2020–21 European Rugby Challenge Cup

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2020–21 European Rugby Challenge Cup
Tournament details
Countries England
 France
 Ireland
 Italy
 Scotland
 Wales
Tournament format(s)Round-robin and knockout
Tournament statistics
Teams14+8
Matches played27
Attendance12,000 (444 per match)
Highest attendance10,000
Final
VenueTwickenham Stadium
Attendance10,000
ChampionsFrance Montpellier (2nd title)
Runners-upEngland Leicester Tigers
← 2019–20 (Previous)
(Next) 2021–22 →

The 2020–21 European Rugby Challenge Cup is the seventh edition of the European Rugby Challenge Cup, an annual second-tier rugby union competition for professional clubs. Including the predecessor competition, the original European Challenge Cup, this was the 25th edition of European club rugby's second-tier competition.

The tournament began in December 2020.[1] The final, originally scheduled to be held at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille,[2] took place on 21 May 2021 at Twickenham Stadium.[3]

On 11 January 2021 EPCR announced the competition was suspended temporarily due to new restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] A revised format to finish the tournament was announced on 24 February 2021.[5]

Teams

Fourteen teams will qualified for the 2020–21 European Challenge Cup from Premiership Rugby, the Pro14 and the Top 14, as a direct result of their domestic league performance having not qualified for the Heineken Champions Cup. Although, the two South African Pro14 teams are not eligible.[6]

The distribution of teams was:

  • England: four teams
    • Any teams finishing between 9th and 11th position in the Premiership Rugby that do not qualify for the 2020–21 European Champions Cup
    • The champion of the RFU Championship
  • France: six teams
    • Any teams finishing between 9th and 14th position in the Top 14 that do not qualify for the 2020–21 European Champions Cup
  • Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales: four teams
    • Four teams from the Pro14, excluding the South African teams, that do not qualify for the 2020–21 European Champions Cup
Round Premiership Top 14 Pro14
England England France France Ireland Ireland Italy Italy Scotland Scotland Wales Wales
Preliminary stage
Knockout stage

Team details

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

Team Coach /
Director of Rugby 		Captain Stadium Capacity Method of qualification
Entering at Preliminary Stage
France Agen France Christophe Laussucq
France Rémi Vaquin 		France Antoine Erbani Stade Armandie 14,000 Top 14 bottom 6 (13th)
France Bayonne France Yannick Bru France Antoine Battut Stade Jean Dauger 16,934 Top 14 bottom 6 (11th)
Italy Benetton New Zealand Kieran Crowley South Africa Dewaldt Duvenage Stadio Comunale di Monigo 6,700 Pro14 Conference B (5th)
France Brive Ireland Jeremy Davidson Algeria Saïd Hireche Stade Amédée-Domenech 13,979 Top 14 bottom 6 (10th)
Wales Cardiff Blues Australia John Mulvihill Wales Ellis Jenkins Cardiff Arms Park 12,125 Pro14 Conference B (6th)
France Castres Argentina Mauricio Reggiardo France Mathieu Babillot Stade Pierre-Fabre 12,500 Top 14 bottom 6 (9th)
England Leicester Tigers England Steve Borthwick England Tom Youngs Welford Road Stadium 25,849 Premiership 9th–11th (11th)
England London Irish Ireland Declan Kidney Scotland Blair Cowan
Ireland Paddy Jackson
Australia Nick Phipps
England Matt Rogerson 		Brentford Community Stadium 17,250 Premiership 9th–11th (10th)
England Newcastle Falcons England Dean Richards England Mark Wilson Kingston Park 10,200 RFU Championship champions
Wales Ospreys England Toby Booth Wales Justin Tipuric Liberty Stadium 20,827 Pro14 Conference A (7th)
France Pau France Nicolas Godignon
France Frédéric Manca 		France Quentin Lespiaucq-Brettes Stade du Hameau 18,324 Top 14 bottom 6 (12th)
France Stade Français France Laurent Sempéré
France Julien Arias 		France Yoann Maestri Stade Jean-Bouin 20,000 Top 14 bottom 6 (14th)
Italy Zebre Ireland Michael Bradley Italy Tommaso Castello Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi 5,000 Pro14 Conference A (6th)
England Worcester Warriors South Africa Alan Solomons England Ted Hill[a] Sixways Stadium 11,499 Premiership 9th–11th (9th)
Entering at Knockout Stage (transferred from Champions Cup)
England Bath England Stuart Hooper England Charlie Ewels The Recreation Ground 14,509 Champions Cup Pool A 9th–12th (10th)
Ireland Connacht Australia Andy Friend Australia Jarrad Butler Galway Sportsgrounds 8,129 Champions Cup Pool B 9th–12th (10th)
Wales Dragons England Dean Ryan Wales Rhodri Williams Rodney Parade 8,700 Champions Cup Pool A 9th–12th (12th)
Scotland Glasgow Warriors England Danny Wilson Scotland Fraser Brown
Scotland Ryan Wilson 		Scotstoun Stadium 7,351 Champions Cup Pool B 9th–12th (12th)
England Harlequins Australia Billy Millard South Africa Stephan Lewies Twickenham Stoop 14,800 Champions Cup Pool B 9th–12th (11th)
France Montpellier France Xavier Garbajosa France Fulgence Ouedraogo Altrad Stadium 15,697 Champions Cup Pool A 9th–12th (11th)
England Northampton Saints New Zealand Chris Boyd England Lewis Ludlam
England Alex Waller 		Franklin's Gardens 15,200 Champions Cup Pool A 9th–12th (9th)
Ireland Ulster England Dan McFarland Ireland Iain Henderson Ravenhill Stadium 18,196 Champions Cup Pool B 9th–12th (9th)

Preliminary stage

[[File:
class=notpageimage|
Locations
|1300px|alt=Locations of teams of the European Rugby Challenge Cup.
Red: Competed in pool stage; Green: Entered from Champions Cup.]]
[[:File:
class=notpageimage|
Locations
| ]]
Locations of teams of the European Rugby Challenge Cup.
Red: Competed in pool stage; Green: Entered from Champions Cup.
Main article: 2020–21 European Rugby Challenge Cup preliminary stage

Teams were placed into one of the two tiers, with the higher ranked clubs being put in Tier 1. The nature of the tier system meant that no draw was needed this year. Brackets show each team's ranking and their league. e.g. 9 Top 14 indicates the team was the ninth placed team from the Top 14.

Tier 1 France Bayonne (11 Top 14) Italy Benetton (9 Pro14) France Brive (10 Top 14) Wales Cardiff Blues (10 Pro14) France Castres (9 Top 14) England London Irish (10 Prem) England Worcester Warriors (9 Prem)
Tier 2 France Agen (13 Top 14) England Leicester Tigers (11 Prem) England Newcastle Falcons (12 Prem) Wales Ospreys (12 Pro14) France Pau (12 Top 14) France Stade Français (14 Top 14) Italy Zebre (11 Top 14)

The preliminary stage would consist of a single pool of 14 teams. No team would play a team in the same tier and no club would play another club from the same league. Each team was scheduled to play four matches with the top eight teams advancing to the knockout stage. The top eight teams were due to be joined in the round of 16 by the teams finishing between 5th and 8th in each pool of the 2020–21 European Rugby Champions Cup pool stage.

The revised format announced in February 2021 would see the top 8 teams after 2 pool games advance to the round of 16 along with the eight teams placed between 9th and 12th in each pool of the Champions Cup.[5]

Key to colours
     Top 8, advance to round of 16
     Eliminated from tournament
Team P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
England London Irish 2 2 0 0 60 25 +35 9 3 2 0 10
Wales Ospreys 2 2 0 0 77 44 +33 9 6 2 0 10
Wales Cardiff Blues 2 2 0 0 61 20 +41 7 2 1 0 9
England Leicester Tigers 2 2 0 0 67 37 +30 7 3 1 0 9
Italy Zebre 2 1 1 0 43 41 +2 5 4 0 0 6
France Agen 2 1 0 1 36 34 +2 5 5 1 0 5
Italy Benetton 2 1 0 1 44 48 −4 7 7 1 0 5
England Newcastle Falcons 2 1 0 1 46 50 −4 5 6 0 0 4
France Pau 2 1 0 1 41 46 −5 5 6 0 0 4
France Bayonne 2 0 1 1 45 53 −8 5 6 0 0 2
England Worcester Warriors 2 0 0 2 49 62 −13 6 7 1 1 2
France Brive 2 0 0 2 33 57 −24 2 6 0 1 1
France Castres 2 0 0 2 32 65 −33 5 8 0 0 0
France Stade Français 2 0 0 2 20 72 −52 3 11 0 0 0

Last 16 rankings

Key to colours
     Top 8 in Challenge Cup      Champions Cup 17th-24th
Team P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
England London Irish 2 2 0 0 60 25 +35 9 3 2 0 10
Wales Ospreys 2 2 0 0 77 44 +33 9 6 2 0 10
Wales Cardiff Blues 2 2 0 0 61 20 +41 7 2 1 0 9
England Leicester Tigers 2 2 0 0 67 37 +30 7 3 1 0 9
Italy Zebre 2 1 1 0 43 41 +2 5 4 0 0 6
France Agen 2 1 0 1 36 34 +2 5 5 1 0 5
Italy Benetton 2 1 0 1 44 48 −4 7 7 1 0 5
England Newcastle Falcons 2 1 0 1 46 50 −4 5 6 0 0 4
Ireland Ulster 2 0 0 2 56 67 −11 7 9 1 2 3
Ireland Connacht 2 0 0 2 40 53 −13 5 8 0 1 1
England Northampton Saints 2 0 0 2 31 51 −20 3 5 0 1 1
England Bath 2 0 0 2 19 51 −32 2 6 0 1 1
France Montpellier 2 0 0 2 28 68 −40 3 10 0 0 0
Wales Dragons 2 0 0 2 16 71 −55 2 11 0 0 0
England Harlequins 2 0 0 2 14 70 −56 2 9 0 0 0
Scotland Glasgow Warriors 2 0 0 2 0 70 −70 0 10 0 0 0

Knockout stage

The knockout stage commenced with a round of 16 consisting of the top 8 ranked teams from the preliminary stage and the teams placed between 9th and 12th in each Champions Cup pool. Due to the truncation of the preliminary stage, a draw was used to determine matches in both round of 16 and quarter-finals but no team would 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, Leicester Tigers, London Irish and Ospreys received home advantage.[5]

The draw for the round of 16 and quarter-finals took place on 9 March 2021 in Lausanne, Switzerland.[7]

Bracket

Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
        
England Leicester Tigers 48
Ireland Connacht 32
England Leicester Tigers 39
England Newcastle Falcons 15
Wales Ospreys 24
England Newcastle Falcons 28
England Leicester Tigers 33
Ireland Ulster 24
Wales Dragons 39
England Northampton Saints 43
England Northampton Saints 27
Ireland Ulster 35
England Harlequins 21
Ireland Ulster 57
England Leicester Tigers 17
France Montpellier 18
Italy Zebre 27
England Bath 35
England Bath 26
England London Irish 13
England London Irish 41
Wales Cardiff Blues 35
England Bath 10
France Montpellier 19
France Montpellier 26
Scotland Glasgow Warriors 21
France Montpellier 31
Italy Benetton 25
Italy Benetton 29
France Agen 16

Round of 16

Fixtures were announced on 16 March 2021.[8]

2 April 2021
16:00 CET
Zebre Italy27–35England Bath
Try: Bruno 2' c, 9' c, 22' c
Con: Canna (3/3) 3', 10', 23'
Pen: Pescetto (2/3) 67', 71'		ReportTry: Cokanasiga 14' c
Stuart 40' c
Obano 45' c
Watson 61' c
du Toit 78' c
Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi
Attendance: 0
Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
2 April 2021
17:30 BST
London Irish England41–35Wales Cardiff Blues
Try: Loader 30' c
Hassell-Collins (2) 49' c, 74' c
Hepetema 71' c
Rona 79' c
Con: Jackson (5/5) 31', 49', 72', 76', 80'
Pen: Jackson (2/3) 13', 39'		ReportTry: Dacey 16' c
Adams 20' c
Harries 57' m
L. Williams 64' c
Con: Evans (3/4) 17', 20', 65'
Pen: Evans (2/3) 27', 46'
Drop: Evans 77'
Brentford Community Stadium
Attendance: 0
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
2 April 2021
21:00 CET
Montpellier France26–21Scotland Glasgow Warriors
Try: Guirado 38' c
Bouthier 43' c
Con: Lozowski (2/2) 40', 44'
Pen: Lozowski (4/6) 14', 24', 58', 71'		ReportPen: Hastings (5/5) 1', 16', 27', 55', 62'
Thompson (2/2) 70', 73'
GGL Stadium
Attendance: 0
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
3 April 2021
16:00 CET
Benetton Italy29–16France Agen
Try: Duvenage 20' m
Ioane 45' m
Brex 62' m
Padovani 73' m
Pen: Garbisi (3/3) 12', 29', 39'		ReportTry: Hayes 1' c
Con: Verdu (1/1) 2'
Pen: Verdu (3/3) 18', 50', 55'
Stadio Comunale di Monigo
Attendance: 0
Referee: Christophe Ridley (England)
3 April 2021
15:00 BST
Ospreys Wales24–28England Newcastle Falcons
Try: K. Williams 8' c
D. Evans 12' c
Botha 70' c
Con: Price (3/3) 9', 13', 71'
Pen: Price (1/1) 56'		ReportTry: Davison 33' c
Penalty try 38'
Robinson 41' c
McGuigan 64' m
van der Walt 66' c
Con: Connon (3/4) 34', 42', 67'
Liberty Stadium
Attendance: 0
Referee: Ludovic Cayre (France)
3 April 2021
17:30 BST
Dragons Wales39–43England Northampton Saints
Try: Hewitt (2) 11' c, 33' m
Screech 26' c
S. Davies 50' c
Brown 60' c
Con: S. Davies (4/5) 12', 26', 51', 60'
Pen: S. Davies (2/2) 6', 43'		ReportTry: Naiyaravoro (2) 36' c, 73' c
Sleightholme 41' c
Mitchell 54' c
Harrison 62' m
Collins 74' c
Con: Grayson (5/6) 37', 41, 55', 73' 75'
Pen: Grayson (1/1) 24'
Rodney Parade
Attendance: 0
Referee: Alexandre Ruiz (France)
3 April 2021
20:00 BST
Leicester Tigers England48–32Ireland Connacht
Try: Clare (2) 11' m, 65' c
Porter 14' c
Moroni 27' m
Henry 31' c
Wells 73' c
Wiese 78' c
Con: Henry (2/4) 15', 32'
McPhillips (3/3) 66', 74', 79'
Pen: McPhillips (1/1) 57'		ReportTry: Marmion 6' m
E. Masterson 43' c
Wootton 56' c
Boyle 71' c
Con: Carty (2/3) 44', 59'
C. Fitzgerald (1/1) 71'
Pen: Carty (2/3) 23', 40+5'
Mattioli Woods Welford Road
Attendance: 0
Referee: Adam Jones (Wales)[b]
4 April 2021
20:00 BST
Harlequins England21–57Ireland Ulster
Try: Lawday 31' c
Kenningham 64' c
Els 77' c
Con: Herron (3/3) 32', 64', 78'		ReportTry: McCloskey 7' c
Herring (2) 21' c, 55' c
Reidy (2) 26' c, 69' c
Lowry 33' m
Burns 59' c
Mathewson 65' c
Con: Cooney (5/6) 8', 23', 27', 57', 60'
Madigan (2/2) 66', 70'
Pen: Cooney (1/1) 12'
Twickenham Stoop
Attendance: 0
Referee: Romain Poite (France)

Quarter-finals

9 April 2021
20:00 BST
Bath England26–13England London Irish
Try: McNally 8' c
Stuart (2) 23' c, 31' m
Mercer 67' c
Con: Spencer (3/4) 9', 24', 68'		ReportTry: Creevy 5' c
Con: Jackson (1/1) 6'
Pen: Jackson (2/2) 40', 63'
Recreation Ground
Attendance: 0
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
10 April 2021
12:30 BST
Leicester Tigers England39–15England Newcastle Falcons
Try: Potter (2) 4' m, 80' c
Penalty try (2) 13', 75'
Moroni 46' c
Con: McPhillips (1/2) 47'
Ford (1/1) 80+1'
Pen: McPhillips (1/1) 17'
Ford (1/1) 56'		ReportTry: Wacokecoke 32' m
Penny 48' c
Con: Connon (1/2) 50'
Pen: Connon (1/1) 9'
Mattioli Woods Welford Road
Attendance: 0
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
10 April 2021
20:00 BST
Northampton Saints England27–35Ireland Ulster
Try: Mitchell 4' c
Freeman (2) 32' m, 34' c
Sleightholme 58' m
Con: Francis (2/4) 6', 35'
Pen: Francis (1/1) 16'		ReportTry: Penalty try 11'
Herring 24' c
M. Moore 46' c
Cooney 61' c
Stockdale 72' c
Con: Cooney (4/4) 25', 47', 62', 73'
Franklin's Gardens
Attendance: 0
Referee: Alexandre Ruiz (France)
10 April 2021
21:00 CET
Montpellier France31–25Italy Benetton
Try: Paillaugue (2) 11' m, 54' c
Willemse 36' c
Con: Paillaugue (2/3) 37', 55'
Pen: Paillaugue (3/3) 4', 29', 60'
Drop: Bouthier 24'		ReportTry: Garbisi 45' c
Con: Garbisi (1/1) 46'
Pen: Garbisi (5/6) 1', 6', 14', 27', 31'
Allan (1/1) 65'
GGL Stadium
Attendance: 0
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)

Semi-finals

The draw for the semi-finals took place on 11 April 2021 at BT Sport's studios in London.[2]

30 April 2021
20:00 BST
Leicester Tigers England33–24Ireland Ulster
Try: Wiese 44' c
Genge 52' c
Porter 73' c
Con: Ford (3/3) 44', 54', 75'
Pen: Ford (3/4) 6', 19', 49'
Drop: Ford 58'		ReportTry: Henderson 15' c
Burns 21' c
Timoney 67' c
Con: Cooney (2/2) 16', 22'
Lowry (1/1) 68'
Pen: Cooney (1/1) 9'
Mattioli Woods Welford Road
Attendance: 0
Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (France)
1 May 2021
20:00 BST
Bath England10–19France Montpellier
Try: Dunn 2' c
Con: B. Spencer (1/1) 3'
Pen: B. Spencer (1/2) 26'		ReportTry: Camara 22' c
Con: Paillaugue (1/1) 23'
Pen: Paillaugue (3/5) 19', 31', 36'
Pollard (1/1) 79'
Recreation Ground
Attendance: 0
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)

Final

21 May 2021
20:00
Leicester Tigers England17–18France Montpellier
Try: Wells 32' c
Wiese 46' c
Con: Ford (2/2) 34', 47'
Pen: Ford (1/2) 8'		ReportTry: Rattez 13' c
Goosen 57' m
Con: Paillaugue (1/2) 14'
Pen: Paillaugue (2/3) 16', 50'
Twickenham Stadium
Attendance: 10,000[c]
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
FB 15 England Freddie Steward
RW 14 England Guy Porter downward-facing red arrow 19'
OC 13 Argentina Matías Moroni
IC 12 England Dan Kelly
LW 11 Fiji Nemani Nadolo downward-facing red arrow 68'
FH 10 England George Ford
SH 9 England Richard Wigglesworth downward-facing red arrow 45'
N8 8 South Africa Jasper Wiese
OF 7 South Africa Cyle Brink downward-facing red arrow 29'
BF 6 South Africa Hanro Liebenberg
RL 5 England Calum Green downward-facing red arrow 77'
LL 4 England Harry Wells downward-facing red arrow 60'
TP 3 England Dan Cole downward-facing red arrow 52'
HK 2 England Tom Youngs (c) downward-facing red arrow 52'
LP 1 England Ellis Genge downward-facing red arrow 65'
Substitutions:
HK 16 England Charlie Clare upward-facing green arrow 52'
PR 17 South Africa Luan de Bruin upward-facing green arrow 65'
PR 18 England Joe Heyes upward-facing green arrow 52'
LK 19 Scotland Cameron Henderson upward-facing green arrow 77'
FL 20 Wales Tommy Reffell upward-facing green arrow 29'
SH 21 England Ben Youngs upward-facing green arrow 45'
FH 22 England Zack Henry upward-facing green arrow 68'
WG 23 Fiji Kini Murimurivalu upward-facing green arrow 19'
Coach:
England Steve Borthwick
FB 15 France Anthony Bouthier
RW 14 France Arthur Vincent downward-facing red arrow 43'
OC 13 South Africa Johan Goosen
IC 12 South Africa Jan Serfontein downward-facing red arrow 63'
LW 11 France Vincent Rattez
FH 10 England Alex Lozowski
SH 9 France Benoît Paillaugue downward-facing red arrow 62'
N8 8 France Alexandre Bécognée yellow card 29' to 40' downward-facing red arrow 52' upward-facing green arrow 55'
OF 7 France Yacouba Camara
BF 6 France Fulgence Ouedraogo downward-facing red arrow 25'
RL 5 France Paul Willemse downward-facing red arrow 77'
LL 4 France Florian Verhaeghe downward-facing red arrow 67'
TP 3 France Mohamed Haouas downward-facing red arrow 65'
HK 2 France Guilhem Guirado (c) yellow card 44' to 54' downward-facing red arrow 65'
LP 1 France Enzo Forletta
Substitutions:
HK 16 South Africa Bismarck du Plessis upward-facing green arrow 52' downward-facing red arrow 55' upward-facing green arrow 65'
PR 17 South Africa Robert Rodgers
PR 18 United States Titi Lamositele upward-facing green arrow 65'
LK 19 Canada Tyler Duguid upward-facing green arrow 77'
FL 20 South Africa Jacques du Plessis upward-facing green arrow 25'
SH 21 South Africa Cobus Reinach upward-facing green arrow 62'
FH 22 South Africa Handré Pollard upward-facing green arrow 63'
CE 23 France Gabriel N'Gandebe upward-facing green arrow 43'
Coach:
France Philippe Saint-André

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Hill was named as Worcester's club captain in July 2020, with Matt Moulds serving as team captain.
  2. ^ Replaces Pascal Gaüzère who was originally appointed to the fixture but changed to Jones on 26 March
  3. ^ Capacity limited to 10,000 due to national restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

  1. ^ "New EPCR dates for 2019/20 announced". European Professional Club Rugby. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  2. ^ a b "EPCR statement – 2021 Marseille finals and semi-final matches". European Professional Club Rugby. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  3. ^ "Twickenham Stadium to host 2021 EPCR finals". European Professional Club Rugby. 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  4. ^ "EPCR tournaments temporarily suspended". European Professional Club Rugby. 11 January 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "Revised EPCR tournament formats for 2020/21 season announced". European Professional Club Rugby. 24 February 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  6. ^ "New EPCR tournament formats agreed for 2020/21 season". European Professional Club Rugby. 2 September 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  7. ^ "All you need to know about the European Rugby Challenge Cup knockout stage draws". European Professional Club Rugby. 8 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Challenge Cup Round of 16 fixture dates announced". European Professional Club Rugby. 16 March 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
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