2014–15 European Rugby Challenge Cup

none 2014–15 European Rugby Challenge Cup EnglandFranceIreland rugby unionItalyScotlandWalesRomania Round-robin and Knockout 16 October 2014 – 1 May 2015 20 67 {{#expr: + 6267 + 4219 + 4735 + 6813 + 3053 + 6500 + 6658 + 8455 + 9793 + 2001 + 1750 + 7759 + 13049 + 8484 + 6119 + 600 + 3575 + 4651 + 3500 + 6500 + 7800 + 5430 + 10864 + 4425 + 4089 + 700 + 4250 + 3212 + 4000 + 10005 + 800 + 5838 + 9043 + 4980 + 8500 + 3936 + 8733 + 3258 + 3050 + 5500 + 4733 + 4030 + 2137 + 5088 + 6673 + 3280 + 2800 + 10935 + 9381 + 1860 + 1100 + 7772 + 8830 + 10068 + 5571 + 500 + 4817 + 3221 + 1900 + 3500 + 13236 + 8119 + 10022 + 4728 + 8231 + 11907 + 14316 | tries = {{#expr: + 6 + 12 + 9 + 5 + 10 + 5 + 3 + 6 + 7 + 5 + 7 + 4 + 4 + 6 + 6 + 1 + 8 + 3 + 5 + 1 + 10 + 5 + 5 + 6 + 6 + 6 + 7 + 4 + 6 + 6 + 4 + 5 + 8 + 5 + 8 + 14 + 7 + 2 + 6 + 5 + 18 + 10 + 2 + 7 + 7 + 10 + 4 + 4 + 5 + 3 + 5 + 4 + 6 + 6 + 5 + 9 + 6 + 5 + 6 + 3 + 3 + 6 + 7 + 4 + 6 + 4 + 2 }} | top point scorer = Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Edinburgh)(99 points) | top try scorer = Lloyd Williams (Cardiff Blues)(6 tries) | venue = The Stoop, Twickenham | attendance2 = | champions = ENG Gloucester | count = 2 | runner-up = SCO Edinburgh | website = EPCR Website | previous year = 2013–14 | previous tournament = 2013–14 European Challenge Cup | next year = 2015–16 | next tournament = 2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup }} The 2014–15 European Rugby Challenge Cup was the first season of the European Rugby Challenge Cup, the annual rugby union competition. It is the 19th season of second tier pan-European club competition in general, as the competition replaces the European Challenge Cup.http://www.rfu.com/news/2014/march/news-articles/260314_europe_statement Future of European Rugby resolved Rugby Football Union 10 April 2014 12 April 2014 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20140525041159/http://www.rfu.com/news/2014/march/news-articles/260314_europe_statement 25 May 2014 The competition began with the first round of the group stage, on the weekend of 16 October 2014, and ended with the final on 1 May 2015 at the Twickenham Stoop.|utmccn=%28referral%29|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/mCsEgmuUXy&__utmv=-&__utmk=101943746 EPCRugby.com - 10 things you may not know about EPCRInaugural EPCR finals set for London https://web.archive.org/web/20140813054919/http://www.epcrugby.com/eng/news/28894.php 2014-08-13 Gloucester became the first ever champions of the newly formatted competition, beating Edinburgh, who became the first ever Scottish team to make a European final, 19–13, with 14 men on the pitch for the final 17 minutes after centre Bill Meakes was sent off because of a dangerous high tackle off the ball on Edinburgh centre Sam Beard. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/may/01/edinburgh-gloucester-european-challenge-cup-final-match-report Gloucester hold on to beat Edinburgh despite Billy Meakes’ mad moment 1 May 2015 Guardian 5 May 2015 https://www.bbc.com/sport/0/rugby-union/32515291 Edinburgh 13-19 Gloucester 1 May 2015 BBC Sport 5 May 2015 Teams Twenty teams qualified for the 2014–15 European Rugby Challenge Cup, based on their performance in their respective domestic leagues the previous season. The distribution of teams is as follows: England: 5 teams Any teams finishing between 8th-11th position in the Aviva Premiership. (4 Teams) The champion of the 2013–14 Greene King IPA Championship.http://www.rfu.com/news/2014/may/news-articles/090514_msc_championship Minimum Standards Criteria audit results Rugby Football Union 9 May 2014 9 May 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140512215259/http://www.rfu.com/news/2014/may/news-articles/090514_msc_championship 2014-05-12 dead (1 Team) France: 8 teams Any teams finishing between 8th-12th position in the Top 14. (5 Teams) The champion, and the winner of the promotion play-off, from the Pro D2. (2 Teams) There will be an 8th team from France, as Stade Français lost the 7th-place play-off for entry into the European Rugby Champions Cup. (1 team) Ireland, Italy, Scotland & Wales: 5 teams Any teams that did not qualify for the European Rugby Champions Cup through the 2013–14 RaboDirect Pro12 Other European Nations: 2 teams Two teams will qualify through the Qualifying Competition, which will take place in September. So far, the following 18 teams have qualified. English Premiership Top 14 Pro12 Qualifying Competition ENG England FRA France IRE rugby union Ireland ITA Italy SCO Scotland WAL Wales Other Exeter Chiefs Gloucester London Irish Newcastle Falcons London Welsh (Championship) Stade Français (7th-place play-off) Bordeaux Bègles Brive Bayonne Grenoble Oyonnax Lyon (Pro D2) La Rochelle (Pro D2) Connacht Zebre Edinburgh Cardiff Blues Newport Gwent Dragons ITA Rovigo Delta ROM București Wolves Champions Cup play-off 2014–15 European Rugby Champions–Challenge Cup play-offs The following teams took part in the play-off to decide the final team in the Champions Cup. The play-off was held between the seventh-placed teams in the English Premiership and the Top 14. The loser of this play-off entered the Challenge Cup. English Premiership Top 14 ENG England FRA France Wasps Stade Français On 29 April 2014, it was announced that this play-off would take place over two legs, on the weekends of 17/18 May and 24/25 May, with a draw being used to determine home advantage for each leg.http://www.afp.com/en/node/2338991 Rugby Union - Anglo-French play-off dates announced, AFP 29/5/2014 2014-04-29 https://web.archive.org/web/20140430050339/http://www.afp.com/en/node/2338991 2014-04-30 dead The draw took place in Heathrow on 6 May 2014. Following the draw, the fixtures were announced as follows:European Rugby Champions Cup play-off draw, Premiership Rugby 18 May 2014 15:00 BST Wasps ENG 30–29 FRA Stade Français Adams Park, High Wycombe John Lacey (Ireland) 24 May 2014 14:45 CEST Stade Français FRA 6–20 ENG Wasps Stade Jean-Bouin, Paris Nigel Owens (Wales) Stade Français lost the play-off 35–50 on aggregate, and will play in the Challenge Cup. Qualifying Competition European Rugby Challenge Cup Qualifying Competition#2013–14 On 14 August 2014, EPCR announced the format for the first Qualifying Competition.http://www.epcrugby.com/eng/news/28897.php High-quality contests herald a new European chapter 14 August 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20140814175018/http://www.epcrugby.com/eng/news/28897.php 14 August 2014 dead Given the amount of time until the start of the Challenge Cup, it was announced that this first competition will consist of two ties, played over two legs, with the aggregate winner of each taking a place in either pool. The first legs took place on 20 September, with the return legs taking place on 27 September Rugby Europe 1 play-off 20 September 2014 16:00 CEST Rovigo Delta ITA 22–18 GEO Tbilisi Caucasians Stadio Mario Battaglini Lloyd Lynton (Scotland) 27 September 2014 17:00 GET Tbilisi Caucasians GEO 21–24 ITA Rovigo Delta Stadium Avchala Matthew Carley (England) Rovigo Delta won the play-off 46–39 on aggregate, and qualify for Pool 1. Rugby Europe 2 play-off 20 September 2014 21:00 EEST București Wolves ROM 18–13 ITA Calvisano Stadium Arcul de Triumf Gary Conway (Ireland) 27 September 2014 19:30 CEST Calvisano ITA 13–10 ROM București Wolves Peroni Stadium Alexandre Ruiz (France) București Wolves won the play-off 28–26 on aggregate, and qualify for Pool 3 Team details 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, SF for losing semi-finalist and QF for losing quarter-finalist. Team Coach /Director of Rugby Captain Stadium Capacity Method of Qualification FRA Bayonne ARG Patricio NoriegaFRA Nicolas Morlaes FRA David Roumieu Stade Jean Dauger 17,000 Top 14 7th-12th (10th) FRA Bordeaux Bègles FRA Raphaël Ibañez NZL Matthew Clarkin Stade André Moga 10,000 Top 14 7th-12th (8th) FRA Brive FRA Nicolas Godignon FRA Arnaud Méla Stade Amédée-Domenech 16,000 Top 14 7th-12th (9th) ROM București Wolves WAL Lynn Howells ROM Stelian Burcea Arcul de Triumf Stadium 5,500 Challenge Cup Qualification play-off WAL Cardiff Blues WAL Paul JohnWAL Dale McIntosh(For NZL Mark Hammett)Mark Hammett began the tournament as Cardiff Blues head coach, but resigned for personal reasons on 25 February 2015, and replaced by Hammett's assistants, Paul John and Dale McIntosh who will oversee the Blues from the quarter-finals onwards.https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/31583516 Cardiff Blues: Mark Hammett leaves as director of rugby 22 March 2015 25 February 2015 Press Release Zebre BBC Sport BBC Sport WAL Matthew Rees Cardiff Arms Park 12,500 Pro12 bottom 5 (7th) IRE rugby union Connacht SAM Pat Lam IRE rugby union John Muldoon Galway Sportsgrounds 7,800 Pro12 bottom 5 (10th) SCO Edinburgh RSA Alan Solomons NZL Mike Coman Murrayfield Stadium 12,464Although Murrayfield's full capacity is 67,800, only the lower section of the West Stand, with a capacity of 12,464, is generally opened for Edinburgh fixtures. Pro12 bottom 5 (8th) ENG Exeter Chiefs ENG Rob Baxter AUS Dean Mumm Sandy Park 10,744 Aviva Premiership 7th-11th (8th) ENG Gloucester IRE rugby union David Humphreys ENG Billy Twelvetrees Kingsholm Stadium 16,500 Aviva Premiership 7th-11th (9th) FRA Grenoble FRA Fabrice Landreau FRA Fabien Gengenbacher Stade des Alpes 20,000 Top 14 7th-12th (11th) FRA La Rochelle FRA Patrice CollazoFRA Fabrice Ribeyrolles FRA Uini Atonio Stade Marcel-Deflandre 12,500 2013–14 Rugby Pro D2 promotion play-off winner ENG London Irish AUS Brian Smith ENG George Skivington Madejski Stadium 24,250 Aviva Premiership 7th-11th (10th) ENG London Welsh WAL Justin Burnell ENG Tom May Kassam Stadium 12,500 2013–14 RFU Championship Champion FRA Lyon AUS Tim Lane FRA Lionel Nallet Matmut Stadium 8,000 2013–14 Rugby Pro D2 Champion ENG Newcastle Falcons ENG Dean Richards ENG Will Welch Kingston Park 10,200 Aviva Premiership 7th-11th (11th) WAL Newport Gwent Dragons WAL Lyn Jones WAL Lee Byrne Rodney Parade 11,676 Pro12 bottom 5 (9th) FRA Oyonnax FRA Christophe Urios FRA Florian Denos Stade Charles-Mathon 11,400 Top 14 7th-12th (12th) ITA Rovigo Delta ITA Filippo Frati NZL Luke Mahoney Stadio Comunale Mario Battaglini 6,000 Challenge Cup Qualification play-off FRA Stade Français ARG Gonzalo Quesada ITA Sergio Parisse Stade Jean-Bouin 20,000 7th-place play-off loser ITA Zebre ITA Andrea Cavinato ITA Marco Bortolami Stadio XXV Aprilerenamed Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi in January 2015 5,000 Pro12 bottom 5 (12th) a Seeding The 20 competing teams will be seeded and split into four tiers, seeding will be based on performance in their respective domestic leagues. Where promotion and relegation is in effect in a league, the promoted team will be seeded last, or (if multiple teams are promoted) by performance in the lower tier.http://archive.ercrugby.com/news/28791.php https://web.archive.org/web/20140813001413/http://archive.ercrugby.com/news/28791.php 2014-08-13 ERCRugby.com. Accessed 8 June 2014 So, Lyon – who were Pro D2 champions – will be the seventh Top 14 seed while La Rochelle – who qualified through the Pro D2 play-off – will be the eighth seed. As with the previous European competition, the European Challenge Cup, teams from the same country will be kept apart where possible. However, as 8 teams have qualified from France, 3 pools will contain two French teams – Oyonnax, Lyon and La Rochelle. For the purposes of creating the tiers, the clubs are ranked based on their finishing positions in the Top 14, Aviva Premiership, Pro12 and PRO D2 Leagues, or on their qualification via a play-off. RankTop 14PremiershipPro 12Qualifying Competition 1 FRA Stade Français ENG Exeter Chiefs WAL Cardiff Blues ITA Rovigo Delta 2 FRA Bordeaux Bègles ENG Gloucester SCO Edinburgh ROM București Wolves 3 FRA Brive ENG London Irish WAL Newport Gwent Dragons 4 FRA Bayonne ENG Newcastle Falcons Ireland rugby union Connacht 5 FRA Grenoble ENG London Welsh ITA Zebre 6 FRA Oyonnax 7 FRA Lyon 8 FRA La Rochelle Teams will be taken from a league in order of rank and put into a tier. A draw is used allocate two second seeds to Tier 1, the remaining team will go into Tier 2. This allocation then determines which fourth seeded team enters Tier 2, while the others enter Tier 3. Given the nature of the Qualifying Competition, a competition including developing rugby nations and Italian clubs not competing in the Pro12, Rugby Europe 1 and Rugby Europe 2 are automatically included in Tier 4, despite officially being ranked 1/2 from that competition. The brackets show each teams seeding and their league (for example, 1 Top 14 indicates the team has been seeded 1st from the Top 14). Tier 1WAL Cardiff Blues (1 Pro12)ENG Exeter Chiefs (1 AP)FRA Stade Français (1 Top 14)ENG Gloucester (2 AP)SCO Edinburgh (2 Pro12) Tier 2FRA Bordeaux Bègles (2 Top 14)FRA Brive (3 Top 14)ENG London Irish (3 AP)WAL Newport Gwent Dragons (3 Pro12)FRA Bayonne (4 Top 14) Tier 3ENG Newcastle Falcons (4 AP)IRE rugby union Connacht (4 Pro12)FRA FC Grenoble (5 Top 14)ENG London Welsh (5 AP)ITA Zebre (5 Pro12) Tier 4FRA Oyonnax (6 Top 14)FRA Lyon (7 Top 14)FRA La Rochelle (8 Top 14)ITA Rovigo Delta (Rugby Europe 1)ROM București Wolves (Rugby Europe 2) Pool stage 2014–15 European Rugby Challenge Cup pool stage The draw took place on 10 June 2014, at the Stade de la Maladière in Neuchâtel.Irish Times - Rugby’s European Champions Cup draw to place on June 10th. Accessed 31/5/14 Teams will play each other twice, both at home and away, in the group stage, that will begin on the weekend of 16/17/18/19 October 2014, and continue through to 22/23/24/25 January 2015, before the pool winners and three best runners-up progress to the quarter-finals.EPCRugby.com - 2014/15 EPCR Pool Draws https://web.archive.org/web/20140725014940/http://www.epcrugby.com/eng/news/28816.php 2014-07-25 Fixtures were announced on Thursday 14 August 2014 at 2 pm. Teams are awarded competition points, based on match result. Teams receive 4 points for a win, 2 points for a draw, 1 attacking bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match and 1 defensive bonus point for losing a match by seven points or fewer.http://www.epcrugby.com/europeanrugbychallengecup/rules.php EPCR Competition Rules 2014-10-10 https://web.archive.org/web/20141011084604/http://www.epcrugby.com/europeanrugbychallengecup/rules.php 2014-10-11 dead In the event of a tie between two or more teams, the following tie-breakers are used, as directed by EPCR: Where teams have played each other The club with the greater number of competition points from only matches involving tied teams. If equal, the club that scored the most tries in those matches. If equal, the club with the best aggregate points difference from those matches. Where teams remain tied and/or have not played each other in the competition (i.e. are from different pools) If equal, the club with the best aggregate points difference from the pool stage. The club that scored the most tries in the pool stage. If equal, the club with the fewest players suspended in the pool stage. If equal, the drawing of lots will determine a club's ranking. + Key to colours    Winner of each pool, advance to quarter-finals.    Three highest-scoring second-place teams advance to quarter-finals. Pool 1 Pool 2 Pool 3 Pool 4 Pool 5 Seeding and runners-up SeedPool WinnersPtsTF+/−1 ENG Gloucester 29 25 +1472 ENG Exeter Chiefs 25 26 +1153 WAL Newport Gwent Dragons 25 31 +1134 ENG London Irish 24 30 +975 SCO Edinburgh 22 14 +56SeedPool Runners–upPtsTF+/−6 WAL Cardiff Blues 24 35 +1547 ENG Newcastle Falcons 21 29 +598 IRE rugby union Connacht 20 23 +429 FRA Lyon 18 17 +1010 FRA Oyonnax 16 12 -1 Knock-out stage The eight qualifiers will be seeded according to performance in the pool stage, and compete in the quarter-finals, which will be held on the 3/4/5 April 2015. The four top seeds will host the quarter-finals against the lower seeds, in a 1v8, 2v7, 3v6 and 4v5 format. The semi-finals, to be contested by the quarter-final winners, will take place on the weekend of 17/18/19 April 2015. The winners of the semi-finals will contest the final, at The Twickenham Stoop, on the weekend of 1 May 2015. Bracket Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final 4 ENG London Irish 18 5 SCO Edinburgh 23 3 WAL Newport Gwent Dragons 25 6 WAL Cardiff Blues 21 1 ENG Gloucester 14 8 IRE rugby union Connacht 7 2 ENG Exeter Chiefs 48 7 ENG Newcastle Falcons 13 4 SCO Edinburgh 45 3 WAL Newport Gwent Dragons 16 1 ENG Gloucester 30 2 ENG Exeter Chiefs 19 4 SCO Edinburgh 13 1 ENG Gloucester 19 Quarter-finals 3 April 2015 19:45 Gloucester ENG 14–7 Reporthttp://www.epcrugby.com/matchcentre/30593.php REPORT: Gloucester hang on to earn home semi 4 April 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150929102442/http://www.epcrugby.com/matchcentre/30593.php 29 September 2015 dead IRE rugby union Connacht Sharples 20' cMeakes 30' c Laidlaw (2/2) 21', 31' Penalty try 65' c Carty (1/1) 66' Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester 13,236 Mathieu Raynal (France) 4 April 2015 12:45 Newport Gwent Dragons WAL 25–21 Reporthttp://www.epcrugby.com/matchcentre/30601.php REPORT: Dragons win Welsh thriller 2015-04-04 https://web.archive.org/web/20150407050329/http://www.epcrugby.com/matchcentre/30601.php 2015-04-07 dead WAL Cardiff Blues Amos 35' cCudd 45' mPenalty try 50' c Prydie (2/3) 35', 51' Prydie (1/3) 8'D. Jones (1/1) 67' L. Williams 4' cAnscombe 25' cNavidi 74' c Anscombe (3/3) 5', 26', 74' Rodney Parade, Newport 8,119 JP Doyle (England) 4 April 2015 20:00 Exeter Chiefs ENG 48–13 Reporthttp://www.epcrugby.com/matchcentre/30615.php REPORT: Chiefs reach first Euro semi 2015-04-04 https://web.archive.org/web/20150407050334/http://www.epcrugby.com/matchcentre/30615.php 2015-04-07 dead ENG Newcastle Falcons Ewers 12' cPenalty try 19' cWaldrom 41' cMcGuigan 58' cHill 69' cMumm 71' c Slade (4/4) 13', 20', 41', 58'Steenson (2/2) 70', 73' Slade (2/2) 35', 54' Harris 66' c Catterick (1/1) 68' Catterick (2/2) 33', 39' Sandy Park, Exeter 10,022 Marius Mitrea (Italy) 5 April 2015 17:45 London Irish ENG 18–23 Reporthttp://www.epcrugby.com/matchcentre/30637.php REPORT: Edinburgh hold on to book Dragons date 5 April 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150407050456/http://www.epcrugby.com/matchcentre/30637.php 2015-04-07 dead SCO Edinburgh Gilsenan 40' cSteele 52' m Geraghty (1/2) 40' Geraghty (2/4) 32', 45' Nel 10' cMcKenzie 59' c Hidalgo-Clyne (2/2) 11', 61' Hidalgo-Clyne (3/3) 1', 18', 20' Madejski Stadium, Reading 4,728 Pascal Gaüzère (France) Semi-finals 17 April 2015 19:45 Edinburgh SCO 45–16 Reporthttp://www.epcrugby.com/matchcentre/30742.php REPORT: Edinburgh make Scottish rugby history 17 April 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150418013614/http://www.epcrugby.com/matchcentre/30742.php 18 April 2015 dead WAL Newport Gwent Dragons McInally 14' cVisser 22' mB. Toolis 54' cHidalgo-Clyne 60' cFife 67' c Hidalgo-Clyne (4/5) 16', 56', 61', 69' Hidalgo-Clyne (4/5) 10', 33', 40+2', 58' Harris 43' c D. Jones (1/1) 44' D. Jones (3/3) 3', 18', 30' Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh 8,231 JP Doyle (England) 18 April 2015 19:45 Gloucester ENG 30–19 Reporthttp://www.epcrugby.com/matchcentre/30763.php REPORT: Gloucester seal final spot 21 April 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150421220814/http://www.epcrugby.com/matchcentre/30763.php 21 April 2015 dead ENG Exeter Chiefs Meakes 30' cSavage 67' cMay 77' c Laidlaw (3/3) 31', 68', 78' Laidlaw (2/3) 17', 71'Hook (1/1) 38' Taione 75' c Steenson (1/1) 76' Slade (4/4) 20', 40', 45', 60' Kingsholm Stadium 11,907 John Lacey (Ireland) Final 1 May 2015 19:45 BST Edinburgh SCO 13–19 Reporthttp://www.epcrugby.com/matchcentre/30888.php REPORT: Gloucester hang on to take second title 1 May 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150925085218/http://www.epcrugby.com/matchcentre/30888.php 25 September 2015 dead ENG Gloucester Ford 65' c Hidalgo-Clyne (1/1) 65' Hidalgo-Clyne (2/3) 2', 35' Twelvetrees 10' c Laidlaw (1/1) 11' Laidlaw (4/5) 8', 36', 49', 53' Twickenham Stoop, London 14,316 Jérôme Garcès (France) See also 2014–15 European Rugby Champions Cup Notes References 2014-15 Category:2014–15 rugby union tournaments for clubs Category:2014–15 in European rugby union Category:2014–15 in English rugby union Category:2014–15 in French rugby union Category:2014–15 in Irish rugby union Category:2014–15 in Italian rugby union Category:2014–15 in Scottish rugby union Category:2014–15 in Welsh rugby union Category:2014–15 in Romanian rugby union