2007–08 Heineken Cup

International rugby union competition 2007–08 Heineken Cup Heineken Cup Final Cardiff 2008.jpg Official logo EnglandFranceIreland rugby unionItalyScotlandWales Round-robin and Knockout 9 November 2007 to 24 May 2008 24 79 942373 Ronan O Gara Munster 113 points Vincent Clerc (Toulouse)Richard Haughton (Saracens)Kameli Ratuvou (Saracens)Aurélien Rougerie (Clermont)(5 tries) Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 74,417 IRE rugby union Munster 2 FRA Toulouse https://web.archive.org/web/20080506141030/http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/ 2006–07 2006–07 Heineken Cup 2008–09 2008–09 Heineken Cup The 2007–08 Heineken Cup was the 13th edition of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. The start of the tournament was delayed because of the 2007 Rugby World Cup. After much doubt over the competition's future, caused by the threat of English and French clubs not participating, showdown talks ensured that teams from both countries would be competing in the 2007–08 tournament.http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/12_7033.php European Rugby Cup : ERC Press Statement 2007-05-20 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184959/http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/12_7033.php 2007-09-30 The cup was won by Munster, who succeeded London Wasps as European champions after a 16–13 win over Toulouse in the final at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. Italo-Celtic Playoff The Italo-Celtic Playoff was a match played between the highest-placed Celtic League team not automatically qualified for the Heineken Cup and the third-placed Italian team to decide the 24th qualifying team. This year, the match was between Newport Gwent Dragons of Wales and Calvisano. 18 May 2007 Newport Gwent Dragons WAL 22–15 ITA Ghial Rugby Calvisano A. Thomas 56' cCharteris 71' mEmerick 79' c Sweeney (2/3) Sweeney 30' Spragg 36' mBernabò 46' c De Marigny (1/2) De Marigny 3' Rodney Parade, Newport 5,326 Paul Debney (England) Teams Seven English teams participated, as an English team, London Wasps, progressed further in the previous year's tournament than any French or Italian team. Four Welsh teams competed, as a Welsh team won the Italo-Celtic playoff. Other nations had their usual number of participants: France six, Ireland three, Italy two and Scotland two. EnglandFranceWalesIrelandScotlandItalyENG London Irish ENG Gloucester ENG Bristol ENG Harlequins ENG Saracens ENG London Wasps ENG Leicester TigersFRA Perpignan FRA Bourgoin FRA Stade Français FRA Biarritz FRA Clermont FRA ToulouseWAL Newport Gwent Dragons WAL Ospreys WAL Cardiff Blues WAL Llanelli ScarletsIRE rugby union Ulster IRE rugby union Munster IRE rugby union LeinsterSCO Glasgow Warriors SCO EdinburghITA Benetton Treviso ITA Viadana Seeding and pool draw Each of the six participating nations nominated a top seed: ENG London Wasps FRA Stade Français IRE rugby union Leinster ITA Benetton Treviso SCO Glasgow Warriors WAL Ospreys The draw then progressed as follows, with at no stage except the last a team being drawn into a pool containing a team from the same nation: The seeded teams were drawn separately into each of the six pools. Five of the six remaining English teams were drawn into five separate pools. The five remaining French teams were drawn into five separate pools. The three remaining Welsh teams were drawn into three separate pools. The two remaining Irish teams were drawn into two separate pools. The remaining Italian and Scottish teams were drawn into two separate pools. The seventh English team was drawn into the final remaining pool spot. The pools are shown below. Competition format In the pool matches, teams receive: four points for a win two points for a draw a bonus point for scoring four or more tries, regardless of the match result a bonus point for losing by seven or fewer points Ties between two teams are broken in the following order: Competition points earned in head-to-head matches. For example, if tied teams are in the same pool, and split their head-to-head matches, but one team earned a bonus point and the other failed to do so, the team that earned the bonus point will win. Tries scored in head-to-head matches. Point difference in head-to-head matches. Tries scored in all pool matches. This is the first tiebreaker between teams in different pools, which can come into play for determining seeding among first-place teams (and did in 2007–08, with the top three pool winners all finishing on 24 points), or breaking ties among second-place teams. Point difference in all pool matches. Best disciplinary record in pool play. The team with the fewest players sent off or sin-binned during pool play wins. Coin toss. The quarter-finals are seeded from 1 to 8. The six pool winners receive the top six seeds, based on their point totals. The top two second-place finishers are seeded 7 and 8. The seeds of the qualifying teams are in parentheses next to their names in the tables. Pool stage The draw for the pool stages took place on 20 June 2007 at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. The winner of each pool, plus the two best runners-up, qualify for the quarter-finals. 2007–08 Heineken Cup pool stage Pool 1 TeamPWDLTries forTries againstTry diffPoints forPoints againstPoints diffTBLBPtsENG London Irish (2)6501251015182100824024FRA Perpignan (7)65012071317179922022WAL Dragons61051622−6117191−74228ITA Benetton Treviso6105830−22107207−100015 Pool 2 TeamPWDLTries forTries againstTry diffPoints forPoints againstPoints diffTBLBPtsENG Gloucester (3)6501241311184119654024WAL Ospreys (8)65011697164102621021FRA Bourgoin61051219−7118174−56138IRE rugby union Ulster61051324−11102173−71015 Pool 3 TeamPWDLTries forTries againstTry diffPoints forPoints againstPoints diffTBLBPtsWAL Cardiff Blues (5)6411127512476481120FRA Stade Français6402128412092282018ENG Bristol63031091838030012ENG Harlequins6015717−1062141−79002 Pool 4 TeamPWDLTries forTries againstTry diffPoints forPoints againstPoints diffTBLBPtsENG Saracens (1)65012711162251191063124FRA Biarritz6402911−2109116−71118SCO Glasgow Warriors63031214−213012731316ITA Viadana60061325−12106208−102213 Pool 5 TeamPWDLTries forTries againstTry diffPoints forPoints againstPoints diffTBLBPtsIRE rugby union Munster (6)6402137614895531219FRA Clermont640222157189128612119ENG London Wasps640219127152127252018WAL Llanelli Scarlets6006828−2074213−139000 Pool 6 TeamPWDLTries forTries againstTry diffPoints forPoints againstPoints diffTBLBPtsFRA Toulouse (4)6402137613076542220ENG Leicester Tigers6303105511079311114IRE rugby union Leinster6303711−495123−280012SCO Edinburgh6204815−785142−57019 Seeding and runners-up SeedPool winnersPtsTF+/− 1 ENG Saracens 24 27 +106 2 ENG London Irish 24 25 +82 3 ENG Gloucester 24 24 +65 4 FRA Toulouse 20 13 +54 5 WAL Cardiff Blues 20 12 +48 6 IRE rugby union Munster 19 13 +53SeedPool runners-upPtsTF+/− 7 FRA Perpignan 22 20 +92 8 WAL Ospreys 21 16 +62 – FRA Clermont 19 22 +61 – FRA Stade Français 18 12 +28 – FRA Biarritz 18 9 −7 – ENG Leicester Tigers 14 10 +31 Knockout stage Quarter-finals 5 April 2008 15:00 London Irish ENG 20–9 (Report) FRA Perpignan Danaher 31' m Hewat (5) 21', 24', 53', 56', 62' Montgomery (3) 5', 27', 37' Madejski Stadium, Reading 16,048 Alain Rolland (Ireland) 5 April 2008 17:30 Gloucester ENG 3–16 (Report) IRE rugby union Munster Lamb 67' Dowling 37' mHowlett 61' m O'Gara (2) 15', 49' Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester 16,500 Nigel Owens (Wales) 6 April 2008 12:30 Saracens ENG 19–10 (Report) WAL Ospreys Leonelli 42' c Jackson 43' Jackson (3) 10', 15', 59' Jackson 78' James 74' c Hook 75' Hook 2' Vicarage Road, Watford 18,214 Alan Lewis (Ireland) 6 April 2008 16:00 Toulouse FRA 41–17 (Report) WAL Cardiff Blues Medard 1' cKunavore 61' cClerc 71' cBouilhou 78' m Élissalde (3) 2', 62', 72' Élissalde (3) 5', 22', 59' Élissalde 27'Heymans 80' Spice 17' cBlair 67' c Blair (2) 18', 68' Blair 27' Stadium Municipal, Toulouse 35,070 Wayne Barnes (England) Semi-finals 26 April 2008 15:00 London Irish ENG 15–21 (Report) FRA Toulouse Ojo 20' cTagicakibau 44' m Hewat Hewat 15' Ahotaeiloa 34' mNyanga 38' c Élissalde Élissalde (3) 11', 48', 51' Twickenham Stadium, Londonhttp://www.ercrugby.com/eng/12_9941.php Semi-final venues announced ERCRugby.com European Rugby Cup 1 April 2008 1 April 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080405220526/http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/12_9941.php 5 April 2008 dead 30,559 Alan Lewis (Ireland)Alain Rolland, also of Ireland, was originally scheduled to be referee, but was forced to withdraw due to injury.http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/12_10209.php Referee change ERCRugby.com European Rugby Cup 24 April 2008 24 April 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080501233915/http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/12_10209.php 1 May 2008 dead 27 April 2008 15:00 Saracens ENG 16–18 (Report) IRE rugby union Munster Ratuvou 5' c Jackson Jackson (3) 43', 57', 71' O'Gara 25' mQuinlan 40' c O'Gara O'Gara (2) 8', 62' Ricoh Arena, Coventry 30,325 Nigel Owens (Wales) Final 2008 Heineken Cup Final 24 May 2008 17:00 Toulouse FRA 13–16 (Report) IRE rugby union Munster Donguy 54' c Élissalde 54' Élissalde 40+1' Élissalde 10' Leamy 33' c O'Gara 34' O'Gara (3) 39', 51', 64' Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 74,417 Nigel Owens (Wales)Nigel Owens named as Heineken Cup final referee http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/5019_10282.php ERCRugby.com European Rugby Cup 8 May 2008 10 May 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080513083655/http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/5019_10282.php 13 May 2008 live thumb|Munster shirt signed by 2008 Heineken Cup winning team The final was hosted at the neutral Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, and refereed by Welsh referee Nigel Owens. Toulouse kicked off and managed to regain possession.Mark Orlovac https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/7417577.stm 2008 Heineken Cup final – As it happened BBC Sport British Broadcasting Corporation 24 May 2008 26 May 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080526224008/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/7417577.stm 26 May 2008 live Toulouse dominated the early parts of the game,James Standley https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/7408444.stm 2008 Heineken Cup final BBC Sport British Broadcasting Corporation 24 May 2008 26 May 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080526025143/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/7408444.stm 26 May 2008 live and although they missed a penalty goal five minutes into the game, scrum-half Jean-Baptiste Élissalde successfully kicked a drop goal after eight minutes to give them a 3–0 lead. Toulouse continued to dominate territory but Munster winger Doug Howlett made a break in the 29th minute setting up a ruck close to the Toulouse try-line. Munster number eight Denis Leamy then broke from a ruck and attempted to place the ball over the try-line, but lost it forward in the process. From the resulting scrum, Toulouse were pushed off their own ball and Munster gained possession from which Leamy scored. The try was converted by Ronan O'Gara to give Munster a 7–3 lead after 33 minutes. Three minutes later, Munster were awarded a penalty after Toulouse captain Fabien Pelous was caught not rolling away in the ruck. O'Gara kicked the penalty to extend Munster's lead to 10–3. On the 40-minute mark, Leamy was penalised for going into a ruck off his feet and Élissalde kicked the penalty to reduce Munster's lead to four points at half-time. Ten minutes into the second half, Munster centre Rua Tipoki threw a pass that would have given a try to Howlett, but the pass was deemed forward. One minute later Toulouse's Pelous kicked Munster flanker Alan Quinlan after Quinlan had stood on Pelous' hand.David Hands Munster secure second Heineken Cup title http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby_union/article4003922.ece The Times Times Newspapers 26 May 2008 26 May 2008 London September 2024 medicmedic After the intervention of touch judge Nigel Whitehouse, Pelous was shown a yellow card for his part in the incident and sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes. O'Gara kicked Munster's resulting penalty to give his team a 13–6 lead after 51 minutes. Three minutes later, Toulouse fullback Cédric Heymans threw the ball into himself, then kicked ahead before collecting his own kick. He then chipped ahead which Toulouse's Yannick Jauzion kicked once more before wing Yves Donguy grounded the ball to give Toulouse a try. Élissalde converted the try to tie the scores at 13–13 after 54 minutes. Pelous returned from the sin-bin in the 61st minute, and four minutes later was penalised yet again for not rolling away in the ruck. O'Gara kicked the penalty which gave Munster a 16–13 lead. For most of the remaining time, Munster employed the pick-and-go technique, where the forwards would drive the ball from ruck to ruck in an effort to retain possession and use up time. Munster were penalised in the 78th minute after 17 phases of play; the ball was kicked downfield by Toulouse who counter-attacked. Munster turned the ball over, however, and won a kickable penalty with ten seconds left on the clock. Referee Nigel Owens stopped the clock until the penalty was taken; because of the risk of Toulouse recovering possession, the options of kicking for goal and kicking for touch were ruled out. Instead, Ronan O'Gara tapped the penalty and went into contact. With the ten seconds used up, the ball became unplayable in the collapsed maul, Owens blew the final whistle, and Munster had won 16–13. Statistics Top point scorers Points Name Club Apps Tries Con Pen Drop 113 IRE rugby union Ronan O'Gara IRE rugby union Munster 9 1 12 28 0 98 NZL Glen Jackson ENG Saracens 6 2 20 16 0 84 WAL James Hook WAL Ospreys 6 0 12 20 0 75 AUS Peter Hewat ENG London Irish 6 4 14 9 0 75 SCO Dan Parks SCO Glasgow Warriors 6 1 8 17 1 73 ENG Ryan Lamb ENG Gloucester 6 4 13 9 0 67 RSA Marius Goosen ITA Benetton 6 0 5 19 0 65 ARG Felipe Contepomi IRE rugby union Leinster 6 1 6 15 1 65 ENG Andy Goode ENG Leicester Tigers 6 1 6 16 0 65 AUS Brock James FRA Clermont 4 1 12 12 0 Top try scorers Player Club Tries Apps FRA Aurélien Rougerie FRA Clermont 5 4 ENG Richard Haughton ENG Saracens 5 5 FRA Vincent Clerc FRA Toulouse 4 6 ARG Tomás de Vedia ENG London Irish 4 6 RSA Jaco Erasmus ITA Viadana 4 5 FRA Guilhem Guirado FRA Perpignan 4 6 AUS Peter Hewat ENG London Irish 4 6 ENG Ryan Lamb ENG Gloucester 4 5 FJI Kameli Ratuvou ENG Saracens 4 6 FRA Julien Arias FRA Stade Français 3 5 ENG Delon Armitage ENG London Irish 3 6 SCO John Barclay SCO Glasgow Warriors 3 6 ITA Steven Bortolussi ITA Viadana 3 6 SCO Simon Danielli IRE rugby union Ulster 3 5 WAL Sonny Parker WAL Ospreys 3 5 ENG James Simpson-Daniel ENG Gloucester 3 5 ENG Richard Thorpe ENG London Irish 3 5 Notes References Sports Category:Heineken Cup seasons Heineken Heineken Heineken Heineken Heineken Heineken