1996–97 Heineken Cup

International rugby union competition 1996–97 Heineken Cup 100px Official logo EnglandFranceIreland rugby unionItalyScotlandWales Round-robin and Knockout 12 October 1996 to 25 January 1997 20 47 317987 Richard Dourthe (Dax)(82 points) Sebastien Carrat (Brive)(10 tries) Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff 41,664 FRA Brive 1 ENG Leicester Tigers https://web.archive.org/web/20080506141030/http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/ 1995–96 1995–96 Heineken Cup 1997–98 1997–98 Heineken Cup The 1996–97 Heineken Cup was the second edition of the Heineken Cup, a competition for the top European rugby union clubs. Competing teams from France, Ireland, Italy, Wales and, for the first time, England and Scotland, were divided into four pools of five, with each team playing the other teams once, meaning two home and two away games per team. The pool winners and runners-up qualified for the knock-out stages. The competition was won by a French team for the second time, when Brive beat their English opponents Leicester Tigers 28–9 at the Cardiff Arms Park. The defending champions Toulouse were knocked out in the semi-final by Leicester Tigers and Brive beat Cardiff in the other semi-final.Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1997–98 1997 Headline Book Publishing London 0-7472-7732-X Mick Cleary John Griffiths Teams The qualifying teams were drawn from six countries. Generally, these were the strongest teams from the top division of domestic rugby; weaker teams participated in the Challenge Cup: England: 4 teams from the English Premiership France: 4 teams from the French Championship Ireland: 3 teams representing one of the four Provinces of Ireland Italy: 2 teams from the National Championship of Excellence Scotland: 3 teams representing one of the four geographical districts Wales: 4 teams from the Welsh Premier Division ENG EnglandFRA FranceIreland rugby union IrelandITA ItalySCO ScotlandWAL WalesBath Harlequins Leicester Tigers London WaspsBrive Dax Pau ToulouseLeinster Munster UlsterBenetton Treviso Rugby MilanoBorders Caledonia EdinburghCardiff Llanelli Neath Pontypridd Pool stage In the pool matches teams received 2 points for a win 1 point for a draw 1996-97 Heineken Cup pool stage Pool 1 TeamPWDLTries forTries againstTry diffPoints forPoints againstPoints diffPts FRA Dax43011621414169726 ENG Bath4301158713688486 WAL Pontypridd43017349760376 ITA Benetton Treviso41031315−2106135−292 SCO Edinburgh4004629−2371199−1280 Pool 2 TeamPWDLTries forTries againstTry diffPoints forPoints againstPoints diffPts ENG Leicester44001431111443718 WAL Llanelli42029909781164 IRE rugby union Leinster4202912−386109−234 FRA Pau410319109137103342 SCO Scottish Borders4103724−1780178−982 Pool 3 TeamPWDLTries forTries againstTry diffPoints forPoints againstPoints diffPts FRA Brive4400138510665418 ENG Harlequins43012081213195366 WAL Neath42021016−683109−264 Ireland rugby union Ulster4103610−47587−122 SCO Caledonia40041320−7117156−390 Pool 4 TeamPWDLTries forTries againstTry diffPoints forPoints againstPoints diffPts FRA Toulouse430121138157142156 WAL Cardiff4301167913597386 ENG London Wasps420217143156115414 IRE rugby union Munster42021122−11109135−264 ITA Milan4004615−973141−680 Seeding SeedPool WinnersPtsTF+/−1 ENG Leicester814+712 FRA Brive813+413 FRA Toulouse621+154 FRA Dax616+72SeedPool Runners-upPtsTF+/−5 ENG Harlequins620+366 WAL Cardiff RFC616+387 ENG Bath615+488 WAL Llanelli RFC49+16 Knockout stage Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final 2 FRA Brive 35 8 WAL Llanelli 14 6 WAL Cardiff 22 7 ENG Bath 19 1 ENG Leicester Tigers 23 5 ENG Harlequins 13 4 FRA Dax 18 3 FRA Toulouse 26 2 FRA Brive 26 6 WAL Cardiff 13 1 ENG Leicester Tigers 37 3 FRA Toulouse 11 2 FRA Brive 28 1 ENG Leicester Tigers 9 Quarter finals 9 November 1996 14:30 Cardiff WAL 22–19 ENG Bath Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff 12,000 16 November 1996 15:00 Leicester Tigers ENG 23–13 ENG Harlequins Welford Road, Leicester 10,263 16 November 1996 16:00 Dax FRA 18–26 FRA Toulouse Stade Maurice-Boyau, Dax 14,000 17 November 1996 14:45 Brive FRA 35–14 WAL Llanelli Parc Municipal des Sports, Brive-la-Gaillarde 14,000 Semi finals 4 January 1997 15:05 Leicester Tigers ENG 37–11 FRA Toulouse Welford Road 16,300 5 January 1997 15:30 Brive FRA 26–13 WAL Cardiff Parc Municipal des Sports 14,000 Final 1997 Heineken Cup Final The final was played on 25 January 1997 at the Arms Park in Cardiff. The match was contested by Brive of France and Leicester of England. Brive won the match 28–9; they took the lead early on through a fourth-minute penalty from Christophe Lamaison, and Sébastien Viars extended that lead with an unconverted try two minutes later. Leicester responded with three penalties from John Liley, but Brive finally made their pressure show with three second-half tries, one of which was converted, before Lamaison added a drop goal to seal a 19-point victory. 25 January 1997 14:30 Brive FRA 28–9 Report ENG Leicester ViarsFabreCarrat (2) Lamaison Lamaison Lamaison Liley (3) Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff 41,664 Derek Bevan (Wales) References 1996-97 Category:1996–97 in European rugby union Category:1996–97 in English rugby union Category:1996–97 in French rugby union Category:1996–97 in Irish rugby union Category:1996–97 in Italian rugby union Category:1996–97 in Scottish rugby union Category:1996–97 in Welsh rugby union Category:1996–97 rugby union tournaments for clubs