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2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup

December 15, 2023

The 2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup was the second edition of the European Rugby Challenge Cup, an annual pan-European rugby union competition for professional clubs. It is also the 20th season of the Challenge Cup competition in all forms, following on from the now defunct European Challenge Cup. Due to the 2015 Rugby World Cup taking place during September and October 2015, the competition began slightly later than usual, with the first round of the group stage, on the weekend of 12/13/14/15 November 2015, and ended with the final on 13 May 2016 in Lyon.[1][2]

2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup
Tournament details
Countries England
 France
 Ireland
 Italy
 Russia
 Scotland
 Wales
Tournament format(s)Round-robin and Knockout
Date12 November 2015 – 13 May 2016
Tournament statistics
Teams20
Matches played61
Attendance415,348 (6,809 per match)
Highest attendance28,556
Montpellier v Harlequins
13 May 2016
Lowest attendance400
Enisey-STM v Newcastle Falcons
16 January 2016
Tries scored347 (5.69 per match)
Top point scorer(s)Benoît Paillaugue (Montpellier)
Rhys Patchell (Cardiff Blues)
(56 points)
Top try scorer(s)Marcus Watson (Newcastle Falcons)
(6 tries)
Final
VenueGrand Stade de Lyon, Lyon
Champions Montpellier (1st title)
Runners-up Harlequins
← 2014–15 (Previous)
(Next) 2016–17 →

Gloucester were the 2014 1–5 champions, having beaten Edinburgh 19–13 in the final.

Montpellier won the cup, defeating Harlequins in the final 26–19.[3][4]

Teams edit

20 teams qualified for the 2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup; a total of 18 qualified from across the Premiership, Pro12 and Top 14, as a direct result of their domestic league performance, with two coming through a play-off. The distribution of teams was:

  • England: 6
  • France: 7
    • Any teams finishing between 8th-12th position in the Top 14. (5 Teams)
    • The champion, and the winner of the promotion play-off, from the Pro D2. (2 Teams)
  • Ireland, Italy, Scotland & Wales: 5 teams
  • Other European Nations: 2 teams

As of 24 May 2015, the following clubs qualified for the Challenge Cup:

Champions Cup play-off edit

Main article: 2015–16 European Rugby Champions–Challenge Cup play-offs

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.

Aviva Premiership Top 14 Pro 12
  England   France   Ireland
Gloucester Bordeaux Bègles Connacht

The play-off was a two-match series, with the winner of the first match progressing to the second, and the winner of that second match qualifying for the Champions Cup. The two losing sides both joined the Challenge Cup.

31 May 2015
17:00 GMT
Sixways Stadium, Worcester
Attendance: 5,447
Referee: Leighton Hodges (WRU)

Qualifying Competition edit

Further information: European Rugby Challenge Cup Qualifying Competition § 2014–15

In December 2014, EPCR announced an expanded format for the qualifying competition.

Six teams were to compete in two pools of three. Each team played the other once, either home or away. The winner of each pool then played a two-legged final against last year's qualifying sides, and the winners, on aggregate, took the two remaining places in the Challenge Cup.

Pool 1 play-off edit

18 April 2015
2 May 2015
  • Calvisano won the play-off 52–24 on aggregate, and qualified for the Challenge Cup.

Pool 2 play-off edit

18 April 2015
2 May 2015
  • Enisey-STM won the play-off 63–32 on aggregate, and competed in the Challenge Cup

Team details edit

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 and QF for losing Quarter-finalist.

Team Coach /
Director of Rugby 		Captain Stadium Capacity Method of Qualification
  Agen   Philippe Sella   Lionel Mazars Stade Armandie 14,000 Pro D2 runner-up
  Brive   Nicolas Godignon   Arnaud Méla Stade Amédée-Domenech 16,000 Top 14 7th-12th (10th)
  Calvisano   Massimo Brunello   Tommaso Castello Centro Sportivo San Michele 4,000 Challenge Cup Qualification play-off
  Cardiff Blues   Danny Wilson   Gethin Jenkins BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park 12,500 Pro12 bottom 5 (10th)
  Castres Olympique   Christophe Urios   Rodrigo Capo Ortega Stade Pierre-Antoine 11,500 Top 14 7th-12th (12th)
  Connacht   Pat Lam   John Muldoon Sportsgrounds 7,800 7th-place play-off loser
  Edinburgh   Alan Solomons   Mike Coman Murrayfield Stadium 67,144[a] Pro12 bottom 5 (8th)
  Enisey-STM   Alexander Pervukhin   Jurijs Baranovs Central Stadium
Sochi Central Stadium 		15,000
10,200 		Challenge Cup Qualification play-off
  Gloucester   David Humphreys   Billy Twelvetrees Kingsholm Stadium 16,500 7th-place play-off loser
  Grenoble   Fabrice Landreau   Fabien Gengenbacher Stade des Alpes 20,068 Top 14 7th-12th (11th)
  Harlequins   Conor O'Shea   Danny Care Twickenham Stoop 14,816 Aviva Premiership 7th-11th (8th)
  La Rochelle   Patrice Collazo   Uini Atonio Stade Marcel-Deflandre 15,000 Top 14 7th-12th (9th)
  London Irish   Tom Coventry   George Skivington Madejski Stadium 24,161 Aviva Premiership 7th-11th (10th)
  Montpellier   Jake White   Fulgence Ouedraogo Altrad Stadium 14,700 Top 14 7th-12th (8th)
  Newcastle Falcons   John Wells   Will Welch Kingston Park 10,200 Aviva Premiership 7th-11th (11th)
  Newport Gwent Dragons   Lyn Jones   T. Rhys Thomas Rodney Parade 8,500 Pro12 bottom 5 (9th)
  Pau   Simon Mannix   Julien Pierre Stade du Hameau 13,819 Pro D2 Champion
  Sale Sharks   Steve Diamond   Daniel Braid AJ Bell Stadium 12,000 Aviva Premiership 7th-11th (7th)
  Worcester Warriors   Dean Ryan   Gerrit-Jan van Velze Sixways Stadium 12,024 2014–15 RFU Championship Champion
  Zebre   Gianluca Guidi   George Biagi Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi 5,000 Pro12 bottom 5 (12th)

Seeding edit

The 20 competing teams were seeded and split into four tiers; seeding was based on performance in their respective domestic leagues. Where promotion and relegation is in effect in a league, the promoted team was seeded last, or (if multiple teams are promoted) by performance in the lower tier.[7] So, Pau – who were Pro D2 champions – will be seeded above Agen – who qualified through the Pro D2 play-off.

Teams were taken from a league in order of rank and put into a tier. A draw was used to allocate two second seeds to Tier 1; the remaining team went into Tier 2. This allocation indirectly determined which fourth-seeded team entered Tier 2, while the others entered Tier 3.

Given the nature of the Qualifying Competition, a competition including developing rugby nations and Italian clubs not competing in the Pro12, Rugby Europe 1 and Rugby Europe 2 were automatically included in Tier 4, despite officially being ranked 1/2 from that competition.

The 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   Connacht (1 Pro12)   Sale Sharks (1 AP)   Montpellier (1 Top 14)   La Rochelle (2 Top 14)   Edinburgh (2 Pro12)
Tier 2   Harlequins (2 AP)   Newport Gwent Dragons (3 Pro12)   Gloucester (3 AP)   Brive (3 Top 14)   London Irish (4 AP)
Tier 3   Grenoble (4 Top 14)   Cardiff Blues (4 Pro12)   Zebre (5 Pro12)   Newcastle Falcons (5 AP)   Castres Olympique (5 Top 14)
Tier 4   Worcester Warriors (6 AP)   Pau (Top 14)   Agen (Top 14)   Calvisano (QC 1)   Enisey-STM (QC 2)

The draw for the Challenge Cup took place on 17 June 2015 in Neuchatel, Switzerland.[8]

The following restrictions applied to the draw:[8]

  • The 5 pools each consisted of four clubs, one from each of the 4 Tiers.
  • Each pool was required 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 the possibility of 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. (There were 2 Welsh, 1 Irish, 1 Scottish and 1 Italian teams from the Pro12 this year.)
  • Similarly, the two Italian sides (Tier 3 Zebre from the Pro12 and Tier 4 Calvisano from the Qualifying Competition) could not be in the same pool.

Pool stage edit

Main article: 2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup pool stage

The draw took place on 17 June 2015.[9]

Teams will play each other twice, both at home and away, in the group stage, that will begin on weekend of 12/13/14/15 November 2015, and continued through to 21/22/23/24 January 2016, before the pool winners and three best runners-up progressed to the quarter-finals.[9]

Teams will be 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.[10]

In the event of a tie between two or more teams, the following tie-breakers will be used, as directed by EPCR:

  1. Where teams have played each other
    1. The club with the greater number of competition points from only matches involving tied teams.
    2. If equal, the club with the best aggregate points difference from those matches.
    3. If equal, the club that scored the most tries in those matches.
  2. Where teams remain tied and/or have not played each other in the competition (i.e. are from different pools)
    1. The club with the best aggregate points difference from the pool stage.
    2. If equal, the club that scored the most tries in the pool stage.
    3. If equal, the club with the fewest players suspended in the pool stage.
    4. If equal, the drawing of lots will determine a club's ranking..
Key to colours
     Winner of each pool, advanced to quarter-finals.
     Three highest-scoring second-place teams advanced to quarter-finals.

Pool 1 edit

Team
 P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
  Connacht (5) 6 4 0 2 147 96 +51 20 12 2 1 19
  Newcastle Falcons 6 3 0 3 137 97 +40 20 9 3 1 16
  Brive 6 3 0 3 114 88 +26 12 11 1 3 16
  Enisey-STM 6 2 0 4 63 180 –117 8 28 0 0 8

Pool 2 edit

Team
 P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
  Sale Sharks (3) 6 5 0 1 154 78 +76 20 9 3 0 23
  Newport Gwent Dragons (7) 6 4 0 2 151 117 +34 17 16 3 1 20
  Castres Olympique 6 3 0 3 124 136 –12 14 15 2 1 15
  Pau 6 0 0 6 68 166 –98 9 20 0 0 0

Pool 3 edit

Team
 P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
  Harlequins (1) 6 5 0 1 225 123 +102 31 13 5 0 25
  Montpellier (6) 6 4 0 2 221 116 +105 28 13 4 0 20
  Cardiff Blues 6 3 0 3 229 131 +98 31 14 4 1 17
  Calvisano 6 0 0 6 39 344 –305 3 53 0 0 0

Pool 4 edit

Team
 P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
  Gloucester (2) 6 6 0 0 151 86 +65 16 10 1 0 25
  Zebre 6 3 0 3 114 92 +22 11 12 0 1 13
  La Rochelle 6 2 0 4 100 127 –27 12 13 2 0 10
  Worcester Warriors 6 1 0 5 88 148 –60 9 14 0 1 5

Pool 5 edit

Team
 P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
  Grenoble (4) 6 5 0 1 187 154 +33 22 19 2 0 22
  London Irish (8) 6 3 0 3 170 106 +64 25 10 3 2 17
  Edinburgh 6 4 0 2 125 103 +22 14 12 1 0 17
  Agen 6 0 0 6 98 217 –119 13 32 1 1 2

Pool winners and runners-up rankings edit

Rank Pool Winners Pts TF +/−
1   Harlequins 25 31 +102
2   Gloucester 25 16 +65
3   Sale Sharks 23 20 +76
4   Grenoble 22 22 +33
5   Connacht 19 20 +51
Rank Pool Runners–up Pts TF +/−
6   Montpellier 20 28 +105
7   Newport Gwent Dragons 20 17 +34
8   London Irish 17 25 +64
9   Newcastle Falcons 16 20 +40
10   Zebre 13 11 +22

Knock-out stage edit

The eight qualifiers were ranked according to performance in the pool stages, and competed in the quarter-finals, which were held on the weekend of 8/9/10 April 2016. The four top seeds hosted the quarter-finals against the lower seeds, in a 1v8, 2v7, 3v6 and 4v5 format.

The semi-finals were played on the weekend of 22/23/24 April 2016. In lieu of the draw that was used to determine the semi-final pairing, EPCR announced that a fixed semi-final bracket would be set in advance, and that home advantage would be awarded to a side based on "performances by clubs during the pool stages as well as the achievement of a winning a quarter-final match away from home".

Home advantage was awarded as follows:[10]

The winners of the semi-finals would contest the final, at Parc Olympique Lyonnais (called "Grand Stade de Lyon" by EPCR), on 13 May 2016.[2]

Bracket edit

Quarter-finals edit

8 April 2016
19:45
Sale Sharks   (3)19–25(6)   Montpellier
Try: Brady 21' m
James 76' m
Pen: Cipriani (3/3) 11', 32', 61'		Report[11]Try: Willemse 14' c
Con: Paillaugue (1/1) 15'
Pen: Paillaugue (6/8) 17', 45', 55', 64', 67', 71'
AJ Bell Stadium
Attendance: 4,557
Referee: John Lacey (IRFU)
9 April 2016
12:45
Gloucester   (2)21–23(7)   Newport Gwent Dragons
Try: Morgan 13' m
McColl 63' c
Con: Laidlaw (1/2) 64'
Pen: Laidlaw (3/3) 19', 26', 71'		Report[12]Try: Davies 76' m
Pen: D. Jones (6/6) 9', 16', 32', 39', 44', 54'
Kingsholm Stadium
Attendance: 10,501
Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (FFR)
9 April 2016
21:05
Grenoble   (4)33–32(5)   Connacht
Try: Wisniewski 32' c
Dupont 61' c
Diaby 69' c
Con: Wisniewski (3/3) 33', 62', 70'
Pen: Wisniewski (3/3) 20', 37', 40'
Drop: Wisniewski (1/1) 75'		Report[13]Try: Adeolokun (2) 11' c, 28' c
Henshaw 22' m
Healy 42' c
Con: O'Leary (3/4) 12', 29', 43'
Pen: O'Leary (1/1) 53'
Cooney (1/1) 72'
Stade des Alpes
Attendance: 14,077
Referee: Matthew Carley (RFU)
9 April 2016
20:05
Harlequins   (1)38–30(8)   London Irish
Try: Wallace (2) 6' m, 61' m
Care (3) 20' c, 52' m, 74' c
Con: Botica (2/5) 22', 76'
Pen: Botica (3/4) 26', 36', 71'		Report[14]Try: Mulchrone 27' c
McKibbin 44' c
Maitland 50' c
Con: Geraghty (3/3) 28', 45', 51'
Pen: Geraghty (3/3) 13', 24', 33'
Twickenham Stoop
Attendance: 9,851
Referee: Marius Mitrea (FIR)

Semi-finals edit

22 April 2016
19:45
Harlequins  30–6  Grenoble
Try: Roberts 11' c
Evans 53' c
Lowe 68' c
Con: Botica (1/1) 12'
Evans (2/2) 54', 68'
Pen: Botica (2/2) 6', 17'
Evans (1/2) 66'		Report[15]Pen: Wisniewski (2/2) 15', 26'
Twickenham Stoop
Attendance: 10,563
Referee: John Lacey (IRFU)
23 April 2016
18:30
Montpellier  22–12  Newport Gwent Dragons
Try: B. du Plessis 59' c
Con: Catrakilis (1/1) 60'
Pen: Catrakilis (4/4) 20', 28', 32', 54'
Paillaugue (1/1) 35'		Report[16]Try: Amos 61' m
Meyer 77' c
Con: O'Brien (1/2) 78'
Altrad Stadium
Attendance: 7,692
Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU)

Final edit

13 May 2016
21:00
Harlequins  19–26  Montpellier
Try: Yarde 71' c
Con: Botica (1/1) 72'
Pen: Evans (3/3) 4', 31', 34'
Botica (1/1) 77'		Report[17]Try: Mogg 22' c, 47' c
Con: Catrakilis (2/2) 23', 48'
Pen: Catrakilis (4/4) 7', 28', 54', 67'
Grand Stade de Lyon, Lyon
Attendance: 28,556
Referee: John Lacey (IRFU)

Attendances edit

  • Does not include final as this is held at a neutral venue.
Club Home
Games 		Total Average Highest Lowest % Capacity
  Agen 3 13,664 4,555 5,200 3,932 33%
  Brive 3 12,000 4,000 6,000 3,000 25%
  Calvisano 3 3,900 1,300 1,500 1,100 33%
  Cardiff Blues 3 15,341 5,114 5,490 4,602 41%
  Castres Olympique 3 20,421 6,807 7,580 6,025 59%
  Connacht 3 12,964 4,321 4,357 4,261 55%
  Edinburgh 3 9,915 3,305 3,551 3,100 5%
  Enisey-ETM 3 3,500 1,167 2,500 400 7%
  Gloucester 4 40,625 10,156 10,942 9,209 62%
  Grenoble 4 40,308 10,077 14,077 8,361 50%
  Harlequins 5 51,692 10,338 12,912 7,136 70%
  La Rochelle 3 31,863 10,621 12,763 8,500 71%
  London Irish 3 11,859 3,953 4,216 3,684 16%
  Montpellier 4 31,092 7,773 9,900 6,000 53%
  Newcastle Falcons 3 11,963 3,988 4,093 3,803 39%
  Newport Gwent Dragons 3 12,973 4,324 4,455 4,202 49%
  Pau 3 21,500 7,167 8,000 6,000 52%
  Sale Sharks 4 17,103 4,276 4,557 4,006 36%
  Worcester Warriors 3 18,032 6,011 6,774 5,124 50%
  Zebre 3 5,854 1,951 2,413 1,657 39%

[18]

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Although Murrayfield's full capacity is 67,144, only the lower section of the West Stand, with a capacity of 12,464, is generally opened for Edinburgh fixtures.

References edit

  1. ^ "Key 2015/16 EPCR dates and Champions Cup play-offs : EPCRugby.com | News | European Rugby Champions Cup". epcrugby.com. Retrieved 2015-05-02.
  2. ^ a b "Lyon to host 2016 Champions Cup and Challenge Cup finals with Edinburgh chosen for 2017". EPCRugby. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  3. ^ "Harlequins 19 Montpellier 26: Quins unable to give Conor O'Shea last hurrah in Challenge Cup final". Daily Telegraph. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  4. ^ "European Challenge Cup final: Harlequins 19-26 Montpellier". BBC Sport. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  5. ^ "Champions Cup play-off: Gloucester 40-32 Connacht". 24 May 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2017 – via www.bbc.com.
  6. ^ "European Rugby Champions Cup: Gloucester 22-23 Bordeaux-Begles". 31 May 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2017 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  7. ^ . ERCRugby.com. 7 June 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-10-31. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  8. ^ a b European Rugby Pool Draws for 2015/16 season - EPCRugby.com
  9. ^ a b "European heavyweights to clash following 2015/16 Pool Draws". EPCRugby. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  10. ^ a b . Archived from the original on 2015-04-20. Retrieved 2015-06-17.
  11. ^ . epcrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2016-11-04. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  12. ^ . epcrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-17. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  13. ^ . epcrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-17. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  14. ^ . epcrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2017-09-18. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  15. ^ . epcrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2016-05-29. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  16. ^ . epcrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2017-09-17. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  17. ^ . epcrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2016-05-17. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  18. ^ "European Rugby Challenge Cup 15/16 Home attendance". Rugby Statbunker. 9 April 2016.

December 15, 2023
2015, european, rugby, challenge, second, edition, european, rugby, challenge, annual, european, rugby, union, competition, professional, clubs, also, 20th, season, challenge, competition, forms, following, from, defunct, european, challenge, 2015, rugby, worl. The 2015 16 European Rugby Challenge Cup was the second edition of the European Rugby Challenge Cup an annual pan European rugby union competition for professional clubs It is also the 20th season of the Challenge Cup competition in all forms following on from the now defunct European Challenge Cup Due to the 2015 Rugby World Cup taking place during September and October 2015 the competition began slightly later than usual with the first round of the group stage on the weekend of 12 13 14 15 November 2015 and ended with the final on 13 May 2016 in Lyon 1 2 2015 16 European Rugby Challenge CupTournament detailsCountries England France Ireland Italy Russia Scotland WalesTournament format s Round robin and KnockoutDate12 November 2015 13 May 2016Tournament statisticsTeams20Matches played61Attendance415 348 6 809 per match Highest attendance28 556 Montpellier v Harlequins 13 May 2016Lowest attendance400 Enisey STM v Newcastle Falcons 16 January 2016Tries scored347 5 69 per match Top point scorer s Benoit Paillaugue Montpellier Rhys Patchell Cardiff Blues 56 points Top try scorer s Marcus Watson Newcastle Falcons 6 tries FinalVenueGrand Stade de Lyon LyonChampionsMontpellier 1st title Runners upHarlequins 2014 15 Previous Next 2016 17 Gloucester were the 2014 1 5 champions having beaten Edinburgh 19 13 in the final Montpellier won the cup defeating Harlequins in the final 26 19 3 4 Contents 1 Teams 1 1 Champions Cup play off 1 2 Qualifying Competition 1 2 1 Pool 1 play off 1 2 2 Pool 2 play off 1 3 Team details 2 Seeding 3 Pool stage 3 1 Pool 1 3 2 Pool 2 3 3 Pool 3 3 4 Pool 4 3 5 Pool 5 3 6 Pool winners and runners up rankings 4 Knock out stage 4 1 Bracket 4 2 Quarter finals 4 3 Semi finals 4 4 Final 5 Attendances 6 See also 7 Notes 8 ReferencesTeams edit20 teams qualified for the 2015 16 European Rugby Challenge Cup a total of 18 qualified from across the Premiership Pro12 and Top 14 as a direct result of their domestic league performance with two coming through a play off The distribution of teams was England 6 Any teams excluding the 2014 15 European Rugby Challenge Cup winner finishing between 7th 11th position in the Aviva Premiership 4 Teams The champion of the 2014 15 Greene King IPA Championship 1 Team There was a sixth club from England after Gloucester lost the play off series for entry into the European Rugby Champions Cup 1 club France 7 Any teams finishing between 8th 12th position in the Top 14 5 Teams The champion and the winner of the promotion play off from the Pro D2 2 Teams Ireland Italy Scotland amp Wales 5 teams Any teams that did not qualify for the European Rugby Champions Cup or the play off through the Guinness Pro12 4 teams There was a 5th team from Pro12 after Connacht were defeated by Gloucester in the first round of the Champions Cup play off 1 team Other European Nations 2 teams Two teams qualified through the 2014 15 Qualifying Competition which took place alongside the Challenge Cup and Champions Cup competitions As of 24 May 2015 the following clubs qualified for the Challenge Cup Aviva Premiership Top 14 Pro12 Qualifying Competition nbsp England nbsp France nbsp Ireland nbsp Italy nbsp Scotland nbsp Wales nbsp OtherSale Sharks Harlequins Gloucester London Irish Newcastle Falcons Worcester Warriors GK IPA Championship winner Montpellier La Rochelle Brive Grenoble Castres Olympique Pau Pro D2 champion Agen Pro D2 Play off winner Connacht Zebre Edinburgh Newport Gwent Dragons Cardiff Blues nbsp Calvisano nbsp Enisey STMChampions Cup play off edit Main article 2015 16 European Rugby Champions Challenge Cup play offs 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 Aviva Premiership Top 14 Pro 12 nbsp England nbsp France nbsp IrelandGloucester Bordeaux Begles ConnachtThe play off was a two match series with the winner of the first match progressing to the second and the winner of that second match qualifying for the Champions Cup The two losing sides both joined the Challenge Cup 24 May 201515 30 GMTGloucester nbsp 40 32 a e t nbsp ConnachtReport 5 Kingsholm Stadium Gloucester Attendance 7 633Referee Romain Poite FFR 31 May 201517 00 GMTGloucester nbsp 22 23 nbsp Bordeaux BeglesReport 6 Sixways Stadium Worcester Attendance 5 447Referee Leighton Hodges WRU Qualifying Competition edit Further information European Rugby Challenge Cup Qualifying Competition 2014 15 In December 2014 EPCR announced an expanded format for the qualifying competition Six teams were to compete in two pools of three Each team played the other once either home or away The winner of each pool then played a two legged final against last year s qualifying sides and the winners on aggregate took the two remaining places in the Challenge Cup Pool 1 play off edit 18 April 2015Rovigo Delta nbsp 17 17 nbsp Calvisano 2 May 2015Calvisano nbsp 35 7 nbsp Rovigo Delta Calvisano won the play off 52 24 on aggregate and qualified for the Challenge Cup Pool 2 play off edit 18 April 2015CSM Baia Mare nbsp 20 30 nbsp Enisey STM 2 May 2015Enisey STM nbsp 33 12 nbsp CSM Baia Mare Enisey STM won the play off 63 32 on aggregate and competed in the Challenge CupTeam details edit 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 and QF for losing Quarter finalist Team Coach Director of Rugby Captain Stadium Capacity Method of Qualification nbsp Agen nbsp Philippe Sella nbsp Lionel Mazars Stade Armandie 14 000 Pro D2 runner up nbsp Brive nbsp Nicolas Godignon nbsp Arnaud Mela Stade Amedee Domenech 16 000 Top 14 7th 12th 10th nbsp Calvisano nbsp Massimo Brunello nbsp Tommaso Castello Centro Sportivo San Michele 4 000 Challenge Cup Qualification play off nbsp Cardiff Blues nbsp Danny Wilson nbsp Gethin Jenkins BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park 12 500 Pro12 bottom 5 10th nbsp Castres Olympique nbsp Christophe Urios nbsp Rodrigo Capo Ortega Stade Pierre Antoine 11 500 Top 14 7th 12th 12th nbsp Connacht nbsp Pat Lam nbsp John Muldoon Sportsgrounds 7 800 7th place play off loser nbsp Edinburgh nbsp Alan Solomons nbsp Mike Coman Murrayfield Stadium 67 144 a Pro12 bottom 5 8th nbsp Enisey STM nbsp Alexander Pervukhin nbsp Jurijs Baranovs Central StadiumSochi Central Stadium 15 00010 200 Challenge Cup Qualification play off nbsp Gloucester nbsp David Humphreys nbsp Billy Twelvetrees Kingsholm Stadium 16 500 7th place play off loser nbsp Grenoble nbsp Fabrice Landreau nbsp Fabien Gengenbacher Stade des Alpes 20 068 Top 14 7th 12th 11th nbsp Harlequins nbsp Conor O Shea nbsp Danny Care Twickenham Stoop 14 816 Aviva Premiership 7th 11th 8th nbsp La Rochelle nbsp Patrice Collazo nbsp Uini Atonio Stade Marcel Deflandre 15 000 Top 14 7th 12th 9th nbsp London Irish nbsp Tom Coventry nbsp George Skivington Madejski Stadium 24 161 Aviva Premiership 7th 11th 10th nbsp Montpellier nbsp Jake White nbsp Fulgence Ouedraogo Altrad Stadium 14 700 Top 14 7th 12th 8th nbsp Newcastle Falcons nbsp John Wells nbsp Will Welch Kingston Park 10 200 Aviva Premiership 7th 11th 11th nbsp Newport Gwent Dragons nbsp Lyn Jones nbsp T Rhys Thomas Rodney Parade 8 500 Pro12 bottom 5 9th nbsp Pau nbsp Simon Mannix nbsp Julien Pierre Stade du Hameau 13 819 Pro D2 Champion nbsp Sale Sharks nbsp Steve Diamond nbsp Daniel Braid AJ Bell Stadium 12 000 Aviva Premiership 7th 11th 7th nbsp Worcester Warriors nbsp Dean Ryan nbsp Gerrit Jan van Velze Sixways Stadium 12 024 2014 15 RFU Championship Champion nbsp Zebre nbsp Gianluca Guidi nbsp George Biagi Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi 5 000 Pro12 bottom 5 12th Seeding editThe 20 competing teams were seeded and split into four tiers seeding was based on performance in their respective domestic leagues Where promotion and relegation is in effect in a league the promoted team was seeded last or if multiple teams are promoted by performance in the lower tier 7 So Pau who were Pro D2 champions will be seeded above Agen who qualified through the Pro D2 play off Rank Top 14 Premiership Pro 12 Qualifying Competition1 nbsp Montpellier nbsp Sale Sharks nbsp Connacht nbsp Calvisano2 nbsp La Rochelle nbsp Harlequins nbsp Edinburgh nbsp Enisey STM3 nbsp Brive nbsp Gloucester nbsp Newport Gwent Dragons4 nbsp Grenoble nbsp London Irish nbsp Cardiff Blues5 nbsp Castres Olympique nbsp Newcastle Falcons nbsp Zebre6 nbsp Pau nbsp Worcester Warriors7 nbsp AgenTeams were taken from a league in order of rank and put into a tier A draw was used to allocate two second seeds to Tier 1 the remaining team went into Tier 2 This allocation indirectly determined which fourth seeded team entered Tier 2 while the others entered Tier 3 Given the nature of the Qualifying Competition a competition including developing rugby nations and Italian clubs not competing in the Pro12 Rugby Europe 1 and Rugby Europe 2 were automatically included in Tier 4 despite officially being ranked 1 2 from that competition The 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 nbsp Connacht 1 Pro12 nbsp Sale Sharks 1 AP nbsp Montpellier 1 Top 14 nbsp La Rochelle 2 Top 14 nbsp Edinburgh 2 Pro12 Tier 2 nbsp Harlequins 2 AP nbsp Newport Gwent Dragons 3 Pro12 nbsp Gloucester 3 AP nbsp Brive 3 Top 14 nbsp London Irish 4 AP Tier 3 nbsp Grenoble 4 Top 14 nbsp Cardiff Blues 4 Pro12 nbsp Zebre 5 Pro12 nbsp Newcastle Falcons 5 AP nbsp Castres Olympique 5 Top 14 Tier 4 nbsp Worcester Warriors 6 AP nbsp Pau Top 14 nbsp Agen Top 14 nbsp Calvisano QC 1 nbsp Enisey STM QC 2 The draw for the Challenge Cup took place on 17 June 2015 in Neuchatel Switzerland 8 The following restrictions applied to the draw 8 The 5 pools each consisted of four clubs one from each of the 4 Tiers Each pool was required 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 the possibility of 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 There were 2 Welsh 1 Irish 1 Scottish and 1 Italian teams from the Pro12 this year Similarly the two Italian sides Tier 3 Zebre from the Pro12 and Tier 4 Calvisano from the Qualifying Competition could not be in the same pool Pool stage editMain article 2015 16 European Rugby Challenge Cup pool stage The draw took place on 17 June 2015 9 Teams will play each other twice both at home and away in the group stage that will begin on weekend of 12 13 14 15 November 2015 and continued through to 21 22 23 24 January 2016 before the pool winners and three best runners up progressed to the quarter finals 9 Teams will be 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 10 In the event of a tie between two or more teams the following tie breakers will be 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 Key to colours Winner of each pool advanced to quarter finals Three highest scoring second place teams advanced to quarter finals Pool 1 edit Teamvte P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts nbsp Connacht 5 6 4 0 2 147 96 51 20 12 2 1 19 nbsp Newcastle Falcons 6 3 0 3 137 97 40 20 9 3 1 16 nbsp Brive 6 3 0 3 114 88 26 12 11 1 3 16 nbsp Enisey STM 6 2 0 4 63 180 117 8 28 0 0 8Pool 2 edit Teamvte P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts nbsp Sale Sharks 3 6 5 0 1 154 78 76 20 9 3 0 23 nbsp Newport Gwent Dragons 7 6 4 0 2 151 117 34 17 16 3 1 20 nbsp Castres Olympique 6 3 0 3 124 136 12 14 15 2 1 15 nbsp Pau 6 0 0 6 68 166 98 9 20 0 0 0Pool 3 edit Teamvte P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts nbsp Harlequins 1 6 5 0 1 225 123 102 31 13 5 0 25 nbsp Montpellier 6 6 4 0 2 221 116 105 28 13 4 0 20 nbsp Cardiff Blues 6 3 0 3 229 131 98 31 14 4 1 17 nbsp Calvisano 6 0 0 6 39 344 305 3 53 0 0 0Pool 4 edit Teamvte P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts nbsp Gloucester 2 6 6 0 0 151 86 65 16 10 1 0 25 nbsp Zebre 6 3 0 3 114 92 22 11 12 0 1 13 nbsp La Rochelle 6 2 0 4 100 127 27 12 13 2 0 10 nbsp Worcester Warriors 6 1 0 5 88 148 60 9 14 0 1 5Pool 5 edit Teamvte P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts nbsp Grenoble 4 6 5 0 1 187 154 33 22 19 2 0 22 nbsp London Irish 8 6 3 0 3 170 106 64 25 10 3 2 17 nbsp Edinburgh 6 4 0 2 125 103 22 14 12 1 0 17 nbsp Agen 6 0 0 6 98 217 119 13 32 1 1 2Pool winners and runners up rankings edit Rank Pool Winners Pts TF 1 nbsp Harlequins 25 31 1022 nbsp Gloucester 25 16 653 nbsp Sale Sharks 23 20 764 nbsp Grenoble 22 22 335 nbsp Connacht 19 20 51Rank Pool Runners up Pts TF 6 nbsp Montpellier 20 28 1057 nbsp Newport Gwent Dragons 20 17 348 nbsp London Irish 17 25 649 nbsp Newcastle Falcons 16 20 4010 nbsp Zebre 13 11 22Knock out stage editThe eight qualifiers were ranked according to performance in the pool stages and competed in the quarter finals which were held on the weekend of 8 9 10 April 2016 The four top seeds hosted the quarter finals against the lower seeds in a 1v8 2v7 3v6 and 4v5 format The semi finals were played on the weekend of 22 23 24 April 2016 In lieu of the draw that was used to determine the semi final pairing EPCR announced that a fixed semi final bracket would be set in advance and that home advantage would be awarded to a side based on performances by clubs during the pool stages as well as the achievement of a winning a quarter final match away from home Home advantage was awarded as follows 10 Winner of QF Semi final 1 Home v Away 1 4 1 v 41 5 5 v 18 4 8 v 48 5 5 v 8 Winner of QF Semi final 2 Home v Away 3 2 2 v 33 7 7 v 36 2 6 v 26 7 6 v 7 The winners of the semi finals would contest the final at Parc Olympique Lyonnais called Grand Stade de Lyon by EPCR on 13 May 2016 2 Bracket edit Quarter finalsSemi finalsFinal 1 nbsp Harlequins388 nbsp London Irish301 nbsp Harlequins304 nbsp Grenoble64 nbsp Grenoble335 nbsp Connacht321 nbsp Harlequins196 nbsp Montpellier263 nbsp Sale Sharks196 nbsp Montpellier256 nbsp Montpellier227 nbsp Newport Gwent Dragons122 nbsp Gloucester217 nbsp Newport Gwent Dragons23Quarter finals edit 8 April 201619 45Sale Sharks nbsp 3 19 25 6 nbsp MontpellierTry Brady 21 mJames 76 mPen Cipriani 3 3 11 32 61 Report 11 Try Willemse 14 cCon Paillaugue 1 1 15 Pen Paillaugue 6 8 17 45 55 64 67 71 AJ Bell Stadium Attendance 4 557Referee John Lacey IRFU 9 April 201612 45Gloucester nbsp 2 21 23 7 nbsp Newport Gwent DragonsTry Morgan 13 mMcColl 63 cCon Laidlaw 1 2 64 Pen Laidlaw 3 3 19 26 71 Report 12 Try Davies 76 mPen D Jones 6 6 9 16 32 39 44 54 Kingsholm Stadium Attendance 10 501Referee Pascal Gauzere FFR 9 April 201621 05Grenoble nbsp 4 33 32 5 nbsp ConnachtTry Wisniewski 32 cDupont 61 cDiaby 69 cCon Wisniewski 3 3 33 62 70 Pen Wisniewski 3 3 20 37 40 Drop Wisniewski 1 1 75 Report 13 Try Adeolokun 2 11 c 28 cHenshaw 22 mHealy 42 cCon O Leary 3 4 12 29 43 Pen O Leary 1 1 53 Cooney 1 1 72 Stade des Alpes Attendance 14 077Referee Matthew Carley RFU 9 April 201620 05Harlequins nbsp 1 38 30 8 nbsp London IrishTry Wallace 2 6 m 61 mCare 3 20 c 52 m 74 cCon Botica 2 5 22 76 Pen Botica 3 4 26 36 71 Report 14 Try Mulchrone 27 cMcKibbin 44 cMaitland 50 cCon Geraghty 3 3 28 45 51 Pen Geraghty 3 3 13 24 33 Twickenham Stoop Attendance 9 851Referee Marius Mitrea FIR Semi finals edit 22 April 201619 45Harlequins nbsp 30 6 nbsp GrenobleTry Roberts 11 cEvans 53 cLowe 68 cCon Botica 1 1 12 Evans 2 2 54 68 Pen Botica 2 2 6 17 Evans 1 2 66 Report 15 Pen Wisniewski 2 2 15 26 Twickenham Stoop Attendance 10 563Referee John Lacey IRFU 23 April 201618 30Montpellier nbsp 22 12 nbsp Newport Gwent DragonsTry B du Plessis 59 cCon Catrakilis 1 1 60 Pen Catrakilis 4 4 20 28 32 54 Paillaugue 1 1 35 Report 16 Try Amos 61 mMeyer 77 cCon O Brien 1 2 78 Altrad Stadium Attendance 7 692Referee Wayne Barnes RFU Final edit 13 May 201621 00Harlequins nbsp 19 26 nbsp MontpellierTry Yarde 71 cCon Botica 1 1 72 Pen Evans 3 3 4 31 34 Botica 1 1 77 Report 17 Try Mogg 22 c 47 cCon Catrakilis 2 2 23 48 Pen Catrakilis 4 4 7 28 54 67 Grand Stade de Lyon Lyon Attendance 28 556Referee John Lacey IRFU Attendances editDoes not include final as this is held at a neutral venue Club HomeGames Total Average Highest Lowest Capacity nbsp Agen 3 13 664 4 555 5 200 3 932 33 nbsp Brive 3 12 000 4 000 6 000 3 000 25 nbsp Calvisano 3 3 900 1 300 1 500 1 100 33 nbsp Cardiff Blues 3 15 341 5 114 5 490 4 602 41 nbsp Castres Olympique 3 20 421 6 807 7 580 6 025 59 nbsp Connacht 3 12 964 4 321 4 357 4 261 55 nbsp Edinburgh 3 9 915 3 305 3 551 3 100 5 nbsp Enisey ETM 3 3 500 1 167 2 500 400 7 nbsp Gloucester 4 40 625 10 156 10 942 9 209 62 nbsp Grenoble 4 40 308 10 077 14 077 8 361 50 nbsp Harlequins 5 51 692 10 338 12 912 7 136 70 nbsp La Rochelle 3 31 863 10 621 12 763 8 500 71 nbsp London Irish 3 11 859 3 953 4 216 3 684 16 nbsp Montpellier 4 31 092 7 773 9 900 6 000 53 nbsp Newcastle Falcons 3 11 963 3 988 4 093 3 803 39 nbsp Newport Gwent Dragons 3 12 973 4 324 4 455 4 202 49 nbsp Pau 3 21 500 7 167 8 000 6 000 52 nbsp Sale Sharks 4 17 103 4 276 4 557 4 006 36 nbsp Worcester Warriors 3 18 032 6 011 6 774 5 124 50 nbsp Zebre 3 5 854 1 951 2 413 1 657 39 18 See also edit2015 16 European Rugby Champions CupNotes edit Although Murrayfield s full capacity is 67 144 only the lower section of the West Stand with a capacity of 12 464 is generally opened for Edinburgh fixtures References edit Key 2015 16 EPCR dates and Champions Cup play offs EPCRugby com News European Rugby Champions Cup epcrugby com Retrieved 2015 05 02 a b Lyon to host 2016 Champions Cup and Challenge Cup finals with Edinburgh chosen for 2017 EPCRugby 17 June 2015 Retrieved 17 June 2015 Harlequins 19 Montpellier 26 Quins unable to give Conor O Shea last hurrah in Challenge Cup final Daily Telegraph 13 May 2016 Retrieved 16 May 2016 European Challenge Cup final Harlequins 19 26 Montpellier BBC Sport 13 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 European Rugby Champions Cup Gloucester 22 23 Bordeaux Begles 31 May 2015 Retrieved 14 September 2017 via www bbc co uk Watch the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup Pool Draws live News ERC Official Website ERCRugby com 7 June 2014 Archived from the original on 2014 10 31 Retrieved 8 June 2014 a b European Rugby Pool Draws for 2015 16 season EPCRugby com a b European heavyweights to clash following 2015 16 Pool Draws EPCRugby 17 June 2015 Retrieved 17 June 2015 a b EPCR Competition Rules Archived from the original on 2015 04 20 Retrieved 2015 06 17 European Rugby Challenge Cup ECPR epcrugby com Archived from the original on 2016 11 04 Retrieved 14 September 2017 European Rugby Challenge Cup ECPR epcrugby com Archived from the original on 2016 04 17 Retrieved 14 September 2017 European Rugby Challenge Cup ECPR epcrugby com Archived from the original on 2016 06 17 Retrieved 14 September 2017 European Rugby Challenge Cup ECPR epcrugby com Archived from the original on 2017 09 18 Retrieved 14 September 2017 European Rugby Challenge Cup ECPR epcrugby com Archived from the original on 2016 05 29 Retrieved 14 September 2017 European Rugby Challenge Cup ECPR epcrugby com Archived from the original on 2017 09 17 Retrieved 14 September 2017 European Rugby Challenge Cup ECPR epcrugby com Archived from the original on 2016 05 17 Retrieved 14 September 2017 European Rugby Challenge Cup 15 16 Home attendance Rugby Statbunker 9 April 2016 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2015 16 European Rugby Challenge Cup amp oldid 1189383983, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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