2003–04 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.

2003–04 Heineken Cup
Tournament details
Countries	England  France  Ireland  Italy  Scotland  Wales
Tournament format(s)	Round-robin and Knockout
Date	22 October 2003 - 23 May 2004
Tournament statistics
Teams	24
Matches played	79
Attendance	817,833 (10,352 per match)
Top point scorer(s)	Henry Paul (Gloucester) (100 points)
Top try scorer(s)	Nicolas Brusque (Biarritz) James Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester) (6 tries)
Final
Venue	Twickenham Stadium, London
Attendance	73,057
Champions	London Wasps (1st title)
Runners-up	Toulouse

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:

• Four points for a win
• Two points for a draw
• One bonus point for scoring four or more tries, regardless of the final score
• One bonus point for losing by seven points or less

Teams

France	England	Wales	Ireland	Scotland	Italy
Stade Français Toulouse Biarritz Olympique Agen Bourgoin Perpignan	Leicester Tigers Leeds Carnegie Sale Sharks Northampton Saints Gloucester London Wasps	Newport Gwent Dragons Neath-Swansea Ospreys Cardiff Blues Llanelli Scarlets Celtic Warriors	Ulster Munster Leinster	Border Reivers Edinburgh	Benetton Treviso Calvisano

Pool stage

Pool 1

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

Pool 2

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

Pool 3

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
Sale Sharks	6	2	0	4	6	14	−8	75	137	−62	0	1	9

Pool 4

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
Agen	6	2	0	4	8	7	1	83	94	−11	1	2	11
The Borders	6	1	0	5	4	26	−22	39	183	−144	0	0	4

Pool 5

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
Bourgoin	6	1	0	5	13	22	−9	119	191	−72	2	1	7
Benetton Treviso	6	1	0	5	13	32	−19	104	225	−121	1	0	5

Pool 6

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
Celtic Warriors	6	4	0	2	11	10	1	123	118	5	2	2	20
Perpignan	6	3	0	3	13	11	2	119	115	4	2	1	15
Ghial Rugby Calvisano	6	0	0	6	13	30	−17	115	225	−110	1	2	3

Seeding and runners-up

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 Rugby	18	13	+29
-	Leicester Tigers	15	17	+22

Knockout stage

Quarter-finals

4 April 2004 19:45

Llanelli Scarlets	10 – 27	Biarritz Olympique

Stradey Park Attendance: 10,800

10 April 2004 16:00

Toulouse	36 – 10	Edinburgh

Stade Municipal Attendance: 36,500

10 April 2004 17:00

Munster	37 – 32	Stade Français

Thomond Park Attendance: 13,000

11 April 2004 15:00

London Wasps	34 – 3	Gloucester

Adams Park Attendance: 10,000

Semifinals

24 April 2004 16:00

Toulouse	19 – 11	Biarritz Olympique

Stade Chaban Delmas Attendance: 34,000

25 April 2004 15:00

Munster	32 – 37	London Wasps

Lansdowne Road Attendance: 49,000

Final

23 May 2004 15:00

London Wasps	27 – 20	Toulouse
Tries: Abbott 19' c Van Gisbergen 43' c Howley 79' c Con: Van Gisbergen (3) Pen: Van Gisbergen (2) 15', 31'	Report	Try: Delaigue 38' m Pen: Delaigue (2) 6', 12' Élissalde (3) 57', 72', 77'

Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 73,057 Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)