2016–17 European Rugby Challenge Cup

2016–17 European Rugby Challenge Cup
Tournament details
Countries  England
 France
 Italy
 Romania
 Russia
 Scotland
 Wales
Tournament format(s) Round-robin and Knockout
Date 13 October 2016 – 12 May 2017
Tournament statistics
Teams 20
Matches played 66
Attendance 483,750 (7,330 per match)
Highest Attendance 24,494
Gloucester v Stade Francais (12 May 2017)
Lowest Attendance 300
Enisey-ETM v Brive (10 December 2016)
Tries scored 433 (6.56 per match)
Top point scorer(s) Dan Biggar (Ospreys)
(78 points)
Top try scorer(s) Keelan Giles (Ospreys)
(7 tries)
Final
Venue BT Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Champions France Stade Français
Runners-up England Gloucester

The 2016–17 European Rugby Challenge Cup was the third edition of the European Rugby Challenge Cup, an annual second-tier rugby union competition for professional clubs. Clubs from six European nations plus one Russian club competed. It was also the 21st season of the Challenge Cup competition in all forms, following on from the now defunct European Challenge Cup.

Montpellier were the reigning champions, having beaten Harlequins in the final of the 2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup. They did not defend their title as they automatically qualified for the 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup as a result of the win.

The first round of the group stage began on the weekend of 13/14/15/16 October 2016, and the competition ended with the final on 12 May 2017 in Edinburgh.[1][2]

Stade Français won the final 25-17 against Gloucester.[3][4]

Teams

20 teams qualified for the 2016–17 European Rugby Challenge Cup; a total of 18 qualified from across the Premiership, Pro12 and Top 14, as a direct result of their domestic league performance, with two coming through a play-off. The expected distribution of teams was:

  • England: 6
  • France: 7
    • 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)
  • Ireland, Italy, Scotland & Wales: 5 teams
    • Any teams that did not qualify for the European Rugby Champions Cup, through the Guinness Pro12 — namely the Pro12 bottom 5. (5 teams)

The French Top 14 had its allocation reduced by 1 place after Montpellier won the 2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup. This is after it was decided that, due to the 2015 Rugby World Cup, there would be no qualification play-off.

  • Other European Nations: 2 teams

The following clubs qualified for the Challenge Cup.

Aviva Premiership Top 14 Pro12 Qualifying Competition
England England France France Ireland Ireland Italy Italy Scotland Scotland Wales Wales European Union Other
None as the four provinces qualified for the Champions Cup

Qualifying competition

Once again, EPCR expanded the qualifying competition.[5]

Eight teams were split into two pools of four. Each team played the four teams in the other pool once. The winner of each pool then played a two-legged final against last year's qualifying sides, and the winners, on aggregate, took the two remaining places in the Challenge Cup.

Pool A Play-off

9 April 2016
Rovigo Italy 0 - 31 Russia Enisey-STM

23 April 2016
Enisey-STM Russia 39 - 5 Italy Rovigo

  • Enisey-STM qualify with an aggregate score of 70 - 5

Pool B Play-off

9 April 2016
Timișoara Saracens Romania 36 - 23 Italy Calvisano

23 April 2016
Calvisano Italy 17 - 28 Romania Timișoara Saracens

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
England Bath New Zealand Todd Blackadder England Dave Attwood Recreation Ground 14,500 Aviva Premiership 7th-11th (9th)
France Bayonne France Vincent Etcheto France Jean Monribot Stade Jean Dauger 16,934 Pro D2 runner-up
Italy Benetton Treviso New Zealand Kieran Crowley Italy Alessandro Zanni Stadio Comunale di Monigo 6,700 Pro12 bottom 5 (12th)
England Bristol England Andy Robinson Samoa Jack Lam Ashton Gate Stadium 27,000 2015–16 RFU Championship Champion
France Brive France Nicolas Godignon France Arnaud Méla Stade Amédée-Domenech 16,000 Top 14 7th-12th (8th)
Wales Cardiff Blues England Danny Wilson Wales Gethin Jenkins BT Cardiff Arms Park 12,125 Pro12 bottom 5 (7th)
Scotland Edinburgh South Africa Alan Solomons Scotland Grant Gilchrist Murrayfield Stadium
New Myreside[lower-alpha 1]		 67,144[lower-alpha 2]
5,500		 Pro12 bottom 5 (9th)
Russia Enisey-STM Russia Alexander Pervukhin Latvia Uldis Saulite Slava Stadium
Trud Stadium[7]
Yug Stadium[8]		 2,500
3,000
10,200		 Challenge Cup Qualification Play-off
England Gloucester Ireland David Humphreys Scotland Greig Laidlaw Kingsholm Stadium 16,115 Aviva Premiership 7th-11th (8th)
France Grenoble Ireland Bernard Jackman France Jonathan Wisniewski Stade des Alpes 20,068 Top 14 7th-12th (10th)
England Harlequins England John Kingston England Danny Care Twickenham Stoop 14,800 Aviva Premiership 7th-11th (7th)
France La Rochelle France Patrice Collazo
France Xavier Garbajosa		 France Uini Atonio Stade Marcel-Deflandre 15,000 Top 14 7th-12th (9th)
France Lyon France Pierre Mignoni France Julien Puricelli Matmut Stadium 11,805 Pro D2 Champion
England Newcastle Falcons England Dean Richards England Will Welch Kingston Park 10,200 Aviva Premiership 7th-11th (11th)
Wales Newport Gwent Dragons Wales Kingsley Jones Wales T. Rhys Thomas Rodney Parade 8,800 Pro12 bottom 5 (11th)
Wales Ospreys Wales Steve Tandy Wales Alun Wyn Jones Liberty Stadium
Principality Stadium		 20,827
74,500		 Pro12 bottom 5 (8th)
France Pau New Zealand Simon Mannix France Julien Pierre Stade du Hameau 13,819 Top 14 7th-12th (11th)
France Stade Français Argentina Gonzalo Quesada Italy Sergio Parisse Stade Jean-Bouin 20,000 Top 14 7th-12th (12th)
Romania Timișoara Saracens New Zealand Grainger Heikell Romania Cătălin Fercu Stadionul Dan Păltinișanu 32,972 Challenge Cup Qualification Play-off
England Worcester Warriors Scotland Carl Hogg South Africa Gerrit-Jan van Velze Sixways Stadium 12,024 Aviva Premiership 7th-11th (10th)

Seeding

The 20 competing teams were seeded and split into four tiers; seeding was based on performance in their respective domestic leagues. Where promotion and relegation is in effect in a league, the promoted team was seeded last, or (if multiple teams are promoted) by performance in the lower tier.[9]

Rank Top 14 Premiership Pro 12 Qualifying Competition
1France BriveEngland HarlequinsWales Cardiff BluesRussia Enisey-STM
2France La RochelleEngland GloucesterWales OspreysRomania Timișoara Saracens
3France GrenobleEngland BathScotland Edinburgh
4France PauEngland Worcester WarriorsWales Newport Gwent Dragons
5France Stade FrançaisEngland Newcastle FalconsItaly Treviso
6France LyonEngland Bristol
7France Bayonne

Teams were taken from a league in order of rank and put into a tier. A draw was used to allocate two second seeds to Tier 1; the remaining team went into Tier 2. This allocation indirectly determined which fourth-seeded team entered Tier 2, while the others entered 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 were automatically included in Tier 4, despite officially being ranked 1/2 from that competition.

The brackets show each team's seeding and their league (for example, 1 Top 14 indicates the team was seeded 1st from the Top 14).

Tier 1 England Harlequins (1 AP) Wales Cardiff Blues (1 Pro12) France Brive (1 Top 14) Wales Ospreys (2 Pro12) France La Rochelle (2 Top 14)
Tier 2 England Gloucester (2 AP) England Bath (3 AP) Scotland Edinburgh (3 Pro12) France Grenoble (3 Top 14) England Worcester Warriors (4 AP)
Tier 3 France Pau (4 Top 14) Wales Newport Gwent Dragons (4 Pro12) England Newcastle Falcons (5 AP) Italy Treviso (5 Pro12) France Stade Français (5 Top 14)
Tier 4 England Bristol (6 AP) France Lyon (6 Top 14) France Bayonne (7 Top 14) Russia Enisey-STM (QC 1) Romania Timișoara Saracens (QC 2)

The following restrictions applied to the draw:

  • The 5 pools each contain four clubs, one from each of the 4 Tiers.
  • Each pool is required to have one club from each league, drawn from Tier 1, 2 or 3. A second team will only be added to a pool during the Tier 4 allocation.

Pool Stage

The draw took place on 29 June 2016, in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

Teams played each other twice, both at home and away, in the group stage, that began on weekend of 13/14/15/16 October 2016, and continued through to 19/20/21/22 January 2017, before the pool winners and three best runners-up progressed to the quarter finals.

Teams were awarded competition points, based on match result. Teams received 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.[10]

In the event of a tie between two or more teams, the following tie-breakers were used, as directed by EPCR:

  1. Where teams have played each other
    1. The club with the greater number of competition points from only matches involving tied teams.
    2. If equal, the club with the best aggregate points difference from those matches.
    3. If equal, the club that scored the most tries in those matches.
  2. Where teams remain tied and/or have not played each other in the competition (i.e. are from different pools)
    1. The club with the best aggregate points difference from the pool stage.
    2. If equal, the club that scored the most tries in the pool stage.
    3. If equal, the club with the fewest players suspended in the pool stage.
    4. 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.
     Cannot advance to the quarter-finals.

Pool 1

Team
 P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
England Gloucester (2) 6501237110+12731155025
France La Rochelle (6) 6501203104+9928114024
Italy Benetton Treviso 620475182−107923008
France Bayonne 6006116235−1191433011

Pool 2

Team
 P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
Wales Ospreys (1) 660027951+2284276030
France Lyon 6303187164+2326214016
England Newcastle Falcons 6204158180−2222262212
France Grenoble 610574303−229844105

Pool 3

Team
 P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
France Brive (5) 6501175120+5516133023
Wales Newport Gwent Dragons 6303150140+1019192014
England Worcester Warriors 6204147117+3022132313
Russia Enisey-STM 6204107202–951327109

Pool 4

Team
 P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
England Bath (4) 650121491+12324103023
Wales Cardiff Blues (7) 6501150115+3516152022
England Bristol 6204138181–4319222010
France Pau 600697212–1151325022

Pool 5

Team
 P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
Scotland Edinburgh (3) 6501215122+9330153124
France Stade Français (8) 6402152108+4420163120
England Harlequins 6303230113+11734144218
Romania Timișoara Saracens 600626280–254241000

Pool winners and runners-up rankings

Seed Pool Winners Pts +/− TF
1Wales Ospreys30+22842
2England Gloucester25+12731
3Scotland Edinburgh24+9330
4England Bath23+12324
5France Brive23+5521
Seed Pool Runners-Up Pts +/− TF
6France La Rochelle24+9928
7Wales Cardiff Blues22+3516
8France Stade Français20+4420
9France Lyon16+2326
10Wales Newport Gwent Dragons14+1019

Knock-out stage

Format

The eight qualifiers were ranked according to performance in the pool stages, and compete in the quarter-finals, which was held on the weekend of 30/31 March, 1/2 April 2017. The top four teams hosted the quarter-finals against the lower teams in a 1v8, 2v7, 3v6 and 4v5 format.

The semi-finals were played on the weekend of 21/22/23 April 2017. In lieu of the draw that used to determine the semi-final pairing, EPCR announced that a fixed semi-final bracket would be set in advance, and that home advantage would be awarded to a side based on "performances by clubs during the pool stages as well as the achievement of a winning a quarter-final match away from home".

Home advantage was awarded as follows:[10]

The winners of the semi-finals contested the final, at BT Murrayfield on 12 May 2017.[2]

Quarter-finals

31 March 2017
20:00
Edinburgh Scotland (3) 22–32 (6) France La Rochelle
Try: Burleigh 19' c
Ford 39' m
Watson 46' c
Con: Tovey (1/2) 20'
Hidalgo-Clyne (1/1) 48'
Pen: Weir (1/1) 65'
 Report[11] Try: Maurouard (2) 5' c, 11' c
Retiere 24' m
Barry 35' c
Con: James (3/4) 6', 13', 35'
Pen: James (2/3) 69', 79'
BT Murrayfield Stadium
Attendance: 5,489
Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU)
1 April 2017
12:45
Bath England (4) 34–20 (5) France Brive
Try: Faletau (2) 21' c, 43' c
Homer 27' m
Rokoduguni (2) 31' m, 75' c
Con: Priestland (3/5) 22', 44', 77'
Pen: Priestland (1/1) 9'
 Report[12] Try: Sanconnie (2) 49' c, 55' c
Con: Germain (2/2) 50', 56'
Pen: Germain (2/2) 14', 19'
Recreation Ground
Attendance: 11,677
Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR)
1 April 2017
20:05
Gloucester England (2) 46–26 (7) Wales Cardiff Blues
Try: Moriarty 10' c
Marshall (2) 25' c, 58' c
May 54' c
Atkinson 65' c
Purdy 78' m
Con: Burns (1/1) 10'
Twelvetrees (4/5) 26', 55', 60', 66'
Pen: Burns (1/1) 17'
Twelvetrees (1/1) 23'
 Report[13] Try: Cuthbert (2) 4' c, 34' c
Con: Shingler (2/2) 5', 35'
Pen: Shingler (3/3) 14', 21', 49'
Drop: Anscombe (1/1) 39'
Kingsholm Stadium
Attendance: 11,206
Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (FFR)
2 April 2017
17:45
Ospreys Wales (1) 21–25 (8) France Stade Français
Try: Matavesi 47' m
Ardron 76' c
Con: Biggar (1/2) 76'
Pen: Biggar (3/3) 13', 33', 53'
 Report[14] Try: Zhvania 30' m
Lakafia 54' c
Arias 59' c
Con: Plisson (2/3) 54', 59'
Pen: Plisson (2/2) 28', 44'
Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Attendance: 12,127
Referee: Matthew Carley (RFU)

Semi-finals

22 April 2017
21:00
La Rochelle France 14–16 England Gloucester
Try: Lagrange 66' m
Pen: James (3/5) 24', 40', 65'
 Report[15] Try: Burns 59' c
Con: Burns (1/1) 59'
Pen: Burns (3/3) 9', 18', 56'
Stade Marcel-Deflandre
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
23 April 2017
13:30
Stade Français France 28–25 England Bath
Try: Doumayrou 12' c
Plisson 48' m
Pyle 78' c
Con: Plisson (2/3) 12', 78'
Pen: Plisson (2/2) 5', 17'
Drop: Plisson (1/1) 80'
 Report[16] Try: Rokoduguni 63' c
Fruean 68' m
Stooke 71' c
Con: Ford (2/3) 63', 71'
Pen: Ford (2/2) 10', 34'
Stade Jean-Bouin
Attendance: 10,175
Referee: John Lacey (IRFU)

Final

12 May 2017
20:00
Gloucester England 17–25 France Stade Français
Report[17]
BT Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Attendance: 24,494
Referee: John Lacey (IRFU)

Attendances

  • Does not include final as this is held at a neutral venue.
Club Home
Games		 Total Average Highest Lowest % Capacity
England Bath449,57012,39313,25711,67785%
France Bayonne38,7032,9015,0051,49817%
Italy Benetton Treviso34,1001,3671,90070025%
England Bristol328,9889,66313,1407,55936%
France Brive311,5003,8335,0002,50024%
Wales Cardiff Blues321,7527,2517,5696,96060%
Scotland Edinburgh420,1055,0265,4894,05529%
Russia Enisey-ETM32,8009331,50030018%
England Gloucester439,3679,84211,2069,26561%
France Grenoble320,6076,8697,0036,75442%
England Harlequins329,6929,89711,8208,23067%
France La Rochelle456,91014,22815,00013,12395%
France Lyon327,4729,15712,0806,50077%
England Newcastle Falcons310,4483,4833,5513,39034%
Wales Newport Gwent Dragons311,7663,9224,1263,54446%
Wales Ospreys433,5048,37612,1276,98630%
France Pau323,6357,8789,2126,05057%
France Stade Francais431,3637,84110,1756,51139%
Romania Timișoara Saracens2[a 1]6,5003,2503,5003,00010%
England Worcester Warriors320,4746,8257,2096,09757%
  1. ↑
    • Timișoara Saracens only played 2 home games as their final home game was cancelled due to a frozen pitch.[18]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ On 10 May 2016, it was announced that Edinburgh will move all their home games to Myreside for the second half of the season, as their new permanent home ground.[6]
  2. ↑ Although Murrayfield's full capacity is 67,144, only the lower section of the West Stand, with a capacity of 12,464, is generally opened for Edinburgh fixtures.

References

  1. ↑ "Key 2016/17 European club rugby dates". epcrugby.com.
  2. 1 2 "Lyon to host 2016 Champions Cup and Challenge Cup finals with Edinburgh chosen for 2017". EPCRugby. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  3. ↑ "European Challenge Cup final: Gloucester 17-25 Stade Francais". BBC Sport. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  4. ↑ "Gloucester 17-25 Stade Francais: Despair for David Humphreys' men as they throw away 10-point lead to lose in the Challenge Cup final". Daily Mail. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  5. ↑ "2015–16 Qualifying Competition".
  6. ↑ "Edinburgh confirm move from Murrayfield to Myreside". BBC Sport. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  7. ↑ "Стадион - Стадион "Труд" г.Краснодар". www.stadion-trud.ru. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  8. ↑ "Russia - FK Zhemchuzhina Sochi - Results, fixtures, squad, statistics, photos, videos and news - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  9. ↑ "Watch the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup Pool Draws live : News | ERC | Official Website". ERCRugby.com. 7 June 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-10-31. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  10. 1 2 "EPCR Competition Rules". Archived from the original on 2015-05-04. Retrieved 2016-04-17.
  11. ↑ "European Rugby Challenge Cup (ECPR)". epcrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2017-07-03. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  12. ↑ "REPORT: Bath reach Challenge Cup semi-finals". www.epcrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2017-07-03. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  13. ↑ "REPORT: Gloucester win Kingsholm thriller". www.epcrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2017-07-03. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  14. ↑ "European Rugby Challenge Cup (ECPR)". epcrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2017-08-21. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  15. ↑ "REPORT: Gloucester become first team to win in La Rochelle". www.epcrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2017-07-03. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  16. ↑ "REPORT: Plisson fires Stade into final". www.epcrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2017-07-03. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  17. ↑ "REPORT: Stade Francais are 2017 Challenge Cup winners". www.epcrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2017-08-17. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  18. ↑ "Timisoara Saracens v Stade Francais Paris - match cancelled". EPCR. EPCR. 14 January 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
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