European Rugby Champions Cup
|
|
| Current season | Season 2018/19 |
| sport | Rugby union |
| abbreviation | ERCC |
| Association | European Professional Club Rugby |
| League foundation | 1995 |
| Teams | 20th |
| Country countries |
 England France Ireland Italy Scotland Wales    
|
| Title holder | Saracens |
| Record champions | Toulouse , Leinster (4) |
| Website | epcrugby.com |
The European Rugby Champions Cup (ERCC, known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons ) is the highest European Cup competition in rugby union . The best club and regional teams from England , France , Ireland , Italy , Scotland and Wales are eligible to participate . The teams qualify via the final placements in their respective leagues ( English Premiership , Top 14 and Pro14 ) or by winning the European Rugby Challenge Cup . The competition is organized by the European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) marketing company based in Lausanne .
From 1995 to 2014 the competition was known as the Heineken Cup and was organized by the European Rugby Cup . After disagreements among shareholders over the structure and direction of the competition, it was taken over by EPCR and its name changed to the European Rugby Champions Cup without title sponsorship. The Heineken Brewery returned as a sponsor for the 2018/19 season.
mode
qualification
The 20 starting places in the European Rugby Champions Cup (24 in the Heineken Cup) will be distributed among the six participating nations as follows:
- France: the 6 best placed teams in the top 14
- England: the 6 best placed teams English Premiership
- Italy, Ireland, Scotland and Wales: the 7 best-placed teams of the Pro14 (since 2017 no guaranteed starting place for all countries)
The 20th starting place has been determined as follows since the 2018/19 season:
- Defending champion of the Champions Cup, if not already qualified
- Last year's winner of the European Rugby Challenge Cup , if not already qualified
- Last year's finalist of the European Rugby Challenge Cup if not yet qualified (or the winner of a playoff between the semi-finalists if both are not yet qualified)
- Highest ranked unqualified club due to league position from the same league as the defending champions of the Champions Cup
Teams from the leagues involved that have not qualified for the European Rugby Champions Cup take part in the European Rugby Challenge Cup.
Group stage and quarter-finals
Five groups of four teams each are formed based on the results of the respective leagues from the previous season. 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. One bonus point is given each time a game is lost by less than seven points or the team achieves at least four attempts . The five group winners and the three best runners-up move into the knockout round .
The eight participants in the quarter-finals will be drawn against each other on the basis of a seeding list: group winners will be classified in positions 1–5 according to the results of the group phase, group runners-up in positions 6–8. The first against the eighth, the second against the seventh, the third against the sixth and the fourth against the fifth. The four best teams enjoy home rights in the quarter-finals. The quarter-final winners play the two semi-finals, with the matches being drawn by the EPCR organizer. The final will take place in May at a predetermined location.
history
The Heineken Cup was launched in the summer of 1995 at the suggestion of the then Five Nations Commission to enable a new cross-border competition for professional teams. The implementation was in the hands of the European Rugby Cup (ERC), based in Dublin , and Heineken was won as the title sponsor . Due to stricter alcohol advertising laws, the competition in France was called the H Cup . Twelve teams from France, Ireland , Italy , Romania and Wales determined the semi-finals in four groups of three. The first encounter between Stade Toulousain and Farul Constanța on October 31, 1995 ended at 54:10. Stade Toulousain prevailed in the first final, which was played on January 6, 1996 in Cardiff , with 21:18 after extra time against the Cardiff RFC .
Teams from England and Scotland were involved from the following season 1996/97 , teams from Romania no longer because of the low level of performance. The competition now comprised 20 teams in four groups of five. For those teams that could not qualify for the Heineken Cup, the two-stage European Challenge Cup was introduced. From the 1997/98 season there were five groups of four, so that each team met their opponents once at home and away in the preliminary round. In the 1998/99 season , the English teams were missing because the English Rugby Football Union had not been able to come to an agreement with the organizers regarding match dates and finances. 16 teams in four groups of four were therefore involved. For the 1999/2000 season , the English teams returned to the competition, which means that the previous mode also applied again. From 2002 the winner of the European Challenge Cup automatically qualified for the Heineken Cup. For the 2003/04 season , the Welsh Rugby Union decided not to send club teams, but regional selection teams.
On May 29, 2012, shortly after the final of the 2011/12 season , the Daily Telegraph announced that Premiership Rugby (organizer of the highest English league) would officially announce on June 1 that it would no longer accept the agreement with ERC regarding the participation of English clubs renew. The French organizer Ligue Nationale de Rugby was expected to follow suit. A restructuring of the competition was called for, in which the teams from Ireland, Italy, Wales and Scotland would no longer automatically qualify. Further demands were the reduction of the field of participants from 24 to 20 teams as well as a (from their point of view) more balanced financial profit-sharing.
Indeed, on June 1, 2012, the English and French league organizers unveiled their new concept, Rugby Champions Cup , and invited the other Heineken Cup participants to join them. However, due to a two-year notice period, the new competition could not be introduced as early as the 2013/14 season, as originally requested. In September 2012, Premiership Rugby also announced it had signed a four-year contract with BT Sports . Accordingly, the broadcast rights for league and cup games of English clubs should be sold for 152 million pounds. ERC took the position that Premiership Rugby was not authorized to host a European tournament and announced a four-year contract with Sky Sports . This resulted in lengthy negotiations between the ERC, league organizers, clubs and national associations. Finally, on April 10, 2014, an agreement was reached. ERC was replaced by the new organization European Professional Club Rugby (EPRC), which has been organizing the follow-up competitions European Rugby Champions Cup and European Rugby Challenge Cup since the 2014/15 season .
List of finals
Title by club
| society | winner | 2nd place | Won |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Stade Toulousain
|
4th | 2 | 1995/96, 2002/03, 2004/05, 2009/10 |
|
Leinster rugby
|
4th | 1 | 2008/09, 2010/11, 2011/12, 2017/18 |
|
Saracens
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3 | 1 | 2015/16, 2016/17, 2018/19 |
|
RC Toulon
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3 | 0 | 2012/13, 2013/14, 2014/15 |
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Leicester Tigers
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2 | 3 | 2000/01, 2001/02 |
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Munster rugby
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2 | 2 | 2005/06, 2007/08 |
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Wasps RFC
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2 | 0 | 2003/04, 2006/07 |
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CA Brive
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1 | 1 | 1996/97 |
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Northampton Saints
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1 | 1 | 1999/2000 |
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Ulster rugby
|
1 | 1 | 1998/99 |
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Bath rugby
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1 | 0 | 1997/98 |
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ASM Clermont Auvergne
|
0 | 3 | |
|
Biarritz Olympique
|
0 | 2 | |
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Stade Français
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0 | 2 | |
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Racing 92
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0 | 2 | |
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Cardiff RFC
|
0 | 1 | |
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US Colomiers
|
0 | 1 | |
|
USA Perpignan
|
0 | 1 |
See also
Web links
- Official website of the European Professional Club Rugby (English, French)
Individual evidence
- ^ History. European Rugby Cup, archived from the original on February 8, 2007 ; accessed on October 18, 2014 (English).
- ^ Toulouse 21 v 18 Cardiff (aet) (Cardiff Arms Park, 21,800). European Rugby Cup, archived from the original on March 15, 2007 ; accessed on October 18, 2014 (English).
- ^ Paul Rees: Big boys plan for more lucrative Heineken Cup. The Guardian , March 30, 2006, accessed October 18, 2014 .
- ^ Gavin Mairs: English Premiership clubs open rift with Celtic nations over Heineken Cup qualification. The Daily Telegraph , May 29, 2012, accessed October 18, 2014 .
- ^ Premiership Rugby announces possible Heineken Cup withdrawal. BBC Sport , June 11, 2012, accessed October 18, 2014 .
- ^ Premiership Rugby announces possible Heineken Cup withdrawal. BBC Sport , June 11, 2012, accessed October 18, 2014 .
- ^ Eoin Connolly: BT Sport renews with Premiership Rugby. sportspromedia.com, March 16, 2015, accessed on August 29, 2020 .
- ^ Future of European Rugby resolved. Rugby Football Union , April 10, 2014, archived from the original on May 25, 2014 ; accessed on October 18, 2014 (English).