2020–21 European Rugby Challenge Cup

The 2020–21 European Rugby Challenge Cup will be the seventh edition of the European Rugby Challenge Cup, an annual second-tier rugby union competition for professional clubs. Including the predecessor competition, the original European Challenge Cup, this is the 25th edition of European club rugby's second-tier competition.

2020–21 European Rugby Challenge Cup
Tournament details
Countries England
 France
 Italy
 Wales
Tournament format(s)Round-robin and knockout
Tournament statistics
Teams14+8
Final
VenueStade Vélodrome, Marseille

The tournament is began in December 2020.[1] The final will take place at Stade Vélodrome in Marseille on 21 May 2021.[2]

On 11 January, 2021 EPRC announced the competition was suspended temporarily due to new restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]

Teams

Fourteen teams will qualify for the 2020–21 European Challenge Cup from Premiership Rugby, the Pro14 and the Top 14, as a direct result of their domestic league performance having not qualified for the Heineken Champions Cup. Although, the two South African Pro14 teams are not eligible.[4]

The distribution of teams will be:

  • England: four teams
    • Any teams finishing between 9th and 11th position in the Premiership Rugby that do not qualify for the 2020–21 European Champions Cup
    • The champion of the RFU Championship
  • France: six teams
    • Any teams finishing between 8th and 14th position in the Top 14 that do not qualify for the 2020–21 European Champions Cup
  • Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales: four teams
    • Four teams from the Pro14, excluding the South African teams, that do not qualify for the 2020–21 European Champions Cup
Premiership Top 14 Pro14
England France Italy Wales

Team details

Below is the list of coaches, captain and stadiums with their method of qualification for each team.

Team Coach /
Director of Rugby		 Captain Stadium Capacity Method of qualification
Agen Christophe Laussucq
Rémi Vaquin		 Antoine Erbani Stade Armandie 14,000 Top 14 bottom 6 (13th)
Bayonne Yannick Bru Antoine Battut Stade Jean Dauger 16,934 Top 14 bottom 6 (11th)
Benetton Kieran Crowley Dewaldt Duvenage Stadio Comunale di Monigo 6,700 Pro14 Conference B (5th)
Brive Jeremy Davidson Saïd Hireche Stade Amédée-Domenech 13,979 Top 14 bottom 6 (10th)
Cardiff Blues John Mulvihill Ellis Jenkins Cardiff Arms Park 12,125 Pro14 Conference B (6th)
Castres Mauricio Reggiardo Mathieu Babillot Stade Pierre-Fabre 12,500 Top 14 bottom 6 (9th)
Leicester Tigers Steve Borthwick Tom Youngs Welford Road Stadium 25,849 Premiership 9th–11th (11th)
London Irish Declan Kidney Blair Cowan
Paddy Jackson
Nick Phipps
Matt Rogerson		 Brentford Community Stadium 17,250 Premiership 9th–11th (10th)
Newcastle Falcons Dean Richards Mark Wilson Kingston Park 10,200 RFU Championship champions
Ospreys Toby Booth Justin Tipuric Liberty Stadium 20,827 Pro14 Conference A (7th)
Pau Nicolas Godignon
Frédéric Manca		 Quentin Lespiaucq-Brettes Stade du Hameau 18,324 Top 14 bottom 6 (12th)
Stade Français Laurent Sempéré
Julien Arias		 Yoann Maestri Stade Jean-Bouin 20,000 Top 14 bottom 6 (14th)
Zebre Michael Bradley Tommaso Castello Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi 5,000 Pro14 Conference A (6th)
Worcester Warriors Alan Solomons Ted Hill[lower-alpha 1] Sixways Stadium 11,499 Premiership 9th–11th (9th)

Preliminary Stage
[[File:
Locations
|1300px|alt=Locations of teams of the 2020–21 European Rugby Challenge Cup group stage.]]
Locations of teams of the 2020–21 European Rugby Challenge Cup group stage.
Main article: 2020–21 European Rugby Challenge Cup preliminary stage

The preliminary stage will consist of a single pool of 14 teams. Each team will play four matches against teams from a different league to their own. The top eight teams will advance to the knockout stage, joining the teams that finish in fifth to eighth place in both pools of the 2020–21 European Rugby Champions Cup pool stage.

Team
 P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
London Irish 22006025+35932010
Ospreys 22007744+33962010
Cardiff Blues 22006120+4172109
Leicester Tigers 22006737+3073109
Zebre 21104341+254006
Agen 21013634+255105
Benetton 21014448–477105
Newcastle Falcons 21014650–456004
Pau 21014146–556004
Bayonne 20114553–856002
Worcester Warriors 20024962–1367112
Brive 20023357–2426011
Castres 20023265–3358000
Stade Français 20022072–52311000

Last 16 rankings
Key to colours
     Top 4 in Challenge Cup      Champions Cup 9-16th
Team
 P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
London Irish 22006025+35932010
Ospreys 22007744+33962010
Cardiff Blues 22006120+4172109
Leicester Tigers 22006737+3073109
Scarlets 22005119+3262109
Clermont 21018277+5118206
Bristol Bears 21016569–499206
Exeter Chiefs 21014228+1464105
Edinburgh 21012428–424015
Gloucester 21014889–41612105
Toulon 21012642—1626004
Sale Sharks 20022942–1343011
Zebre 21104341254006
Agen 21013634+255105
Benetton 21014448-477105
Newcastle Falcons 21014650-456004

See also

Notes
  1. Hill was named as Worcester's club captain in July 2020, with Matt Moulds serving as team captain.

References
  1. "New EPCR dates for 2019/20 announced". European Professional Club Rugby. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  2. "Marseille finals moved to 2021 with new venues for this season to be decided". European Professional Club Rugby. 9 July 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  3. "EPCR tournaments temporarily suspended". European Professional Club Rugby. 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
  4. "New EPCR tournament formats agreed for 2020/21 season". European Professional Club Rugby. 2 September 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
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