See main article: 2000–01 Heineken Cup. In the 2000–2001 Heineken Cup pool stage matches, teams received
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Biarritz Olympique | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 20 | −7 | 164 | 152 | 12 | 8 | |
| Edinburgh Reivers | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 154 | 141 | 13 | 7 | |
 Leinster | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 14 | −1 | 149 | 156 | −7 | 7 | |
| Northampton | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 138 | 156 | −18 | 2 |
Edinburgh finished above Leinster despite having a lower points difference, as the first tie-breaker was the results in the two matches between the teams.[1]
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| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stade Français | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 4 | 32 | 297 | 85 | 212 | 10 | |
| Swansea | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 28 | 11 | 17 | 244 | 123 | 121 | 8 | |
| Wasps | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 14 | 6 | 175 | 156 | 19 | 6 | |
 L'Aquila | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 58 | −55 | 40 | 392 | −352 | 0 |
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| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiff | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 174 | 140 | 34 | 8 | |
| Saracens | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 13 | 5 | 182 | 146 | 36 | 8 | |
| Toulouse | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 19 | 15 | 4 | 171 | 182 | −11 | 5 | |
| Ulster | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 21 | −10 | 146 | 205 | −59 | 3 |
Cardiff won the group despite having a lower points difference than Saracens, as the first tie-breaker was the results in the two matches between the teams.[2]
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| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Munster | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 154 | 109 | 45 | 10 | |
| Bath | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 11 | 3 | 139 | 106 | 33 | 8 | |
| Newport | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 22 | −12 | 122 | 183 | −61 | 4 | |
| Castres | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 135 | 152 | −17 | 2 |
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| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gloucester | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 186 | 140 | 46 | 9 | |
| Llanelli | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 187 | 103 | 84 | 8 | |
| Colomiers | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 11 | 3 | 148 | 120 | 28 | 7 | |
| Roma | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 25 | −15 | 88 | 246 | −158 | 0 |
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| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leicester | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 178 | 105 | 73 | 10 | |
| Pau | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 154 | 142 | 12 | 8 | |
| Pontypridd | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 12 | −3 | 136 | 131 | 5 | 4 | |
| Glasgow Caledonians | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 24 | −12 | 137 | 227 | −90 | 2 |
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| Seed | Pool Winners | Pts | TF | +/− |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stade Français | 10 | 36 | +212 |
| 2 | Leicester Tigers | 10 | 15 | +73 |
| 3 | Munster | 10 | 15 | +45 |
| 4 | Gloucester | 9 | 13 | +46 |
| 5 | Cardiff | 8 | 18 | +36 |
| 6 | Biarritz Olympique | 8 | 13 | +12 |
| Seed | Pool Runners-up | Pts | TF | +/− |
| 7 | Swansea | 8 | 28 | +121 |
| 8 | Pau | 8 | 19 | +12 |
| – | Llanelli | 8 | 18 | +84 |
| – | Saracens | 8 | 14 | +34 |
| – | Bath | 8 | 14 | +33 |
| – | Edinburgh Reivers | 7 | 17 | +13 |