2008–09 European Challenge Cup

2008–09 European Challenge Cup 100px Official logo EnglandFranceIreland rugby unionItalyRomaniaSpain Round-robin and Knockout 9 October 2008 to 22 May 2009 20 67 Stephen Myler (Northampton)(133 points) Chris Ashton (Northampton)(7 tries) Twickenham Stoop 9,260 ENG Northampton Saints 1 France Bourgoin https://web.archive.org/web/20080506141030/http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/ 2007–08 2007–08 European Challenge Cup 2009–10 2009–10 Amlin 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. Teams 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.http://www.ercrugby.com:80/eng/268_4700.php European Challenge Cup – Key Tournament Rules European Rugby Cup 2009-01-28 https://web.archive.org/web/20080506141030/http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/268_4700.php 6 May 2008 dead ENG EnglandFRA FranceIreland rugby union IrelandITA ItalyROM RomaniaESP 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 2008–09 European Challenge Cup pool stage 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. {| class="wikitable" |+ Key to colours |- | style="background: #ccffcc;" |      | Winner of each pool, advance to quarterfinals. Seed # in parentheses |- | style="background: #ccccff;" |      | Three highest-scoring second-place teams advance to quarterfinals. Seed # in parentheses |} Pool 1 TeamPWDLTries forTries againstTry diffPoints forPoints againstPoints diffTBLBPts ENG London Irish (1) 6 6 0 0 44 3 +41 300 34 +266 5 0 29 Ireland rugby union Connacht (7) 6 4 0 2 20 19 +1 159 140 +19 3 0 19 ITA Rovigo 6 1 0 5 7 25 −18 79 199 –120 0 1 5 FRA Dax 6 1 0 5 5 29 −24 55 220 –165 0 0 4 Pool 2 TeamPWDLTries forTries againstTry diffPoints forPoints againstPoints diffTBLBPts ENG Northampton Saints (2) 6 6 0 0 37 7 +30 278 69 +209 5 0 29 ENG Bristol 6 3 0 3 14 21 −7 140 168 −28 1 1 14 FRA Montpellier 6 2 0 4 10 18 −8 101 159 −58 0 1 9 FRA RC Toulon 6 1 0 5 7 22 −15 84 207 −123 0 1 5 Pool 3 TeamPWDLTries forTries againstTry diffPoints forPoints againstPoints diffTBLBPts ENG Worcester Warriors (4) 6 5 0 1 36 8 +28 255 94 +161 4 0 24 FRA Bourgoin (8) 6 3 0 3 18 11 +7 158 115 +43 1 2 15 ITA Petrarca Padova 6 3 0 3 11 28 −17 112 206 −94 0 1 13 ROM București Oaks 6 1 0 5 8 26 −18 87 197 −110 0 1 5 Pool 4 TeamPWDLTries forTries againstTry diffPoints forPoints againstPoints diffTBLBPts FRA Brive (5) 6 5 0 1 33 8 +25 243 89 +154 3 1 24 ENG Newcastle Falcons (6) 6 4 0 2 24 8 +16 178 90 +88 2 1 19 ITA Overmach Parma 6 3 0 3 19 13 +6 165 120 +45 2 2 16 ESP El Salvador 6 0 0 6 5 52 −47 46 333 −287 0 0 0 Pool 5 TeamPWDLTries forTries againstTry diffPoints forPoints againstPoints diffTBLBPts ENG Saracens (3) 6 6 0 0 20 1 +19 200 43 +157 2 0 26 ITA Viadana 6 3 0 3 8 11 −3 120 126 −6 0 1 13 FRA Bayonne 6 3 0 3 9 11 −2 99 122 −23 0 0 12 FRA Mont-de-Marsan 6 0 0 0 4 18 −14 54 182 −128 0 1 1 Seeding and runners-up SeedPool WinnersPtsTF+/-1 ENG London Irish2944+2662 ENG Northampton Saints2937+2093 ENG Saracens2620+1574 ENG Worcester Warriors2436+1615 FRA Brive2433+154SeedPool Runners-upPtsTF+/-6 ENG Newcastle Falcons1924+887 Ireland rugby union Connacht1920+198 FRA Bourgoin1518+43 – ENG Bristol1414−28 – ITA Viadana138−6 Knockout stage 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 9 April 2009 19:30 London Irish ENG 30–32 Report FRA Bourgoin Tries: Mapusua 56' cS. Armitage 80+2' mCon: D. Armitage (1/2)Pen: D. Armitage (5/6) 11', 16', 31', 40', 71'Drop: Kennedy (1/1) 79' Tries: Forest 42' cNicolas 77' cCon: Parra (2/2)Pen: Parra (4/5) 6', 37', 59', 63'Drop: Boyet (2/4) 28', 72' Madejski Stadium, Reading 6,455 Peter Allen (Scotland) 11 April 2009 13:00 Worcester Warriors ENG 29–18 Report FRA Brive Tries: Garvey (2) 11' c, 72' cSanderson 22' cGrove 52' mCon: Jones (3/4)Pen: Jones (1/1) 9' Tries: Cooke (2) 35' m, 44' cCon: Palisson (1/2)Pen: Goode (1/1) 17'Palisson (1/1) 66' Sixways Stadium, Worcester 4,323 Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland) 11 April 2009 15:00 Northampton Saints ENG 42–13 Report Ireland rugby union Connacht Tries: Best 71' cAnsbro 74' mReihana 79' cMayor 80' mCon: Myler (1/2)Everitt (1/2)Pen: Myler (6/6) 16', 24', 37', 45', 55', 65' Try: Ofisa 52' cCon: Keatley (1/1)Pen: Keatley (1/1) 19'Drop: Keatley (1/1) 29' Franklin's Gardens, Northampton 9,119 Romain Poite (France) 12 April 2009 15:00 Saracens ENG 32–13 Report ENG Newcastle Falcons Tries: Johnston 26' cBarritt 30' cCon: Jackson (2/2)Pen: Jackson (5/5) 15', 23', 53', 65', 68'Drop: Jackson (1/1) 38' Tries: Williams 58' mDowson 79' mPen: May (1/1) 9' Vicarage Road, Watford 7,711 Carlo Damasco (Italy) Semi-finals 1 May 2009 19:45 Northampton Saints ENG 16–13 Report ENG Saracens Try: Reihana 30' cCon: Myler (1/1)Pen: Myler (2/2) 7', 13'Drop: Myler (1/1) 74' Try: Penney 73' cCon: Jackson (1/1)Pen: Jackson (2/2) 5', 52' Franklin's Gardens, Northampton 11,073 Romain Poite (France) 2 May 2009 13:30 Bourgoin FRA 22–11 Report ENG Worcester Warriors Try: Levast 62' cCon: Parra (1/1)Pen: Parra (4/4) 10', 43', 52', 58'Drop: Boyet (1/1) 60' Try: Benjamin 78' mPen: Carlisle (2/2) 28', 35' Stade Pierre Rajon, Bourgoin 8,200 Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland) Final 22 May 2009 19:45 Northampton Saints ENG 15–3 Report FRA Bourgoin Pen: Myler (5/5) 9', 20', 38', 48', 69' Pen: Parra (1/1) 33' Twickenham Stoop, London 9,260 George Clancy (Ireland) See also 2008–09 Heineken Cup Notes and references External links 2008–09 European Challenge Cup Official Site 2007-08 Category:2008–09 rugby union tournaments for clubs Category:2008–09 in European rugby union Category:2008–09 in Irish rugby union Category:2008–09 in English rugby union Category:2008–09 in Spanish rugby union Category:2008–09 in French rugby union Category:2008–09 in Italian rugby union Category:2008–09 in Romanian rugby union