2008–09 European Challenge Cup

The 2008–09 European Challenge Cup was the 13th season of the European Challenge Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from six nations in European rugby. It started in October 2008 and ended with the final at the Twickenham Stoop in London on 22 May 2009, in which Northampton Saints defeated Bourgoin 15–3. With the win, the Saints not only claimed the trophy, but also won a berth in the 2009–10 Heineken Cup.

2008–09 European Challenge Cup
Tournament details
Countries England
 France
 Ireland
 Italy
 Romania
 Spain
Tournament format(s)Round-robin and Knockout
Date9 October 2008 to 22 May 2009
Tournament statistics
Teams20
Matches played67
Top point scorer(s)Stephen Myler (Northampton)
(133 points)
Top try scorer(s)Chris Ashton (Northampton)
(7 tries)
Final
VenueTwickenham Stoop
Attendance9,260
ChampionsEngland Northampton Saints (1st title)
Runners-upFrance Bourgoin
← 2007–08 (Previous)
(Next) 2009–10 →

Teams

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Seven French teams competed instead of the normal eight, as a French team, Toulouse, progressed farther in the previous year's Heineken Cup than any English or Italian team.

Other nations had their usual number of participants: England six, Italy four, Ireland one, Spain one and Romania one.[1]

  England   France   Ireland   Italy   Romania   Spain
Bristol
London Irish
Newcastle Falcons
Northampton Saints
Saracens
Worcester Warriors
Bayonne
Brive
Bourgoin
Montpellier
Toulon
Mont-de-Marsan
Dax
Connacht
Overmach Parma
Petrarca Padova
Rovigo
Viadana
București Oaks
El Salvador

Pool stage

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The draw for the pool stages took place on 23 June 2008. The draw was conducted using the ERC European Ranking system which was based on the qualified teams' performances and participation in the Heineken Cup and knock-out stages of the European Challenge Cup over the past four seasons.

Key to colours
     Winner of each pool, advance to quarterfinals. Seed # in parentheses
     Three highest-scoring second-place teams 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 TB LB Pts
  London Irish (1) 6 6 0 0 44 3 +41 300 34 +266 5 0 29
  Connacht (7) 6 4 0 2 20 19 +1 159 140 +19 3 0 19
  Rovigo 6 1 0 5 7 25 −18 79 199 –120 0 1 5
  Dax 6 1 0 5 5 29 −24 55 220 –165 0 0 4

Pool 2

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Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
  Northampton Saints (2) 6 6 0 0 37 7 +30 278 69 +209 5 0 29
  Bristol 6 3 0 3 14 21 −7 140 168 −28 1 1 14
  Montpellier 6 2 0 4 10 18 −8 101 159 −58 0 1 9
  RC Toulon 6 1 0 5 7 22 −15 84 207 −123 0 1 5

Pool 3

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Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
  Worcester Warriors (4) 6 5 0 1 36 8 +28 255 94 +161 4 0 24
  Bourgoin (8) 6 3 0 3 18 11 +7 158 115 +43 1 2 15
  Petrarca Padova 6 3 0 3 11 28 −17 112 206 −94 0 1 13
  București Oaks 6 1 0 5 8 26 −18 87 197 −110 0 1 5

Pool 4

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Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
  Brive (5) 6 5 0 1 33 8 +25 243 89 +154 3 1 24
  Newcastle Falcons (6) 6 4 0 2 24 8 +16 178 90 +88 2 1 19
  Overmach Parma 6 3 0 3 19 13 +6 165 120 +45 2 2 16
  El Salvador 6 0 0 6 5 52 −47 46 333 −287 0 0 0

Pool 5

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Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
  Saracens (3) 6 6 0 0 20 1 +19 200 43 +157 2 0 26
  Viadana 6 3 0 3 8 11 −3 120 126 −6 0 1 13
  Bayonne 6 3 0 3 9 11 −2 99 122 −23 0 0 12
  Mont-de-Marsan 6 0 0 0 4 18 −14 54 182 −128 0 1 1

Seeding and runners-up

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Seed Pool Winners Pts TF +/-
1   London Irish 29 44 +266
2   Northampton Saints 29 37 +209
3   Saracens 26 20 +157
4   Worcester Warriors 24 36 +161
5   Brive 24 33 +154
Seed Pool Runners-up Pts TF +/-
6   Newcastle Falcons 19 24 +88
7   Connacht 19 20 +19
8   Bourgoin 15 18 +43
  Bristol 14 14 −28
  Viadana 13 8 −6

Knockout stage

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Unlike the Heineken Cup, the Challenge Cup did not conduct a semi-final draw at the time (such a draw would be instituted for the 2009–10 edition). The top half of the draw matched the 1 and 8 seeds in one quarter-final, and the 4 and 5 seeds in the other, and the bottom half matched 2 against 7 and 3 against 6; the higher (lower-numbered) seeds all play at home. The knockout stage was not reseeded after the quarter-finals. Home advantage for the semi-finals was awarded to the highest remaining seed in each half of the draw. Home advantage in the final went to the top remaining seed.

Quarter-finals

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9 April 2009
19:30
London Irish  30–32  Bourgoin
Tries: Mapusua 56' c
S. Armitage 80+2' m
Con: D. Armitage (1/2)
Pen: D. Armitage (5/6) 11', 16', 31', 40', 71'
Drop: Kennedy (1/1) 79'
ReportTries: Forest 42' c
Nicolas 77' c
Con: Parra (2/2)
Pen: Parra (4/5) 6', 37', 59', 63'
Drop: Boyet (2/4) 28', 72'
Madejski Stadium, Reading
Attendance: 6,455
Referee: Peter Allen (Scotland)
11 April 2009
13:00
Worcester Warriors  29–18  Brive
Tries: Garvey (2) 11' c, 72' c
Sanderson 22' c
Grove 52' m
Con: Jones (3/4)
Pen: Jones (1/1) 9'
ReportTries: Cooke (2) 35' m, 44' c
Con: Palisson (1/2)
Pen: Goode (1/1) 17'
Palisson (1/1) 66'
Sixways Stadium, Worcester
Attendance: 4,323
Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
11 April 2009
15:00
Northampton Saints  42–13  Connacht
Tries: Best 71' c
Ansbro 74' m
Reihana 79' c
Mayor 80' m
Con: Myler (1/2)
Everitt (1/2)
Pen: Myler (6/6) 16', 24', 37', 45', 55', 65'
ReportTry: Ofisa 52' c
Con: Keatley (1/1)
Pen: Keatley (1/1) 19'
Drop: Keatley (1/1) 29'
Franklin's Gardens, Northampton
Attendance: 9,119
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
12 April 2009
15:00
Saracens  32–13  Newcastle Falcons
Tries: Johnston 26' c
Barritt 30' c
Con: Jackson (2/2)
Pen: Jackson (5/5) 15', 23', 53', 65', 68'
Drop: Jackson (1/1) 38'
ReportTries: Williams 58' m
Dowson 79' m
Pen: May (1/1) 9'
Vicarage Road, Watford
Attendance: 7,711
Referee: Carlo Damasco (Italy)

Semi-finals

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1 May 2009
19:45
Northampton Saints  16–13  Saracens
Try: Reihana 30' c
Con: Myler (1/1)
Pen: Myler (2/2) 7', 13'
Drop: Myler (1/1) 74'
ReportTry: Penney 73' c
Con: Jackson (1/1)
Pen: Jackson (2/2) 5', 52'
Franklin's Gardens, Northampton
Attendance: 11,073
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
2 May 2009
13:30
Bourgoin  22–11  Worcester Warriors
Try: Levast 62' c
Con: Parra (1/1)
Pen: Parra (4/4) 10', 43', 52', 58'
Drop: Boyet (1/1) 60'
ReportTry: Benjamin 78' m
Pen: Carlisle (2/2) 28', 35'
Stade Pierre Rajon, Bourgoin
Attendance: 8,200
Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)

Final

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22 May 2009
19:45
Northampton Saints  15–3  Bourgoin
Pen: Myler (5/5) 9', 20', 38', 48', 69'ReportPen: Parra (1/1) 33'
Twickenham Stoop, London
Attendance: 9,260
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)

See also

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Notes and references

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  1. ^ "European Challenge Cup – Key Tournament Rules". European Rugby Cup. Archived from the original on 6 May 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
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