The 1996–97 European Challenge Cup pool stage was the opening stage of the first season of the European Challenge Cup, the second-tier competition for European rugby union clubs. Matches took place between 12 October and 2 November 1996.
| 1996–97 European Challenge Cup pool stage | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 1996–97 European Challenge Cup | ||
| Date | 12 October 1996 – 2 November 1996 | ||
| Qualifiers | |||
| Seed 1 |  Castres Olympique | ||
| Seed 2 |  Northampton Saints | ||
| Seed 3 | Bourgoin | ||
| Seed 4 | Agen | ||
| Seed 5 | Montferrand | ||
| Seed 6 | Toulon | ||
| Seed 7 | Narbonne | ||
| Seed 8 | Bordeaux-Bègles | ||
| |||
Twenty-four teams participated in this phase 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. 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. These teams then competed in a single-elimination tournament that ended with the final at the Stade de la Méditerranée in Béziers, France on 26 January 1997.
Results edit
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 Archived 2013-08-20 at archive.today Points breakdown: *2 points for a win *1 point for a draw | |||||||||||
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 Points breakdown: *2 points for a win *1 point for a draw | |||||||||||
- The Treorchy v Bridgend match was not played.[1]
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 Points breakdown: *2 points for a win *1 point for a draw | |||||||||||
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 Points breakdown: *2 points for a win *1 point for a draw | |||||||||||
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 |
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "European Challenge Cup 1996/7". BBC. 13 April 2004. Retrieved 21 August 2013.