2020 European Rugby Champions Cup Final

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2020 European Rugby Champions Cup Final
Event2019–20 European Rugby Champions Cup
Exeter Chiefs Racing 92
England France
31 27
Date17 October 2020
VenueAshton Gate Stadium, Bristol
RefereeNigel Owens
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The 2020 European Rugby Champions Cup Final was the final match in the 2019–20 European Rugby Champions Cup, and the twenty-fifth European club rugby final in general. The final was held between first-time finalists Exeter Chiefs, and two-time runners-up Racing 92. Originally due to take place at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille on 23 May, it was rescheduled to Ashton Gate in Bristol on 17 October due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background[]

Both Exeter and Racing entered into the 2020 final with significantly little championship pedigree compared to the finalists of the previous year's final, Saracens and Leinster, as neither team had yet won the tournament. Racing had appeared in two previous finals in 2016 and 2018, losing to Saracens and Leinster respectively, while Exeter hadn't previously reached the semi-finals. Exeter entered the final undefeated with a 31–31 away draw to Glasgow Warriors while Racing also had a 21–21 away draw with Munster but also with a 27–24 away loss to Saracens.[1]

Exeter and Racing had never met in European competitions prior to the 2020 final.[2]

Route to the final[]

Further information: 2019–20 European Rugby Champions Cup

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).

England Exeter Chiefs Round France Racing 92
Opponent Result Pool stage Opponent Result
France La Rochelle 31–12 (A) Matchday 1 England Saracens 30–10 (H)
Scotland Glasgow Warriors 34–18 (H) Matchday 2 Ireland Munster 21–21 (A)
England Sale Sharks 22–20 (A) Matchday 3 Wales Ospreys 40–19 (A)
England Sale Sharks 35–10 (H) Matchday 4 Wales Ospreys 40–17 (H)
Scotland Glasgow Warriors 31–31 (A) Matchday 5 Ireland Munster 39–22 (H)
France La Rochelle 33–14 (H) Matchday 6 England Saracens 24–27 (A)
Pool 2 winner
Team P Pts
England Exeter Chiefs 6 27
Scotland Glasgow Warriors 6 17
France La Rochelle 6 10
England Sale Sharks 6 7
Final standings Pool 4 winner
Team P Pts
France Racing 92 6 23
England Saracens 6 18
Ireland Munster 6 16
Wales Ospreys 6 2
Opponent Result Knock-out stage Opponent Result
England Northampton Saints 38–15 (H) Quarter-finals France Clermont 36–27 (A)
France Toulouse 28–18 (H) Semi-finals England Saracens 19–15 (H)

Match[]

Summary[]

Drawn into pools 2 and 4 respectively, Exeter and Racing both finished at the top of their pool. Exeter finished on 27 points, winning five matches and drawing away to Glasgow Warriors.[3] Racing finished on 23 points, winning four matches, drawing away to Munster and suffering defeat away to Saracens in their final pool match.[4] Exeter qualified with a No. 2 seed for the knockout stage, while Racing captured the No. 5 seed. In the knockout stage, Exeter defeated No. 7 Northampton Saints (home) and No. 3 Toulouse (home), while Racing 92 defeated No. 4 Clermont (away) and No. 8 Saracens (home) en route to the final.[5]

In the match, Exeter raced out to a 14–0 lead with tries by Luke Cowan-Dickie and Sam Simmonds in the 8th and 16th minutes respectively, with Joe Simmonds successful on both conversions. Four minutes later, Racing got on the board via Simon Zebo, but the conversion was not successful. Racing's Juan Imhoff scored another try in the 32nd minute, with Finn Russell making the conversion. Exeter responded in the final minute of the half with a try scored by Harry Williams and a conversion by Joe Simmonds, making the halftime score 21–12 in favour of Exeter.[6]

The second half began quickly, as Racing's Simon Zebo found the try zone in three minutes and Exeter's Henry Slade did the same two minutes later. In the 50th minute, Camille Chat narrowed Exeter's lead to one score with a try, and Maxime Machenaud's subsequent conversion narrowed the score to 28–24. Machenaud made it a one-point contest in the 65th minute by scoring Racing's only penalty of the game. The next 15 minutes were the longest scoring drought of the match, as it remained 28–27 until the game's final moments. During this time however, tensions arose when Exeter's Tomas Francis was sin binned by referee Nigel Owens for a deliberate knock-on within their own 22, however a penalty of their own for not releasing permanently put them out of danger. Joe Simmonds's stoppage time penalty goal then all but ensured an Exeter victory, by the score of 31–27.[6]

With the victory, Exeter Chiefs won their first European Champions Cup title, while Racing 92 fell in their third final in the last five years.[7]

Details[]

17 October 2020
16:45 BST (UTC+01:00)
Exeter Chiefs England 31–27 France Racing 92
Try: Cowan-Dickie 8' c
S. Simmonds 16' c
Williams 40'+1 c
Slade 45' c
Con: J. Simmonds (4/4) 9', 17', 40'+1, 46'
Pen: J. Simmonds (1/1) 80'+1
 Report Try: Zebo (2) 20' m, 43' m
Imhoff 32' c
Chat 50' c
Con: Russell (1/2) 32'
Machenaud (1/2) 51'
Pen: Machenaud (1/1) 65'
FB 15 Scotland Stuart Hogg
RW 14 England Jack Nowell Sent to blood bin 67' to 69'
OC 13 England Henry Slade
IC 12 Ireland Ian Whitten Substituted off 59' Substituted in 67'Substituted off 69'
LW 11 England Tom O'Flaherty
FH 10 England Joe Simmonds (c)
SH 9 England Jack Maunder Substituted off 65'
N8 8 England Sam Simmonds
OF 7 South Africa Jacques Vermeulen Substituted off 56'
BF 6 England Dave Ewers
RL 5 England Jonny Hill
LL 4 Scotland Jonny Gray Substituted off 59'
TP 3 England Harry Williams Substituted off 56'
HK 2 England Luke Cowan-Dickie Substituted off 56'
LP 1 England Alec Hepburn Substituted off 56'
Substitutions:
HK 16 England Jack Yeandle Substituted in 56'
PR 17 England Ben Moon Substituted in 56'
PR 18 Wales Tomas Francis Substituted in 56' Temporarily suspended from 71' to end' 71' to end'
LK 19 Scotland Sam Skinner Substituted in 59'
FL 20 South Africa Jannes Kirsten Substituted in 56'
SH 21 Scotland Sam Hidalgo-Clyne Substituted in 65'
FH 22 Ireland Gareth Steenson
CE 23 England Ollie Devoto Substituted in 59'
Coach:
England Rob Baxter
FB 15 Ireland Simon Zebo Substituted off 65'
RW 14 France Louis Dupichot
OC 13 France Virimi Vakatawa
IC 12 France Henry Chavancy (c)
LW 11 Argentina Juan Imhoff
FH 10 Scotland Finn Russell
SH 9 France Teddy Iribaren Substituted off 40'
N8 8 France Antonie Claassen Substituted off 76'
OF 7 France Fabien Sanconnie
BF 6 France Wenceslas Lauret
RL 5 New Zealand Dominic Bird
LL 4 France Bernard Le Roux Substituted off 67'
TP 3 France Georges-Henri Colombe Substituted off 51'
HK 2 France Camille Chat Substituted off 51'
LP 1 France Eddy Ben Arous Substituted off 76'
Substitutions:
HK 16 France Teddy Baubigny Substituted in 51'
PR 17 France Hassane Kolingar Substituted in 76'
PR 18 France Ali Oz Substituted in 51'
LK 19 Ireland Donnacha Ryan Substituted in 67'
FL 20 France Boris Palu Substituted in 76'
SH 21 France Maxime Machenaud Substituted in 40'
FH 22 France Olivier Klemenczak
CE 23 Australia Kurtley Beale Substituted in 65'
Coach:
France

Touch judges:
Mike Adamson (SRU)
Craig Evans (WRU)
Television Match Official:
Ian Davies (WRU)

References[]

  1. ^ "Exeter boss Baxter 'all over the place' after Champions Cup triumph". sg.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  2. ^ "Exeter Chiefs and Racing 92 go in search of first Heineken Champions Cup crown". European Professional Club Rugby. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  3. ^ "Heineken Champions Cup | Pool Tables". European Professional Club Rugby. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  4. ^ "Saracens reach Champions Cup quarters with win over Racing 92". ESPN.com. 19 January 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  5. ^ "Imhoff strikes late as Racing end Saracens dreams of Champions Cup glory". ESPN.com. 26 September 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Exeter Chiefs edge past Racing 92 in thriller to become European champions". ESPN.com. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  7. ^ "Exeter becomes European club rugby champion for 1st time". San Diego Union-Tribune. 17 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
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