2012–13 European Challenge Cup

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2012–13 Amlin Challenge Cup
Tournament details
Countries  England
 France
 Ireland
 Italy
 Romania
 Spain
 Wales
Tournament format(s) Round-robin and knockout
Date 11 October 2012 to 17 May 2013
Tournament statistics
Teams 23
Matches played 67
Attendance 355,554 (5,307 per match)
Tries scored 438 (6.54 per match)
Top point scorer(s) Freddie Burns (Gloucester)
(86 points)[1]
Top try scorer(s) Horacio Agulla (Bath)
Francis Fainifo (Stade Français)
Adrien Planté (Perpignan)
Andy Short (Worcester)
(6 tries)[2]
Final
Venue RDS Arena
Attendance 20,396
Champions Ireland Leinster (1st title)
Runner-up France Stade Français
Official website http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/
← 2011–12 (Previous) (Next) 2013–14 →

The 2012–13 Amlin Challenge Cup was the 17th season of the European Challenge Cup, Europe's second tier club rugby union competition. A total of 23 teams participated — 20 in the pool stage, plus three teams parachuting into the knockout stages from the Heineken Cup. The original 20 teams represented six different countries.

The pool stage began in Mont-de-Marsan on 11 October 2012, with Stade Montois hosting Gloucester. It ended on 19 January 2013 when Stade Français hosted competition newcomers London Welsh,[3] followed by the knockout stages culminating in the final at the RDS Arena in Dublin on 17 May 2013.[4]

The defending Challenge Cup champions, France's Biarritz Olympique, did not initially have a chance to defend their crown because they earned an automatic berth in the Heineken Cup. However, having finish 2nd in their pool, and failing to reach the knockout stages of the Heineken Cup, they were one of three teams parachuted into the Challenge Cup knockout stages. They were knocked out of the competition by Leinster at the semi-final stage. Leinster went on to win the competition, defeating Stade Français 34–13 in the final.[5][6][7]

Teams

Gernika Rugby Taldea represented Spain despite finishing just 5th in the División de Honor. Valladolid won the División de Honor, and the championship playoff, but turned down the opportunity to play in the Challenge Cup due to economic factors.[8] As runners up in the championship playoff, Gernika qualified in their place.

England France Italy Romania Spain Wales

Seeding

Teams that did not qualify for the 2012–13 Heineken Cup were ordered into four tiers according to the European Rugby Club Ranking. Five pools of four teams were drawn comprising one team from each tier.

The brackets show each team's European Rugby Club Ranking at the end of the 2011–12 season.

Tier 1 France Stade Français (10) England London Wasps (15) France Perpignan (16) England Bath (17) England Gloucester (22)
Tier 2 England London Irish (23) Wales Newport Gwent Dragons (31) England London Welsh[9] England Worcester Warriors (35) Italy Calvisano (39)
Tier 3 France Bayonne (40) Italy Rovigo (41) France Agen (42) Italy Cavalieri Prato (43) France Bordeaux-Bègles (44)
Tier 4 France Mont de Marsan (45) France Grenoble (46) Italy Mogliano (47) Romania Bucureşti Wolves Spain Gernika

Pool stage

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Main article: 2012–13 European Challenge Cup pool stage
Key to colours
     Winner of each pool advances to quarterfinals.
Seed # in parentheses.

Points breakdown:

4 points for a win
2 points for a draw
1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match (TB)
1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less (LB)

Source: www.ercrugby.com

Pool 1

Team P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
England Gloucester (2) 6 6 0 0 179 86 +93 19 7 3 0 27
England London Irish 6 4 0 2 174 139 +35 24 14 2 1 19
France Mont-de-Marsan 6 2 0 4 100 156 −56 9 21 0 2 10
France Bordeaux-Bègles 6 0 0 6 82 154 −72 7 17 0 2 2

Pool 2

Team P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
France Perpignan (3) 6 5 0 1 293 89 +204 42 5 4 1 25
England Worcester Warriors 6 5 0 1 354 78 +276 51 7 4 1 25
Spain Gernika 6 2 0 4 80 309 −229 6 47 0 0 8
Italy Rovigo 6 0 0 6 67 318 −251 6 46 0 1 1
  • Per the Competition Rules,[10] Perpignan and Worcester were level on the first tiebreaker of head-to-head competition points (5–5); Perpignan topped the pool on the second tiebreaker of head-to-head try count (3–1).

Pool 3

Team P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
England London Wasps (4) 6 5 1 0 231 92 +139 30 9 3 0 25
France Bayonne 6 4 1 1 201 91 +110 25 7 2 0 20
Wales Newport Gwent Dragons 6 2 0 4 171 108 +63 19 10 2 3 13
Italy Mogliano 6 0 0 6 29 341 −312 4 52 0 0 0

Pool 4

Team P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
England Bath (1) 6 6 0 0 245 79 +166 36 7 5 0 29
France Agen 6 3 0 3 154 120 +34 18 12 2 3 17
Romania Bucureşti Wolves 6 2 0 4 121 215 −94 14 29 1 0 9
Italy Calvisano 6 1 0 5 117 223 −106 13 33 2 1 7

Pool 5

Team P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
France Stade Français (8) 6 5 0 1 210 105 +105 25 7 4 1 25
France Grenoble 6 4 0 2 173 81 +92 21 6 3 1 20
England London Welsh 6 3 0 3 171 170 +1 20 24 2 0 14
Italy Cavalieri Prato 6 0 0 6 68 266 −198 8 37 1 1 2
  • The result of the Grenoble / London Welsh match on 7 December 2012 was 20–9 to Grenoble, but London Welsh were retroactively awarded a 28–0 victory and five match points,[11] after Grenoble admitted fielding an ineligible player, Lotu Taukeiaho,[12] during the match.

Seeding for knockout stage

Following the end of the pool stage, the 5 pool winners were seeded alongside the 3 2012-13 Heineken Cup pool runners-up who failed to qualify for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals – designated (HC). Teams are ranked by total number of Competition Points earned (4 for a win, 2 for a draw, etc.) in the pool stages. If this does not separate the teams, qualification/ranking will be based on:

(a) the number of tries scored in all Pool matches.
(b) aggregate points difference from all Pool matches.
(c) the Club with the fewest number of players sent off and / or suspended in all Pool matches.
(d) toss of a coin.[10]
Seed Team Pts TF +/−
1 England Bath 29 36 +166
2 England Gloucester 27 19 +93
3 France Perpignan 25 42 +204
4 England London Wasps 25 30 +139
5 (HC) Ireland Leinster 20 12 +28
6 (HC) France Toulouse 19 15 +48
7 (HC) France Biarritz 15 14 +22
8 France Stade Français 25 25 +105

Knock-out stages

All kickoff times are local to the match location.

Quarter-finals

4 April 2013
20:00
Gloucester England 31–41 France Biarritz
Try: Tindall 13' m
Monahan 78' c
Edmonds 80' c
Con: F. Burns (2/3)
Pen: F. Burns (4/5) 10', 26', 34', 47'		 Report Try: Thomas (2) 22' c, 31' c
Héguy 36' c
Baby 56' c
Burotu 73' c
Con: Yachvili (5/5)
Pen: Yachvili (1/3) 18'
Drop: Traille (1/1) 11'
Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester
Attendance: 10,273
Referee: John Lacey (IRFU)
5 April 2013
20:00
London Wasps England 28–48 Ireland Leinster
Try: Wade (2) 1' m, 14' c
Varndell (2) 65' m, 70' m
Con: Robinson (1/4)
Pen: Robinson (2/3) 35', 48'		 Report Try: D'Arcy 5' c
Madigan 22' c
Ross 45' c
R. Kearney 59' m
Nacewa 67' c
Con: Madigan (4/5)
Pen: Madigan (5/6) 26', 38', 44', 52', 76'
Adams Park, High Wycombe
Attendance: 9,654
Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (FFR)
5 April 2013
21:00
Perpignan France 30–19 France Toulouse
Try: Taofifenua 6' c
Sid 37' c
Vahaamahina 46' c
Con: Hook (3/3)
Pen: Hook (3/3) 1', 71', 75'		 Report Try: Maka 58' c
Con: Beauxis (1/1)
Pen: Beauxis (4/5) 10', 19', 22', 24'
Stade Aimé Giral, Perpignan
Attendance: 12,452
Referee: Alain Rolland (IRFU)
6 April 2013
13:00
Bath England 20–36 France Stade Français
Try: penalty try 46' c
Claassens 65' m
Cuthbert 77' m
Con: Donald (1/1)
Pen: Donald (1/1) 25'		 Report Try: Vuidravuwalu (2) 19' c, 29' c
Bonneval (2) 57' m, 59' m
Con: Fillol (2/2)
Pen: Plisson (1/1) 15'
Fillol (1/2) 23'
Porical (1/1) 80'
Drop: Plisson (1/2) 69'
The Rec, Bath
Attendance: 11,155
Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU)

Semi-finals

26 April 2013
21:00
Perpignan France 22–25 France Stade Français
Try: Guirado 10' m
Hook 22' m
Pen: Hook (4/5) 29', 43', 47', 66'		 Report Try: Lyons 44' c
Con: Porical (1/1)
Pen: Porical (6/7) 8', 26', 35', 52', 73', 76'
Stade Aimé Giral, Perpignan
Attendance: 12,242
Referee: George Clancy (IRFU)
27 April 2013
14:30
Leinster Ireland 44–16 France Biarritz
Try: Heaslip (2) 3' c, 40' c
J. Sexton 38' c
Nacewa 49' c
O'Driscoll 63' c
Con: J. Sexton (3/3)
Madigan (2/2)
Pen: J. Sexton (2/3) 27', 45'
Madigan (1/1) 55'		 Report Try: Héguy 67' c
Con: Yachvili (1/1)
Pen: Yachvili (3/4) 18', 23', 36'
RDS Arena, Dublin
Attendance: 18,500
Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU)

Final

17 May 2013[4]
20:00 IST
Leinster Ireland 34–13 France Stade Français
Try: Madigan 2' c
Cronin 19' c
R. Kearney 27' c
Healy 78' c
Con: J. Sexton (4/4)
Pen: J. Sexton (2/2) 53', 62'		 Report Try: Sinzelle 65' c
Con: Plisson (1/1)
Pen: Porical (2/2) 25', 40'
RDS Arena, Dublin
Attendance: 20,396
Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU)
  • Under European Rugby Cup rules, the winner of the Challenge Cup was automatically entered into the following season's Heineken Cup. If the Challenge Cup winner had already domestically qualified, the Cup winner's berth passed to another team from its country. As Leinster qualified for the 2013–14 Heineken Cup through their performance in the Pro 12, Connacht qualified for the Heineken Cup.

See also

References

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