2002–03 European Challenge Cup

The 2002–03 European Challenge Cup (known as the Parker Pen Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 7th 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 eight countries.

2002-03 European Challenge Cup
Tournament details
Countries England
 France
 Ireland
 Italy
 Romania
 Scotland
 Spain
 Wales
Tournament format(s)Knockout
Date11 October 2002 - 25 May 2003
Tournament statistics
Teams32
Matches played61
Attendance225,733 (3,701 per match)
Tries scored384 (6.3 per match)
Top point scorer(s)Olly Barkley (Bath)
(118 points)[1]
Top try scorer(s)Tom Shanklin (Saracens)
(8 tries)[2]
Final
VenueMadejski Stadium, Reading
Attendance18,074
ChampionsEngland London Wasps (1st title)
Runners-upEngland Bath Rugby
← 2001–02 (Previous)
(Next) 2003–04 →

The competition began with Gran Parma hosting Bath and Ebbw Vale hosting Montauban on 11 October 2002. It culminated with the final at the Madejski Stadium in Reading on 25 May 2003.

Unlike previous seasons, the structure of the competition was changed to a purely knockout format. Teams played each other on a home and away basis, with the aggregate points winner proceeding to the next round. The final was a single leg. For that first time, a third tier tournament was created - the European Shield. This was contested between the first-round losers from the European Challenge Cup.[3]

The defending champions, England's Sale Sharks, did not have a chance to defend their crown because they qualified to play in the Heineken Cup. London Wasps claimed a victory over Bath 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 2002–03 Heineken Cup
France: 9 teams – all teams from the Top 16 that did not qualify for the Heineken Cup, and Agen who were banned by ERC [4]
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
Scotland: 1 team – the Scottish team from the Celtic League that did not play in the Heineken Cup
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
  England   France   Ireland   Italy   Romania   Scotland   Spain   Wales
Bath
Harlequins
Leeds Tykes
London Wasps
Newcastle Falcons
Saracens
Bordeaux-Bègles
Castres Olympique
Colomiers
Grenoble
Montauban
Mont de Marsan
Narbonne
Pau
Stade Français
Connacht
Gran Parma
L'Aquila
Overmach Parma
Petrarca Padova
Rugby Roma
Rovigo
Rugby Silea
Benetton Treviso
Dinamo București
Borders
La Moraleja
UC Madrid
Bridgend
Caerphilly
Ebbw Vale
Pontypridd

Matches

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All kickoff times are local to the match location.[5]

Round 1

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Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Saracens   238–11   Dinamo București 87–11 151–0
Stade Français   145–26   Rovigo
Pontypridd   143–26   Rugby Roma
Colomiers   133–19   L'Aquila
Borders   150–37   UC Madrid
Bath   97–22   Gran Parma
London Wasps   82–24   Overmach Parma
Harlequins   104–47   Caerphilly
Leeds Tykes   81–36   Petrarca Padova
Narbonne   75–37   Rugby Silea
Connacht   73–41   Mont de Marsan
Benetton Treviso   55–26   Castres
Bordeaux-Bègles   70–46   La Moraleja
Newcastle Falcons   52–29   Grenoble
Montauban   45–36   Ebbw Vale
Bridgend   33–27   Pau

First leg

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11 October 2002
19:00
Gran Parma  3–40  Bath
Report
Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi
Attendance: 1,200
11 October 2002
19:15
Ebbw Vale  20–16  Montauban
Report
Eugene Cross Park
Attendance: 1,500
12 October 2002
14:30
Caerphilly  20–73  Harlequins
Report
Virginia Park
Attendance: 1,500
12 October 2002
14:30
Dinamo București  11–87  Saracens
Report
Complexul Cultural Sportiv
Attendance: 400
12 October 2002
14:30
Rugby Roma  18–60  Pontypridd
Report
Stadio Tre Fontane
Attendance: 400
12 October 2002
15:00
L'Aquila  14–58  Colomiers
Report
Stadio Tommaso Fattori
Attendance: 500
12 October 2002
15:00
Petrarca Padova  23–29  Leeds Tykes
Report
Stadio Plebiscito
Attendance: 2,000
12 October 2002
16:00
UC Madrid  22–73  Borders
Report
Ciudad Universitaria
Attendance: 1,000
12 October 2002
18:00
La Moraleja  31–37  Bordeaux-Bègles
Report
Pol. Municipal de Alcobendas
Attendance: 550
12 October 2002
19:00
Overmach Parma  24–40  London Wasps
Report
Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi
Attendance: 1,500
12 October 2002
19:30
Grenoble  12–19  Newcastle Falcons
Report
Stade Lesdiguières
Attendance: 4,500
12 October 2002
19:30
Mont de Marsan  12–26  Connacht
Report
Stade Guy Boniface
Attendance: 1,204
12 October 2002
19:30
Pau  18–6  Bridgend
Report
Stade du Hameau
Attendance: 5,000
13 October 2002
15:00
Rovigo  6–64  Stade Français
Report
Stadio Comunale Mario Battaglini
Attendance: 1,500
13 October 2002
15:00
Rugby Silea  23–34  Narbonne
Report
Stadio Comunale di Monigo
Attendance: 400

Second leg

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18 October 2002
19:30
Borders  77–15  UC Madrid
Report
Netherdale
Attendance: 7,840
19 October 2002
14:15
Bath  57–19  Gran Parma
Report
The Recreation Ground
Attendance: 7,840
19 October 2002
14:30
Pontypridd  83–8  Rugby Roma
Report
Sardis Road
Attendance: 2,000
19 October 2002
15:00
Connacht  47–29  Mont de Marsan
Report
The Sportsground
Attendance: 1,000
19 October 2002
15:00
Harlequins  31–27  Caerphilly
Report
The Stoop
Attendance: 4,250
19 October 2002
17:30
Bridgend  27–9  Pau
Report
Brewery Field
Attendance: 2,500
19 October 2002
18:00
Bordeaux-Bègles  33–15  La Moraleja
Report
Stade André Moga
Attendance: 2,000
19 October 2002
18:00
Stade Français  81–20  Rovigo
Report
Stade Jean-Bouin
Attendance: 3,000
19 October 2002
19:30
Colomiers  75–5  L'Aquila
Report
Stade Selery
Attendance: 2,500
19 October 2002
19:30
Montauban  29–16  Ebbw Vale
Report
Stade Sapiac
Attendance: 2,800
19 October 2002
19:30
Narbonne  41–14  Rugby Silea
Report
Parc des Sports et de l'Amitié
Attendance: 2,300
20 October 2002
14:30
Leeds Tykes  52–13  Petrarca Padova
Report
Headingley Stadium
Attendance: 2,665
20 October 2002
14:30
Newcastle Falcons  33–17  Grenoble
Report
Kingston Park
Attendance: 3,599
20 October 2002
15:00
London Wasps  42–0  Overmach Parma
Report
Adams Park
Attendance: 3,980
20 October 2002
15:00
Saracens  151–0  Dinamo București
Report
Vicarage Road
Attendance: 2,052

Round 2

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Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
London Wasps   72–29   Bordeaux-Bègles
Stade Français   55–12   Harlequins
Saracens   46–25   Colomiers
Montauban   31–22   Borders
Pontypridd   56–42   Leeds Tykes
Bath   64–38   Bridgend
Newcastle Falcons   43–32   Benetton Treviso
Connacht   50–49   Narbonne

First leg

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6 December 2002
19:30
Bridgend  28–26  Bath
Report
Brewery Field
Attendance: 3,500
7 December 2002
15:00
Harlequins  0–26  Stade Français
Report
The Stoop
Attendance: 5,323
7 December 2002
17:30
Pontypridd  37–23  Leeds Tykes
Report
Sardis Road
Attendance: 4,500
7 December 2002
19:30
Montauban  19–16  Borders
Report
Stade Sapiac
Attendance: 3,000
7 December 2002
19:30
Narbonne  42–27  Connacht
Report
Parc des Sports et de l'Amitié
Attendance: 2,000
8 December 2002
15:00
London Wasps  43–6  Bordeaux-Bègles
Report
Adams Park
Attendance: 3,217
8 December 2002
15:00
Saracens  16–6  Colomiers
Report
Vicarage Road
Attendance: 3,561

Second leg

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13 December 2002
19:30
Borders  6–12  Montauban
Report
Netherdale
Attendance: 1,700
14 December 2002
14:15
Bath  38–10  Bridgend
Report
The Recreation Ground
Attendance: 7,063
14 December 2002
14:30
Leeds Tykes  19–19  Pontypridd
Report
Headingley Stadium
Attendance: 2,062
14 December 2002
18:00
Bordeaux-Bègles  23–29  London Wasps
Report
Stade André Moga
Attendance: 1,500
14 December 2002
18:00
Stade Français  29–12  Harlequins
Report
Stade Jean-Bouin
Attendance: 7,500
14 December 2002
19:30
Colomiers  19–30  Saracens
Report
Stade Selery
Attendance: 7,000
15 December 2002
14:30
Newcastle Falcons  35–5  Benetton Treviso
Report
Kingston Park
Attendance: 2,539
15 December 2002
15:00
Connacht  23–7  Narbonne
Report
Galway Sportsgrounds
Attendance: 2,000

Quarter-finals

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Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
London Wasps   62–34   Stade Français 35–22 27–12
Pontypridd   47–39   Connacht 35–30 12–9
Saracens   60–41   Newcastle Falcons 31–10 29–31
Bath   48–45   Montauban 24–27 24–18

First leg

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11 January 2003
17:30
Connacht  30–35  Pontypridd
Report
Dubarry Park, Athlone
Attendance: 6,000
11 January 2003
19:30
Montauban  27–24  Bath
Report
Stade Sapiac, Montauban
Attendance: 6,000
12 January 2003
13:45
London Wasps  35–22  Stade Français
Report
Adams Park, High Wycombe
Attendance: 5,269
12 January 2003
15:00
Saracens  31–10  Newcastle Falcons
Report
Vicarage Road, Watford
Attendance: 3,857

Second leg

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18 January 2003
14:15
Bath  24–18  Montauban
Report
Recreation Ground, Bath
Attendance: 6,200
18 January 2003
17:30
Pontypridd  12–9  Connacht
Report
Sardis Road, Pontypridd
Attendance: 6,000
18 January 2003
18:00
Stade Français  12–27  London Wasps
Report
Stade Jean-Bouin, Paris
Attendance: 6,491
19 January 2003
14:30
Newcastle Falcons  31–29  Saracens
Report
Kingston Park, Newcastle upon Tyne
Attendance: 2,439

Semi-finals

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Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
London Wasps   61–36   Pontypridd 34–19 27–17
Bath   57–57[n 1]   Saracens 30–38 27–19
  1. ^ Bath went through on superior try count (6–5).[6]

First leg

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12 April 2003
17:30
London Wasps  34–19  Pontypridd
Report
Adams Park, High Wycombe
Attendance: 7,776
13 April 2003
15:00
Saracens  38–30  Bath
Report
Vicarage Road, Watford
Attendance: 6,482

Second leg

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25 April 2003
19:05
Pontypridd  17–27  London Wasps
Report
Sardis Road, Pontypridd
Attendance: 6,500
26 April 2003
14:15
Bath  27–19  Saracens
Report
Recreation Ground, Bath
Attendance: 8,200

Final

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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 European Champions". ERC. Archived from the original on 6 May 2008. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  4. ^ "Agen banned from Euro comps for two years". ESPN. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  5. ^ "Challenge Cup Fixtures". ERC. Archived from the original on February 15, 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  6. ^ "Bath late show stuns Sarries". BBC. 26 April 2003. Retrieved 29 January 2013.