2015–16 European Rugby Champions Cup
2015–16 European Rugby Champions Cup | |
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Tournament details | |
Countries | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and Knockout |
Date | 13 November 2015 – 14 May 2016 |
Tournament statistics | |
Teams | 20 |
Matches played | 67 |
Attendance | 955,647 (14,263 per match) |
Tries scored | 321 (4.79 per match) |
Top point scorer(s) | Owen Farrell (Saracens) (127 points) |
Top try scorer(s) | Vereniki Goneva (Leicester Tigers) Thomas Waldrom (Exeter Chiefs) (6 tries) |
Final | |
Venue | Grand Stade de Lyon, Lyon |
Champions | ![]() |
Runners-up | ![]() |
The 2015–16 European Rugby Champions Cup was the second European Rugby Champions Cup championship (21st overall), the annual rugby union club competition for teams from the top six nations in European rugby. The European Rugby Champions Cup replaced the Heineken Cup, which was Europe's top-tier competition for rugby clubs for the first nineteen years of professional European rugby union.[1]
As a result of the 2015 Rugby World Cup being held in England, the tournament started slightly later than in previous seasons, with the opening round taking place on the weekend of 13/14/15 November 2015. The tournament was won for the first time by Saracens who beat Racing 92 in the final on the 14 May 2016, at Parc Olympique Lyonnais (called "Grand Stade de Lyon" by competition organiser European Professional Club Rugby) in the Lyon suburb of Décines.[2] [3][4][5]
Teams[]
20 clubs, from the three major European domestic leagues, competed in the Champions Cup. Nineteen clubs qualified directly as a result of their domestic league performance, with the final team coming from a play-off.
The distribution of teams was as follows:
- England: 6 clubs
- The top 6 clubs in the Aviva Premiership. (6 clubs)
- France: 7 clubs
- The top 6 clubs in the Top 14. (6 clubs)
- The victory of Bordeaux Bègles in the play-off series against Gloucester gave France a seventh place in the Champions Cup. (1 club)
- Ireland, Italy, Scotland & Wales: 7 clubs, based on performance in the Pro12.
- The best placed club from each nation. (4 clubs)
- The 3 highest ranked clubs not qualified thereafter. (3 clubs)
Aviva Premiership | Top 14 | Pro 12 | |||
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20th team play-off[]
The following teams took part in play-off matches to decide the final team in the Champions Cup. The play-off was held between Premiership side Gloucester, as Challenge Cup winners, and teams from the Pro12 and Top 14. The losers of this play-off joined the Challenge Cup.
Aviva Premiership | Top 14 | Pro 12 |
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Gloucester | Bordeaux Bègles | Connacht |
The play-off was a two-match series, with the winner of the first match, Gloucester, progressing to the second, and the winner of that second match, Bordeaux Bègles, qualifying for the Champions Cup.
Team details[]
Below is the list of coaches, captains 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, SF for losing Semi-finalist and QF for losing Quarter-finalist.
Team | Coach / Director of Rugby |
Captain | Stadium | Capacity | Method of Qualification |
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Recreation Ground | 13,500 | Aviva Premiership top 6 (2nd) (RU) |
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Stadio Comunale di Monigo | 6,700 | Pro12 top Italian team (11th) |
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Stade Chaban-Delmas | 34,694 | 7th Place play-off winner |
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Stade Marcel-Michelin | 18,000 | Top 14 top 6 (2nd) (RU) |
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Sandy Park | 12,600 | Aviva Premiership top 6 (5th) |
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Scotstoun Stadium | 9,708 | Pro12 top Scottish team (1st) (CH) |
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Welford Road | 24,000 | Aviva Premiership top 6 (3rd) (SF) |
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RDS Arena Aviva Stadium |
18,500 51,700 |
Pro12 top 7 (5th) |
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Thomond Park | 25,600 | Pro12 top Irish team (2nd) (RU) |
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Franklin's Gardens | 13,600 | Aviva Premiership top 6 (1st) (SF) |
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Liberty Stadium | 20,532 | Pro12 top Welsh Team (3rd) (SF) |
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Stade Charles-Mathon | 11,400 | Top 14 top 6 (6th) (QF) |
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Stade Yves-du-Manoir | 14,000 | Top 14 top 6 (5th) (QF) |
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Allianz Park | 10,000 | Aviva Premiership top 6 (4th) (CH) |
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Parc y Scarlets | 14,870 | Pro12 top 7 (6th) |
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Stade Jean-Bouin | 20,000 | Top 14 top 6 (4th) (CH) |
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Stade Mayol | 15,400 | Top 14 top 6 (1st) (SF) |
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Stade Ernest-Wallon Stadium Municipal |
19,500 35,575 |
Top 14 top 6 (3rd) (SF) |
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Kingspan Stadium | 18,196 | Pro12 top 7 (4th) (SF) |
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Ricoh Arena | 32,609 | Aviva Premiership top 6 (6th) |
Seeding[]
In each Champions Cup season, the 20 competing teams are seeded and split into four tiers, each containing 5 teams.
For the purpose of creating the tiers, clubs are ranked based on their domestic league performances and on their qualification for the knockout phases of their championships, so a losing quarter-finalist in the Top 14 would be seeded below a losing semi-finalist, even if they finished above them in the regular season.[9] This represented a change for the Aviva Premiership, which seeded teams for the 2014–15 Champions Cup without reference to their play-off performance, meaning Northampton Saints, which came top in the Aviva Premiership, were seeded third - as the highest ranked losing semi-finalist. As a knock-on from this, Leicester Tigers, which came third in the league, dropped to fourth.
Rank | Top 14 | Premiership | Pro 12 |
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1 | ![]() |
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2 | ![]() |
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3 | ![]() |
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4 | ![]() |
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5 | ![]() |
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6 | ![]() |
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7 | ![]() |
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Based on these seedings, teams are placed into one of the four tiers, with the top seed clubs being put in Tier 1. The nature of the tier system means that a draw is needed to allocate two of the three second seed clubs to Tier 1, the remaining side being put into Tier 2. The draw also determines which fourth seed enters Tier 2, the place being given to the fourth seed from the league of the second seed placed in Tier 2. The other two sides fall into Tier 3.[10]
The tiers are shown below. Brackets show each team's seeding and their league (for example, 1 Top 14 indicates the team was seeded 1st from the Top 14).
Tier 1 | ![]() |
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Tier 2 | ![]() |
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Tier 3 | ![]() |
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Tier 4 | ![]() |
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The pool draw took place 17 June, in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.[10]
The following restrictions applied to the draw:[10]
- The 5 pools each consisted of four clubs, one from each of the 4 Tiers.
- Each pool had to have one Aviva Premiership club from Tier 1, 2 or 3, one Top 14 club from Tier 1, 2 or 3, and one Pro12 club from Tier 1, 2 or 3 (with a second Aviva or Top 14 or Pro12 club coming from Tier 4).
- If there were two PRO12 clubs in the same pool, they had to be from different countries. (This season's competition featured three teams from Ireland, two from Wales, and one each from Scotland and Italy.)
Pool stage[]
The draw took place on 17 June 2015.[11][12]
Teams played each other twice, both at home and away, in the pool stage, that began on the weekend of 13/14/15 November 2015, and continued through to 22/23/24 January 2016, before the pool winners and three best runners-up progressed to the quarter finals.[11]
Teams were awarded competition points, based on match result. Teams receive 4 points for a win, 2 points for a draw, 1 attacking bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match and 1 defensive bonus point for losing a match by seven points or fewer.[13]
In the event of a tie between two or more teams, the following tie-breakers were used, as directed by EPCR:
- Where teams have played each other
- The club with the greater number of competition points from only matches involving tied teams.
- If equal, the club with the best aggregate points difference from those matches.
- If equal, the club that scored the most tries in those matches.
- Where teams remain tied and/or have not played each other in the competition (i.e. are from different pools)
- The club with the best aggregate points difference from the pool stage.
- If equal, the club that scored the most tries in the pool stage.
- If equal, the club with the fewest players suspended in the pool stage.
- If equal, the drawing of lots will determine a club's ranking.
Winner of each pool, advanced to quarter-finals. | |
Three highest-ranked second-place teams advanced to quarter-finals. |
Pool 1[]
P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | |
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6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 220 | 73 | +147 | 26 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 28 |
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6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 169 | 109 | +60 | 21 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 18 |
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6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 99 | 218 | –119 | 10 | 30 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
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6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 85 | 173 | –88 | 11 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
Pool 2[]
P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | |
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6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 148 | 151 | –3 | 18 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 16 |
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6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 149 | 163 | –14 | 18 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 16 |
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6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 138 | 142 | –4 | 12 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 16 |
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6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 159 | 138 | +21 | 19 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
Pool 3[]
P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | |
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6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 174 | 70 | +104 | 23 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 22 |
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6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 94 | 93 | +1 | 12 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 19 |
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6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 114 | 96 | +18 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
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6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 59 | 182 | –123 | 7 | 25 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Pool 4[]
P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | |
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6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 185 | 91 | +94 | 24 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 23 |
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6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 186 | 118 | +68 | 25 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
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6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 118 | 100 | +18 | 15 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
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6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 53 | 233 | –180 | 8 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pool 5[]
P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | |
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6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 186 | 72 | +114 | 19 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 20 |
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6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 96 | 91 | +5 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
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6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 88 | 131 | –43 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
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6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 82 | 158 | –76 | 5 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
Pool winners & runners-up rankings[]
Rank | Pool Winners | Pts | TF | +/− |
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1 | ![]() |
28 | 26 | +147 |
2 | ![]() |
23 | 21 | +109 |
3 | ![]() |
22 | 23 | +104 |
4 | ![]() |
20 | 19 | +114 |
5 | ![]() |
16 | 18 | –3 |
Rank | Pool Runners–up | Pts | TF | +/− |
6 | ![]() |
20 | 9 | +5 |
7 | ![]() |
19 | 25 | +68 |
8 | ![]() |
19 | 12 | +1 |
9 | ![]() |
18 | 21 | +60 |
10 | ![]() |
16 | 18 | –4 |
Knock-out stage[]
Format[]
The four top teams hosted the quarter-finals against the four lower teams in a 1v8, 2v7, 3v6 and 4v5 format according to their ranking after the pool stages. The quarter-finals were played on the weekend of 8/9/10 April 2016.
The semi-finals were played on the weekend of 23/24 April 2016. In lieu of the draw that previously determined the semi-final pairing, EPCR announced that a fixed semi-final bracket would be set in advance, and that the home team would be designated based on "performances by clubs during the pool stages as well as the achievement of a winning a quarter-final match away from home". Semi-final matches must be played at a neutral ground in the designated home team's country.
Home country advantage was awarded as follows:[13]
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The winners of the semi-finals contested the final, at Grand Stade de Lyon, on 14 May 2016.[14]
Bracket[]
Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||
2 | ![]() | 41 | ||||||||||||
7 | ![]() | 13 | ||||||||||||
![]() | 16 | |||||||||||||
![]() | 19 | |||||||||||||
3 | ![]() | 19 | ||||||||||||
6 | ![]() | 16 | ||||||||||||
![]() | 9 | |||||||||||||
![]() | 21 | |||||||||||||
1 | ![]() | 29 | ||||||||||||
8 | ![]() | 20 | ||||||||||||
![]() | 24 | |||||||||||||
![]() | 17 | |||||||||||||
4 | ![]() | 25 | ||||||||||||
5 | ![]() | 24 |
Quarter-finals[]
9 April 2016
15:15 |
Wasps ![]() |
25–24 | (5) ![]() |
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Try: Piutau (2) 42' m, 79' c Halai 64' c Con: Gopperth (2/3) 65', 80' Pen: Gopperth (2/3) 6', 17' |
Report[15] | Try: Waldrom (2) 32' c, 36' c Williams 48' c Con: Steenson (3/3) 33', 37', 48' Pen: Steenson (1/1) 58' |
Ricoh Arena
Attendance: 23,866 Referee: Romain Poite (FFR) |
9 April 2016
17:45 |
Saracens ![]() |
29–20 | (8) ![]() |
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Try: Ashton 67' c Wyles 76' c Con: Farrell (2/2) 68', 77' Pen: Farrell (5/5) 6', 20', 51', 61', 74' |
Report[16] | Try: K. Pisi 15' c Lawes 80' c Con: Myler (2/2) 17', 80' Pen: Myler (2/4) 31', 55' |
10 April 2016
13:45 |
Leicester Tigers ![]() |
41–13 | (7) ![]() |
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Try: Tuilagi 1' c Goneva (2) 30' c, 44' c Burns 33' c Fitzgerald 59' m Veainu 65' m Con: Burns (4/4) 2', 31', 34', 46' Pen: Burns (1/1) 15' |
Report[17] | Try: Dupuy 42' c Con: Steyn (1/1) 43' Pen: Steyn (2/3) 7', 24' |
10 April 2016
17:15 |
Racing 92 ![]() |
19–16 | (6) ![]() |
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Try: Imhoff 2' c Con: Carter (1/1) 4' Pen: Carter (1/1) 1' Machenaud (3/6) 47', 51', 78' |
Report[18] | Try: Ollivon 8' c Con: (1/1) 10' Pen: (3/5) 40', 43', 59' |
Semi-finals[]
23 April 2016
15:00 |
Saracens ![]() |
24–17 | ![]() |
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Try: Rhodes 28' m Penalty Try 72' c Con: Farrell (1/2) 73' Pen: Farrell (4/6) 40', 42', 46', 68' |
Report[19] | Try: Robson 1' c Johnson 75' c Con: Gopperth (2/2) 2', 76' Pen: Gopperth (1/1) 41' |
Madejski Stadium, Reading
Attendance: 16,820 Referee: Romain Poite (FFR) |
24 April 2016
15:15 |
Leicester Tigers ![]() |
16–19 | ![]() |
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Try: Veainu 79' c Con: O. Williams (1/1) 79' Pen: Burns (1/1) 28' O. Williams (2/2) 38', 44' |
Report[20] | Try: Machenaud 4' c Con: Carter (1/1) 4' Pen: Carter (3/3) 21', 40', 51' Goosen (1/2) 74' |
Final[]
14 May 2016
17:45 |
Racing 92 ![]() |
9–21 | ![]() |
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Pen: Goosen (3/3) 18', 36', 58' |
Report[21] | Pen: Farrell (7/7) 10', 25', 32', 39', 51', 76', 79' |
Attendances[]
- Does not include the final as this was played at a neutral venues.
Club | Home Games |
Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity |
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3 | 39,726 | 13,242 | 13,480 | 12,961 | 98% |
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3 | 10,100 | 3,367 | 4,600 | 2,300 | 50% |
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3 | 65,868 | 21,956 | 28,483 | 17,233 | 63% |
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3 | 49,308 | 16,436 | 16,838 | 15,702 | 91% |
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3 | 31,922 | 10,641 | 11,415 | 9,577 | 87% |
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3 | 22,439 | 7,480 | 9,063 | 6,576 | 61% |
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5[a 1] | 104,021 | 20,804 | 22,148 | 19,076 | 80% |
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3 | 76,285 | 25,428 | 44,925 | 14,569 | 85% |
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3 | 58,908 | 19,636 | 22,261 | 17,763 | 77% |
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3 | 44,450 | 14,817 | 15,064 | 14,512 | 96% |
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3 | 26,181 | 8,727 | 9,479 | 7,969 | 42% |
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3 | 23,500 | 7,833 | 8,800 | 7,200 | 69% |
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4 | 39,137 | 9,784 | 15,340 | 6,931 | 67% |
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5[a 2] | 53,393 | 10,679 | 16,820 | 8,050 | 87% |
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3 | 21,102 | 7,034 | 8,512 | 5,767 | 47% |
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3 | 35,678 | 11,893 | 13,820 | 9,785 | 59% |
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3 | 38,706 | 12,902 | 13,344 | 12,590 | 84% |
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3 | 36,819 | 12,273 | 13,852 | 10,469 | 63% |
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3 | 48,333 | 16,111 | 17,209 | 15,108 | 89% |
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4 | 71,754 | 17,939 | 23,866 | 11,319 | 55% |
- ^ Includes semi-final 'home game' played at the City Ground in Nottingham.
- ^ Includes semi-final 'home game' played at the Madejski Stadium in Reading.
See also[]
Notes[]
References[]
- ^ Inaugural EPCR finals set for London Archived 2014-08-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Racing 9 Saracens 21: Saracens crowned European champions". Daily Telegraph. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- ^ "Key 2015/16 EPCR dates and Champions Cup play-offs". epcrugby.com.
- ^ "Lyon to host 2016 Champions Cup and Challenge Cup finals with Edinburgh chosen for 2017". epcrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2017-08-13. Retrieved 2015-06-17.
- ^ "Farrell boots Saracens to Champions Cup glory". ESPN. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- ^ "Champions Cup play-off: Gloucester 40-32 Connacht". 24 May 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2017 – via www.bbc.com.
- ^ "Treviso and Casellato part ways". Planet Rugby. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ^ "From a South African farm to captaining Munster: The rise of CJ Stander". The42. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-10-31. Retrieved 2014-06-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) ERCRugby.com. Accessed 8 June 2014
- ^ Jump up to: a b c European Rugby Pool Draws for 2015/16 season - EPCRugby.com
- ^ Jump up to: a b "European heavyweights to clash following 2015/16 Pool Draws". EPCRugby. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
- ^ "Bath and Wasps draw holders Toulon in European Champions Cup pool". Guardian. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Champions Cup Rules". epcrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2015-05-04. Retrieved 2015-06-17.
- ^ "Lyon to host 2016 Champions Cup and Challenge Cup finals with Edinburgh chosen for 2017". EPCRugby. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
- ^ "European Rugby Champions Cup (EPCR)". epcrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-16. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ "European Rugby Champions Cup (EPCR)". epcrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-16. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ "European Rugby Champions Cup (EPCR)". epcrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2016-05-15. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ "European Rugby Champions Cup (EPCR)". epcrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2016-07-18. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ "European Rugby Champions Cup (EPCR)". epcrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-26. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ "European Rugby Champions Cup (EPCR)". epcrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-29. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ "European Rugby Champions Cup (EPCR)". epcrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2016-05-30. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ "European Rugby Champions Cup 15/16 Home attendance". Rugby Statbunker. 10 April 2016.
- 2015–16 European Rugby Champions Cup
- 2015–16 in European rugby union
- 2015–16 rugby union tournaments for clubs
- 2015–16 in English rugby union
- 2015–16 in French rugby union
- 2015–16 in Irish rugby union
- 2015–16 in Italian rugby union
- 2015–16 in Scottish rugby union
- 2015–16 in Welsh rugby union
- European Rugby Champions Cup seasons