1996–97 European Challenge Cup

The 1996–97 European Challenge Cup (also called the 1996–97 European Shield) was the inaugural year of the European Challenge Cup, the second tier rugby union cup competition below the Heineken Cup. The tournament was held between October 1996 and January 1997 and was won by Bourgoin with an 18–9 victory over Castres in the final at the Stade de la Méditerranée in Béziers, France.[3] Twenty-four teams took part from England, France, Ireland, Italy, Romania, Scotland and Wales, divided into four groups of six. Each team played the other teams in the group once, meaning each had five matches with either two or three on their home ground. The quarter–finals saw seven of the eight clubs coming from France, with the only non-French club being Northampton Saints.

1996–97 European Challenge Cup
Tournament details
Countries England
 France
 Ireland
 Italy
 Romania
 Scotland
 Wales
Tournament format(s)Round-robin and knockout
Date12 October 1996 – 26 January 1997
Tournament statistics
Teams24
Matches played66
Attendance443 (7 per match)
Top point scorer(s)Alexandre Péclier (Bourgoin)
(113 points)[1]
Top try scorer(s)Laurent Leflamand (Bourgoin)
(7 tries)[2]
Final
VenueStade de la Méditerranée, Béziers
Attendance10,000
ChampionsFrance Bourgoin (1st title)
Runners-upFrance Castres Olympique
(Next) 1997–98 →

Teams

edit

The qualifying teams were drawn from seven countries. Generally, these were teams from the top division of domestic rugby that did not qualify to play in the Heineken Cup:

England France Ireland Italy Romania Scotland Wales

Pool stage

edit

Twenty four teams participated in the pool stage of the competition; they were divided into four pools of six teams each, with each team playing the other teams in their pool once only. Matches took place between 12 October and 2 November 1996 and teams were awarded two points for a win and one point for a draw. The winner and runner-up of each pool progressed to the knockout stage of the tournament.

Pool 1

edit
Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff Pts
  Agen 5 5 0 0 20 9 +11 156 82 +74 10
  Montferrand 5 4 0 1 30 8 +22 211 74 +137 8
  Sale Sharks 5 3 0 2 18 14 +4 166 115 +51 6
  Newport 5 2 0 3 14 19 −15 98 158 −60 4
  Glasgow 5 1 0 4 15 30 −15 113 202 −89 2
  Newbridge 5 0 0 5 16 33 −17 106 219 −113 0
Source : www.ercrugby.com

Pool 2

edit
Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff Pts
  Castres Olympique 5 5 0 0 29 6 +23 207 71 +136 10
  Narbonne 5 4 0 1 21 6 +15 161 90 +71 8
  Dinamo-București 5 2 1 2 12 32 −20 109 213 −104 5
  Bridgend 4 1 1 2 10 14 −4 94 120 −26 3
  Bristol 5 1 0 4 11 12 −1 128 99 +29 2
  Treorchy 4 0 0 4 10 23 −13 72 178 −106 0
Source : www.ercrugby.com Archived 2013-08-20 at archive.today

The Treorchy v Bridgend match was not played.[4]

Pool 3

edit
Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff Pts
  Northampton Saints 5 5 0 0 28 12 +16 207 88 +119 10
  Toulon 5 4 0 1 22 10 +12 164 102 +62 8
  Orrell 5 2 0 3 18 22 −4 122 173 −51 4
  Connacht 5 2 0 3 9 17 −8 94 131 −37 4
  Dunvant 5 1 0 4 15 22 −7 106 169 −63 2
  Petrarca 5 1 0 4 10 19 −9 118 148 −30 2
Source : www.ercrugby.com Archived 2013-08-20 at archive.today

Pool 4

edit
Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff Pts
  Bourgoin 5 5 0 0 27 4 +23 196 66 +130 10
  Bordeaux-Bègles 5 3 1 1 29 13 +16 195 99 +96 7
  Swansea 5 3 1 1 28 19 +9 207 138 +69 7
  Gloucester 5 2 0 3 17 17 0 119 123 −4 4
  Ebbw Vale 5 1 0 4 6 36 −30 48 243 −195 2
  London Irish 5 0 0 5 12 30 −18 90 186 −96 0
Source : www.ercrugby.com Archived 2013-08-20 at archive.today

Qualifiers

edit
Seed Pool Winners Pts TF +/−
1   Castres Olympique 10 29 +136
2   Northampton Saints 10 28 +119
3   Bourgoin 10 27 +130
4   Agen 10 20 +74
Seed Runners-up Pts TF +/−
5   Montferrand 8 30 +137
6   Toulon 8 22 +62
7   Narbonne 8 21 +71
8   Bordeaux-Bègles 7 29 +96

Knockout stage

edit

Quarter-finals

edit
16 November 1996
Bourgoin  17–15  Montferrand
Report
Stade Pierre Rajon
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: Patrick Robin (France)
16 November 1996
Castres Olympique  23–15  Toulon
Report
Stade Pierre-Antoine
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Daniel Gillet (France)
16 November 1996
Northampton Saints  22–23  Narbonne
Report
Franklin's Gardens
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: Andrew Watson (England)
16 November 1996
Agen  20–15[4] (a.e.t.)  Bordeaux-Bègles
Report
Stade Armandie
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Didier Méné (France)

Semi-finals

edit
5 January 1997
Bourgoin  29–6  Narbonne
Report
Stade Pierre Rajon
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: Bernard Perez (France)
5 January 1997
Castres Olympique  23–6  Agen
Report
Stade Pierre-Antoine
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Joel Dumé (France)

Final

edit
26 January 1997
Bourgoin  18–9  Castres Olympique
Report
Stade de la Méditerranée
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Patrick Robin (France)

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Amlin Challenge Cup: Points Scorers". European Rugby Cup. Retrieved 21 August 2013.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "Amlin Challenge Cup: Try Scorers". European Rugby Cup. Retrieved 21 August 2013.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ Mick Cleary and John Griffiths, ed. (1997). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1997–98. London: Headline Book Publishing. ISBN 0 7472 7732 X.
  4. ^ a b "European Challenge Cup 1996/7". BBC. 13 April 2004. Retrieved 21 August 2013.