The 2001–02 European Challenge Cup (known as the Parker Pen Shield 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 6th 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 i ...

, Europe's second tier club

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

competition below the

Heineken 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 ...

. A total of 32 teams participated, representing seven countries. The pool stage began when

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 ...

hosted

Narbonne Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in France, commune in Southern France in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. It lies from Paris in the Aude Departments of Franc ...

on 28 September 2001 and ended with four matches on 13 January 2002. The knockout stages followed, culminating in the final at the

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Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

on 26 May 2002. The defending champions, Englands's Harlequins, did not have a chance to defend their crown because they qualified to play in the

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the n ...

claimed a narrow victory over

Pontypridd () (colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng (Trallwn) and Treforest (). The ...

in the final and picked up their first 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. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

that did not qualify for the 2001–02 Heineken Cup :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 organisation, 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 part ...

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 :Romania: 1 team specially created for the competition :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 12 ...

:Wales: 4 teams — all the teams from the

that did not qualify for the Heineken Cup Scotland was not represented as both of its teams (

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 ...

and

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

) played in the Heineken Cup.

Pool stage

Pool 1

Pool 2

Pool 3

Pool 4

Pool 5

Pool 6

Pool 7

Pool 8

Seeding

Knockout stage

All kickoff times are local to the match location.

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker Pen Shield 2001–02 rugby union tournaments for clubs 2001-02 2001–02 in European rugby union 2001–02 in English rugby union 2001–02 in French rugby union 2001–02 in Irish rugby union 2001–02 in Italian rugby union 2001–02 in Romanian rugby union 2001–02 in Welsh rugby union 2001–02 in Spanish rugby union