| 2003–04 Heineken Cup | |
| Countries: |  France Ireland Italy |
| Tournament Format: | Round-robin and Knockout |
| Date: | 22 October 2003 – 23 May 2004 |
| Teams: | 24 |
| Matches: | 79 |
| Attendance: | 817833 |
| Top Point Scorer: | Henry Paul (Gloucester) (100 points) |
| Top Try Scorer: | Nicolas Brusque (Biarritz) James Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester) (6 tries) |
| Venue: | Twickenham Stadium, London |
| Attendance2: | 73,057 |
| Champions: | London Wasps |
| Count: | 1 |
| Runner-Up: | Toulouse |
| Previous Year: | 2002–03 |
| Previous Tournament: | 2002–03 Heineken Cup |
| Next Year: | 2004–05 |
| Next Tournament: | 2004–05 Heineken Cup |
The 2003–04 Heineken Cup was the ninth season for which European teams competed for the Heineken Cup. Competing teams, from England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales, were divided into six pools of four, in which teams played home and away matches against each other. The winners of the pools, together with the two best runners-up, qualified for the knock-out stage.
This was the first competition in the series to employ the bonus point system for classifying teams. In prior competitions, teams earned two points for a win and one for a draw. Starting with the 2003–04 competition, teams earned points in the pool matches under the following scenarios:
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stade Français | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 134 | 80 | 54 | 1 | 1 | 18 | |
| Leicester Tigers | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 137 | 115 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 15 | |
| Ulster | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 109 | 106 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 14 | |
| Newport Gwent Dragons | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 16 | −11 | 67 | 146 | −79 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toulouse | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 7 | 11 | 157 | 65 | 92 | 4 | 1 | 25 | |
| Edinburgh | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 130 | 89 | 41 | 2 | 0 | 22 | |
| Leeds Tykes | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 11 | −6 | 66 | 122 | −56 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| Neath-Swansea Ospreys | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 18 | −12 | 78 | 155 | −77 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biarritz Olympique | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 139 | 97 | 42 | 3 | 1 | 20 | |
| Leinster | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 142 | 113 | 29 | 1 | 1 | 18 | |
| Cardiff Blues | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 123 | 132 | −9 | 0 | 3 | 11 | |
| 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 14 | −8 | 75 | 137 | −62 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Llanelli Scarlets | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 5 | 12 | 160 | 72 | 88 | 2 | 1 | 23 | |
| Northampton Saints | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 121 | 54 | 67 | 1 | 1 | 18 | |
| 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 83 | 94 | −11 | 1 | 2 | 11 | ||
| 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 26 | −22 | 39 | 183 | −144 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Munster Rugby | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 5 | 17 | 172 | 76 | 96 | 4 | 0 | 24 | |
| Gloucester | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 11 | 11 | 197 | 100 | 97 | 4 | 0 | 24 | |
| 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 22 | −9 | 119 | 191 | −72 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 32 | −19 | 104 | 225 | −121 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London Wasps | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 8 | 14 | 186 | 85 | 101 | 3 | 1 | 24 | |
| 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 123 | 118 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 20 | ||
| 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 119 | 115 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 15 | ||
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 30 | −17 | 115 | 225 | −110 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Seed | Pool Winners | Pts | TF | +/- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toulouse | 25 | 18 | +92 | |
| 2 | London Wasps | 24 | 22 | +101 | |
| 3 | Munster | 24 | 22 | +97 | |
| 4 | Llanelli Scarlets | 23 | 17 | +88 | |
| 5 | Biarritz Olympique | 20 | 18 | +42 | |
| 6 | Stade Français | 18 | 11 | +54 | |
| Seed | Pool Runners-up | Pts | TF | +/- | |
| 7 | Gloucester | 24 | 22 | +96 | |
| 8 | Edinburgh | 22 | 14 | +41 | |
| – | Celtic Warriors | 20 | 11 | +5 | |
| – | Northampton Saints | 18 | 13 | +67 | |
| – | Leinster | 18 | 13 | +29 | |
| – | Leicester Tigers | 15 | 17 | +22 |
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See main article: 2004 Heineken Cup Final.