2012–13 European Challenge Cup Explained

2012–13 Amlin Challenge Cup
Countries:
France
Ireland
Italy
Romania
Spain
Tournament Format:Round-robin and knockout
Date:11 October 2012 to 17 May 2013
Teams:23
Matches:67
Top Point Scorer:Freddie Burns (Gloucester)
(86 points)[1]
Top Try Scorer:Horacio Agulla (Bath)
Francis Fainifo (Stade Français)
Adrien Planté (Perpignan)
Andy Short (Worcester)
(6 tries)[2]
Venue:RDS Arena
Attendance2:20,396
Champions: Leinster
Count:1
Runner-Up: Stade Français
Website:http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/
Previous Year:2011–12
Previous Tournament:2011–12 European Challenge Cup
Next Year:2013–14
Next Tournament:2013–14 European Challenge Cup

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 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.

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.[4] [5] [6]

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.[7] As runners up in the championship playoff, Gernika qualified in their place.

width=16%Englandwidth=16%Francewidth=16%Italywidth=16%Romaniawidth=16%Spainwidth=16%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.

width=6%Tier 1width=15% Stade Français (10)width=15% London Wasps (15)width=15% Perpignan (16)width=15% Bath (17)width=15% Gloucester (22)
Tier 2 London Irish (23) Newport Gwent Dragons (31) London Welsh Worcester Warriors (35) Calvisano (39)
Tier 3 Bayonne (40) Rovigo (41) Agen (42) Cavalieri Prato (43) Bordeaux-Bègles (44)
Tier 4 Mont de Marsan (45) Grenoble (46) Mogliano (47) București Wolves Gernika

Pool stage

See 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

TeamPWDLPFPADiffTFTATBLBPts
Gloucester (2)6 6 0 0 179 86 +93 19 7 3 0 27
London Irish6 4 0 2 174 139 +35 24 14 2 1 19
Mont-de-Marsan6 2 0 4 100 156 −56 9 21 0 2 10
Bordeaux-Bègles6 0 0 6 82 154 −72 7 17 0 2 2

Pool 2

TeamPWDLPFPADiffTFTATBLBPts
Perpignan (3)6 5 0 1 293 89 +204 42 5 4 1 25
Worcester Warriors6 5 0 1 354 78 +276 51 7 4 1 25
Gernika6 2 0 4 80 309 −229 6 47 0 0 8
Rovigo6 0 0 6 67 318 −251 6 46 0 1 1

Pool 3

TeamPWDLPFPADiffTFTATBLBPts
London Wasps (4)6 5 1 0 231 92 +139 30 9 3 0 25
Bayonne6 4 1 1 201 91 +110 25 7 2 0 20
Newport Gwent Dragons6 2 0 4 171 108 +63 19 10 2 3 13
Mogliano6 0 0 6 29 341 −312 4 52 0 0 0

Pool 4

TeamPWDLPFPADiffTFTATBLBPts
Bath (1)6 6 0 0 245 79 +166 36 7 5 0 29
Agen6 3 0 3 154 120 +34 18 12 2 3 17
București Wolves6 2 0 4 121 215 −94 14 29 1 0 9
Calvisano6 1 0 5 117 223 −106 13 33 2 1 7

Pool 5

TeamPWDLPFPADiffTFTATBLBPts
Stade Français (8)6 5 0 1 210 105 +105 25 7 4 1 25
Grenoble6 4 0 2 173 81 +92 21 6 3 1 20
London Welsh6 3 0 3 171 170 +1 20 24 2 0 14
Cavalieri Prato6 0 0 6 68 266 −198 8 37 1 1 2

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 players sent off and / or suspended in all Pool matches.

(d) toss of a coin.[9]

SeedTeamPtsTF+/−
129 36 +166
227 19 +93
325 42 +204
425 30 +139
5 (HC)20 12 +28
6 (HC)19 15 +48
7 (HC)15 14 +22
825 25 +105

Knockout stage

All kickoff times are local to the match location.

Quarter-finals

------------

Semi-finals

----

Final

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Amlin Challenge Cup: Points Scorers. 11 October 2013.
  2. Web site: Amlin Challenge Cup: Try Scorers. 5 April 2013.
  3. Web site: London Welsh begin campaign with glamour tie. 31 July 2012. 31 July 2012. European Rugby Cup. https://web.archive.org/web/20130527164452/http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/news/18520.php. 27 May 2013. dead.
  4. Web site: Leinster 34-13 Stade Francais. 17 March 2013. BBC Sport. 20 May 2013 .
  5. Web site: Leinster's Jonathan Sexton tames Stade Français to secure Amlin Cup. 17 March 2013. Guardian. 20 May 2013 .
  6. Web site: Ruthless Leinster win Challenge Cup. 17 March 2013. ESPN. 20 May 2013 .
  7. News: El VRAC Quesos Entrepinares no disputará la Amlin Challenge Cup . . 12 June 2012 . 29 June 2012 . These are difficult times. The poor economic situation greatly complicates find sponsors who will assist the VRAC Cheese Entrepinares again leave their mark in Europe ten years after the last time you did. . https://web.archive.org/web/20160811160434/http://www.valladolidrac.com/contenido.php?art_id=5476 . 11 August 2016 . dead .
  8. London Welsh will directly replace Newcastle Falcons. News: London Welsh confirmed for Amlin Challenge Cup. . 5 July 2012 . 5 July 2012.
  9. Web site: Rules . . 19 January 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130123065630/http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/amlinchallengecup/rules/index.php . 23 January 2013 .
  10. Web site: Amlin Challenge Cup Fixtures. European Rugby Cup. 15 December 2012. 15 December 2012.
  11. Web site: London Welsh get Amlin Challenge Cup points boost. BBC. 14 December 2012. 15 December 2012.