2003–04 Heineken Cup

The 2003–04 Heineken Cup was the ninth season for which European teams competed for the Heineken Cup. Competing teams, from England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales, were divided into six pools of four, in which teams played home and away matches against each other. The winners of the pools, together with the two best runners-up, qualified for the knock-out stage.

2003–04 Heineken Cup
Tournament details
Countries	England  France  Ireland  Italy  Scotland  Wales
Tournament format(s)	Round-robin and Knockout
Date	22 October 2003 - 23 May 2004
Tournament statistics
Teams	24
Matches played	79
Attendance	817,833 (10,352 per match)
Top point scorer(s)	Henry Paul (Gloucester) (100 points)
Top try scorer(s)	Nicolas Brusque (Biarritz) James Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester) (6 tries)
Final
Venue	Twickenham Stadium, London
Attendance	73,057
Champions	London Wasps (1st title)
Runners-up	Toulouse

This was the first competition in the series to employ the bonus point system for classifying teams. In prior competitions, teams earned two points for a win and one for a draw. Starting with the 2003-04 competition, teams earned points in the pool matches under the following scenarios:

• Four points for a win
• Two points for a draw
• One bonus point for scoring four or more tries, regardless of the final score
• One bonus point for losing by seven points or less