2001–02 European Challenge Cup

The 2001–02 European Challenge Cup (known as the Parker Pen Shield for sponsorship reasons) was the 6th season of the European Challenge Cup, Europe's second-tier club rugby union competition below the Heineken Cup. A total of 32 teams participated, representing seven countries.

2001–02 Parker Pen Shield
Tournament details
Countries England
 France
 Ireland
 Italy
 Romania
 Spain
 Wales
Tournament format(s)Round-robin and Knockout
Date28 September 2001 - 26 May 2002
Tournament statistics
Teams32
Matches played103
Attendance236,307 (2,294 per match)
Tries scored709 (6.88 per match)
Top point scorer(s)Ludovic Mercier (Gloucester)
(112 points)[1]
Top try scorer(s)Alexandre Bouyssie (Bordeaux-Bègles)
Darragh O'Mahony (Saracens)
(9 tries)[2]
Final
VenueKassam Stadium, Oxford
Attendance12,000
ChampionsEngland Sale Sharks (1st title)
Runners-upWales Pontypridd
← 2000–01 (Previous)
(Next) 2002–03 →

The pool stage began when Connacht hosted Narbonne on 28 September 2001 and ended with four matches on 13 January 2002. The knockout stages followed, culminating in the final at the Kassam Stadium in Oxford on 26 May 2002.

The defending champions, Englands's Harlequins, did not have a chance to defend their crown because they qualified to play in the Heineken Cup. Sale Sharks claimed a narrow victory over Pontypridd in the final and picked up their first piece of European Club silverware.

Teams

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The allocation of teams was as follows:

England: 6 teams — all teams from the Zurich Premiership that did not qualify for the 2001–02 Heineken Cup
France: 10 teams — all teams from the Top 16 that did not qualify for the Heineken Cup
Ireland: 1 team — the Irish team from the Celtic League that did not play in the Heineken Cup
Italy: 8 teams — all the teams from the Super 10 that did not qualify for the Heineken Cup
Romania: 1 team specially created for the competition
Spain: 2 teams — drawn from the División de Honor de Rugby
Wales: 4 teams — all the teams from the Celtic League that did not qualify for the Heineken Cup

Scotland was not represented as both of its teams (Edinburgh and Glasgow) played in the Heineken Cup.

  England   France   Ireland   Italy   Romania   Spain   Wales
Bristol Shoguns
Gloucester
Leeds Tykes
London Irish
Sale Sharks
Saracens
Agen
Béziers
Bordeaux-Bègles
Bourgoin
Colomiers
Dax
La Rochelle
Montauban
Narbonne
Pau
Connacht
Bologna
Gran Parma
L'Aquila
Overmach Parma
Petrarca Padova
Rugby Roma
Rovigo
Viadana
Dinamo București
UC Madrid
Valladolid RAC
Caerphilly
Ebbw Vale
Neath
Pontypridd

Pool stage

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Key to colours
     Winner of each pool, advance to quarterfinals. Seed # in parentheses

Pool 1

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Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff Pts
  Ebbw Vale (7) 6 4 0 2 15 10 5 153 90 63 8
  Agen 6 4 0 2 25 13 12 199 119 80 8
  Montauban 6 4 0 2 16 9 7 146 123 23 8
  Rovigo 6 0 0 6 8 32 −24 78 244 −166 0
Source : www.ercrugby.com
Points breakdown:
*2 points for a win
*1 point for a draw
Ebbw Vale, Agen and Montauban finished on the same Competition Points. In head-to-head matches
Ebbw Vale beat Agen 68–30 on aggregate, having won one game and lost the other
Ebbw Vale beat Montauban 31–24 on aggregate, having won one game and lost the other
Agen beat Montauban 60–41 on aggregate, having won one game and lost the other
hence Ebbw Vale top the table

Pool 2

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Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff Pts
  Pau (4) 6 6 0 0 27 3 24 217 63 154 12
  Colomiers 6 4 0 2 32 9 23 259 105 154 8
  Petrarca Padova 6 2 0 4 14 26 −12 114 223 −109 4
  UC Madrid 6 0 0 6 8 43 −35 90 289 −199 0
Source : www.ercrugby.com Archived 2013-02-15 at archive.today
Points breakdown:
*2 points for a win
*1 point for a draw

Pool 3

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Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff Pts
  Pontypridd (8) 6 4 0 2 12 7 5 139 87 52 8
  Leeds Tykes 6 4 0 2 21 15 6 188 154 34 8
  Béziers 6 2 0 4 15 19 −4 136 187 −51 4
  Overmach Parma 6 2 0 4 11 18 −7 127 162 −35 4
Source : www.ercrugby.com Archived 2013-02-15 at archive.today
Points breakdown:
*2 points for a win
*1 point for a draw
Pontypridd and Leeds finished on the same Competition Points.
In head-to-head matches, Pontypridd beat Leeds 55–46 on aggregate,
having won one game and lost the other.
Béziers and Overmach Parma finished on the same Competition Points.
In head-to-head matches, Béziers beat Overmach Parma 63–60 on aggregate,
having won one game and lost the other.

Pool 4

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Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff Pts
  Sale Sharks (3) 6 6 0 0 40 7 33 286 79 207 12
  Connacht 6 3 0 3 15 17 −2 157 140 17 6
  Narbonne 6 3 0 3 13 9 4 128 111 17 6
  Rugby Roma 6 0 0 6 7 42 −35 57 298 −241 0
Source : www.ercrugby.com Archived 2013-02-15 at archive.today
Points breakdown:
*2 points for a win
*1 point for a draw

Pool 5

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Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff Pts
  Bristol Shoguns (6) 6 5 0 1 21 12 9 189 115 74 10
  Neath 6 4 0 2 16 13 3 160 131 29 8
  Viadana 6 2 0 4 13 25 −12 120 210 −90 4
  Bourgoin 6 1 0 5 19 19 0 160 173 −13 2
Source : www.ercrugby.com Archived 2013-02-15 at archive.today
Points breakdown:
*2 points for a win
*1 point for a draw

Pool 6

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Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff Pts
  London Irish (5) 6 5 1 0 37 8 29 284 85 199 11
  Dax 6 4 1 1 42 9 33 306 119 187 9
  L'Aquila 6 2 0 4 11 34 −23 107 239 −132 4
  Valladolid RAC 6 0 0 6 7 46 −39 53 307 −254 0
Source : www.ercrugby.com Archived 2013-02-15 at archive.today
Points breakdown:
*2 points for a win
*1 point for a draw

Pool 7

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Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff Pts
  Gloucester (2) 6 6 0 0 47 9 38 362 62 300 12
  La Rochelle 6 4 0 2 21 14 7 161 177 −16 8
  Caerphilly 6 2 0 4 18 38 −20 170 281 −111 4
  Gran Parma 6 0 0 6 11 36 −25 104 277 −173 0
Source : www.ercrugby.com Archived 2013-02-15 at archive.today
Points breakdown:
*2 points for a win
*1 point for a draw

Pool 8

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Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff Pts
  Saracens (1) 6 6 0 0 64 7 57 435 66 369 12
  Bordeaux-Bègles 6 4 0 2 53 15 38 354 117 237 8
  Dinamo București 6 1 0 5 15 58 −43 102 403 −301 2
  Bologna 6 1 0 5 9 61 −52 93 398 −305 2
Source : www.ercrugby.com Archived 2013-02-15 at archive.today
Points breakdown:
*2 points for a win
*1 point for a draw

Seeding

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Seed Pool Winners Pts TF +/-
1   Saracens 12 64 +369
2   Gloucester 12 47 +300
3   Sale Sharks 12 40 +207
4   Pau 12 27 +154
5   London Irish 11 37 +199
6   Bristol Shoguns 10 21 +74
7   Ebbw Vale 8 15 +63
8   Pontypridd 8 12 +52

Knockout stage

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All kickoff times are local to the match location.[3]

Quarter-finals

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25 January 2002
19:05
Gloucester  46–11  Ebbw Vale
Report
Kingsholm
Attendance: 6,816
25 January 2002
19:30
Sale Sharks  25–20  Bristol Shoguns
Report
Heywood Road
Attendance: 3,607
26 January 2002
19:30
Pau  9–38  London Irish
Report
Stade du Hameau
Attendance: 8,000
27 January 2002
15:00
Saracens  15–17  Pontypridd
Report
Vicarage Road
Attendance: 4,604

Semi-finals

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27 April 2002
17:30
London Irish  27–33  Pontypridd
Report
Kassam Stadium
Attendance: 7,882
28 April 2002
14:00
Gloucester  27–28  Sale Sharks
Report
Franklin's Gardens
Attendance: 5,785

Final

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26 May 2002
14:00
Pontypridd  22–25  Sale Sharks
Report
Kassam Stadium
Attendance: 12,000

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Amlin Challenge Cup: Points Scorers". Retrieved 26 January 2013.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "Amlin Challenge Cup: Try Scorers". Retrieved 26 January 2013.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "Challenge Cup Fixtures". European Rugby Cup. Archived from the original on February 16, 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2013.