2021–22 EPCR Challenge Cup
The 2021–22 EPCR Challenge Cup was the eighth edition of the EPCR Challenge Cup, an annual second-tier rugby union competition for professional clubs. Including the predecessor competition, the original European Challenge Cup, this was the 26th edition of European club rugby's second-tier competition. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament format was changed for the previous season. A similar format remained for this season, however, the number of teams was increased from 14 to 15 and an additional six will join from the Champions Cup. The tournament commenced in December 2021, and concluded with the final on 27 May 2022 at Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, France. Lyon, who are in their first European final, won the Challenge Cup by defeating Toulon making it their first European title. It is also their first major title since their Champion de France title in 1933. Teams Fifteen teams qualified for the 2021–22 EPCR Cup from Premiership Rugby, the Top 14 and the Unite ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Round-robin Tournament
A round-robin tournament (or all-go-away-tournament) is a competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indiv ... in which each contestant meets every other participant, usually in turn.''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (1971, G. & C. Merriam Co), p.1980. A round-robin contrasts with an elimination tournament, in which participants/teams are eliminated after a certain number of losses. Terminology The term ''round-robin'' is derived from the French term ''ruban'', meaning "ribbon". Over a long period of time, the term was Folk etymology, corrupted and idiomized to ''robin''. In a ''single round-robin'' schedule, each participant plays every other participant once. If each participant plays all others twice, this is freque ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2020–21 RFU Championship
The 2020–21 RFU Championship, also known as the 2020–21 Greene King IPA Championship for sponsorship reasons, was the twelfth season of the RFU Championship, the professional second tier of rugby union in England. It featured ten English teams and one from Jersey. The competition was sponsored by Greene King for the eighth successive season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, this season featured a truncated timeframe of just 16 weeks with a later start and fewer rounds. Structure In a change from previous years, the eleven teams played each of the other teams once only, either home or away, to produce a ten-round season. The top two teams played each other in a two-legged play-off, with the winner promoted to the Premiership, if eligible. Due to the cancellation of the National League 1, there was no relegation. The season began on 6 March 2021, and the final round of matches were played in May 2021. Each team received one bye week, and there were three r ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Section Paloise
Section Paloise (, Bearnese: ), commonly referred to as ''Section'' or as ''Pau'' , is a professional rugby union club based in Pau, France. They compete in the Top 14, France's top division of rugby, and the EPCR Challenge Cup. Their home ground is the Stade du Hameau, after 80 years of playing at the Croix du Prince stadium (1910-1990). The club won the Bouclier de Brennus three times in 1928, 1946 and 1964 and the European Challenge in 2000. The club also won the Challenge Yves du Manoir in 1939, 1952 and 1997, as well as a French Pro D2 title in 2015. A stronghold of French rugby, the club has become a symbol of Béarn culture and heritage. The official ''Section Paloise'' anthem is the ''Honhada,'' since March 2012. The lyrics of the song were composed on the air of the famous Scottish ballad The water is wide. Section are sponsored by French petroleum company TotalEnergies. Recent France internationals Imanol Harinordoquy, Damien Traille, and Lionel Beauxis be ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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CA Brive
Club Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin, also referred to as CA Brive, Brive () or CAB, is a French professional rugby union club based in Brive-la-Gaillarde, in the Corrèze department. They compete in the first-tier Top 14 competition. Brive is a historical member of French rugby union, being one of the clubs that spent the most seasons in the best French domestic competition. "''Les Coujous''" also won the Heineken Cup in 1997 as they defeated Leicester Tigers in the final in a glorious 28-9 win. Many great players, both French and foreign, played for the club currently headed by Simon Gillham, and the youth academy is known to be one of the best in France. For example, Brive had in its rows some players who went on to play for France. Among them, Amédée Domenech, nicknamed "Le Duc" ("The Duke") who played there in the 1950s and 60s, and gave his name to the stadium after his death in 2003. Prolific flanker Olivier Magne, fly-halves Christophe Lamaison and Alain Pen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Worcester Warriors
Worcester Warriors Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club, based in Worcester, England, that is currently in Administration (law), administration and which has been suspended and will be relegated from Premiership Rugby, the top division of domestic rugby. Founded in 1871, in 1975 they moved to their most recent home, Sixways Stadium, located to the north of the city. The team colours are gold and blue. Placed in the eighth tier of English rugby with the advent of the English rugby union league competition, the club were able to build a strong team due to extensive financial support from their backer and chairman Cecil Duckworth, being promoted repeatedly through the league system. Worcester were first promoted to the highest tier, the Premiership in 2004, and returned there on two occasions following relegation to the RFU Championship. Worcester won one major trophy, the 2021-22 Premiership Rugby Cup, 2022 Premiership Cup, and won the RFU Championship, se ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Newcastle Falcons
Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Club and briefly assumed their name until 1887. In 1990, the name was changed to Newcastle Gosforth and the club began to play at Kingston Park stadium in Kingston Park, Newcastle upon Tyne. In 1996, following the start of professionalism the club briefly adopted the name Newcastle Rugby Club before adopting its current name. Newcastle has won 5 major titles. They won the Premiership in 1998 and four domestic cups in 1976, 1977, 2001 and 2004. Newcastle was the only English club of Jonny Wilkinson, where he played from 1997 to 2009, and as well as Wilkinson in 2003 Newcastle saw three players in the 2007 Rugby World Cup Final with Mathew Tait starting and Toby Flood appearing from the bench. Mark Wilson played in the 2019 Rugby Wo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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London Irish
London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While playing in the Championship in 2016–17 and 2018–19, it also played in the British and Irish Cup and RFU Championship Cup. The club played home games at the Madejski Stadium in Reading, Berkshire, for twenty years, before moving for the 2020–21 season to the Gtech Community Stadium in Brentford, West London. The club was founded in 1898 following the creation of London Scottish and London Welsh for the same reason, allowing Irishmen the chance to play rugby with fellow countrymen in the English Capital. London Irish won its first major trophy in 2002, the Powergen Cup (now the Premiership Rugby Cup), and reached the 2009 English Premiership final, narrowly losing 10–9 to Leicester Tigers at Twickenham Stadium. In the 2007–0 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gloucester Rugby
Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby, as well as in the European Rugby Champions Cup. The club was formed in 1873 and since 1891 has played its home matches at Kingsholm Stadium, on the fringes of the city centre. Their biggest successes are winning the Anglo-Welsh Cup five times: in 1971–72, 1977–78, 1981–82, 2002–03 and 2010–11; and the European Challenge Cup twice: in 2005–06 and 2014–15. The club has no official nickname but are often referred to as the Cherry and Whites by supporters and the media in reference to the traditional Cherry and white hooped shirts worn by the team. Matches with local rivals Bath and Bristol Bears are referred to as West Country derbies. History Formation & Early Years The club was formed in 1873 after a meeting at the Spread Eagle Hotel with the announcement in the Gloucester Journal: '' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2020–21 Pro14
The 2020–21 PRO14 (also known as the ''Guinness PRO14'' for sponsorship reasons) was the twentieth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League. It was the fourth season to be referred to as the ''PRO14'' (the competition was named the ''Pro12'' immediately prior to the addition of two South African teams). Twelve teams competed in this season — four Irish teams: Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster; two Italian teams: Benetton and Zebre; two Scottish teams: Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors; and four Welsh teams: Cardiff Blues, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets. Neither of the two South African teams competed this season, with the Cheetahs unable to compete due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Southern Kings having entered into voluntary liquidation due to heavy financial losses. Due to the delays experienced during the 2019–20 season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020–21 season started later than usual on the 2 Octob ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Biarritz Olympique
Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque (; ), usually known simply as Biarritz, is a French professional rugby union team based in the Basque city of Biarritz, Nouvelle-Aquitaine which competes in the Pro D2, the second division of French rugby. Biarritz plays its home matches at the Parc des Sports Aguiléra, which is a multi-use stadium in Biarritz and which has a capacity of around 13,500 people, though for games that need a larger capacity, Biarritz may play at the Estadio Anoeta in San Sebastián. Biarritz play in red and white colours. Biarritz won a number of major honors, including the French championship on five occasions. Biarritz Olympique was formed in 1913 through a merger of the Biarritz Stade and Biarritz Sporting Club rugby teams. Biarritz made their way to the final of the French championship for the first time in the 1934 season where they were defeated by Bayonne. The following season they claimed their first championship, defeating Perpignan in the final. That decade Bi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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USA Perpignan
Union Sportive Arlequins Perpignanais, also referred to as USA Perpignan or Perpignan, is a French professional rugby union club founded in 1933 and based in Perpignan, in the Pyrénées-Orientales department. They compete in the Top 14, France's elite division of rugby. The club is a result of a merger between US Perpignan and Arlequins Perpignanais in 1933. US Perpignan was also born from a union of merging clubs AS Perpignan (founded in 1902) and Stade Olympien Perpignanais, which took place in 1919. Its home ground is the 14,593-capacity Stade Aimé Giral but important fixtures may occasionally be taken to Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, in Barcelona. The club's colours are sky blue, scarlet and golden yellow, which derived from the Catalan Senyera and gives Perpignan its nickname ''Les Sang et Or'' ( French for "The Blood and Golds"). History Early years One of the two merging clubs was established in 1902 as AS Perpignan. It would be in 1914 that the club would go ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2020–21 Rugby Pro D2 Season
The 2020–21 Rugby Pro D2 was the second-level French rugby union club competition, behind the Top 14, for the 2020–21 season. It will run alongside the 2020–21 Top 14 competition; both competitions are operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). After play was suspended following the 23rd Matchday of the 2019–20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France, the season was officially cancelled without any winner or promotion/relegation on 6 May. Teams Number of teams by regions Competition format The regular season uses a double round-robin format, in which each team plays the others home and away. The LNR uses a slightly different bonus points system from that used in most other rugby competitions. It trialled a new system in 2007–08 explicitly designed to prevent a losing team from earning more than one bonus point in a match, a system that also made it impossible for either team to earn a bonus point in a drawn match. LNR chose to continue with t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |