2009–10 European Challenge Cup
Encyclopedia
The 2009–10 Amlin Challenge Cup was the 14th season of the European Challenge Cup
, the annual rugby union
European club competition for clubs from six nations in European rugby. It started on 8 October 2009 at Sixways Stadium
in Worcester
with Worcester Warriors hosting Montpellier
, and ended with the final at Stade Vélodrome
in Marseille
on 23 May 2010. The reigning champions were Northampton Saints
, who did not defend their title as they qualified for the 2009–10 Heineken Cup
. Cardiff Blues
won the trophy after a 28-21 win against Toulon
.
- progressed farther in the 2008-09 Heineken Cup
than any French or Italian team.
Other countries will have their usual number of teams: Ireland one, Romania one and one from Spain.
Beginning with this season's competition, only the pool winners advanced to the knockout stage. They were joined by three clubs from the 2009–10 Heineken Cup
, specifically the third- through fifth-highest ranking teams that finished second in their pool (the top two second-place teams entered the Heineken Cup knockout stage).
at the time of the pool draw in June 2009.
European Challenge Cup
The European Challenge Cup, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Amlin Challenge Cup, is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup. The cup was known as the Parker Pen Shield from 2001 to 2003 and Parker Pen Challenge Cup from 2003 to 2005. The European...
, the annual rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
European club competition for clubs from six nations in European rugby. It started on 8 October 2009 at Sixways Stadium
Sixways Stadium
Sixways Stadium is a stadium in Worcester, England. It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches and is the home stadium of Worcester Rugby Football Club. The stadium is able to hold 12,068. It opened in 1975 and is located off junction 6 of the M5 motorway, hence the name Sixways.An...
in Worcester
Worcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
with Worcester Warriors hosting Montpellier
Montpellier Hérault RC
Montpellier Hérault Rugby Club is a professional French rugby union, based in Montpellier the capital of Languedoc-Roussillon. The club competes in the top level of the French league system, in the Top 14. They originally played at Stade Sabathé but moved to the Stade Yves-du-Manoir in 2007...
, and ended with the final at Stade Vélodrome
Stade Vélodrome
The Stade Vélodrome is a football stadium in Marseille, France. It is home to the Olympique de Marseille football club of Ligue 1, and was a venue in the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the 2007 Rugby World Cup. It is the largest club-football ground in France, with a capacity of 60,031 spectators,...
in Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
on 23 May 2010. The reigning champions were Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints are a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The Northampton Saints were formed in 1880. They play in green, black and gold colours. They play their home games at Franklin's Gardens, which has a capacity of 13,591....
, who did not defend their title as they qualified for the 2009–10 Heineken Cup
2009–10 Heineken Cup
The 2009–10 Heineken Cup was the 15th season of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby...
. Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Blues
Cardiff Blues are one of the four professional Welsh regional rugby union teams. Based in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, the team have played at Cardiff City Stadium since the start of the 2009/2010 season and are owned by Cardiff Rugby Football Club....
won the trophy after a 28-21 win against Toulon
RC Toulonnais
RC Toulonnais is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
.
Teams
Five English teams and eight French teams competed because an English team - Leicester TigersLeicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...
- progressed farther in the 2008-09 Heineken Cup
2008-09 Heineken Cup
The 2008–09 Heineken Cup was the fourteenth edition of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. It started in October 2008 and ended on 23 May 2009 at Murrayfield in Edinburgh...
than any French or Italian team.
Other countries will have their usual number of teams: Ireland one, Romania one and one from Spain.
| France | England | Italy | Ireland | Romania | Spain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
London Wasps London Wasps is an English professional rugby union team. The men's first team, which forms London Wasps, was derived from Wasps Football Club who were formed in 1867 at the now defunct Eton and Middlesex Tavern in North London, at the turn of professionalism in 1999... Newcastle Falcons The Newcastle Falcons is an English rugby union team currently playing in the Aviva Premiership. The club was established in 1877 and played under the name of Gosforth Football Club until 1990. The name was then changed to Newcastle Gosforth and the club began to play at Kingston Park stadium in... Saracens F.C. Saracens are a professional rugby union team based in St. Albans, England – although they play their home games at Vicarage Road, in Watford. They are currently members of the Aviva Premiership, the top level of domestic rugby union in England... |
Rugby Rovigo Rugby Rovigo Delta are an Italian rugby union club currently competing in Super 10.They are based in Rovigo in Veneto.... Rugby Roma Olimpic Società Sportiva Dilettantistica Rugby Roma Olimpic are an Italian professional rugby union team.Based in Rome, the senior team competed in the Italian top tier competition, the Super 10.... |
Connacht Rugby Connacht Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Connacht that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 comprising teams from the Celtic nations plus Italy. Normally, it also competes in the second-tier pan-European club competition, the European Challenge Cup... |
|
Olympus Rugby XV Madrid Olympus Rugby XV Madrid are a rugby union team that competed in the European Challenge Cup. The side is a team that was formed every season to play in the Challenge Cup, consisting of footballers playing in the domestic Spanish leagues... |
Pool stage
The draw for the pool stages took place on 15 June 2009. The seeding system was the same as for the 2008-09 tournament. The 20 competing teams were ranked based on past Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup performance, with each pool receiving one team from each Tier. The requirement to have only one team per country in each pool was, however, still apply (with the exception of the inclusion of the sixth, seventh and eight French teams).Beginning with this season's competition, only the pool winners advanced to the knockout stage. They were joined by three clubs from the 2009–10 Heineken Cup
2009–10 Heineken Cup
The 2009–10 Heineken Cup was the 15th season of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby...
, specifically the third- through fifth-highest ranking teams that finished second in their pool (the top two second-place teams entered the Heineken Cup knockout stage).
Team seedings
Seeding was determined by the teams' position in the ERC RankingsEuropean Rugby Club Rankings
The European Rugby Club Rankings were introduced for the 2008-09 European season. They are based on the points earned by teams in the Heineken Cup and the European Challenge Cup over the past four years. They are used to aid in the seeding process for the Heineken Cup and the European Challenge...
at the time of the pool draw in June 2009.
| Rank | Team | Total Points | 2008-09 Points | 2007-08 Points | 2006-07 Points | 2005-06 Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | London Wasps London Wasps London Wasps is an English professional rugby union team. The men's first team, which forms London Wasps, was derived from Wasps Football Club who were formed in 1867 at the now defunct Eton and Middlesex Tavern in North London, at the turn of professionalism in 1999... |
19 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 3 |
| 12 | Saracens Saracens F.C. Saracens are a professional rugby union team based in St. Albans, England – although they play their home games at Vicarage Road, in Watford. They are currently members of the Aviva Premiership, the top level of domestic rugby union in England... |
14 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 3 |
| 19 | Bourgoin CS Bourgoin-Jallieu CS Bourgoin-Jallieu is a French rugby union club currently competing in the second level of the French league system in the Pro D2. The club have been runners-up in the French championship and the Challenge Yves du Manoir competitions, and have won the Challenge Cup.Founded in 1906 as "Club... |
8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 22 | Worcester | 7 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| 25 | Newcastle Newcastle Falcons The Newcastle Falcons is an English rugby union team currently playing in the Aviva Premiership. The club was established in 1877 and played under the name of Gosforth Football Club until 1990. The name was then changed to Newcastle Gosforth and the club began to play at Kingston Park stadium in... |
6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 27 | Castres Castres Olympique Castres Olympique is a French rugby union club located in the Midi-Pyrénées city of Castres and currently competing in the top level of the French league system.Founded in 1898, the club took its current name in 1906... |
5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 30 | Leeds | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 31 | Calvisano Rugby Calvisano Rugby Calvisano are an Italian rugby union club currently competing in National Championship of Excellence.They are based in Calvisano , in Lombardy.... |
3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 34 | Connacht Connacht Rugby Connacht Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Connacht that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 comprising teams from the Celtic nations plus Italy. Normally, it also competes in the second-tier pan-European club competition, the European Challenge Cup... |
2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 35 | Montauban US Montauban US Montauban were a French rugby union club, which competed in the Top 14 competition between 2007 and 2010, after being promoted from Rugby Pro D2 for the 2006-07 season... |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Montpellier Montpellier Hérault RC Montpellier Hérault Rugby Club is a professional French rugby union, based in Montpellier the capital of Languedoc-Roussillon. The club competes in the top level of the French league system, in the Top 14. They originally played at Stade Sabathé but moved to the Stade Yves-du-Manoir in 2007... |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Overmach Parma | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 39 | Bayonne Aviron Bayonnais Aviron Bayonnais is a French rugby union club from Bayonne in Pyrénées-Atlantiques that currently competes in the top level of the French league system, in the Top 14 competition... |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Winner of each pool, advanced to quarterfinals Along with 3rd, 4th and 5th best runners up in the Heineken Cup group stages. Seed # in parentheses |
Pool 1
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 BourgoinCS Bourgoin-Jallieu CS Bourgoin-Jallieu is a French rugby union club currently competing in the second level of the French league system in the Pro D2. The club have been runners-up in the French championship and the Challenge Yves du Manoir competitions, and have won the Challenge Cup.Founded in 1906 as "Club... |
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 6 | +10 | 141 | 86 | +55 | 2 | 1 | 23 |
 Leeds Carnegie |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 6 | +13 | 160 | 82 | +78 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
 Overmach Parma |
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 17 | −12 | 78 | 145 | −67 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
 Bucureşti Oaks |
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 16 | −11 | 70 | 136 | −66 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
Pool 2
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connacht Connacht Rugby Connacht Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Connacht that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 comprising teams from the Celtic nations plus Italy. Normally, it also competes in the second-tier pan-European club competition, the European Challenge Cup... |
6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 5 | +23 | 199 | 63 | +136 | 2 | 0 | 26 |
| Montpellier Montpellier Hérault RC Montpellier Hérault Rugby Club is a professional French rugby union, based in Montpellier the capital of Languedoc-Roussillon. The club competes in the top level of the French league system, in the Top 14. They originally played at Stade Sabathé but moved to the Stade Yves-du-Manoir in 2007... |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 10 | +8 | 158 | 92 | +66 | 2 | 1 | 19 |
| Worcester Warriors |
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 18 | 8 | 140 | 83 | +57 | 2 | 3 | 13 | |
 Olympus MadridOlympus Rugby XV Madrid Olympus Rugby XV Madrid are a rugby union team that competed in the European Challenge Cup. The side is a team that was formed every season to play in the Challenge Cup, consisting of footballers playing in the domestic Spanish leagues... |
6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 45 | −41 | 44 | 303 | −269 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pool 3
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toulon RC Toulonnais RC Toulonnais is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur... |
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 7 | +20 | 218 | 88 | +130 | 3 | 0 | 23 |
| Saracens Saracens F.C. Saracens are a professional rugby union team based in St. Albans, England – although they play their home games at Vicarage Road, in Watford. They are currently members of the Aviva Premiership, the top level of domestic rugby union in England... |
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 6 | +11 | 184 | 83 | +101 | 2 | 0 | 22 |
| Castres Olympique Castres Olympique Castres Olympique is a French rugby union club located in the Midi-Pyrénées city of Castres and currently competing in the top level of the French league system.Founded in 1898, the club took its current name in 1906... |
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 24 | 12 | +12 | 173 | 127 | +46 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| Rovigo Rugby Rovigo Rugby Rovigo Delta are an Italian rugby union club currently competing in Super 10.They are based in Rovigo in Veneto.... |
6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 46 | −43 | 41 | 318 | −277 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pool 4
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London Wasps London Wasps London Wasps is an English professional rugby union team. The men's first team, which forms London Wasps, was derived from Wasps Football Club who were formed in 1867 at the now defunct Eton and Middlesex Tavern in North London, at the turn of professionalism in 1999... |
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 3 | +18 | 176 | 69 | +107 | 2 | 1 | 23 |
| Bayonne Aviron Bayonnais Aviron Bayonnais is a French rugby union club from Bayonne in Pyrénées-Atlantiques that currently competes in the top level of the French league system, in the Top 14 competition... |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 4 | −19 | 184 | 73 | +111 | 2 | 1 | 19 |
| Racing Métro Racing Metro 92 Paris Racing Métro 92 is a French rugby union club based in suburban Paris that was formed in 2001 with the collaboration of the Racing Club de France and US Métro. "92" is the number of Hauts-de-Seine, the département of Île-de-France, bordering Paris to the west, where they play, and whose council... |
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 7 | +15 | 177 | 85 | +92 | 2 | 2 | 16 |
| Rugby Roma Olimpic |
6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 53 | −52 | 28 | 338 | −310 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pool 5
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons The Newcastle Falcons is an English rugby union team currently playing in the Aviva Premiership. The club was established in 1877 and played under the name of Gosforth Football Club until 1990. The name was then changed to Newcastle Gosforth and the club began to play at Kingston Park stadium in... |
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 6 | +10 | 146 | 77 | +69 | 2 | 1 | 23 |
| Montauban US Montauban US Montauban were a French rugby union club, which competed in the Top 14 competition between 2007 and 2010, after being promoted from Rugby Pro D2 for the 2006-07 season... |
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 9 | +4 | 132 | 96 | +36 | 1 | 0 | 21 |
| Albi SC Albi Sporting Club Albigeois is a professional French rugby union club playing the second-level Rugby Pro D2. During the past years it went back and forth between Top 14, the highest level of the French league system and the second-level Rugby Pro D2. Their last time in the Top 14 was for 2009–10 after... |
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 14 | −1 | 117 | 137 | −20 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
| Petrarca Padova |
6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 22 | −13 | 95 | 180 | −85 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Seeding
- Bare numbers indicate Challenge quarterfinal seeding.
- Numbers with "HC" indicate Heineken Cup 3rd-5th Runners-Up.
| Seeds | Top 4 Pool Winners | Pts | TF | +/− |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Connacht Connacht Rugby Connacht Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Connacht that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 comprising teams from the Celtic nations plus Italy. Normally, it also competes in the second-tier pan-European club competition, the European Challenge Cup... |
26 | 28 | |
| 2 | Toulon RC Toulonnais RC Toulonnais is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur... |
23 | 27 | |
| 3 | London Wasps London Wasps London Wasps is an English professional rugby union team. The men's first team, which forms London Wasps, was derived from Wasps Football Club who were formed in 1867 at the now defunct Eton and Middlesex Tavern in North London, at the turn of professionalism in 1999... |
23 | 21 | |
| 4 | Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons The Newcastle Falcons is an English rugby union team currently playing in the Aviva Premiership. The club was established in 1877 and played under the name of Gosforth Football Club until 1990. The name was then changed to Newcastle Gosforth and the club began to play at Kingston Park stadium in... |
23 | 16 | |
| Non-Seeds | (Worst Pool Winner and HC Runners-up) | Pts | TF | +/− |
| 5HC |  Cardiff BluesCardiff Blues Cardiff Blues are one of the four professional Welsh regional rugby union teams. Based in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, the team have played at Cardiff City Stadium since the start of the 2009/2010 season and are owned by Cardiff Rugby Football Club.... |
18 | 14 | |
| 6HC | Gloucester |
17 | 12 | |
| 7HC | Scarlets |
17 | 12 | |
| 8 | Bourgoin CS Bourgoin-Jallieu CS Bourgoin-Jallieu is a French rugby union club currently competing in the second level of the French league system in the Pro D2. The club have been runners-up in the French championship and the Challenge Yves du Manoir competitions, and have won the Challenge Cup.Founded in 1906 as "Club... |
23 | 15 |
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
On 28 April 2010, the competition organiser, European Rugby Cup, announced that the final will be held on 23 May. The time was set at 13:00 UTCCoordinated Universal TimeCoordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
(14:00 BSTBritish Summer TimeWestern European Summer Time is a summer daylight saving time scheme, 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in the following places:* the Canary Islands* Portugal * Ireland...
, 15:00 CESTCentral European Summer TimeCentral European Summer Time is one of the names of the Daylight saving time offset using the UTC offset of UTC+02:00, 2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used as a summer daylight saving time in most European countries. During the winter, Central European Time is used...
), but the location would depend on the result of the Connacht–Toulon semi-final. Since Toulon won, the final was held at Stade VélodromeStade VélodromeThe Stade Vélodrome is a football stadium in Marseille, France. It is home to the Olympique de Marseille football club of Ligue 1, and was a venue in the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the 2007 Rugby World Cup. It is the largest club-football ground in France, with a capacity of 60,031 spectators,...
in MarseilleMarseilleMarseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
.
Cardiff Blues were designated as the home team for the final. However, it was an effective home game for Toulon; Stade Vélodrome hosted two of that club's matches in their domestic season2009–10 Top 14 seasonStade de France was listed as an alternate home for Stade Français because the club hosted five of their 13 home matches this season at the national stadium. Similarly, Stadium Municipal was listed as an alternate home for Toulouse, who normally play two Top 14 matches a year at that facility...
. Cardiff BluesCardiff BluesCardiff Blues are one of the four professional Welsh regional rugby union teams. Based in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, the team have played at Cardiff City Stadium since the start of the 2009/2010 season and are owned by Cardiff Rugby Football Club....
won the final against ToulonRC ToulonnaisRC Toulonnais is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
by 28-21.
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