The 2003–04 European Challenge Cup (known as the Parker Pen Challenge Cup for

sponsorship Sponsoring something (or someone) is the act of supporting an event, activity, person, or organization financially or through the provision of products or services. The individual or group that provides the support, similar to a benefactor, is k ...

reasons) was the 8th season of the

European Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception ...

, Europe's second-tier club

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

competition below the

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

. A total of 28 teams participated, representing seven countries. This was the first year of the competition following the

introduction of regional rugby union teams in Wales Welsh regional rugby is the top tier of professional Welsh club rugby and is composed of the Scarlets, Ospreys (rugby union), Ospreys, Cardiff Rugby and the Dragons (rugby union), Dragons which compete in the United Rugby Championship. The regions ...

. With the reduction of Welsh teams from nine to five, and with all teams participating in the 2003-04 Heineken Cup, there were no Welsh teams in the 2003–04 Parker Pen Challenge Cup. The competition began when

Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...

hosted

Narbonne Narbonne ( , , ; ; ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was ...

and Leonessa hosted Montferrand on 5 December 2003 and culminated in the final at the

Madejski Stadium The Madejski Stadium (), currently known as the Select Car Leasing Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Reading, Berkshire, England. It is the home of Reading Football Club, who play in EFL League One. It also provides the ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

on 22 May 2004. As in the previous season, the competition was organised in a knockout format. Teams played each other on a home and away basis, with the aggregate points winner proceeding to the next round. The final was a single leg. For the second time, a third tier tournament was held - the European Shield. This was contested between the first round losers from the European Challenge Cup. As there were only 28 teams involved, the 2 "best" 1st Round losers were reprieved and proceeded to the 2nd Round. The defending champions, England's London Wasps, did not have a chance to defend their crown because they qualified to play in the

NEC Harlequins Harlequins (officially Harlequin Football Club) is a professional rugby union club that plays in Premiership Rugby, the top level of English rugby union. Their home ground is the Twickenham Stoop, located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of ...

claimed the narrowest of victories over Montferrand in the final and picked up their second piece of European Club silverware.

Teams

The allocation of teams was as follows: :England: 6 teams — all teams from the

Zurich Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby u ...

that did not qualify for the

2003–04 Heineken Cup The 2003–04 Heineken Cup was the ninth season for which European teams competed for the Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised ...

:France: 10 teams — all teams from the Top 16 that did not qualify for the Heineken Cup :Ireland: 1 team — the Irish team from the

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organization, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places pa ...

that did not play in the Heineken Cup :Italy: 8 teams — all the teams from the

Super 10 The Super 10 was a rugby union football tournament featuring ten teams from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Tonga, and Western Samoa. The competition ran for three years from 1993 to 1995 and was the predecessor of Super 12 and Super 14, ...

that did not qualify for the Heineken Cup :Scotland: 1 team — the Scottish team from the

that did not play in the Heineken Cup :Spain: 2 teams — drawn from the

División de Honor de Rugby The División de Honor de Rugby is Spain's top level professional men's rugby union competition. The División de Honor de Rugby Championship is organised by the Federación Española de Rugby ( Spanish Rugby Federation) and currently consists of ...

Matches

All kickoff times are local to the match location.

Round 1

1st leg

2nd leg

Aggregate Results

Round 2

1st leg

2nd leg

Aggregate Results

Quarter-finals

1st leg

2nd leg

Aggregate Results

Semi-finals

1st leg

2nd leg

Aggregate Results

Final

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:European Challenge Cup 2003–04 rugby union tournaments for clubs 2003-04 2003–04 in European rugby union 2003–04 in English rugby union 2003–04 in French rugby union 2003–04 in Irish rugby union 2003–04 in Italian rugby union 2003–04 in Romanian rugby union 2003–04 in Spanish rugby union 2003–04 in Scottish rugby union

Teams

Matches

Round 1

1st leg

2nd leg

Aggregate Results

Round 2

1st leg

2nd leg

Aggregate Results

Quarter-finals

1st leg

2nd leg

Aggregate Results

Semi-finals

1st leg

2nd leg

Aggregate Results

Final

See also

References