holder |
ASM Clermont Auvergne
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| Record champions |
ASM Clermont Auvergne Harlequins (3 each)
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| ^ European Rugby Champions Cup | |
The European Rugby Challenge Cup , from 1996 to 2014 European Rugby Challenge Cup , is the second European Cup competition for teams in the sport of rugby union after the European Rugby Champions Cup . For sponsorship reasons, it has been called the Amlin Challenge Cup since the 2009/10 season , named after the British insurance company Amlin . A previous sponsor was the Parker Pen Company , which is why the competition was named Parker Pen Shield (2001 to 2002) and Parker Pen Challenge Cup (2003 to 2005). At the competition organized by the European Rugby Cupteams from England , France , Wales , Ireland , Italy , Romania and occasionally Spain or Portugal take part.
history
The competition was launched in 1996 under the name European Shield , with 24 teams from England, France, Italy, Romania, Scotland and Wales, divided into four groups of six teams each. In the following season there were six groups with four teams each. In 1998/99 no English or Scottish clubs took part and the field of participants shrank to 21 teams, which were divided into three groups of seven; Spanish and Portuguese national teams participated for the first time. After the English and Scottish clubs participated again in the 1999/2000 season, 28 teams took part in seven groups of four; a French team won the cup for the fourth time in a row.
The mode remained unchanged in 2000/01, but exceptionally no Romanian representative took part. For the first time, an English club managed to win the cup competition. In 2001/02 the Parker Pen Company took over the sponsorship and the competition was named Parker Pen Shield . 32 teams took part in eight groups of four, for the first time there were two representatives from Spain. On the 2002/03 season, the competition was renamed Parker Pen Challenge Cup and the group phase was abandoned in favor of a pure knockout competition, with the first four rounds including both a first leg and a second leg. The cup winner qualified for the Heineken Cup.
Welsh clubs have not participated since 2003/04; they have been sending regional selection teams since then. Since they all took part in the Heineken Cup, there were no representatives from Wales in the second stage; Romania also refrained from participating for three years. In the 2005/06 season (withdrawal of the title sponsor) there was a further restructuring when the pure knockout system was abandoned and a group phase was reintroduced, with 20 teams in five groups of four. Romania returned with a selection team, while Spain and Portugal failed. Between 2001 and 2006 there were five English cup winners in a row. From 2007/08 a Spanish representative took part again.
Several changes came into force in 2009/10. Since then, the third to fifth best runners-up in the Heineken Cup have intervened in the action from the quarter-finals. After the demise of the third professional team, Scotland no longer has a representative in this competition; only if one of the two remaining teams “relegates” from the Heineken Cup does it take part in the European Challenge Cup. Furthermore, the cup winner is automatically qualified for the Heineken Cup of the following season. In the 2009/10 season, the Cardiff Blues were the first non-French or non-English team to win the European Challenge Cup. In 2012/13, Leinster Rugby was the first ever Irish cup winner.
Current mode
All teams of the English Aviva Premiership , the French Top 14 and the international Pro14 that did not qualify for the higher-quality European Rugby Champions Cup are eligible to participate in the European Challenge Cup. The four best-placed teams from the Italian league Campionato di Eccellenza take part. The Romanian selection team București Rugby , which is specially put together for this competition, is also eligible to participate . There is also a representative from Spain or Portugal.
Five groups with four teams each are formed. Each team plays one home and one away game against all group opponents. There are four points for a win and two points for a draw. If a game is lost by less than seven points or a team scores at least four attempts , there is a bonus point.
Up to and including the 2008/09 season, the five group winners and the three best runners-up qualified for the quarter-finals. Since the 2009/10 season only the group winners have made it to the quarter-finals. The three remaining quarter-finalists are the third to fifth best group runners-up in the Heineken Cup of the same season. The right to play at home in the quarter-finals is determined on the basis of a seeding list, with the relegated players from the Heineken Cup being automatically assigned places 5 to 7. For the semi-finals, the right to play at home will be drawn, while the final will be played at a predetermined location.
All finals
See also
Remarks
- ↑ First of all, the final was to be held at Kingsholm Stadium in Gloucester , as it was last year . The final was moved to London following concerns from the French that Bourgoin fans would have significant difficulty getting to Gloucester on a Friday. ECC final moved to the Twickenham Stoop. Gloucester Rugby, May 7, 2009; accessed May 7, 2009 .