Wikipedia

2020–21 European Rugby Champions Cup

The 2020–21 European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons)[1] was the seventh season of the European Rugby Champions Cup, the annual club rugby union competition run by European Professional Club Rugby (ECPR) for teams from the top six nations in European rugby. It was the 26th season of pan-European professional club rugby competition.

2020–21 European Rugby Champions Cup
Tournament details
Countries England
 France
 Ireland
 Scotland
 Wales
Tournament format(s)Round-robin and knockout
Date12 December 2020 – 22 May 2021
Tournament statistics
Teams24
Top point scorer(s)France Matthieu Jalibert (Bordeaux)
72 points
Top try scorer(s)Argentina Santiago Cordero (Bordeaux)
Japan Kotaro Matsushima (Clermont)
France Xavier Mignot (Lyon)
France Antoine Dupont (Toulouse)
4 tries
Final
VenueTwickenham Stadium
ChampionsFrance Toulouse (5th title)
Runners-upFrance La Rochelle
← 2019–20 (Previous)
(Next) 2021–22 →

The tournament began on 11 December 2020. The final, originally scheduled at the Stade de Marseille,[2] occurred on 22 May 2021 at Twickenham Stadium.[3]

On 11 January 2021, EPCR suspended the tournament due to further public health restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]

A revised format was announced on 24 February 2021.[5]

Teams

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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic delaying the end of the previous tournament twenty-four clubs from the three major European domestic and regional leagues would compete in the Champions Cup in a one-year exceptional basis.[6] EPCR chief Vincent Gaillard confirmed the 24-team tournament in August 2020.[7][8]

The distribution of teams is:

  • England: eight clubs
  • France: eight clubs
    • The top eight clubs in the Top 14
  • Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales: eight clubs
    • The top four sides (not including the South African sides, which are ineligible for EPCR competitions) in both conferences in the Pro14.

While the 2019–20 Top 14 season was cancelled due to COVID-19,[9] the Premiership and Pro14 resumed in August 2020.[10][11] However, the Pro14 announced in June 2020 that their European representation would be decided by standings after round 13, the final series of games before the hiatus.[12] The following teams qualified for the tournament via their league performance.

Premiership Top 14 Pro14
  England   France   Ireland   Scotland   Wales

Team details

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Below is the list of coaches, captain and stadiums with their method of qualification for each team.

Note: Placing shown in brackets, denotes standing at the end of the regular season for their respective leagues, with their end of season positioning shown through CH for Champions, RU for Runner-up and SF for losing Semi-finalist.

Team Coach /
Director of Rugby 		Captain Stadium Capacity Method of qualification
  Bath   Stuart Hooper   Charlie Ewels The Recreation Ground 14,509 Premiership top 8 (4th) (SF)
  Bordeaux Bègles   Christophe Urios   Jefferson Poirot Stade Chaban-Delmas 34,694 Top 14 top 8 (1st)
  Bristol Bears   Pat Lam   Steve Luatua Ashton Gate 27,000 Premiership top 8 (3rd) (SF)
  Clermont   Franck Azéma   Morgan Parra Stade Marcel-Michelin 19,022 Top 14 top 8 (6th)
  Connacht   Andy Friend   Jarrad Butler Galway Sportsgrounds 8,129 Pro14 Conference B (4th)
  Dragons   Dean Ryan   Rhodri Williams Rodney Parade 8,700 Pro14 Conference A (5th)
  Edinburgh   Richard Cockerill   Stuart McInally Murrayfield 12,464[a] Pro14 Conference B (1st) (SF)
  Exeter Chiefs   Rob Baxter   Jack Yeandle Sandy Park 13,593 Premiership top 8 (1st) (CH)
  Glasgow Warriors   Danny Wilson   Fraser Brown
  Ryan Wilson 		Scotstoun Stadium 7,351 Pro14 Conference A (3rd)
  Gloucester   George Skivington   Lewis Ludlow Kingsholm Stadium 16,115 Premiership top 8 (7th)
  Harlequins   Paul Gustard
  Billy Millard 		  Stephan Lewies Twickenham Stoop 14,800 Premiership top 8 (6th)
  La Rochelle   Jono Gibbes   Victor Vito Stade Marcel-Deflandre 16,000 Top 14 top 8 (5th)
  Leinster   Leo Cullen   Johnny Sexton RDS Arena
Aviva Stadium 		18,500
51,700 		Pro14 Conference A (1st) (CH)
  Lyon   Pierre Mignoni   Baptiste Couilloud
  Félix Lambey 		Matmut Stadium de Gerland 25,000 Top 14 top 8 (2nd)
  Montpellier   Xavier Garbajosa   Fulgence Ouedraogo Altrad Stadium 15,697 Top 14 top 8 (8th)
  Munster   Johann van Graan   Peter O'Mahony Thomond Park 25,600 Pro14 Conference B (2nd) (SF)
  Northampton Saints   Chris Boyd   Lewis Ludlam
  Alex Waller 		Franklin's Gardens 15,200 Premiership top 8 (8th)
  Racing 92   Laurent Travers   Henry Chavancy Paris La Défense Arena 30,681 Top 14 top 8 (3rd)
  Sale Sharks   Paul Deacon   Jono Ross AJ Bell Stadium 12,000 Premiership top 8 (5th)
  Scarlets   Glenn Delaney   Ken Owens Parc y Scarlets 14,870 Pro14 Conference B (3rd)
  Toulon   Patrice Collazo   Raphaël Lakafia Stade Mayol 18,200 Top 14 top 8 (4th)
  Toulouse   Ugo Mola   Julien Marchand Stade Ernest-Wallon 19,500 Top 14 top 8 (7th)
  Ulster   Dan McFarland   Iain Henderson Ravenhill Stadium 18,196 Pro14 Conference A (2nd) (RU)
  Wasps   Lee Blackett   Dan Robson
  Thomas Young 		Ricoh Arena 32,609 Premiership top 8 (2nd) (RU)

Seeding

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The twenty four teams would be broken down into two pools of twelve. Originally, four rounds of inter-pool play was to be followed by a knockout stage, featuring two-legged quarterfinals, and single leg semi-finals and final (to be held in Marseille on 22 May 2021). However at suspension of the tournament in January 2021, only two rounds of the pool stage were completed and the revised format would introduce a round of 16 following these.[5]

For the purposes of the pool draw, the clubs would be separated into tiers based on their league finishing position, and clubs from the same league in the same tier would not be drawn into the same pool. The number 1 and number 2 ranked clubs from each league will be in Tier 1, the number 3 and number 4 ranked clubs would be in Tier 2, the number 5 and 6 ranked clubs would be in Tier 3, and the number 7 and number 8 ranked clubs would be Tier 4.

The pool stage would feature the Tier 1 teams playing the Tier 4 teams in their pool (that are not from the same league) twice in a home or away manner, while the Tier 2 and 3 clubs would follow in a similar manner.[8]

When the revised format was announced, the top eight teams from each pool would qualify for the knockout stage of the Champions Cup and teams finishing between 9th and 12th in each pool would join the Challenge Cup at the Round of 16 stage, joining eight qualifiers from the Challenge Cup pool stage. Due to the suspension in January 2021, only six weekends of play would be provided for, three less than in previous seasons.[5]

Tier Rank Top 14 Premiership Pro14
1 1   Bordeaux Bègles   Exeter Chiefs   Leinster
2   Lyon   Wasps   Ulster
2 3   Racing 92   Bristol Bears   Munster
4   Toulon   Bath   Edinburgh
3 5   La Rochelle   Sale Sharks   Scarlets
6   Clermont   Harlequins   Connacht
4 7   Toulouse   Gloucester   Glasgow Warriors
8   Montpellier   Northampton Saints   Dragons

Pool stage

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Main article: 2020–21 European Rugby Champions Cup pool stage
[[File:
class=notpageimage|
Locations
|1500px|alt=Locations of teams of the 2020–21 European Rugby Champions Cup pool stage.
  Green: Pool A;   Red: Pool B.]]
[[:File:
class=notpageimage|
Locations
| ]]
Locations of teams of the 2020–21 European Rugby Champions Cup pool stage.
  Green: Pool A;   Red: Pool B.

The draw took place on 28 October 2020 at the Maison du Sport International in Lausanne, Switzerland. The 24 teams were drawn into the two pools as follows, this also shows their opponents.[13] Fixtures were announced on 13 November 2020.

Key to colours
     Top 8 in each pool, advance to round of 16.
     Teams ranked 9th–12th in each pool advance to 2020–21 European Rugby Challenge Cup round of 16

Pool A

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Team
 P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
  Leinster 2 2 0 0 70 33 +37 9 4 2 0 10
  Wasps 2 2 0 0 57 22 +35 9 3 2 0 10
  Bordeaux Bègles 2 2 0 0 63 20 +43 8 1 1 0 9
  La Rochelle 2 2 0 0 41 8 +33 6 1 1 0 9
  Scarlets 2 2 0 0 51 19 +32 6 2 1 0 9
  Edinburgh 2 1 0 1 24 28 -4 2 4 0 1 5
  Toulon 2 1 0 1 26 42 -16 2 6 0 0 4
  Sale Sharks 2 0 0 2 29 42 -13 4 3 0 1 1
  Northampton Saints 2 0 0 2 31 51 -20 3 5 0 1 1
  Bath 2 0 0 2 19 51 -32 2 6 0 1 1
  Montpellier 2 0 0 2 28 68 -40 3 10 0 0 0
  Dragons 2 0 0 2 16 71 -55 2 11 0 0 0

[14]

Pool B

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Team
 P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
  Lyon 2 2 0 0 83 10 +73 12 1 1 0 10
  Racing 92 2 2 0 0 75 29 +46 11 4 2 0 10
  Toulouse 2 2 0 0 57 22 +35 8 3 2 0 10
  Munster 2 2 0 0 60 38 +22 5 5 0 0 8
  Clermont 2 1 0 1 82 77 +5 11 8 2 0 6
  Bristol Bears 2 1 0 1 65 69 -4 9 9 2 0 6
  Exeter Chiefs 2 1 0 1 42 28 +14 6 4 1 0 5
  Gloucester 2 1 0 1 48 89 -41 6 12 1 0 5
  Ulster 2 0 0 2 56 67 -11 7 9 1 2 3
  Connacht 2 0 0 2 40 53 -13 5 8 0 1 1
  Harlequins 2 0 0 2 14 70 -56 2 9 0 0 0
  Glasgow Warriors 2 0 0 2 0 70 -70 0 10 0 0 0

[15]

Knockout stage

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The knockout stage will commence with a round of 16 consisting of the top 8 ranked teams from each pool. Due to the truncation of the pool stage, a draw will be used to determine matches in both round of 16 and quarter-finals but no team will face a team from the same league in the round of 16. Teams which won both their matches and were not awarded points due to COVID cancellations would be guaranteed home advantage. Therefore, Bordeaux Bègles, Leinster, Munster, Racing 92 and Wasps will receive home advantage.

The draw for the round of 16 and quarter-finals took place on 9 March 2021 in Lausanne, Switzerland.[5]

Bracket

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Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals #Final
        
  Wasps 25
  Clermont 27
  Clermont 12
  Toulouse 21
  Munster 33
  Toulouse 40
  Toulouse 21
  Bordeaux Bègles 9
  Bordeaux Bègles 36
  Bristol Bears 17
  Bordeaux Bègles 24
  Racing 92 21
  Racing 92 56
  Edinburgh 3
  Toulouse 22
  La Rochelle 17
  Gloucester 16
  La Rochelle 27
  La Rochelle 45
  Sale Sharks 21
  Scarlets 14
  Sale Sharks 57
  La Rochelle 32
  Leinster 23
  Exeter Chiefs 47
  Lyon 25
  Exeter Chiefs 22
  Leinster 34
  Leinster Bye
  Toulon

Round of 16

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Fixtures were announced on 16 March 2021.[16]

2 April 2021
17:30 IST
Leinster  Cancelled[b]  Toulon
RDS Arena
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
2 April 2021
20:00 BST
Gloucester  16–27  La Rochelle
Try: Ackermann 31' c
Con: Barton (1/1) 32'
Pen: Barton (3/3) 2', 12', 59'		ReportTry: Leyds 8' m
Retière 22' c
Con: West (1/2) 23'
Pen: West (3/3) 17', 48', 55'
Plisson (2/2) 65', 71'
Kingsholm
Attendance: 0
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
3 April 2021
12:30 BST
Wasps  25–27  Clermont
Try: Odogwu 5' c
Bassett 23' c
Harris 54' m
Con: Umaga (2/3) 5', 24'
Pen: Umaga (2/2) 39', 40+2'		ReportTry: Bézy 11' c
Ravai 17' c
Matsushima 80+2' c
Con: Nanai-Williams (1/1) 12'
Lopez (2/2) 20', 80+3'
Pen: Lopez (2/3) 52', 67'
Ricoh Arena
Attendance: 0
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
3 April 2021
15:00 IST
Munster  33–40  Toulouse
Try: Earls (2) 24' m, 27' m
Coombes (2) 50' c, 80' c
Con: Carbery (1/3) 51'
Casey (1/1) 80'
Pen: Carbery (2/2) 14', 40+1'
Hanrahan (1/1) 65'		ReportTry: Lebel 42' c
Marchand 54' c
Dupont (2) 67' c, 76' c
Con: Ntamack (4/4) 43', 55', 68', 77'
Pen: Ntamack (4/6) 3', 16', 30', 75'
Thomond Park
Attendance: 0
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
3 April 2021
17:30 BST
Exeter Chiefs  47–25  Lyon
Try: Hill (2) 14' m, 25' c
O'Flaherty 28' c
Devoto 38' c
Ewers 50' c
Penalty try 62'
Woodburn 75' c
Con: J. Simmonds (4/5) 27', 30', 39', 51'
Skinner (1/1) 77'		ReportTry: Couilloud 5' c
Mignot 8' c
Cretin 79' m
Con: Wisniewski (2/3) 6', 9'
Pen: Wisniewski (2/2) 17', 34'
Sandy Park
Attendance: 0
Referee: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
4 April 2021
13:30 CET
Racing 92  56–3  Edinburgh
Try: Chat 25' c
Machenaud 33' c
Joseph 62' c
Gogichashvili 66' c
Thomas (2) 69' c, 74' m
Trinh-Duc 79' c
Con: Machenaud (2/2) 26', 34'
Iribaren (4/5) 63', 67', 70', 80'
Pen: Machenaud (2/3) 7', 31'
Gibert (1/2) 56'		ReportPen: Kinghorn (1/1) 13'
Paris La Défense Arena
Attendance: 0
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
4 April 2021
16:00 CET
Bordeaux Bègles  36–17  Bristol Bears
Try: Jalibert 44' c
Dweba 70' c
Ducuing 79' c
Con: Jalibert (1/1) 45'
Lucu (2/2) 71', 80'
Pen: Jalibert (5/6) 9', 15', 21', 34', 40'		ReportTry: Purdy 6' m
Pen: Sheedy (4/4) 13', 17', 26', 55'
Stade Chaban-Delmas
Attendance: 0
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
4 April 2021
17:30 BST
Scarlets  14–57  Sale Sharks
Try: Owens 46' c
J. Morgan 76' c
Con: Halfpenny (2/2) 47', 76'		ReportTry: Van der Merwe (2) 16' c, 29' c
MacGinty 41' c
Yarde 51' c
Beaumont 62' c
Quirke 77' c
Con: MacGinty (6/6) 17', 31', 42', 53', 63', 78'
Pen: MacGinty (5/5) 2', 25', 36', 68', 70'
Parc y Scarlets
Attendance: 0
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)

Quarter-finals

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10 April 2021
16:00 CET
La Rochelle  45–21  Sale Sharks
Try: Alldritt 28' m
Leyds 36' c
Rhule (2) 41' c, 51' m
Doumayrou (2) 61' c, 69' m
Con: West (3/6) 37', 42', 62'
Pen: West (3/4) 11', 21', 65'		ReportTry: S. James 40+1' c
McGuigan 76' m
Con: MacGinty (1/2) 40+4'
Pen: MacGinty (3/4) 9', 26', 33'
Stade Marcel-Deflandre
Attendance: 0
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
10 April 2021
17:30 BST
Exeter Chiefs  22–34  Leinster
Try: O'Flaherty (2) 2' c, 7' c
Ewers 42' m
Con: J. Simmonds (2/3) 3', 9'
Pen: J. Simmonds (1/1) 47'		ReportTry: Lowe 17' c
Larmour (2) 28' c, 56' m
Con: Sexton (1/1) 18'
R. Byrne (1/2) 29'
Pen: R. Byrne (5/5) 32', 40', 50', 65', 79'
Sandy Park
Attendance: 0
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
11 April 2021
13:30 CET
Bordeaux Bègles  24–21  Racing 92
Pen: Jalibert (8/9) 5', 16', 22', 48', 59', 61', 74', 80+2'ReportPen: Machenaud (4/5) 2', 25', 44', 53'
Iribaren (2/2) 67', 79'
Drop: Gibert 14'
Stade Chaban-Delmas
Attendance: 0
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
11 April 2021
16:00 CET
Clermont  12–21  Toulouse
Pen: Parra (4/5) 24', 28', 41', 57'ReportPen: Ntamack (7/9) 32', 39', 43', 48', 55', 61', 64', 72'
Stade Marcel-Michelin
Attendance: 0
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)

Semi-finals

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The draw for the semi-finals took place on 11 April 2021 at BT Sport's studios in London. As a result of the pandemic all matches will be held at the designated club's home ground.[2]

1 May 2021
16:00 CET
Toulouse  21–9  Bordeaux Bègles
Try: Lebel 5' m
Dupont 71' c
Con: Ntamack (1/2) 72'
Pen: Ntamack (3/3) 38', 44', 64'		ReportPen: Jalibert (3/4) 3', 20', 68'
Stade Ernest-Wallon
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
2 May 2021
16:00 CET
La Rochelle  32–23  Leinster
Try: Alldritt 65' c
Skelton 73' c
Con: West (2/2) 67', 75'
Pen: West (5/6) 15', 32', 36', 46', 56'
Drop: West 18'		ReportTry: Furlong 8' c
Byrne 77' c
Con: Byrne (2/2) 8', 77'
Pen: Byrne (3/4) 20', 26', 52'
Stade Marcel-Deflandre
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)

Final

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Main article: 2021 European Rugby Champions Cup Final
22 May 2021
16:45
La Rochelle  17–22  Toulouse
Try: Kerr-Barlow 72' m
Pen: West (4/6) 7', 26', 32', 40'		ReportTry: Cruz Mallía 59' c
Con: Ntamack (1/1) 60'
Pen: Ntamack (5/5) 4', 10', 37', 46', 69'
Twickenham Stadium
Attendance: 10,000[c]
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)

Notes

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  1. ^ Although Murrayfield's full capacity is 67,144, only the lower section of the East Stand, with a capacity of 12,464, is generally opened for Edinburgh fixtures.
  2. ^ Toulon had one non-travelling player resulting positive to coronavirus in the week before the game, and therefore Leinster progressed to quarter-finals.[17]
  3. ^ Capacity limited to 10,000 due to national restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Heineken® Returns as Headline Sponsor of European Rugby Champions Cup". Heineken. 4 June 2018. Archived from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  2. ^ a b "EPCR statement – 2021 Marseille finals and semi-final matches". European Professional Club Rugby. 2021-03-31. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
  3. ^ "Twickenham Stadium to host 2021 EPCR finals". European Professional Club Rugby. 2021-04-30. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  4. ^ "EPCR tournaments temporarily suspended". European Professional Club Rugby. 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  5. ^ a b c d "Revised EPCR tournament formats for 2020/21 season announced". European Professional Club Rugby. 2021-02-24. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
  6. ^ "New EPCR dates for 2019/20 announced". European Professional Club Rugby. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  7. ^ "Connacht set to play in 24 team Champions Cup Rugby 2020/21". Sports News Ireland. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  8. ^ a b "New EPCR tournament formats agreed for 2020/21 season". European Professional Club Rugby. 2 September 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Coronavirus: French Top 14 cancelled, relegation scrapped". ESPN. 2 June 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Premiership rugby return: New faces, new laws, new champions to be crowned". BBC Sport. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  11. ^ "Bragging rights for Zebre as Pro14 returns in Italy". RTÉ Sport. 21 August 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  12. ^ "Target Date Set For Guinness PRO14 Restart". Munster Rugby. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020. PRO14 Rugby has agreed that rankings for European qualification for the 2020/21 season would be decided on the Conference table positions from Round 13. This will include the points awarded to teams whose postponed games in Round 13 have been deemed 0-0 draws.
  13. ^ "Heineken Champions Cup Pool Draw maps out first steps on road to Marseille 2021". European Professional Club Rugby. 28 October 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  14. ^ "Pool Tables". Heineken Champions Cup. EPCR. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  15. ^ "Pool Tables". Heineken Champions Cup. EPCR. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  16. ^ "Heineken Champions Cup Round of 16 fixture dates announced". European Professional Club Rugby. 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  17. ^ "Leinster Rugby v RC Toulon - match result decision". European Professional Club Rugby. 2021-04-02. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
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