The 2015–16 European Rugby Champions Cup-Challenge Cup play-off was the second play-off for entry into the top level competition of European Club rugby union, the

European Rugby Champions Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken 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 ...

Format

Following the two-team play-off in 2014–15, an expanded, four-team format was due to be used. However, on 24 September 2014, it was announced this would instead be a three-team play-off, with the highest placed non-qualifying team taking part. To accommodate the longer season in the French Top 14, the format was announced as follows: *One team each would qualify from the Premiership and the

Pro12 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

, with each league being represented by the highest placed team not already qualified. These two teams would play in the first game, with home advantage in the match would be decided by a coin toss. In the event that the

2014–15 European Rugby Challenge Cup The 2014–15 European Rugby Challenge Cup was the first season of the European Rugby Challenge Cup, the annual rugby union competition. It is the 19th season of second tier pan-European club competition in general, as the competition replaces the ...

winner was a Premiership club, and it had not automatically qualified for the Champions Cup, it would take the place allocated to a Premiership team. *The winner of the first game would host the 7th placed team in the French

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

. The winner of that game would qualify for the Champions Cup.

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

became the first team to qualify for the play-off, taking the place allocated to the Premiership, when they beat

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

19–13 in the

Challenge Cup final The Challenge Cup of Rugby league was instituted in the 1896–97 Northern Rugby Football Union season, 1896–97 and the final was contested between Batley Bulldogs, Batley and St Helens R.F.C., St. Helens at Headingley Rugby Stadium, Headingley, ...

on 1 May 2015. This result meant that the 7th place team in the 2014–15 Premiership will no longer take part in the play-off, and will compete in the Challenge Cup.

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

qualified next, when the finished seventh in the

2014–15 Pro12 The 2014–15 Pro12 (also known as the ''Guinness Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 14th season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, and the fifth with its current four-country format. It was ...

with 50 points, narrowly edging

who had 48 points. Bordeaux Bègles qualified for the play-off on 23 May 2015. Connacht played Gloucester away at Gloucester's

Kingsholm Stadium Kingsholm Stadium is a rugby union stadium located in the Kingsholm area of Gloucester, England, and is the home stadium of Gloucester Rugby. The stadium has a capacity of 16,115. It is sometimes nicknamed 'Castle Grim', after the estate where ...

on Sunday 24 May 2015, with the venue having been decided earlier by a coin toss. It was decided that, in the event of a Gloucester win, the second play-off match would be played at

Sixways Stadium Sixways Stadium is a stadium in Worcester, England. It is currently used for rugby union and association football matches and is the home stadium of Premier 15s side Worcester Warriors Women, University of Worcester Warriors and football side ...

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

, to avoid a clash of fixtures with a Madness concert.

Teams

Matches

Match 1

advanced to play Bordeaux Bègles.

went on to compete in the

2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup The 2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup was the second edition of the European Rugby Challenge Cup, an annual pan-European rugby union competition for professional clubs. It is also the 20th season of the Challenge Cup competition in all forms, ...

Match 2

* Bordeaux Bègles qualified for the 2015–16 European Rugby Champions Cup.

played in the

References