2020–21 European Rugby Champions Cup
The 2020–21 European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons)[1] is the seventh season of the European Rugby Champions Cup, the annual club rugby union competition run by European Professional Club Rugby (ECPR) for teams from the top six nations in European rugby. It will be the 26th season of pan-European professional club rugby competition.
| 2020–21 European Rugby Champions Cup | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Countries |  England France Ireland Scotland.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Wales |
| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and knockout |
| Date | 12 December 2020 – 22 May 2021 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Teams | 24 |
| Final | |
| Venue | Stade Vélodrome, Marseille |
The tournament began on 11 December 2020. The final will take place on 22 May 2021 at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille.[2]
On 11 January 2021, EPCR suspended the tournament as a result of further public health restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
Teams
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic delaying the end of the previous tournament twenty-four clubs from the three major European domestic and regional leagues will compete in the Champions Cup in a one-year exceptional basis.[4] EPCR chief Vincent Gaillard confirmed the 24-team tournament in August 2020.[5][6]
The distribution of teams is:
- England: eight clubs
- The top eight clubs in Premiership Rugby
- France: eight clubs
- The top eight clubs in the Top 14
- Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales: eight clubs
- The top four sides (not including the South African sides, which are ineligible for EPCR competitions) in both conferences in the Pro14.
While the 2019–20 Top 14 season was cancelled due to COVID-19,[7] the Premiership and Pro14 resumed in August 2020.[8][9] However, the Pro14 announced in June 2020 that their European representation would be decided by standings after round 13, the final series of games before the hiatus.[10] The following teams have qualified for the tournament via their league performance.
| Premiership | Top 14 | Pro14 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England |
France |
Ireland |
Scotland |
Wales | |
Team details
Below is the list of coaches, captain and stadiums with their method of qualification for each team.
Note: Placing shown in brackets, denotes standing at the end of the regular season for their respective leagues, with their end of season positioning shown through CH for Champions, RU for Runner-up and SF for losing Semi-finalist.
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
Seeding
A total of 24 teams will participate in the 2020–21 competition. These teams will be the teams finishing in the top 8 spots from England's Premiership, the regional Pro14, and France's Top 14 competition. These twenty four teams will be broken down into two pools of twelve. Four rounds of inter-pool play will be followed by a knockout stage, featuring two-legged quarterfinals, and single leg semi-finals and the final (to be held in Marseille on 22 May 2021)
For the purposes of the pool draw, the clubs will be separated into tiers based on their league finishing position, and clubs from the same league in the same tier will not be drawn into the same pool. The number 1 and number 2 ranked clubs from each league will be in Tier 1, the number 3 and number 4 ranked clubs will be in Tier 2, the number 5 and 6 ranked clubs will be in Tier 3, and the number 7 and number 8 ranked clubs will be Tier 4.
Pool play will feature the Tier 1 teams playing the Tier 4 teams in their pool (that are not from the same league) twice in a home and away manner, while the Tier 2 and 3 clubs will follow in a similar manner.
The four teams from each pool with the best points will qualify for the knockout stage. Teams finishing 5th through 8th after pool play will join the Challenge Cup at the round of 16 stage (joining eight qualifiers from the Challenge Cup pool stage) In total, eight weekends of play will be provided for, one less than in previous seasons.[6]
| Tier | Rank | Top 14 | Premiership | Pro14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Bordeaux Bègles | Exeter Chiefs | Leinster |
| 2 | Lyon | Wasps | Ulster | |
| 2 | 3 | Racing 92 | Bristol Bears | Munster |
| 4 | Toulon | Bath | Edinburgh | |
| 3 | 5 | La Rochelle | Sale Sharks | Scarlets |
| 6 | Clermont | Harlequins | Connacht | |
| 4 | 7 | Toulouse | Gloucester | Glasgow Warriors |
| 8 | Montpellier | Northampton Saints | Dragons |
Pool stage
Green: Pool A; 
Red: Pool B.
The draw took place on 28 October 2020 at the Maison du Sport International in Lausanne, Switzerland. The 24 teams were draw into the two pools as follows, this also shows their opponents.[11] Fixtures were announced on 13 November 2020.
| Top 4 in each pool, advance to quarter-finals. | |
| Teams ranked 5th–8th in each pool advance to 2020–21 European Rugby Challenge Cup last 16 |
Pool A
Team |
P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leinster |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 33 | +37 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Wasps |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 22 | +35 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Bordeaux Bègles |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 63 | 20 | +43 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| La Rochelle |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 8 | +33 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| Scarlets |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 19 | +32 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| Edinburgh |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 28 | –4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Toulon |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 42 | —16 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Sale Sharks |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 29 | 42 | –13 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Northampton Saints |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 31 | 51 | –20 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Bath |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 51 | –32 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Montpellier |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 28 | 68 | –40 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dragons |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 71 | –55 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pool B
Team |
P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyon |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 83 | 10 | +73 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| Racing 92 |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 29 | +46 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Toulouse |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 22 | +35 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Munster |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 38 | +22 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Clermont |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 82 | 77 | +5 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Bristol Bears |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 65 | 69 | –4 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Exeter Chiefs |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 42 | 28 | +14 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Gloucester |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 48 | 89 | –41 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Ulster |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 56 | 67 | –11 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Connacht |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 40 | 53 | –13 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Harlequins |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 70 | –56 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Glasgow Warriors |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 70 | –70 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Notes
- Although Murrayfield's full capacity is 67,144, only the lower section of the East Stand, with a capacity of 12,464, is generally opened for Edinburgh fixtures.
See also
References
- "Heineken® Returns as Headline Sponsor of European Rugby Champions Cup". Heineken. 4 June 2018.
- "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.
- "EPCR tournaments temporarily suspended". European Professional Club Rugby. 2021-01-11. Retrieved 2021-01-11.
- "New EPCR dates for 2019/20 announced". European Professional Club Rugby. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
- "Connacht set to play in 24 team Champions Cup Rugby 2020/21". Sports News Ireland. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
- "New EPCR tournament formats agreed for 2020/21 season". European Professional Club Rugby. 2 September 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
- "Coronavirus: French Top 14 cancelled, relegation scrapped". ESPN. 2 June 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
- "Premiership rugby return: New faces, new laws, new champions to be crowned". BBC Sport. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
- "Bragging rights for Zebre as Pro14 returns in Italy". RTÉ Sport. 21 August 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
- "Target Date Set For Guinness PRO14 Restart". Munster Rugby. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
PRO14 Rugby has agreed that rankings for European qualification for the 2020/21 season will be decided on the Conference table positions from Round 13. This will include the points awarded to teams whose postponed games in Round 13 have been deemed 0-0 draws.
- "Heineken Champions Cup Pool Draw maps out first steps on road to Marseille 2021". European Professional Club Rugby. 28 October 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
- "Pool Tables". Heineken Champions Cup. EPCR. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
- "Pool Tables". Heineken Champions Cup. EPCR. Retrieved 29 October 2020.