The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual
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 it ...
competition organised by
European Professional Club Rugby
European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) is the governing body and organiser of the two major European rugby union club tournaments: the European Rugby Champions Cup and the European Rugby Challenge Cup. A third tournament, the European Rugby Chall ...
(EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the
European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception in 1996 to 2014, it was known as the European Challenge Cup and governed by
European Rugby Cup (ERC). Following disagreements in the structure of the tournament's format and division of revenue, the English and French leagues withdrew to form the EPCR, which organized the Challenge Cup and the Champions Cup since the 2014–15 season.
The Challenge Cup is currently contested between 18 teams; 17 of which qualify from the three main European domestic leagues (
Premiership Rugby,
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 ...
, and
United Rugby Championship). From 2022-23, the
Cheetahs
The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...
, a South African team who do not play in either of the three leagues, but has close connections to the URC, will also take part in the Challenge Cup.
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
are the current Challenge Cup holders, having won the
2021–22 EPCR Challenge Cup.
Format
Qualification
18 teams qualified for the EPCR Challenge Cup in 2022–23.
17 of these teams automatically qualified from the English
Premiership Rugby, 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 ...
and the
United Rugby Championship, the 18th team is invited to participate.
* Teams from these leagues that do not qualify for the
European Champions Cup, either through league position or through promotion, and (in the case of the Top 14) are not relegated to a lower league, will automatically qualify for the Rugby Challenge Cup. Teams promoted to these leagues take up any remaining Challenge Cup places.
Continental Shield
Until 2019–20 the 19th and 20th teams qualified via a Qualifying Competition, organised by European Professional Club Rugby and
Rugby Europe
Rugby Europe is the administrative body for rugby union in Europe. It was formed in 1999 to promote, develop, organise, and administer the game of rugby in Europe under the authority of World Rugby (the sport's global governing body). However, it ...
.
For the 2014–15 season, this took the form of 2 two-legged play-off matches, with the aggregate winner of each taking one of the two Rugby Europe spots in the draw, and it involved the 2 best teams from Italy's Top12, plus a Romanian and Georgian selections.
An expanded format, which was expected to feature more matches and more nations, for qualification into the
2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup, and subsequent seasons, was expected to be announced 15 September 2014.
However, on 5 September 2014, it was announced that no such competition would take place during the 2014–15 season, and negotiations continue to create the new competition as soon as possible.
Subsequently, on 22 December 2014, EPCR announced negotiations for a new format for the competition had now been completed, and the Qualifying Competition for entry into the 2015–16 Challenge Cup would begin in January.
The expanded format includes clubs from
Rugby Europe
Rugby Europe is the administrative body for rugby union in Europe. It was formed in 1999 to promote, develop, organise, and administer the game of rugby in Europe under the authority of World Rugby (the sport's global governing body). However, it ...
member unions Russia, Spain and Portugal alongside representatives from the Italian Eccellenza, and is being jointly organised by EPCR, Rugby Europe, and the
Federazione Italiana Rugby (FIR).
The teams in the competition are split into two pools. Each team participates in a pool stage, before the two pool winners compete in a two-legged play-off against the teams currently competing in the Challenge Cup from the previous season.
The winners, on aggregate, of these two play-offs will take up the two final places in the Challenge Cup.
In 2017, the competition was rebranded as the European Rugby Continental Shield, and introduced a final to be held as part of the main finals weekend and contested by the two play-off winners.
Competition
Group stage
For the pool stage there are two pools of ten teams. The teams are ranked based on domestic league performance the previous season, and arranged into three tiers. Teams are then drawn from the tiers into pools at random.
[ ERCRugby.com. Retrieved 8 June 2014]
Teams will play the other teams in their pool twice, both at home and away and match points will be awarded depending on the result of each game. Teams receive four points for a win, and two for a draw. Teams can also earn 1 try bonus point for scoring four or more tries, and 1 losing bonus point for losing a match by seven points or fewer.
Following the completion of the pool stage, the top six teams in each pool will qualify for the knock-out stage. They are joined in the round of 16 by the teams placed 9th and 10th in each Champions Cup pool.
Knock-out stage
The eight quarter-finalists are ranked – pool winners from 1 to 5, and runners-up from 6 to 8 – based on performance in their respective pool. The four pool winners with the best pool record receive home advantage for the quarter-finals against one of the four lower-ranked teams, in a 1v8, 2v7, 3v6, 4v5 format. Unlike the later formats of the old European Challenge Cup, no teams will drop down into the competition from the Champions Cup.
The winners of the quarter-finals will contest the two semi-finals, the semi-final matches will be determined by criteria, and the winners of the semi-finals will contest the final, which is usually held in May.
[www.EPCRugby.com – European Rugby Statement](_blank)
Temporary Changes to Format
Because of the Coronavirus Pandemic the 2020/2021 competition took on a revised format.
2020–21 European Rugby Challenge Cup
The 2020–21 European Rugby Challenge Cup is the seventh edition of the European Rugby Challenge Cup, an annual second-tier rugby union competition for professional clubs. Including the predecessor competition, the original European Challenge Cu ...
A similar format remained for the 2021/22 season, however, the number of teams was increased from 14 to 15 and an additional six will join from the Champions Cup.
2021–22 European Rugby Challenge Cup
The format revision was removed for the 2022/23 season, so with the introduction of South African sides to the EPCR, 17 teams now qualify based on domestic league performance, with one further team invited.
2022–23 European Rugby Challenge Cup
Finals
The competition has been dominated by English and French clubs since it was first introduced in 1996, reflecting the historical depth of those two leagues. However, teams from Ireland, Wales and Scotland have all made the final of the Challenge Cup, with the trophy twice being won by
Cardiff Rugby from Wales, and once by the Irish provincial side
Leinster
Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...
.
Wins by club
Wins by nation
History
European Challenge Cup
1996–1999
European rugby competition began with the launch of the
Heineken Cup in the summer of 1995.
The Challenge Cup began as the 'European Conference' (later renamed the European Shield) in 1996 with 24 teams from England, France, Italy, Romania, Scotland and Wales divided into four groups of six. All seven of the French teams made it to the quarter-finals with English club Northampton Saints filling the other berth. Predictably, the final was an all-French affair with Bourgoin beating Castres Olympique 18–9 to win the shield.
The following year's competition had an increased entry with eight groups of four teams. Colomiers continued the French dominance of the European Shield, defeating Agen 43–5 in the final.
The absence of English and Scottish clubs in 1998–99 saw the competition reduced to 21 teams divided into three groups of seven teams with representative sides of Spain and Portugal taking part. Once again, a French team was triumphant, with Montferrand beating Bourgoin 35–16 in the final held in Lyon.
With English and Scottish clubs back in the competition in 1999, there were 28 teams split in seven groups of four and London Irish and Bristol reached the semi-finals of the competition, but couldn't prevent another all-French final with
Section Paloise crowned champions after a 34–21 defeat of Castres.
2000–2006
The competition structure remained unchanged for the 2000–01 season, although no team from Romania participated. The semi-final draw was an all-English and all-French affair to leave Harlequins and Narbonne contesting the first final on English soil.
Harlequins ended French dominance of the European Shield, defeating RC Narbonne 27–26 after extra time in the final.
There was a new sponsor and a name change in 2001. The new ''Parker Pen Shield'' saw 32 teams divided into eight groups of four competing for the title. For the first time there were two Spanish club teams (Valladolid RAC and UC Madrid) and Romania was represented. Only one French club reached the quarter-finals along with five English and two from Wales and for the first time no French club reached the semi-finals after Pau lost to London Irish. For the first time, a Welsh team,
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 (). ...
, made it to the final but
Sale Sharks emerged victorious, coming from behind to win 25–22 at the Kassam Stadium in Oxford.
The league format was abandoned in 2002 and the tournament became a knock-out competition. This involved 32 clubs from eight nations, half of them seeded and drawn against an un-seeded team on a home and away basis. The name ''
Parker Pen Shield'' was now applied to a reprechage knock-out tournament for those teams that did not qualify for the second round of the Challenge Cup. The Parker Pen Challenge Cup winner now automatically qualified for the Heineken Cup.
London Wasps beat
Bath 48–30 to win the renamed ''Parker Pen Challenge Cup'' at the
Madejski Stadium
The Madejski Stadium (currently known as the Select Car Leasing Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a Association football, football stadium in Reading, Berkshire, Reading. It is the home of Reading F.C., Reading Football Club, who play in the E ...
, Reading.
In 2003–04, the
Welsh Rugby Union voted to create regions to play in the Celtic League and represent Wales in European competition. Henceforce Wales entered regional sides rather than the club sides which had previously competed. With a reduction from nine professional clubs to just five, there was no Welsh entry in that year's competition. Romania also did not take part in the Challenge Cup. Harlequins won the cup with a 27–26 last-second victory over Montferrand at the
Madejski Stadium
The Madejski Stadium (currently known as the Select Car Leasing Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a Association football, football stadium in Reading, Berkshire, Reading. It is the home of Reading F.C., Reading Football Club, who play in the E ...
to become the first side to win the tournament twice.
Sale eased to victory in the 2005 final 27–3 over a disappointing
Pau side. In 2006,
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 ...
edged out
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 ...
36–34 after extra time.
The
Parker Pen Shield was abandoned in 2005 due to restructuring of the European Challenge Cup. The competition reverted to being a league format followed by knock-out phase with five pools of four teams and home and away matches. Romanian interest returned to the competition in the form of
București Rugby who had been formed to represent Romania in European competition, however, there was no representation from Spain or Portugal.
2006–2009
Clermont were the first French winners of the title for seven years after they beat
Bath in the
2006–07 competition; Clermont also reached the
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 ...
final this year after finishing poorly the previous couple of years.
Beaten 2007 finalists Bath won the 2007–08 tournament after beating fellow English club
Worcester Warriors
Worcester Warriors Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club, based in Worcester, England, that is currently in administration and which has been suspended and will be relegated from Premiership Rugby, the top division of domestic ...
in the final in
Kingsholm Stadium,
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 ...
. Spanish representation resumed in the 2007–08 Challenge Cup when
Spanish Champions CR El Salvador took part.
Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...
won the 2009 final after beating
Bourgoin 15–3 at the
Twickenham Stoop
Twickenham Stoop Stadium (informally referred to as The Stoop) is a sports stadium located in south-west London, England. The stadium is home to Harlequins rugby union team, who play in the Gallagher Premiership. The stadium has a capacity ...
; that season Northampton avoided relegation, they finished 2nd in the regular season of the
Guinness Premiership, reached the Heineken Cup quarter-finals and won the
Anglo-Welsh Cup
The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...
the next season. Northampton became the eighth English club to win the competition in 9 seasons.
2010–2014
The competition organiser, European Rugby Cup, announced several changes to the Challenge Cup effective in 2009–10:
* Only the five pool winners will qualify for the knockout stage of the competition. They will be joined by three clubs that parachute in from the pool stage of the Heineken Cup, specifically the third- through fifth-highest ranked second-place teams from pool play. Because of the demise of their third professional side,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
representation stopped but now
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
and
Glasgow Warriors
Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...
may play in the competition if they finish 3rd, 4th or 5th best runners-up in the Heineken Cup.
* The European Challenge Cup winner will continue to receive an automatic berth in the following season's Heineken Cup; for the first time, this place will not come at the expense of its country's allocation. The only exception to this new rule will occur when England or France produces the winners of both the Heineken Cup and ECC in the same season. Both countries are capped at seven Heineken Cup places; in that scenario, the Heineken and ECC winners remain in the Heineken Cup while a berth is granted to the top club in the ERC rankings from another country that has not already qualified for the Heineken Cup.
Cardiff Blues benefited from the new format in its first year, winning the first ever Challenge Cup for the club and were also the first Welsh Club to win any European club tournament. Cardiff beat
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
28–21 in the final at the
Stade Vélodrome in
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
, which was also the first final to have no English involvement for 10 years.
England made a triumphant return to the final in 2011, with
Harlequins defeating
Stade Français 19–18. with a try in the last five-minutes by Argentinian wing, Gonzalo Camacho. This meant
Harlequins became the first team to win the Challenge Cup three times and with this entered the Heineken Cup. The final was also notable in that it involved two teams that began the season in the Challenge Cup.
The 2011–12 competition was dominated by French sides, with all four semi-finalists coming from that country.
Biarritz, which had parachuted in from the
Heineken Cup, defeated Toulon to claim their first Challenge Cup.
The
2012–13 season again saw the Challenge Cup claimed by a team that parachuted in from the
Heineken Cup. This time, the victor was
Leinster
Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...
, which became the first team from
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
to win the Challenge Cup.
Northampton Saints
Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...
won the last edition of the European Challenge Cup in 2014, beating
Bath 30–16 in the final.
European Rugby Challenge Cup
2014–2021
On 10 April 2014, following almost two years of negotiations, a statement was released under the aegis of European Professional Club Rugby announcing that the nine stakeholders to the new competition, the six unions and three umbrella club organisations (Premiership Rugby, Ligue Nationale de Rugby and Regional Rugby Wales), had signed Heads of Agreement for the formation of the
European Rugby Champions Cup, the European Rugby Challenge Cup and a new, third tournament, called the Qualifying Competition. On the same day, BT and Sky signed an agreement that divided coverage of the new European competitions. Both would split the pool matches, quarter-finals, and semi-finals equally, and both would broadcast the final. BT would receive first choice of English Premiership club matches in the Champions Cup, with Sky receiving the same privilege for the Challenge Cup. Subsequently, BT have signed an exclusive deal for the Challenge Cup between 2018–19 and 2021–22.
Sponsorship & suppliers
Sponsors
*
Parker Pen Company
The Parker Pen Company is a French manufacturer of luxury writing pens, founded in 1888 by George Safford Parker in Janesville, Wisconsin, United States. In 2011 the Parker factory at Newhaven, East Sussex, England, was closed, and its productio ...
– Title Sponsors of the European Challenge Cup from 2001 to 2005
*
Amlin – Title Sponsors of the European Challenge Cup from 2009 to 2014
Following the introduction of the European Rugby Challenge Cup, organisers decided to introduce a
Champions League-style sponsorship system, including 3–5 principal partners, in lieu of one title sponsor.
Principal Partners
*
Heineken
Heineken Lager Beer ( nl, Heineken Pilsener), or simply Heineken () is a pale lager beer with 5% alcohol by volume produced by the Dutch brewing company Heineken N.V. Heineken beer is sold in a green bottle with a red star.
History
On 15 Feb ...
(2014–)
:: Heineken, who had sponsored the Heineken Cup since 1995, signed on as the first partner for the Challenge Cup in 2014, and were credited as the ''Founding Partner of European Rugby''
*
Turkish Airlines (2015–)
:: Announced as the second principal partner at the 2015–16 tournament launch, signing on for three seasons
Secondary Sponsors
*
Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
&
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
(2014–)
Suppliers
*
Gilbert – Match Balls (2014–)
*
Canterbury of New Zealand
Canterbury of New Zealand (commonly referred to simply as Canterbury) is a New Zealand sports equipment manufacturing company focused on rugby. The company originated from the Canterbury region in New Zealand.
Canterbury of New Zealand was esta ...
– Match Officials Kit (2014–)
*
Tissot
Tissot SA () is a Swiss watchmaker. The company was founded in Le Locle, Switzerland by Charles-Félicien Tissot and his son, Charles-Émile Tissot, in 1853. After several mergers and name changes, the group which Tissot SA belonged to was renam ...
– Official Watch & Timekeeper (2015–)
::Following their appointment as an Official Supplier, Tissot began sponsoring the Match Officials kit.
Media coverage
European markets:
*Austria, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland:
EPCRUGBY.TV
*Balkans:
Arena Sport
*Cyprus:
Cytavision
*France:
beIN Sports
beIN Sports ( ) is a global network of sports channels owned and operated by the Qatari media group beIN. It has played a major role in the increased commercialization of Qatari sports. Its chairman is Nasser Al-Khelaifi, and its CEO is Yousef O ...
,
France Télévisions
France Télévisions (; stylized since 2018 as ) is the French national public television broadcaster. It is a state-owned company formed from the integration of the public television channels France 2 (formerly Antenne 2) and France 3 (form ...
*Georgia:
Rugby TV
*Italy:
Sky Italia
Sky Italia S.r.l. is an Italian satellite television platform owned by the American media conglomerate Comcast. Sky Italia also broadcasts three national free-to-air television channels: TV8, Cielo and Sky TG24. As of 2018, following an ag ...
*Malta:
TSN
*Portugal:
SportTV
*Spain:
Movistar+
Movistar () is a major telecommunications provider owned by Telefónica, operating in Spain and Hispanic American countries. It is the largest provider of landline, broadband, mobile services, and pay television ( Movistar+) in Spain. Movistar ...
*United Kingdom & Ireland:
S4C (in Welsh) and
BT Sport
BT Sport is a group of pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe and BT Group, they first launched on 1 August 2013. The channels are based at the former International Bro ...
(in English)
Other markets:
*Canada and Japan:
EPCRUGBY.TV
*Latin America (including
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
):
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
*New Zealand:
Spark
Spark commonly refers to:
* Spark (fire), a small glowing particle or ember
* Electric spark, a form of electrical discharge
Spark may also refer to:
Places
* Spark Point, a rocky point in the South Shetland Islands
People
* Spark (surname)
* ...
*South Africa:
Supersport
*United States:
FloSports
FloSports is an over-the-top subscription sports broadcaster and streaming service. The company is based in Austin, Texas, United States, and was founded in 2006. FloSports streams live sporting events to audiences around the world.
History
La ...
For Australia, Europe (unsold markets), and Southeast Asia, all matches of the
EPCR package (both
Champions
A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...
and Challenge Cups) available on Rugby Pass.
Some games are also
livestreamed
Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but no ...
for free on EPCR TV.
See also
*
European Rugby Champions Cup
*
European Rugby Continental Shield
*
English Premiership
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
*
United Rugby Championship (Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy & South Africa)
*
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 ...
(France)
*
Top12
The Top10, known as the Peroni Top10 for sponsorship reasons, and formerly Top 12, is Italy's top level professional men's rugby union competition. The Top 10 is run by Federazione Italiana Rugby (FIR) and is contested by 10 teams as of the 2019� ...
(Italy)
Notes
References
{{Rugby union in Italy
Rugby union competitions in Europe for clubs and provinces
1996 establishments in Europe
Recurring sporting events established in 1996
Multi-national professional rugby union leagues
Multi-national professional sports leagues