Heineken Cup

Heineken Cup 2012/13

Quarter Finalists

Pool stages conclude

Pool 1
Pos			Team	Team	Pl	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts
1			Saracens	Saracens	6	5	0	1	180	76	104	15	6	2	1	23
2			Munster Rugby	Munster	6	4	0	2	133	73	60	14	4	2	2	20
3			Racing Métro 92	Racing Métro	6	3	0	3	103	125	-22	7	11	0	0	12
4			Edinburgh Rugby	Edinburgh	6	0	0	6	36	178	-142	3	18	0	0	0
Pool 2
Pos			Team	Team	Pl	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts
1			Leicester Tigers	Tigers	6	4	1	1	119	103	16	13	9	2	0	20
2			Toulouse	Toulouse	6	4	0	2	132	84	48	15	4	2	1	19
3			Ospreys	Ospreys	6	2	1	3	120	124	-4	11	15	1	1	12
4			Benetton Treviso	Treviso	6	1	0	5	107	167	-60	9	20	0	1	5
Pool 3
Pos			Team	Team	Pl	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts
1			Harlequins	Quins	6	6	0	0	243	71	172	28	6	4	0	28
2			Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque	Biarritz	6	3	0	3	123	101	22	14	7	2	1	15
3			Connacht Rugby	Connacht	6	3	0	3	96	138	-42	5	13	0	0	12
4			Zebre	Zebre	6	0	0	6	72	224	-152	6	27	0	1	1
Pool 4
Pos			Team	Team	Pl	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts
1			Ulster Rugby	Ulster	6	5	0	1	126	55	71	12	5	2	1	23
2			Northampton Saints	Saints	6	3	0	3	94	109	-15	9	11	1	2	15
3			Castres Olympique	Castres	6	3	0	3	77	98	-21	6	6	0	2	14
4			Glasgow Warriors	Glasgow	6	1	0	5	70	105	-35	7	12	0	2	6
Pool 5
Pos			Team	Team	Pl	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts
1			ASM Clermont Auvergne	ASM Clermont	6	6	0	0	213	64	149	23	3	4	0	28
2			Leinster Rugby	Leinster	6	4	0	2	124	96	28	12	5	2	2	20
3			Exeter Chiefs	Chiefs	6	2	0	4	93	166	-73	6	19	0	1	9
4			Scarlets	Scarlets	6	0	0	6	79	183	-104	6	20	0	2	2
Pool 6
Pos			Team	Team	Pl	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts
1			Toulon	Toulon	6	5	0	1	186	84	102	23	8	3	0	23
2			Montpellier	Montpellier	6	5	0	1	168	109	59	17	9	2	0	22
3			Cardiff Blues	Blues	6	1	0	5	143	184	-41	12	20	1	1	6
4			Sale Sharks	Sharks	6	1	0	5	78	198	-120	7	22	0	0	4

Leinster crowned Champions for 2012

Click here to read the Heineken Cup final match report

ERC SEASON STRUCTURE 2012/13

The 2012/13 Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup tournaments which feature Europe’s elite and emerging clubs will kick-off in October 2012 with the first of six rounds of Pool games.

With 44 clubs from eight countries set to do battle for coveted European silverware, ERC announced today (Wednesday, 4 April) the key dates in next season’s European club calendar which will see the Heineken Cup final staged for the first time at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on 18/19 May 2013.

HEINEKEN CUP AND AMLIN CHALLENGE CUP KEY DATES 2012/13

Round 1 – 11/12/13/14 October 2012

Round 2 – 18/19/20/21 October 2012

Round 3 – 6/7/8/9 December 2012

Round 4 – 13/14/15/16 December 2012

Round 5 – 10/11/12/13 January 2013

Round 6 – 17/18/19/20 January 2013

Quarter-finals – 4/5/6/7 April 2013

Semi-finals – 26/27/28 April 2013

Finals – 17/18/19 May 2013

2012 Semi-Finals

Following their dramatic victory over two time champions Munster, Ulster will have the benefit of a home country semi-final. Their game against Edinburgh will be played in the Aviva Stadum in Dublin on Saturday 28th April

Edinburgh produced a heroic performance in their quarter-final against Toulouse in Murrayfield to secure their place in the semi-finals, and head coach Michael Bradley will know the Ulster players well following his time as Ireland A, and Connacht coach.

Leinster will hit the road to Bordeaux where they will face stiff opposition in Clermont in the second Heineken Cup semi-final to be played on Sunday 29th April. Following their demolition of Cardiff Blues in the Quarter Finals Leinster will be brimming with confidence however that confidence will be matched by Clermont who also powered past current English Premiership table topers Saracens.

2012 Quarter Final Dates Confirmed

Following a dramatic conclusion to the Pool stages of the Heineken Cup which confirmed the line-up for the last eight of the 2011/12 tournament, ERC has announced the dates, venues and kick-off times for the quarter-final matches.

Edinburgh Rugby will become the first Scottish club to stage a home game in the knockout phase of Europe’s premier club tournament when they kick-off what promises to be another riveting weekend of action against four-time champions, Toulouse, at Murrayfield on Saturday, 7 April.

Defending champions, Leinster Rugby, are next up against Cardiff Blues at the Aviva Stadium where are they are undefeated to date in all four of their Heineken Cup matches staged at the 50,000 capacity Dublin venue.
Top seeds, Munster Rugby, who won all six of their Pool games, will meet Irish rivals, Ulster Rugby, for the first time in the tournament at Thomond Park on Sunday 8 April, while the sole English representative, Saracens, will round off the weekend with a mouth-watering clash against ASM Clermont Auvergne at Vicarage Road.

HEINEKEN CUP QUARTER-FINALS

Saturday, 7 April
Edinburgh Rugby v Toulouse, Murrayfield  - 15.00 - Sky Sports / FR2 / Canal+
Leinster Rugby v Cardiff Blues, Aviva Stadium -  17.45 - Sky Sports / Sport+

Sunday, 8 April
Munster Rugby v Ulster Rugby, Thomond Park - 13.45 - Sky Sports / Sport+
Saracens v ASM Clermont Auvergne, Vicarage Road 16.30 - Sky Sports, FR2

Heineken Cup Quarter-finals - Did You Know?

• Saracens are the only English Club to make it to the last eight - but Aal Twickenham Heineken Cup Finals have been won by English Clubs
• Munster won all of their Pool matches for the first time this season. No club which has achieved that feat has gone on to win the Heineken Cup
• Edinburgh are the first Scottish club to win a Heineken Cup Pool.
• Toulouse have a 50% record in away quarter-finals. They beat Dax (1997) and Biarritz (2011), but lost to Ulster (1999) and Cardiff Blues (2009).

2012 Pool Draws

Reigning Heineken Cup Champions Leinster have been drawn in Pool 3 of next season’s tournament and will face Bath, Glasgow Warriors and Montpellier as they try to defend the title they won in Cardiff just over a fortnight ago.

The draw for the 17^th tournament was made today at Twickenham Stadium, where the final will be held next May.

In Pool 1 former European Champions Munster will line-up against this year’s finalists Northampton Saints.

Connacht in their first season in the competition have been drawn against English sides Harlequins and Gloucester as well as four times winners of the Heineken Cup, Toulouse.

Full reaction from the clubs to follow.

2011/12 Heineken Cup Pool Draw:

Pool 1: Munster, Northampton Saints, Scarlets, Castres

Pool 2: Cardiff Blues, London Irish, Edinburgh, Racing Metro 92

Pool 3: Leinster, Bath Rugby, Glasgow Warriors, Montpellier

Pool 4: Leicester Tigers, Clermont Auvergne, Ulster, Aironi

Pool 5: Biarritz Olympic, Ospreys, Saracens, Benetton Treviso

Pool 6: Toulouse, Harlequins, Gloucester, Connacht

All Eyes On 2012

Connacht Rugby will taste Heineken Cup action for the first time next season – courtesy of Leinster winning their second Heineken Cup crown with a sensational comeback that clinched a 33-22 victory over Northampton Saints in a magnificent season’s finale at the Millennium Stadium.

The extra two ERC European Ranking points Leo Cullen’s battlers earned took them to No 1 place ahead of Munster and Toulouse for the 17thseason of the Heineken Cup tournament.

Leinster’s triumph also earned Ireland an additional place with Connacht the beneficiaries and joining the elite after playing in a record 98 Challenge Cup matches in all 15 seasons of the competition.

It means Ireland will have four teams in the tournament for the first time while England will have seven following Harlequins winning the Amlin Challenge Cup a day earlier with a 19-18 victory over Stade Francais Paris at Cardiff City Stadium that earned them automatic qualification.

But Connacht Rugby are not the only Heineken Cup debutants – Montpellier have qualified for European club rugby’s premier tournament for the first time after finishing in fifth place in the Top 14.

THE 24 HEINEKEN CUP 2011 / 2012 QUALIFIERS

(All qualifiers in alphabetical order)

ENGLAND (7) - Bath Rugby, Gloucester Rugby, Harlequins, Leicester Tigers, London Irish, Northampton Saints and Saracens
FRANCE (6) - ASM Clermont Auvergne, Biarritz Olympique, Castres Olympique, Montpellier, Racing Metro 92 and Toulouse
IRELAND (4) - Connacht Rugby, Leinster, Munster and Ulster Rugby
ITALY (2) - Aironi Rugby and Benetton Treviso
SCOTLAND (2) - Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors
WALES (3) - Cardiff Blues, Ospreys and Scarlets
 

SEASON 2011 / 2012 STRUCTURE

The 2011 / 2012 Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup tournaments will kick-off in November 2011, less than three weeks after the Rugby World Cup reaches its climax with the final in Auckland, New Zealand, on 23 October.
Due to the staging of the World Cup, the two European club rugby tournaments will start later than usual. Once the opening two rounds are completed in November, the tournaments will revert to their customary format with Rounds 3 and 4 scheduled for December, and Rounds 5 and 6 taking place in January, 2012.

ERC  announced the season structure for the 2011 / 2012 competitions with the 17thHeineken Cup final being staged at Twickenham on the weekend of 19 / 20 May 2012 and the 16thAmlin Challenge Cup final being played over the same weekend.

2011 / 2012 HEINEKEN CUP AND AMLIN CHALLENGE CUP DATES

ROUND 1 – 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 November, 2011
ROUND 2 – 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 November, 2011
ROUND 3 – 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 December, 2011
ROUND 4 – 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 December, 2011
ROUND 5 – 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 January, 2012
ROUND 6 – 19 / 20 / 21 / 22 January, 2012
QUARTER-FINALS – 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 April, 2012
SEMI-FINALS – 27 / 28 / 29 April, 2012
FINALS – 18 / 19 / 20 May, 2012
 

2011 Quarter Final Qualifiers

HEINEKEN CUP 2010 / 2011 QUARTER-FINAL QUALIFIERS / PAIRINGS
The qualifiers and their rankings for the Heineken Cup 2010 / 2011 quarter-finals are:

1 Northampton Saints
2 Leinster
3 Perpignan
4 Biarritz Olympique
5 Toulouse
6 Toulon
7 Leicester Tigers (Best Pool runner-up)
8 Ulster Rugby (Second best Pool runner-up)

The quarter-final matches, to be played the weekend of 8 / 9 / 10 April, 2011, will be:

(1) Northampton Saints v Ulster Rugby (8)
(2) Leinster v Leicester Tigers (7)
(3) Perpignan v Toulon (6)
(4) Biarritz Olympique v Toulouse(5)

The three Heineken Cup Pool runners-up who have qualified for the Amlin Challenge Cup 2010 / 2011 quarter-finals are:

1 London Wasps (Third best Pool runner-up)
2 ASM Clermont Auvergne (Fourth best Pool runner-up)
3 Munster (Fifth best Pool runner-up)

2011 Semi Final Lineups

Leinster powered past Leicester to secure their semi-final spot and they will play Toulouse in Dublin after the french side ran out injury time winners over Biarritz.

Ulster's fine run in the competition came to an end in Milton Keynes when the Northampton Saints proved too strong for the men from the northern province.

Northampton will play french side Perpignan who powered past Toulon in their quarter final game.

30th April 2011

Leinster v Toulouse - Aviva Stadium Dublin - KO 15.30

1st May 2011

Northampton Saints v Perpignan - MK Stadium Milton Keynes - KO 15.00

Leinster Crowned Champions of Europe 2011

It may have looked unlikley at halftime as Leinster trailed 22 points to 6, but as is often the mark of champions, the 2009 winners dug deep, and produced second half of rugby the likes of which we will probably never see again.

Carried by half time pep talks by the leaders of the team, Leinster returned to the stage to score a remarkable 16 points in 16 minutes. Two trys by man of the match Jonathan Sexton, a try by Nathan Hines was enough to snatch victory from a bewildered Northampton Saints side who simply had no reply to Leinster's dominance in the second half of the game.

Click here to view the match report

2011 Heineken Cup Pools After Final Rounds

Pool 1
Pos			Team	Pl	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts
1			Northampton Saints	6	6	0	0	155	87	68	16	7	1	0	25
2			Cardiff Blues	6	3	0	3	107	113	-6	6	8	0	2	14
3			Castres Olympique	6	2	0	4	105	115	-10	10	12	0	3	11
4			Edinburgh	6	1	0	5	98	150	-52	10	15	0	4	8
Pool 2
Pos			Team	Pl	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts
1			Leinster	6	5	0	1	179	104	75	21	9	3	1	24
2			ASM Clermont Auvergne	6	4	0	2	114	94	20	14	9	2	1	19
3			Racing Métro 92	6	2	0	4	104	151	-47	9	17	0	1	9
4			Saracens	6	1	0	5	107	155	-48	9	18	0	2	6
Pool 3
Pos			Team	Pl	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts
1			Toulon	6	4	0	2	143	134	9	13	13	1	0	17
2			Munster	6	3	0	3	143	122	21	17	9	2	2	16
3			Ospreys	6	3	0	3	117	113	4	7	11	0	2	14
4			London Irish	6	2	0	4	107	141	-34	9	13	0	1	9
Pool 4
Pos			Team	Pl	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts
1			Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque	6	4	0	2	140	85	55	16	9	4	2	22
2			Ulster Rugby	6	5	0	1	145	93	52	15	8	2	0	22
3			Bath Rugby	6	2	0	4	147	108	39	20	8	2	4	14
4			Aironi Rugby	6	1	0	5	65	211	-146	4	30	0	0	4
Pool 5
Pos			Team	Pl	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts
1			Perpignan	6	4	1	1	196	112	84	23	9	4	0	22
2			Leicester Tigers	6	4	1	1	215	118	97	25	10	3	1	22
3			Scarlets	6	3	0	3	149	191	-42	16	24	3	0	15
4			Benetton Treviso	6	0	0	6	109	248	-139	11	32	0	1	1
Pool 6
Pos			Team	Pl	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts
1			Toulouse	6	5	0	1	155	85	70	15	6	1	1	22
2			London Wasps	6	4	0	2	145	106	39	15	6	2	1	19
3			Glasgow Warriors	6	3	0	3	116	141	-25	10	15	0	0	12
4			Newport Gwent Dragons	6	0	0	6	77	161	-84	5	18	0	2	2

THE TIERS (with ERC European Ranking points):

TIER 1

29 – Munster
27 – Toulouse
25 – Leinster
23 – Leicester Tigers
20 – Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque
20 – Cardiff Blues

TIER 2

19 – London Wasps
15 – ASM Clermont Auvergne
15 – Ospreys
15 – Northampton Saints
14 – Bath Rugby
12 – Scarlets

TIER 3

11 – Perpignan
11 – London Irish
11 – Saracens
8 – Ulster Rugby
7 – Glasgow Warriors
6 – Edinburgh

TIER 4

6 – Newport Gwent Dragons
4 – Benetton Treviso
4 – Castres Olympique
4 – RC Toulon
Aironi Rugby
Racing-Metro 92

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