2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup
2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup | |||
---|---|---|---|
Tournament details | |||
Countries |
England France Ireland Italy Scotland Wales | ||
Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and Knockout | ||
Date | 14 October 2016 – 13 May 2017 | ||
Tournament statistics | |||
Teams | 20 | ||
Matches played | 19 | ||
Highest Attendance |
26,500 Munster v Glasgow Warriors 22 October 2016 | ||
Attendance | 239,999 (12,632 per match) | ||
Lowest Attendance |
3,000 Zebre v Connacht 23 October 2016 | ||
Tries scored | 53 (2.79 per match) | ||
Top point scorer(s) |
Owen Farrell (Saracens) (16 points) | ||
Top try scorer(s) |
Sean Cronin (Leinster Joe Simpson (Wasps D. T. H. van der Merwe (Scarlets (2 tries) | ||
Final | |||
Venue | BT Murrayfield, Edinburgh | ||
Official website | http://www.epcrugby.com | ||
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The 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup is the third European Rugby Champions Cup championship, the annual rugby union club competition for teams from the top six nations in European rugby. The competition replaced the Heineken Cup, which was Europe's top-tier competition for rugby clubs for the first nineteen years of professional European rugby union.[1]
English side Saracens are the reigning champions, having beaten Racing 92 of France in the 2016 final in Lyon.
The opening round of the tournament will take place on the weekend of 14/15/16 October 2016. The final will take place on the 13 May 2017, at BT Murrayfield in Edinburgh.[2][3]
Teams
Twenty clubs from the three major European domestic and regional leagues will compete in the Champions Cup. Nineteen of these will qualify directly as a result of their league performance.
The distribution of teams is:
- England: 6 clubs
- The top 6 clubs in the Aviva Premiership. (6 clubs)
- France: 7 clubs
- The top 6 clubs in the Top 14. (6 clubs)
- There will be a seventh club from France, after Montpellier won the 2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup. (1 club)
- Ireland, Italy, Scotland & Wales: 7 clubs, based on performance in the Guinness Pro12.
- The best placed club from each nation. (4 clubs)
- The 3 highest ranked clubs not qualified thereafter. (3 clubs)
Due to the 2015 Rugby World Cup, it was decided that the play-off system that had previously decided the final team would be suspended, and that this year the winner of the 2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup would automatically qualify for the tournament. In the event this team had already qualified, the team's domestic league would be allocated an extra qualifying place.[4]
The following teams qualified for the 2016–17 tournament.
Aviva Premiership | Top 14 | Pro 12 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
England | France | Ireland | Italy | Scotland | Wales |
This is the first time all four Irish provinces have qualified for Europe's top club competition on their own merits, as Connacht's two previous appearances in the former Heineken Cup had been as a result of Leinster winning that cup the previous season.
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.
Seeding
The 20 competing teams are seeded and split into four tiers, each containing 5 teams.
For the purpose of creating the tiers, clubs are ranked based on their domestic league performances and on their qualification for the knockout phases of their championships, so a losing quarter-finalist in the Top 14 would be seeded below a losing semi-finalist, even if they finished above them in the regular season.[5]
Rank | Top 14 | Premiership | Pro 12 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Racing 92 | Saracens | Connacht |
2 | Toulon | Exeter Chiefs | Leinster |
3 | Clermont | Wasps | Glasgow Warriors |
4 | Montpellier | Leicester Tigers | Ulster |
5 | Toulouse | Northampton Saints | Scarlets |
6 | Castres | Sale Sharks | Munster |
7 | Bordeaux Bègles | Zebre |
Based on these seedings, teams are placed into one of the four tiers, with the top seed clubs being put in Tier 1. The nature of the tier system means that a draw is needed to allocate two of the three second seed clubs to Tier 1. Exeter Chiefs and Leinster were drawn into Tier 1, meaning the remaining side - Toulon went into Tier 2. As a result of this draw, Montpellier also entered Tier 2, as the fourth seed from the league of the second seed placed in Tier 2. The other two fourth rankes sides fell into Tier 3.[6]
The tiers are shown below. 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 | Saracens (1 AP) | Connacht (1 Pro12) | Racing 92 (1 Top 14) | Exeter Chiefs (2 AP) | Leinster (2 Pro12) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tier 2 | Toulon (2 Top 14) | Wasps (3 AP) | Glasgow Warriors (3 Pro12) | Clermont (3 Top 14) | Montpellier (4 Top 14) |
Tier 3 | Leicester Tigers (4 AP) | Ulster (4 Pro12) | Northampton Saints (5 AP) | Scarlets (5 Pro12) | Toulouse (5 Top 14) |
Tier 4 | Sale Sharks (6 AP) | Munster (6 Pro12) | Castres (6 Top 14) | Zebre (7 Pro12) | Bordeaux Bègles (7 Top 14) |
The following restrictions will apply to the draw:[6]
- Each pool will consist of four clubs, one from each Tier in the draw.
- Each pool must have one from each league drawn from Tier 1,2 or 3. No pool will have a second team from the same league until the allocation of Tier 4 takes place.
- Where two PRO12 clubs compete in the same pool, they must be from different countries.
Pool stage
The draw took place on 29th June 2016, in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
Teams will play each other twice, both at home and away, in the group stage, that will begin on weekend of 14/15/16 October 2016, and continue through to 20/21/22 January 2017, before the pool winners and three best runners-up progressed to the quarter finals.
Teams will be 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.[7]
In the event of a tie between two or more teams, the following tie-breakers will be 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 with the best aggregate points difference from those matches.
- If equal, the club that scored the most tries in those matches.
- Where teams remain tied and/or have not played each other in the competition (i.e. are from different pools)
- The club with the best aggregate points difference from the pool stage.
- If equal, 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.
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Munster | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 17 | +21 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
Glasgow Warriors | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 59 | 51 | +8 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
Leicester Tigers | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 40 | 59 | –19 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Racing 92 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 27 | –10 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pool 2
Team |
P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Connacht | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 28 | +47 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
Wasps | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 102 | 34 | +68 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
Toulouse | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 41 | 43 | –2 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
Zebre | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 134 | −113 | 3 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pool 3
Team |
P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saracens | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 49 | +26 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
Toulon | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 38 | 36 | +2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Scarlets | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 54 | 55 | –1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Sale Sharks | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 43 | –27 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pool 4
Team |
P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Leinster | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 49 | 37 | +12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
Castres | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 56 | 40 | +16 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
Montpellier | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 32 | +4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
Northampton Saints | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 55 | –32 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Pool 5
Team |
P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Clermont | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 84 | 41 | +43 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
Bordeaux Bègles | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 61 | 62 | –1 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
Ulster | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 32 | 46 | –14 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Exeter Chiefs | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 26 | 54 | –28 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Seeding and runners-up
Updated to 23 October 2016, post Leicester Tigers v Racing 92
Seed | Pool Winners | Pts | TF | +/− |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Clermont | 10 | 11 | +43 |
2 | Connacht | 9 | 11 | +47 |
3 | Saracens | 9 | 8 | +26 |
4 | Leinster | 6 | 6 | +12 |
5 | Munster* | 5 | 5 | +21 |
Seed | Pool Runners–up | Pts | TF | +/− |
6 | Wasps | 7 | 14 | +68 |
7 | Bordeaux Bègles | 5 | 8 | -1 |
8 | Castres | 5 | 7 | +16 |
9 | Glasgow Warriors | 5 | 7 | +8 |
10 | Toulon | 4 | 4 | +2 |
Munster have 1 game in hand.*
Knock-out stage
The eight qualifiers are ranked according to their performance in the pool stage and compete in the quarter-finals which will be held on the weekend of 31 March, 1/2 April 2017. The four top teams will host the quarter-finals against the four lower teams in a 1v8, 2v7, 3v6 and 4v5 format.
The semi-finals will played on the weekend of 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 the home team would be designated based on "performances by clubs during the pool stages as well as the achievement of a winning a quarter-final match away from home". Semi-final matches must be played at a neutral ground in the designated home team's country.
Home country advantage will be awarded as follows:[7]
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The winners of the semi-finals will contest the final, at BT Murrayfield, on 13 May 2017.[3]
Attendances
- Does not include the final as this is played at a neutral venue.
See also
References
- ↑ Inaugural EPCR finals set for London
- ↑ "Key 2016/17 European club rugby dates". epcrugby.com.
- 1 2 "Lyon to host 2016 Champions Cup and Challenge Cup finals with Edinburgh chosen for 2017". epcrugby.com.
- ↑ "Key 2015/16 EPCR dates and Champions Cup play-offs". epcrugby.com.
- ↑ http://archive.ercrugby.com/news/28791.php ERCRugby.com. Accessed 8 June 2014
- 1 2 European Rugby Pool Draws for 2015/16 season - EPCRugby.com
- 1 2 "Champions Cup Rules". epcrugby.com.
- ↑ "European Rugby Champions Cup 16/17 Home attendance". Rugby Statbunker. 23 October 2016.