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2020–21 European Rugby Challenge Cup

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The 2020–21 European Rugby Challenge Cup is the seventh edition of the European Rugby Challenge Cup, an annual second-tier rugby union competition for professional clubs. Including the predecessor competition, the original European Challenge Cup, this was the 25th edition of European club rugby's second-tier competition.

2020–21 European Rugby Challenge Cup
Tournament details
Countries England
 France
 Ireland
 Italy
 Scotland
 Wales
Tournament format(s)Round-robin and knockout
Tournament statistics
Teams14+8
Matches played27
Attendance12,000 (444 per match)
Highest attendance10,000
Final
VenueTwickenham Stadium
Attendance10,000
ChampionsFrance Montpellier (2nd title)
Runners-upEngland Leicester Tigers
← 2019–20 (Previous)
(Next) 2021–22 →

The tournament began in December 2020.[1] The final, originally scheduled to be held at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille,[2] took place on 21 May 2021 at Twickenham Stadium.[3]

On 11 January 2021 EPCR announced the competition was suspended temporarily due to new restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] A revised format to finish the tournament was announced on 24 February 2021.[5]

Teams edit

Fourteen teams will qualified for the 2020–21 European Challenge Cup from Premiership Rugby, the Pro14 and the Top 14, as a direct result of their domestic league performance having not qualified for the Heineken Champions Cup. Although, the two South African Pro14 teams are not eligible.[6]

The distribution of teams was:

  • England: four teams
    • Any teams finishing between 9th and 11th position in the Premiership Rugby that do not qualify for the 2020–21 European Champions Cup
    • The champion of the RFU Championship
  • France: six teams
    • Any teams finishing between 9th and 14th position in the Top 14 that do not qualify for the 2020–21 European Champions Cup
  • Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales: four teams
    • Four teams from the Pro14, excluding the South African teams, that do not qualify for the 2020–21 European Champions Cup
Round Premiership Top 14 Pro14
  England   France   Ireland   Italy   Scotland   Wales
Preliminary stage
Knockout stage

Team details edit

Below is the list of coaches, captain and stadiums with their method of qualification for each team.

Team Coach /
Director of Rugby 		Captain Stadium Capacity Method of qualification
Entering at Preliminary Stage
  Agen   Christophe Laussucq
  Rémi Vaquin 		  Antoine Erbani Stade Armandie 14,000 Top 14 bottom 6 (13th)
  Bayonne   Yannick Bru   Antoine Battut Stade Jean Dauger 16,934 Top 14 bottom 6 (11th)
  Benetton   Kieran Crowley   Dewaldt Duvenage Stadio Comunale di Monigo 6,700 Pro14 Conference B (5th)
  Brive   Jeremy Davidson   Saïd Hireche Stade Amédée-Domenech 13,979 Top 14 bottom 6 (10th)
  Cardiff Blues   John Mulvihill   Ellis Jenkins Cardiff Arms Park 12,125 Pro14 Conference B (6th)
  Castres   Mauricio Reggiardo   Mathieu Babillot Stade Pierre-Fabre 12,500 Top 14 bottom 6 (9th)
  Leicester Tigers   Steve Borthwick   Tom Youngs Welford Road Stadium 25,849 Premiership 9th–11th (11th)
  London Irish   Declan Kidney   Blair Cowan
  Paddy Jackson
  Nick Phipps
  Matt Rogerson 		Brentford Community Stadium 17,250 Premiership 9th–11th (10th)
  Newcastle Falcons   Dean Richards   Mark Wilson Kingston Park 10,200 RFU Championship champions
  Ospreys   Toby Booth   Justin Tipuric Liberty Stadium 20,827 Pro14 Conference A (7th)
  Pau   Nicolas Godignon
  Frédéric Manca 		  Quentin Lespiaucq-Brettes Stade du Hameau 18,324 Top 14 bottom 6 (12th)
  Stade Français   Laurent Sempéré
  Julien Arias 		  Yoann Maestri Stade Jean-Bouin 20,000 Top 14 bottom 6 (14th)
  Zebre   Michael Bradley   Tommaso Castello Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi 5,000 Pro14 Conference A (6th)
  Worcester Warriors   Alan Solomons   Ted Hill[a] Sixways Stadium 11,499 Premiership 9th–11th (9th)
Entering at Knockout Stage (transferred from Champions Cup)
  Bath   Stuart Hooper   Charlie Ewels The Recreation Ground 14,509 Champions Cup Pool A 9th–12th (10th)
  Connacht   Andy Friend   Jarrad Butler Galway Sportsgrounds 8,129 Champions Cup Pool B 9th–12th (10th)
  Dragons   Dean Ryan   Rhodri Williams Rodney Parade 8,700 Champions Cup Pool A 9th–12th (12th)
  Glasgow Warriors   Danny Wilson   Fraser Brown
  Ryan Wilson 		Scotstoun Stadium 7,351 Champions Cup Pool B 9th–12th (12th)
  Harlequins   Billy Millard   Stephan Lewies Twickenham Stoop 14,800 Champions Cup Pool B 9th–12th (11th)
  Montpellier   Xavier Garbajosa   Fulgence Ouedraogo Altrad Stadium 15,697 Champions Cup Pool A 9th–12th (11th)
  Northampton Saints   Chris Boyd   Lewis Ludlam
  Alex Waller 		Franklin's Gardens 15,200 Champions Cup Pool A 9th–12th (9th)
  Ulster   Dan McFarland   Iain Henderson Ravenhill Stadium 18,196 Champions Cup Pool B 9th–12th (9th)

Preliminary stage edit

[[File:
class=notpageimage|
Locations
|1300px|alt=Locations of teams of the European Rugby Challenge Cup.
  Red: Competed in pool stage;   Green: Entered from Champions Cup.]]
[[:File:
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Locations
| ]]
Locations of teams of the European Rugby Challenge Cup.
  Red: Competed in pool stage;   Green: Entered from Champions Cup.
Main article: 2020–21 European Rugby Challenge Cup preliminary stage

Teams were placed into one of the two tiers, with the higher ranked clubs being put in Tier 1. The nature of the tier system meant that no draw was needed this year. Brackets show each team's ranking and their league. e.g. 9 Top 14 indicates the team was the ninth placed team from the Top 14.

Tier 1   Bayonne (11 Top 14)   Benetton (9 Pro14)   Brive (10 Top 14)   Cardiff Blues (10 Pro14)   Castres (9 Top 14)   London Irish (10 Prem)   Worcester Warriors (9 Prem)
Tier 2   Agen (13 Top 14)   Leicester Tigers (11 Prem)   Newcastle Falcons (12 Prem)   Ospreys (12 Pro14)   Pau (12 Top 14)   Stade Français (14 Top 14)   Zebre (11 Top 14)

The preliminary stage would consist of a single pool of 14 teams. No team would play a team in the same tier and no club would play another club from the same league. Each team was scheduled to play four matches with the top eight teams advancing to the knockout stage. The top eight teams were due to be joined in the round of 16 by the teams finishing between 5th and 8th in each pool of the 2020–21 European Rugby Champions Cup pool stage.

The revised format announced in February 2021 would see the top 8 teams after 2 pool games advance to the round of 16 along with the eight teams placed between 9th and 12th in each pool of the Champions Cup.[5]

Key to colours
     Top 8, advance to round of 16
     Eliminated from tournament
Team P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
  London Irish 2 2 0 0 60 25 +35 9 3 2 0 10
  Ospreys 2 2 0 0 77 44 +33 9 6 2 0 10
  Cardiff Blues 2 2 0 0 61 20 +41 7 2 1 0 9
  Leicester Tigers 2 2 0 0 67 37 +30 7 3 1 0 9
  Zebre 2 1 1 0 43 41 +2 5 4 0 0 6
  Agen 2 1 0 1 36 34 +2 5 5 1 0 5
  Benetton 2 1 0 1 44 48 −4 7 7 1 0 5
  Newcastle Falcons 2 1 0 1 46 50 −4 5 6 0 0 4
  Pau 2 1 0 1 41 46 −5 5 6 0 0 4
  Bayonne 2 0 1 1 45 53 −8 5 6 0 0 2
  Worcester Warriors 2 0 0 2 49 62 −13 6 7 1 1 2
  Brive 2 0 0 2 33 57 −24 2 6 0 1 1
  Castres 2 0 0 2 32 65 −33 5 8 0 0 0
  Stade Français 2 0 0 2 20 72 −52 3 11 0 0 0

Last 16 rankings edit

Key to colours
     Top 8 in Challenge Cup      Champions Cup 17th-24th
Team P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
  London Irish 2 2 0 0 60 25 +35 9 3 2 0 10
  Ospreys 2 2 0 0 77 44 +33 9 6 2 0 10
  Cardiff Blues 2 2 0 0 61 20 +41 7 2 1 0 9
  Leicester Tigers 2 2 0 0 67 37 +30 7 3 1 0 9
  Zebre 2 1 1 0 43 41 +2 5 4 0 0 6
  Agen 2 1 0 1 36 34 +2 5 5 1 0 5
  Benetton 2 1 0 1 44 48 −4 7 7 1 0 5
  Newcastle Falcons 2 1 0 1 46 50 −4 5 6 0 0 4
  Ulster 2 0 0 2 56 67 −11 7 9 1 2 3
  Connacht 2 0 0 2 40 53 −13 5 8 0 1 1
  Northampton Saints 2 0 0 2 31 51 −20 3 5 0 1 1
  Bath 2 0 0 2 19 51 −32 2 6 0 1 1
  Montpellier 2 0 0 2 28 68 −40 3 10 0 0 0
  Dragons 2 0 0 2 16 71 −55 2 11 0 0 0
  Harlequins 2 0 0 2 14 70 −56 2 9 0 0 0
  Glasgow Warriors 2 0 0 2 0 70 −70 0 10 0 0 0

Knockout stage edit

The knockout stage commenced with a round of 16 consisting of the top 8 ranked teams from the preliminary stage and the teams placed between 9th and 12th in each Champions Cup pool. Due to the truncation of the preliminary stage, a draw was used to determine matches in both round of 16 and quarter-finals but no team would face a team from the same league in the round of 16. Teams which won both their matches and were not awarded points due to COVID cancellations would be guaranteed home advantage. Therefore, Leicester Tigers, London Irish and Ospreys received home advantage.[5]

The draw for the round of 16 and quarter-finals took place on 9 March 2021 in Lausanne, Switzerland.[7]

Bracket edit

Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
        
  Leicester Tigers 48
  Connacht 32
  Leicester Tigers 39
  Newcastle Falcons 15
  Ospreys 24
  Newcastle Falcons 28
  Leicester Tigers 33
  Ulster 24
  Dragons 39
  Northampton Saints 43
  Northampton Saints 27
  Ulster 35
  Harlequins 21
  Ulster 57
  Leicester Tigers 17
  Montpellier 18
  Zebre 27
  Bath 35
  Bath 26
  London Irish 13
  London Irish 41
  Cardiff Blues 35
  Bath 10
  Montpellier 19
  Montpellier 26
  Glasgow Warriors 21
  Montpellier 31
  Benetton 25
  Benetton 29
  Agen 16

Round of 16 edit

Fixtures were announced on 16 March 2021.[8]

2 April 2021
16:00 CET
Zebre  27–35  Bath
Try: Bruno 2' c, 9' c, 22' c
Con: Canna (3/3) 3', 10', 23'
Pen: Pescetto (2/3) 67', 71'		ReportTry: Cokanasiga 14' c
Stuart 40' c
Obano 45' c
Watson 61' c
du Toit 78' c
Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi
Attendance: 0
Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
2 April 2021
17:30 BST
London Irish  41–35  Cardiff Blues
Try: Loader 30' c
Hassell-Collins (2) 49' c, 74' c
Hepetema 71' c
Rona 79' c
Con: Jackson (5/5) 31', 49', 72', 76', 80'
Pen: Jackson (2/3) 13', 39'		ReportTry: Dacey 16' c
Adams 20' c
Harries 57' m
L. Williams 64' c
Con: Evans (3/4) 17', 20', 65'
Pen: Evans (2/3) 27', 46'
Drop: Evans 77'
Brentford Community Stadium
Attendance: 0
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
2 April 2021
21:00 CET
Montpellier  26–21  Glasgow Warriors
Try: Guirado 38' c
Bouthier 43' c
Con: Lozowski (2/2) 40', 44'
Pen: Lozowski (4/6) 14', 24', 58', 71'		ReportPen: Hastings (5/5) 1', 16', 27', 55', 62'
Thompson (2/2) 70', 73'
GGL Stadium
Attendance: 0
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
3 April 2021
16:00 CET
Benetton  29–16  Agen
Try: Duvenage 20' m
Ioane 45' m
Brex 62' m
Padovani 73' m
Pen: Garbisi (3/3) 12', 29', 39'		ReportTry: Hayes 1' c
Con: Verdu (1/1) 2'
Pen: Verdu (3/3) 18', 50', 55'
Stadio Comunale di Monigo
Attendance: 0
Referee: Christophe Ridley (England)
3 April 2021
15:00 BST
Ospreys  24–28  Newcastle Falcons
Try: K. Williams 8' c
D. Evans 12' c
Botha 70' c
Con: Price (3/3) 9', 13', 71'
Pen: Price (1/1) 56'		ReportTry: Davison 33' c
Penalty try 38'
Robinson 41' c
McGuigan 64' m
van der Walt 66' c
Con: Connon (3/4) 34', 42', 67'
Liberty Stadium
Attendance: 0
Referee: Ludovic Cayre (France)
3 April 2021
17:30 BST
Dragons  39–43  Northampton Saints
Try: Hewitt (2) 11' c, 33' m
Screech 26' c
S. Davies 50' c
Brown 60' c
Con: S. Davies (4/5) 12', 26', 51', 60'
Pen: S. Davies (2/2) 6', 43'		ReportTry: Naiyaravoro (2) 36' c, 73' c
Sleightholme 41' c
Mitchell 54' c
Harrison 62' m
Collins 74' c
Con: Grayson (5/6) 37', 41, 55', 73' 75'
Pen: Grayson (1/1) 24'
Rodney Parade
Attendance: 0
Referee: Alexandre Ruiz (France)
3 April 2021
20:00 BST
Leicester Tigers  48–32  Connacht
Try: Clare (2) 11' m, 65' c
Porter 14' c
Moroni 27' m
Henry 31' c
Wells 73' c
Wiese 78' c
Con: Henry (2/4) 15', 32'
McPhillips (3/3) 66', 74', 79'
Pen: McPhillips (1/1) 57'		ReportTry: Marmion 6' m
E. Masterson 43' c
Wootton 56' c
Boyle 71' c
Con: Carty (2/3) 44', 59'
C. Fitzgerald (1/1) 71'
Pen: Carty (2/3) 23', 40+5'
Mattioli Woods Welford Road
Attendance: 0
Referee: Adam Jones (Wales)[b]
4 April 2021
20:00 BST
Harlequins  21–57  Ulster
Try: Lawday 31' c
Kenningham 64' c
Els 77' c
Con: Herron (3/3) 32', 64', 78'		ReportTry: McCloskey 7' c
Herring (2) 21' c, 55' c
Reidy (2) 26' c, 69' c
Lowry 33' m
Burns 59' c
Mathewson 65' c
Con: Cooney (5/6) 8', 23', 27', 57', 60'
Madigan (2/2) 66', 70'
Pen: Cooney (1/1) 12'
Twickenham Stoop
Attendance: 0
Referee: Romain Poite (France)

Quarter-finals edit

9 April 2021
20:00 BST
Bath  26–13  London Irish
Try: McNally 8' c
Stuart (2) 23' c, 31' m
Mercer 67' c
Con: Spencer (3/4) 9', 24', 68'		ReportTry: Creevy 5' c
Con: Jackson (1/1) 6'
Pen: Jackson (2/2) 40', 63'
Recreation Ground
Attendance: 0
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
10 April 2021
12:30 BST
Leicester Tigers  39–15  Newcastle Falcons
Try: Potter (2) 4' m, 80' c
Penalty try (2) 13', 75'
Moroni 46' c
Con: McPhillips (1/2) 47'
Ford (1/1) 80+1'
Pen: McPhillips (1/1) 17'
Ford (1/1) 56'		ReportTry: Wacokecoke 32' m
Penny 48' c
Con: Connon (1/2) 50'
Pen: Connon (1/1) 9'
Mattioli Woods Welford Road
Attendance: 0
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
10 April 2021
20:00 BST
Northampton Saints  27–35  Ulster
Try: Mitchell 4' c
Freeman (2) 32' m, 34' c
Sleightholme 58' m
Con: Francis (2/4) 6', 35'
Pen: Francis (1/1) 16'		ReportTry: Penalty try 11'
Herring 24' c
M. Moore 46' c
Cooney 61' c
Stockdale 72' c
Con: Cooney (4/4) 25', 47', 62', 73'
Franklin's Gardens
Attendance: 0
Referee: Alexandre Ruiz (France)
10 April 2021
21:00 CET
Montpellier  31–25  Benetton
Try: Paillaugue (2) 11' m, 54' c
Willemse 36' c
Con: Paillaugue (2/3) 37', 55'
Pen: Paillaugue (3/3) 4', 29', 60'
Drop: Bouthier 24'		ReportTry: Garbisi 45' c
Con: Garbisi (1/1) 46'
Pen: Garbisi (5/6) 1', 6', 14', 27', 31'
Allan (1/1) 65'
GGL Stadium
Attendance: 0
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)

Semi-finals edit

The draw for the semi-finals took place on 11 April 2021 at BT Sport's studios in London.[2]

30 April 2021
20:00 BST
Leicester Tigers  33–24  Ulster
Try: Wiese 44' c
Genge 52' c
Porter 73' c
Con: Ford (3/3) 44', 54', 75'
Pen: Ford (3/4) 6', 19', 49'
Drop: Ford 58'		ReportTry: Henderson 15' c
Burns 21' c
Timoney 67' c
Con: Cooney (2/2) 16', 22'
Lowry (1/1) 68'
Pen: Cooney (1/1) 9'
Mattioli Woods Welford Road
Attendance: 0
Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (France)
1 May 2021
20:00 BST
Bath  10–19  Montpellier
Try: Dunn 2' c
Con: B. Spencer (1/1) 3'
Pen: B. Spencer (1/2) 26'		ReportTry: Camara 22' c
Con: Paillaugue (1/1) 23'
Pen: Paillaugue (3/5) 19', 31', 36'
Pollard (1/1) 79'
Recreation Ground
Attendance: 0
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)

Final edit

21 May 2021
20:00
Leicester Tigers  17–18  Montpellier
Try: Wells 32' c
Wiese 46' c
Con: Ford (2/2) 34', 47'
Pen: Ford (1/2) 8'		ReportTry: Rattez 13' c
Goosen 57' m
Con: Paillaugue (1/2) 14'
Pen: Paillaugue (2/3) 16', 50'
Twickenham Stadium
Attendance: 10,000[c]
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
FB 15   Freddie Steward
RW 14   Guy Porter   19'
OC 13   Matías Moroni
IC 12   Dan Kelly
LW 11   Nemani Nadolo   68'
FH 10   George Ford
SH 9   Richard Wigglesworth   45'
N8 8   Jasper Wiese
OF 7   Cyle Brink   29'
BF 6   Hanro Liebenberg
RL 5   Calum Green   77'
LL 4   Harry Wells   60'
TP 3   Dan Cole   52'
HK 2   Tom Youngs (c)   52'
LP 1   Ellis Genge   65'
Substitutions:
HK 16   Charlie Clare   52'
PR 17   Luan de Bruin   65'
PR 18   Joe Heyes   52'
LK 19   Cameron Henderson   77'
FL 20   Tommy Reffell   29'
SH 21   Ben Youngs   45'
FH 22   Zack Henry   68'
WG 23   Kini Murimurivalu   19'
Coach:
  Steve Borthwick
FB 15   Anthony Bouthier
RW 14   Arthur Vincent   43'
OC 13   Johan Goosen
IC 12   Jan Serfontein   63'
LW 11   Vincent Rattez
FH 10   Alex Lozowski
SH 9   Benoît Paillaugue   62'
N8 8   Alexandre Bécognée   29' to 40'   52'   55'
OF 7   Yacouba Camara
BF 6   Fulgence Ouedraogo   25'
RL 5   Paul Willemse   77'
LL 4   Florian Verhaeghe   67'
TP 3   Mohamed Haouas   65'
HK 2   Guilhem Guirado (c)   44' to 54'   65'
LP 1   Enzo Forletta
Substitutions:
HK 16   Bismarck du Plessis   52'   55'   65'
PR 17   Robert Rodgers
PR 18   Titi Lamositele   65'
LK 19   Tyler Duguid   77'
FL 20   Jacques du Plessis   25'
SH 21   Cobus Reinach   62'
FH 22   Handré Pollard   63'
CE 23   Gabriel N'Gandebe   43'
Coach:
  Philippe Saint-André

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Hill was named as Worcester's club captain in July 2020, with Matt Moulds serving as team captain.
  2. ^ Replaces Pascal Gaüzère who was originally appointed to the fixture but changed to Jones on 26 March
  3. ^ Capacity limited to 10,000 due to national restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

References edit

  1. ^ "New EPCR dates for 2019/20 announced". European Professional Club Rugby. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  2. ^ a b "EPCR statement – 2021 Marseille finals and semi-final matches". European Professional Club Rugby. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  3. ^ "Twickenham Stadium to host 2021 EPCR finals". European Professional Club Rugby. 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  4. ^ "EPCR tournaments temporarily suspended". European Professional Club Rugby. 11 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "Revised EPCR tournament formats for 2020/21 season announced". European Professional Club Rugby. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  6. ^ "New EPCR tournament formats agreed for 2020/21 season". European Professional Club Rugby. 2 September 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  7. ^ "All you need to know about the European Rugby Challenge Cup knockout stage draws". European Professional Club Rugby. 8 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Challenge Cup Round of 16 fixture dates announced". European Professional Club Rugby. 16 March 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
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