1996–97 European Challenge Cup pool stage
Football tournament stage
| 1996–97 European Challenge Cup pool stage | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 1996–97 European Challenge Cup | ||
| Date | 12 October 1996 – 2 November 1996 | ||
| Qualifiers | |||
| Seed 1 |  Castres Olympique | ||
| Seed 2 |  Northampton Saints | ||
| Seed 3 | Bourgoin | ||
| Seed 4 | Agen | ||
| Seed 5 | Montferrand | ||
| Seed 6 | Toulon | ||
| Seed 7 | Narbonne | ||
| Seed 8 | Bordeaux-Bègles | ||
| |||
The 1996–97 European Challenge Cup pool stage was the opening stage of the first season of the European Challenge Cup, the second-tier competition for European rugby union clubs. Matches took place between 12 October and 2 November 1996.
Twenty-four teams participated in this phase of the competition; they were divided into four pools of six teams each, with each team playing the other teams in their pool once only. Teams were awarded two points for a win and one point for a draw. The winner and runner-up of each pool progressed to the knockout stage of the tournament. These teams then competed in a single-elimination tournament that ended with the final at the Stade de la Méditerranée in Béziers, France on 26 January 1997.
Results
Pool 1
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agen | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 9 | +11 | 156 | 82 | +74 | 10 |
| Montferrand | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 30 | 8 | +22 | 211 | 74 | +137 | 8 |
| Sale Sharks | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 14 | +4 | 166 | 115 | +51 | 6 |
 Newport | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 19 | −15 | 98 | 158 | −60 | 4 |
 Glasgow | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 30 | −15 | 113 | 202 | −89 | 2 |
| Newbridge | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 16 | 33 | −17 | 106 | 219 | −113 | 0 |
| Source : www.ercrugby.com Archived 2013-08-20 at archive.today Points breakdown: *2 points for a win *1 point for a draw | |||||||||||
Pool 2
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castres Olympique | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 6 | +23 | 207 | 71 | +136 | 10 |
| Narbonne | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 6 | +15 | 161 | 90 | +71 | 8 |
 Dinamo-București | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 32 | −20 | 109 | 213 | −104 | 5 |
| Bridgend | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 14 | −4 | 94 | 120 | −26 | 3 |
| Bristol | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 12 | −1 | 128 | 99 | +29 | 2 |
| Treorchy | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 23 | −13 | 72 | 178 | −106 | 0 |
| Source : www.ercrugby.com Archived 2013-08-20 at archive.today Points breakdown: *2 points for a win *1 point for a draw | |||||||||||
- The Treorchy v Bridgend match was not played.[1]
Pool 3
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northampton Saints | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 12 | +16 | 207 | 88 | +119 | 10 |
| Toulon | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 10 | +12 | 164 | 102 | +62 | 8 |
| Orrell | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 22 | −4 | 122 | 173 | −51 | 4 |
 Connacht | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 17 | −8 | 94 | 131 | −37 | 4 |
| Dunvant | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 22 | −7 | 106 | 169 | −63 | 2 |
 Petrarca | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 19 | −9 | 118 | 148 | −30 | 2 |
| Source : www.ercrugby.com Archived 2013-08-20 at archive.today Points breakdown: *2 points for a win *1 point for a draw | |||||||||||
Pool 4
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bourgoin | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 4 | +23 | 196 | 66 | +130 | 10 |
| Bordeaux-Bègles | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 29 | 13 | +16 | 195 | 99 | +96 | 7 |
| Swansea | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 19 | +9 | 207 | 138 | +69 | 7 |
| Gloucester | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 119 | 123 | −4 | 4 |
| Ebbw Vale | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 36 | −30 | 48 | 243 | −195 | 2 |
| London Irish | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 30 | −18 | 90 | 186 | −96 | 0 |
| Source : www.ercrugby.com Archived 2013-08-20 at archive.today Points breakdown: *2 points for a win *1 point for a draw | |||||||||||
Qualifiers
| Seed | Pool Winners | Pts | TF | +/− |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Castres Olympique | 10 | 29 | +136 |
| 2 | Northampton Saints | 10 | 28 | +119 |
| 3 | Bourgoin | 10 | 27 | +130 |
| 4 | Agen | 10 | 20 | +74 |
| Seed | Runners-up | Pts | TF | +/− |
| 5 | Montferrand | 8 | 30 | +137 |
| 6 | Toulon | 8 | 22 | +62 |
| 7 | Narbonne | 8 | 21 | +71 |
| 8 | Bordeaux-Bègles | 7 | 29 | +96 |
See also
References
- v
- t
- e
Organised by European Professional Club Rugby
Formerly the "European Challenge Cup" and "European Rugby Challenge Cup", organised by European Rugby Cup
Formerly the "European Challenge Cup" and "European Rugby Challenge Cup", organised by European Rugby Cup
- Benetton
- Black Lion
- Castres
- Cheetahs
- Clermont
- Dragons
- Edinburgh
- Gloucester
- Lions
- Montpellier
- Newcastle Falcons
- Ospreys
- Oyonnax
(1996–2014)
| Seasons | |
|---|---|
| Pool stages | |
| European Shield |
(2014–2021)
| Seasons | |
|---|---|
| Pool stages |
(2021–present)
| Seasons | |
|---|---|
| Pool stages |
| Continental Shield | |
|---|---|
| Play-offs |
