The 2013–14 Heineken Cup was the 19th and final season of the
Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby.
The pool stage began on 11 October 2013 and ran through to 17–19 January 2014, followed by the knockout stages culminating in the final. The final was originally to be held in France in May 2014,
however the Federation Française de Rugby subsequently announced that they had withdrawn their application to host due to uncertainty over the availability of
Stade de France.
ERC invited the Heineken Cup participating countries to submit tenders for the right to host the Heineken Cup and Challenge Cup finals and three – England, Scotland and Wales – submitted bids. Cardiff was selected with the Heineken Cup final to be held in the
Millennium Stadium on Saturday 24 May 2014 and the Challenge Cup final to be held the previous day in the
Cardiff Arms Park.
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department.
The Commune of Toulon h ...
– the defending champions – beat
Saracens
file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens
''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...
23–6 in the
final.
On 10 April 2014, following nearly two years of negotiations, an agreement for a new European club competition structure was reached. ERC was wound up and replaced by a new
Swiss
Swiss most commonly refers to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Swiss may also refer to: Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
* Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
* Swiss Café, an old café located ...
-based organising body known as European Professional Club Rugby. The Heineken Cup was replaced by a new top-tier competition, the
European Rugby Champions Cup, which would continue to involve clubs from all of the top six European nations. It initially featured 20 clubs instead of the 24 in the Heineken Cup. The second-tier
European Challenge Cup had a minor name change and become the
European Rugby Challenge Cup, and continued to involve 20 teams. A new third-tier competition, to be known as the qualifying competition and later the
European Rugby Continental Shield, would feature clubs from second-tier European rugby nations, plus Italian clubs that do not play in
Pro12, although this eventually foundered.
Teams
The default allocation of teams was as follows:
* England: 6 teams, based on performance in the
Aviva Premiership 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 National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...
* Ireland: 3 teams, based on regular-season finish in
Pro12
* Wales: 3 teams, based on regular-season finish in
Pro12
* Italy and Scotland: 2 teams each, based on participation in Pro12 (as there are only 2 from each nation)
The remaining two places were filled by the winners of the previous year's
Heineken Cup and
Amlin Challenge Cup. If the cup winners were already qualified through their domestic league, an additional team from their country would claim a Heineken Cup place (assuming another team was available). Accordingly, since Heineken Cup winners Toulon were already qualified through the Top 14, the extra French berth went to
Perpignan. Also, since Amlin Cup winners Leinster were already qualified through the Pro12, the extra Irish berth went to
Connacht
Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...
.
Teams are listed in the order they were presented to Heineken Cup organiser
European Rugby Cup by their respective leagues.
Seeding
The seeding system was the same as in the
2012–13 tournament. The 24 competing teams were 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 applied (with the exception of the inclusion of the seventh French team,
Racing Métro 92).
The brackets show each team's
European Rugby Club Ranking at the end of the 2012–13 season.
Pool stage
The draw for the pool stage took place on 5 June 2013 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
The dates and times of the first 4 rounds were announced on 20 July 2013.
Under the rules of the competition organiser,
European Rugby Cup, tie–breakers within each pool were 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 had 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 kickoff times are local to the match location.
Quarter-finals
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Semi-finals
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Final
See also
*
2013–14 European Challenge Cup
References
External links
*
2013–14 Heineken Cupat ESPNscrum
{{DEFAULTSORT:2013-14 Heineken Cup
Heineken Cup seasons
Heineken Cup
Heineken Cup
Heineken
Heineken
Heineken
Heineken
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