The 2012–13 Heineken Cup was the 18th season of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. The tournament began with two pool matches on 12 October 2012 and ended with the final at the Aviva Stadium in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

on 18 May 2013.

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 ...

, who became one of only two clubs ever to win two consecutive Heineken Cups in 2012, attempted to become the first club ever to win the competition three straight years. However they were eliminated at the pool stages, the first defending champions to do so since London Wasps in 2007–08.

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 ...

won an all-French final 16–15 against Clermont.

Teams

The default allocation of teams is as follows: * England: 6 teams, based on performance in the

Aviva 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 th ...

and Anglo–Welsh Cup * France: 6 teams, based on regular-season finish in 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 ...

* Ireland: 3 teams, based on regular-season finish in

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 Af ...

* Wales: 3 teams, based on regular-season finish in

* Italy and Scotland: 2 teams each, based on participation in Pro12 (as there are only 2 from each nation) The remaining two places are filled by the winners of the previous year's Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup. If the cup winners are already qualified through their domestic league, an additional team from their country will claim a Heineken Cup place (assuming another team is available). Accordingly,

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spa ...

claimed the Challenge Cup winner's berth, and since Heineken Cup winners Leinster were already qualified through Pro12, the extra Irish berth went to

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 ...

. Teams are listed in the order they are presented to Heineken Cup organiser

European Rugby Cup European Rugby Cup Ltd (or ERC) was the governing body and organiser of the two major European rugby union club tournaments; the Heineken Cup and the Amlin Challenge Cup. It was replaced by the European Professional Club Rugby governing body in ...

by their respective leagues. In the cases of England and France, this does not necessarily match the teams' placement in their national leagues in the preceding season.

Seeding

The seeding system was the same as in the 2011–12 tournament. The 24 competing teams are ranked based on past Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup performance, with each pool receiving one team from each quartile, or Tier. The requirement to have only one team per country in each pool, however, still applies (with the exception of the inclusion of the seventh French team). The brackets show each team's European Rugby Club Ranking at the end of the 2011–12 season.

Pool stage

The draw for the pool stage took place on 12 June 2012 at the Aviva Stadium. Under the rules of the competition organiser,

, tie–breakers within each pool are as follows. * Competition points earned in head–to–head matches * Total tries scored in head–to–head matches * Point differential in head–to–head matches ERC has four additional tie–breakers, used if tied teams are in different pools, or if the above steps cannot break a tie between teams in the same pool: * Tries scored in all pool matches * Point differential in all pool matches * Best disciplinary record (fewest players receiving red or yellow cards in all pool matches) * Coin toss

Pool 1

Pool 2

Pool 3

Pool 4

Pool 5

Pool 6

Seeding and runners–up

* Bare numbers indicate Heineken Cup quarter–final seeding. * Numbers with "C" indicate Challenge Cup quarter–final seeding.

Knock–out stages

All kick–off times are local to the match location.

Quarter–finals

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Semi–finals

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Final

References

External links

Official Site

{{DEFAULTSORT:2012-13 Heineken Cup Heineken Cup seasons Heineken Heineken Heineken Heineken Heineken Heineken