The 1998–99 Heineken Cup was the fourth edition of the Heineken Cup. Competing teams from France, Ireland, Italy, Wales, and Scotland, were divided into four pools of four, in which teams played home and away matches against each other. Cardiff and Swansea did not compete due to a dispute with their union, the Welsh Rugby Union, whereas teams from England did not compete due to a dispute between European Rugby and the Rugby Football Union. The pool winners and runners-up qualified for the knock-out stages.
| 1998–99 Heineken Cup | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Countries |  France Ireland Italy Scotland Wales |
| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and Knockout |
| Date | 18 September 1998 to 30 January 1999 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Teams | 16 |
| Matches played | 55 |
| Attendance | 322,340 (5,861 per match) |
| Top point scorer(s) | Simon Mason (Ulster) (144 points) |
| Top try scorer(s) | Thomas Lombard (Stade Français) Michel Marfaing (Toulouse) Émile Ntamack (Toulouse) (7 tries) |
| Final | |
| Venue | Lansdowne Road, Dublin |
| Attendance | 49,000 |
| Champions | Ulster (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Colomiers |
Teams edit
| France
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Wales
|
Scotland
|
Ireland
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Italy
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
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Pool stage edit
In the pool matches teams received 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a defeat.
Pool 1 edit
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stade Français
|
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 10 | 17 | 219 | 117 | 102 | 10 |
| Llanelli
|
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 22 | −10 | 113 | 180 | −67 | 6 |
| Leinster
|
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 141 | 124 | 17 | 4 |
| Bègles-Bordeaux
|
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 23 | −12 | 127 | 179 | −52 | 4 |
Pool 2 edit
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perpignan
|
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 35 | 13 | 22 | 238 | 108 | 130 | 10 |
| Munster
|
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 13 | 4 | 144 | 108 | 36 | 9 |
| Neath
|
6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 27 | −13 | 118 | 194 | −76 | 3 |
| Petrarca Padova
|
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 21 | −13 | 79 | 169 | −90 | 2 |
Pool 3 edit
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulster
|
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 20 | 3 | 197 | 168 | 29 | 9 |
| Toulouse
|
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 31 | 11 | 20 | 234 | 103 | 131 | 8 |
| Edinburgh Reivers
|
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 179 | 146 | 33 | 5 |
| Ebbw Vale
|
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 41 | −30 | 114 | 307 | −193 | 2 |
Pool 4 edit
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colomiers
|
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 10 | 12 | 176 | 121 | 55 | 8 |
| Pontypridd
|
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 16 | −3 | 160 | 141 | 19 | 6 |
| Benetton Treviso
|
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 142 | 150 | −8 | 6 |
| Glasgow Caledonians
|
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 19 | −9 | 121 | 187 | −66 | 4 |
Seeding edit
| Seed | Pool winners | Pts | TF | +/− |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Perpignan
|
10 | 35 | +130 |
| 2 | Stade Français
|
10 | 27 | +102 |
| 3 | Ulster
|
9 | 23 | +29 |
| 4 | Colomiers
|
8 | 22 | +55 |
| Seed | Pool runners-up | Pts | TF | +/− |
| 5 | Munster
|
9 | 17 | +36 |
| 6 | Toulouse
|
8 | 31 | +131 |
| 7 | Pontypridd
|
6 | 13 | +19 |
| 8 | Llanelli
|
6 | 12 | −67 |
Knockout stage edit
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Ulster
| 15 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Toulouse
| 13 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Ulster
| 33 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Stade Français
| 27 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Stade Français
| 71 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Pontypridd
| 14 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Ulster
| 21 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Colomiers
| 6 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Colomiers
| 23 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Munster
| 9 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Colomiers
| 10 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Perpignan
| 6 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Perpignan
| 34 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Llanelli
| 17 | ||||||||||||
Quarter-finals edit
| 11 December 1998 19:15 |
| Ulster | 15–13 | Toulouse |
| Pen: Mason (3) Drop: Humphreys (2) | Report[1][2] | Try: Pelous Con: Ougier Pen: Delaigue (2) |
| Ravenhill Attendance: 11,500 Referee: B. Campbell |
Semi-finals edit
| 9 January 1999 13:00 |
| Ulster | 33–27 | Stade Francais |
| Try: McKinty, Humphreys Con: Mason Pen: Mason (5) Drop: Mason, Humphreys | Report[3][4] Highlights | Try: Juillet (2), Lièvremont Con: Dominguez (3) Pen: Dominguez (2) |
| Ravenhill Attendance: 20,000 Referee: J. Fleming |
Final edit
| 30 January 1999 14:45 |
| Ulster | 21–6 | Colomiers |
| Pen: Mason (6) Drop: Humphreys | Report | Pen: Labit Mickael Carre |
| Lansdowne Road, Dublin Attendance: 49,000 Referee: Clayton Thomas (Wales) |
References edit
- ^ Jim Stokes, "Oh la, la, magical Ulster", Belfast Telegraph, 12 December 1998
- ^ "Chance to remember a lost time", Irish Times, 20 October 2000
- ^ Brendan Fanning, "Euro dream lives on", Sunday Independent, 10 January 1999
- ^ Chris Hewett, "Rugby Union: Ulster revel in magic of Europe", The Independent, 11 January 1999