2009–10 Heineken Cup pool stage
Encyclopedia
The pool stage of the 2009–10 Heineken Cup was the opening phase of the annual competition, in which 24 teams were arranged into six pools contesting of four teams each and then competed in a home-and-away double round robin. Eight teams, specifically the six pool winners and the two best runners-up, qualified for the quarter-finals, starting a knock-out phase that will end with the final at Stade de France
in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis
.
For the first time, the third- through fifth-ranking runners-up parachuted into the knockout stage of the European Challenge Cup
. Also for the first time, the winner of the Heineken Cup will receive an automatic berth in the following season's competition. The draw for the pools took place on 9 June 2009 in Paris.
The brackets show each team's European Rugby Club Ranking
at the start of the 2009–10 season.
After the two second-place teams advancing to the Heineken Cup quarter-finals were determined, the next three second-place finishers parachuted into the quarter-finals of the Amlin Challenge Cup. These teams became the 5th through 7th seeds in the Challenge Cup knockout phase, and played their quarter-finals away.
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Stade de France
The Stade de France is the national stadium of France, situated just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. It has an all-seater capacity of 80,000, making it the fifth largest stadium in Europe, and is used by both the France national football team and French rugby union team for...
in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis
Saint-Denis is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Saint-Denis is a sous-préfecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis département, being the seat of the Arrondissement of Saint-Denis....
.
For the first time, the third- through fifth-ranking runners-up parachuted into the knockout stage of the European Challenge Cup
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...
. Also for the first time, the winner of the Heineken Cup will receive an automatic berth in the following season's competition. The draw for the pools took place on 9 June 2009 in Paris.
Seeding within pools
The seeding system was the same as in the 2008–09 tournament. The 24 competing teams were ranked based on past Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup performance, with each pool receiving one team from each quartile, or Tier. The requirement to have only one team per country in each pool, however, still applied (with the exception of the inclusion of the seventh English team).The brackets show each team's European Rugby Club Ranking
European 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 start of the 2009–10 season.
| Tier 1 | Munster Munster Rugby Munster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish... (1) |
 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... (2) |
Leinster Leinster Rugby Leinster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Leinster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Dublin, representing the Irish province of Leinster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro 12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup... (3) |
 ToulouseStade Toulousain Stade Toulousain, also referred to as Toulouse, is a French rugby union club from Toulouse in Midi-Pyrénées. Toulouse is one of the finest rugby clubs in Europe, having won the Heineken Cup four times – in 1996, 2003, 2005 and 2010. They were also runners-up in 2004 and 2008 against London Wasps... (4) |
Bath Bath Rugby Bath Rugby is an English professional rugby union club that is based in the city of Bath. They play in the Aviva Premiership league... (5) |
Biarritz Biarritz Olympique Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque is a French professional rugby union team based in the Basque city of Biarritz, Aquitaine which competes in the Top 14 and the Heineken Cup... (6) |
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| Tier 2 |  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.... (8) |
Stade Français (9) |
Gloucester (10) |
Perpignan USA Perpignan Union Sportive des Arlequins Perpignanais or Unió eSportiva Arlequins de Perpinyà , generally abbreviated as USAP in both languages, is a French rugby union club that plays in the city of Perpignan in Pyrénées-Orientales. The club currently competes in the Top 14, the top level of the French... (11) |
Ospreys (13) |
London Irish London Irish London Irish RFC is an English rugby union club based in Sunbury, Surrey, where the senior squad train, the youth teams and senior academy play home games, and the club maintain their administrative offices. The senior squad play home games at the Madejski Stadium in Reading and compete in the top... (14) |
| Tier 3 | 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.... (15) |
Sale Sharks Sale Sharks Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the... (16) |
Clermont ASM Clermont Auvergne Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne are a French rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system, ASMCA are the were the 2010 France Top 14 Champions. It is the rugby section of the multi-sport club... (17) |
Scarlets (18) |
Ulster Rugby Ulster Rugby Ulster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Ulster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Belfast, representing the Irish province of Ulster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup... (20) |
Newport Gwent Dragons Newport Gwent Dragons Newport Gwent Dragons are one of the four professional Rugby Union regional teams in Wales. They are jointly owned by Newport RFC and the Welsh Rugby Union and play all their home games at Rodney Parade, Newport. They play in the RaboDirect Pro12, the Anglo-Welsh Cup and the Heineken Cup... (21) |
| Tier 4 | Harlequins Harlequin F.C. The Harlequin Football Club is an English rugby union team who play in the top level of English rugby, the Aviva Premiership. Their ground in London is Twickenham Stoop... (23) |
 Glasgow WarriorsGlasgow Warriors The Glasgow Warriors, formerly Glasgow Rugby, are one of two professional rugby union teams in Scotland, Edinburgh being the other. They play in the RaboDirect Pro12 and their home ground is Firhill Stadium, also the home of Partick Thistle Football Club.-History:Glasgow Rugby were created to... (24) |
Edinburgh (26) |
 Benetton TrevisoBenetton Rugby Treviso Benetton Rugby Treviso are an Italian professional rugby union club currently competing in the RaboDirect Pro12 and the Heineken Cup.They are based in Treviso in Veneto, and owned by the Benetton clothing company.... (28) |
Brive CA Brive Club Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin is a French rugby union team founded in 1910 and based in Brive-la-Gaillarde in the département of Corrèze of the Limousin région . They wear black and white and play in the Stade Amédée-Domenech .- History :The club was created on 15 March 1910 established on... (29) |
Viadana (36) |
Seeding for the knockout phase
The winners of each of the six pools were seeded 1 to 6 first by competition points, then tries scored, and finally score difference. The runners-up were similarly sorted, and the best two were seeded seven and eight and progressed to the quarter-finals alongside the six winners. The top four seeds are given home matches in the quarter-finals, with seed 1 playing seed 8, seed 2 playing seed 7, etc.After the two second-place teams advancing to the Heineken Cup quarter-finals were determined, the next three second-place finishers parachuted into the quarter-finals of the Amlin Challenge Cup. These teams became the 5th through 7th seeds in the Challenge Cup knockout phase, and played their quarter-finals away.
Pools
| Winner of each pool, advance to quarterfinals. Seed # in parentheses |
|
| Two highest-scoring second-place teams, advance to quarterfinals. Seed # in parentheses. |
|
| Third- through fifth-highest-scoring second-place teams parachute into the knockout stage of the European Challenge Cup 2009–10 European Challenge Cup 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... . Seed # in brackets [ ]. |
Pool 1
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Munster Munster Rugby Munster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish... (1) |
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 185 | 94 | 91 | 3 | 1 | 24 |
| 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.... (8) |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 138 | 104 | 34 | 2 | 1 | 19 |
| Perpignan USA Perpignan Union Sportive des Arlequins Perpignanais or Unió eSportiva Arlequins de Perpinyà , generally abbreviated as USAP in both languages, is a French rugby union club that plays in the city of Perpignan in Pyrénées-Orientales. The club currently competes in the Top 14, the top level of the French... |
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 108 | 123 | −15 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| Benetton Treviso Benetton Rugby Treviso Benetton Rugby Treviso are an Italian professional rugby union club currently competing in the RaboDirect Pro12 and the Heineken Cup.They are based in Treviso in Veneto, and owned by the Benetton clothing company.... |
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 26 | −19 | 68 | 178 | −110 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
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Pool 2
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biarritz Biarritz Olympique Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque is a French professional rugby union team based in the Basque city of Biarritz, Aquitaine which competes in the Top 14 and the Heineken Cup... (2) |
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 188 | 97 | 91 | 3 | 0 | 23 |
| Gloucester [6] |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 119 | 129 | −10 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
| Glasgow Warriors Glasgow Warriors The Glasgow Warriors, formerly Glasgow Rugby, are one of two professional rugby union teams in Scotland, Edinburgh being the other. They play in the RaboDirect Pro12 and their home ground is Firhill Stadium, also the home of Partick Thistle Football Club.-History:Glasgow Rugby were created to... |
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 14 | −5 | 120 | 140 | −20 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| Newport Gwent Dragons Newport Gwent Dragons Newport Gwent Dragons are one of the four professional Rugby Union regional teams in Wales. They are jointly owned by Newport RFC and the Welsh Rugby Union and play all their home games at Rodney Parade, Newport. They play in the RaboDirect Pro12, the Anglo-Welsh Cup and the Heineken Cup... |
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 18 | −6 | 108 | 169 | −61 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
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- This match was moved to the Scarlets' home ground due to a frozen pitch at the Dragons' home of Rodney ParadeRodney ParadeRodney Parade is a stadium in the city of Newport, south Wales. Located on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre it is primarily used for rugby matches and is the home ground of Newport RFC and the Newport Gwent Dragons regional team.-History:...
.
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Pool 3
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clermont Auvergne ASM Clermont Auvergne Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne are a French rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system, ASMCA are the were the 2010 France Top 14 Champions. It is the rugby section of the multi-sport club... (5) |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 24 | 11 | 13 | 201 | 120 | 81 | 3 | 2 | 21 |
| Ospreys (7) |
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 11 | 10 | 188 | 121 | 67 | 2 | 0 | 20 |
| Leicester Tigers Leicester 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... |
6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 23 | 10 | 13 | 187 | 123 | 64 | 3 | 1 | 18 |
| Viadana |
6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 42 | −36 | 83 | 295 | −212 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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Pool 4
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stade Français (6) |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 124 | 95 | 29 | 1 | 1 | 18 |
| Ulster Ulster Rugby Ulster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Ulster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Belfast, representing the Irish province of Ulster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup... |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 127 | 94 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 17 |
| Edinburgh |
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | −7 | 64 | 94 | −30 | 0 | 1 | 13 |
| Bath Bath Rugby Bath Rugby is an English professional rugby union club that is based in the city of Bath. They play in the Aviva Premiership league... |
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 84 | 116 | −32 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
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- This match was originally scheduled to be held at King Baudouin StadiumKing Baudouin StadiumThe King Baudouin Stadium is a sports ground in north-west Brussels, Belgium. It was inaugurated on 23 August 1930 as the Stade du Jubilé or Jubelstadion in the presence of Prince Leopold. It was built to embellish the Heysel plateau in view of the Brussels International Exposition...
in BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, but heavy snowfall forced it to be moved to Paris.
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Pool 5
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toulouse Stade Toulousain Stade Toulousain, also referred to as Toulouse, is a French rugby union club from Toulouse in Midi-Pyrénées. Toulouse is one of the finest rugby clubs in Europe, having won the Heineken Cup four times – in 1996, 2003, 2005 and 2010. They were also runners-up in 2004 and 2008 against London Wasps... (3) |
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 143 | 92 | 51 | 2 | 1 | 23 |
| 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.... [5] |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 149 | 104 | 45 | 1 | 1 | 18 |
| Sale Sharks Sale Sharks Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the... |
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 16 | −1 | 126 | 153 | −27 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
| Harlequins Harlequin F.C. The Harlequin Football Club is an English rugby union team who play in the top level of English rugby, the Aviva Premiership. Their ground in London is Twickenham Stoop... |
6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 20 | −7 | 102 | 171 | −69 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
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Pool 6
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leinster Leinster Rugby Leinster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Leinster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Dublin, representing the Irish province of Leinster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro 12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup... (4) |
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 154 | 60 | 94 | 3 | 1 | 22 |
| Scarlets [7] |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 20 | −8 | 116 | 147 | −31 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
| London Irish London Irish London Irish RFC is an English rugby union club based in Sunbury, Surrey, where the senior squad train, the youth teams and senior academy play home games, and the club maintain their administrative offices. The senior squad play home games at the Madejski Stadium in Reading and compete in the top... |
6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 140 | 94 | 46 | 2 | 1 | 17 |
| Brive CA Brive Club Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin is a French rugby union team founded in 1910 and based in Brive-la-Gaillarde in the département of Corrèze of the Limousin région . They wear black and white and play in the Stade Amédée-Domenech .- History :The club was created on 15 March 1910 established on... |
6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 20 | −13 | 68 | 177 | −109 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
- Scarlets win the tiebreaker over London Irish by virtue of a head-to-head sweep.
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Seeding and runners-up
- Bare numbers indicate Heineken Cup quarter-final seeding.
- Numbers with "C" indicate Challenge Cup quarter-final seeding.
| Seed | Pool Winners | Pts | TF | +/− |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Munster Munster Rugby Munster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish... |
24 | 19 | |
| 2 | Biarritz Biarritz Olympique Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque is a French professional rugby union team based in the Basque city of Biarritz, Aquitaine which competes in the Top 14 and the Heineken Cup... |
23 | 19 | |
| 3 | Toulouse Stade Toulousain Stade Toulousain, also referred to as Toulouse, is a French rugby union club from Toulouse in Midi-Pyrénées. Toulouse is one of the finest rugby clubs in Europe, having won the Heineken Cup four times – in 1996, 2003, 2005 and 2010. They were also runners-up in 2004 and 2008 against London Wasps... |
23 | 14 | |
| 4 | Leinster Leinster Rugby Leinster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Leinster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Dublin, representing the Irish province of Leinster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro 12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup... |
22 | 19 | |
| 5 | Clermont ASM Clermont Auvergne Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne are a French rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system, ASMCA are the were the 2010 France Top 14 Champions. It is the rugby section of the multi-sport club... |
21 | 24 | |
| 6 | Stade Français |
18 | 11 | |
| Seed | Pool Runners-up | Pts | TF | +/− |
| 7 | Ospreys |
20 | 17 | |
| 8 | Northampton 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.... |
19 | 16 | |
| 5C | 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.... |
18 | 14 | |
| 6C | Gloucester |
17 | 12 | −10 |
| 7C | Scarlets |
17 | 12 | −29 |
| – | Ulster Ulster Rugby Ulster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Ulster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Belfast, representing the Irish province of Ulster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup... |
17 | 11 |