2021–22 European Rugby Champions Cup
2021–22 European Rugby Champions Cup | |
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Tournament details | |
Countries | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and knockout |
Date | 10 December 2021 – 28 May 2022 |
Tournament statistics | |
Teams | 24 |
Matches played | 48 |
Attendance | 361,979 (7,541 per match) |
Highest attendance | 17,222 - Leicester Tigers v Connacht 19 December 2021 |
Lowest attendance | 4,000 - Sale Sharks v Ospreys 23 January 2022[a] |
Tries scored | 273 (5.69 per match) |
Top point scorer(s) | ![]() 46 points |
Top try scorer(s) | ![]() 7 tries |
Final | |
Venue | Stade de Marseille, Marseille |
The 2021–22 European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is the eighth season of the European Rugby Champions Cup, the annual club rugby union competition run by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) for teams from the top six nations in European rugby. It is be the 27th season of pan-European professional club rugby competition.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 24-team, two pool tournament format adopted for the previous season remained.[1]
This is the final year, under the current sponsorship deal, with Dutch beer brand Heineken, after a four-year deal was agreed starting from the 2018/19 season.[2]
The tournament commenced in December 2021, with the final scheduled for 28 May 2022 at Stade de Marseille in Marseille, France.[3][4]
Teams[]
Twenty-four clubs from the three major European domestic and regional leagues are competing in the Champions Cup.
The distribution of the teams are:
- England: eight clubs
- The top eight clubs from Premiership Rugby
- France: eight clubs
- The top seven clubs from the Top 14
- Montpellier automatically qualify as Challenge Cup champions despite not finishing in the top 8.
- Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales: eight clubs
- The top four sides in each conference from the previous season's Pro14 (now known as United Rugby Championship).
The following teams have qualified for the tournament as of 12 June 2021.
Premiership | Top 14 | United Rugby Championship (Pro14) | |||
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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, SF for losing Semi-finalist, QF for losing Quarter-finalist, and PO for the Pro14 7th place play-off winner.
Team | Coach / Director of Rugby |
Captain | Stadium | Capacity | Method of qualification |
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The Recreation Ground | 14,509 | Premiership top 8 (7th) |
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Stade Chaban-Delmas | 34,694 | Top 14 top 8 (4th) |
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Ashton Gate | 27,000 | Premiership top 8 (3rd) (SF) |
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Cardiff Arms Park | 12,125 | Pro14 Conference B (4th) |
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Stade Pierre-Fabre | 12,500 | Top 14 top 8 (6th) (QF) |
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Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin | 19,022 | Top 14 top 8 (5th) (QF) |
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Galway Sportsgrounds | 8,129 | Pro14 Conference B (2nd) |
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Sandy Park | 13,593 | Premiership top 8 (2nd) (RU) |
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Scotstoun Stadium | 7,351 | Pro14 Conference A (4th) |
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Twickenham Stoop | 14,800 | Premiership top 8 (1st) (CH) |
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Stade Marcel-Deflandre | 16,000 | Top 14 top 8 (2nd) (RU) |
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Mattioli Woods Welford Road | 25,849 | Premiership top 8 (6th) |
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RDS Arena Aviva Stadium |
18,500 51,700 |
Pro14 Conference A (1st) (CH) |
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Altrad Stadium | 15,697 | 2020–21 Challenge Cup Champion |
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Thomond Park | 25,600 | Pro14 Conference B (1st) (RU) |
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Franklin's Gardens | 15,200 | Premiership top 8 (5th) |
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Swansea.com Stadium | 21,088 | Pro14 Conference A (3rd) |
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Paris La Défense Arena | 30,681 | Top 14 top 8 (3rd) |
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AJ Bell Stadium | 12,000 | Premiership top 8 (3rd) (SF) |
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Parc y Scarlets | 14,870 | Pro14 Conference B (3rd) |
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Stade Jean-Bouin | 20,000 | Top 14 top 8 (6th) (QF) |
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Stade Ernest-Wallon | 19,500 | Top 14 top 8 (1st) (CH) |
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Ravenhill Stadium | 18,196 | Pro14 Conference A (2nd) |
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Ricoh Arena | 32,609 | Premiership top 8 (8th) |
Seeding and draw[]
The twenty four teams are seeded based on their finishing position in end of season playoffs and league positions. This follows the format from the previous season with the number 1 and number 2 ranked clubs from each league in Tier 1, the number 3 and number 4 ranked clubs in Tier 2, the number 5 and 6 ranked clubs in Tier 3, and the number 7 and number 8 ranked clubs in Tier 4. [5]
Tier | Rank | Top 14 | Premiership | United Rugby Championship (Pro14) |
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1 | 1 | ![]() |
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2 | ![]() |
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2 | 3 | ![]() |
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4 | ![]() |
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3 | 5 | ![]() |
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6 | ![]() |
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4 | 7 | ![]() |
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8 | ![]() |
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The draw took place on 21 July 2021 at the in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Pool Stage[]
Teams are awarded group points based on match performances. Four points are awarded for a win, two points for a draw, one attacking bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match and one defensive bonus point for losing a match by seven points or fewer.
Top 8 in each pool, advance to round of 16. | |
Teams ranked 9th–11th in each pool advance to 2021–22 EPCR Challenge Cup round of 16 |
Pool A[]
Pool A Standings [6] | ||||||||||||
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P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | |
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4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 126 | 24 | +102 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
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4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 114 | 96 | +18 | 15 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
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4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 97 | 64 | +33 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 16 |
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4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 198 | 62 | +136 | 30 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
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4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 89 | 48 | +41 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
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4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 127 | 82 | +45 | 19 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 11 |
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4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 78 | 157 | –79 | 9 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
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4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 79 | 82 | –3 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
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4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 82 | 117 | –35 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
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4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 56 | 124 | –68 | 6 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
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4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 48 | 148 | –100 | 6 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
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4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 33 | 123 | –90 | 3 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pool B[]
Pool B Standings [7] | ||||||||||||
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P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | |
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4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 102 | 64 | +38 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
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4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 135 | 101 | +34 | 18 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
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4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 115 | 47 | +68 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 18 |
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4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 108 | 38 | +70 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
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4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 118 | 104 | +14 | 16 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
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4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 58 | 54 | +4 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
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4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 61 | 65 | –4 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
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4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 63 | 95 | –32 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
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4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 85 | 118 | –33 | 13 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
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4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 51 | 102 | –51 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
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4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 77 | 91 | –14 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
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4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 31 | 125 | –94 | 4 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Knockout stage[]
The knockout stage will commence across the 8/9/10 April with a home and away round of 16 matches consisting of the top 8 ranked teams from each pool.
Bracket[]
Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||||||||
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Round of 16[]
First leg[]
Second leg[]
15 April 2022
17:30 IST |
Leinster ![]() |
v | ![]() |
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Aviva Stadium
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Quarter-finals[]
6/7/8 May 2022
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Winner R16 1 | v | Winner R16 5 |
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6/7/8 May 2022
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Winner R16 7 | v | Winner R16 3 |
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6/7/8 May 2022
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Winner R16 2 | v | Winner R16 6 |
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6/7/8 May 2022
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Winner R16 8 | v | Winner R16 4 |
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Semi-finals[]
13/14/15 May 2022
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Winner QF 1 | v | Winner QF 2 |
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13/14/15 May 2022
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Winner QF 3 | v | Winner QF 4 |
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Final[]
See also[]
Notes[]
- ^ When crowds were in attendance
References[]
- ^ "Twickenham Stadium to host 2021 EPCR finals". European Professional Club Rugby. 2021-04-30. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
- ^ "EPCR confirms Heineken Champions Cup title sponsorship – SportsPro Media". www.sportspromedia.com. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
- ^ "EPCR statement – 2021 Marseille finals and semi-final matches". European Professional Club Rugby. 2021-03-31. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
- ^ "Key 2021/22 EPCR dates announced". European Professional Club Rugby. 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
- ^ "2021–22 Heineken Cup format and qualifiers confirmed". Scarlets Rugby. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
- ^ "Pool Tables". Heineken Champions Cup. EPCR. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ "Pool Tables". Heineken Champions Cup. EPCR. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- 2021–22 European Rugby Champions Cup
- 2021–22 in European rugby union
- 2021–22 rugby union tournaments for clubs
- 2021–22 in English rugby union
- 2021–22 in French rugby union
- 2021–22 in Irish rugby union
- 2021–22 in Scottish rugby union
- 2021–22 in Welsh rugby union
- European Rugby Champions Cup seasons