The Heineken Cup sponsored by Heineken (known as the H Cup in France due to alcohol advertising laws) is an annual rugby union competition involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the Six Nations: England, France, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Italy.
The Heineken Cup was launched in the summer of 1995 on the initiative of the then Five Nations Committee to provide a new level of professional cross border competition. Twelve sides representing Ireland, Wales, Italy, Romania (though Romanian teams no longer take part) and France competed in four pools of three with the group winners going directly into the semi-finals. English and Scottish teams did not take part in the inaugural competition as they were already committed to their domestic schedules. From an inauspicious beginning in Romania, where Toulouse thrashed Farul Constanta 54-10 in front of a small crowd, the competition gathered momentum and crowds grew. Toulouse went on to become the first European rugby union champions, eventually beating Cardiff RFC in extra time in front of a crowd of 21,800 at Cardiff Arms Park.
England and Scotland joined the competition in 1996/7 and the tournament now had 20 teams divided into four pools of five. Only Leicester and Brive reached the knock-out stages with 100 per cent records and ultimately made it to the final, Cardiff and Toulouse falling in the semi-finals. After 46 matches, Brive beat Leicester 28-9 in front of a crowd of 41,664 at Cardiff Arms Park, the match watched by an estimated television audience of 35 millions in 86 countries.
1997/8 saw the introduction of teams meeting on a home and away basis in the pool games. The five pools of four guaranteed each team a minimum of six games and the three quarter-final play-off matches all added up to a 70-match tournament. Brive reached the final again but were beaten late in the game by Bath with a penalty kick. However English clubs had decided to withdraw from the competition due to a dispute between European Rugby and the RFU over fixture scheduling and money.
Without English clubs the 1998-99 tournament revolved around the Celtic fringes, France and Italy. For the fourth consecutive year a French club, in the shape of Colomiers from the Toulouse suburbs, reached the final. But it was Ulster playing at Lansdowne Road, Dublin who carried home the trophy after a 21-6 win.
English clubs returned in 1999. The pool stages were spread over three months to allow the competition to develop alongside the nations’ own domestic competitions, and the knockout stages were scheduled to take the tournament into the early spring. The 1999-2000 competition was decided with a final between Munster and Northampton, with Northampton coming out on top by a single point.
Since then the tournament has gone from strength to strength with Leicester Tigers becoming the first side to successfully defend their title, beating Stade Francais in the 2001 final and Munster in 2002.
Toulouse's victory over French rivals Perpignan in 2003 meant that they joined the Tigers as the only teams to win the title twice.
The 2004 final saw English side London Wasps defeat Toulouse at Twickenham to win the Heineken Cup for the first time.
In the 2005 final, Toulouse became the first club to win the title three times by defeating another French club, Stade Français of Paris, at Murrayfield.
Places in the Heineken Cup are allocated to the six competing nations on the following basis:
6 France (top 6 in Top 14)
6 England (top 5 in Guinness Premiership, plus winner of Anglo-Welsh Cup if English)
3 Ireland (top 3 Irish sides in Celtic League)
3 Wales (top 3 Welsh sides in Celtic League)
2 Scotland (top 2 Scottish sides in Celtic League)
2 Italy (top 2 in Super 10)
The remaining two places in the 24 team tournament are allocated as follows:
One team comes from France, England or Italy; the place is allocated to the country whose team progressed further in the previous season's Cup. As Toulouse won the 2004-05 Cup, there were 7 French teams in the 2005-06 competition.
The other team is the winner of a playoff in Italy between
(a) the best-placed team in the Celtic League who has not already qualified, and
(b) the team finishing 3rd in the Italian Super 10.
In 2005-06, this team was Cardiff, who beat Viadana in the playoff.
Each nation sets its own criteria for qualification for the Heineken Cup, but must give places to the Cup winners and the winners of the European Challenge Cup. Clubs that do not qualify for the Heineken Cup can enter the European Challenge Cup.
From 2005 one team from each nation will be seeded.
Six pools of four teams play both home and away games. Four points are awarded for a win and two points for a draw.
A bonus point is awarded for a loss by seven points or fewer, or for scoring four tries or more.
The six Pool winners (ranked 1-6 by number of points scored) and two best placed runners-up (ranked 7 and 8) qualify for the Quarter-Finals.
Teams ranked 1-4 have home advantage. The Quarter-Finals are: Team 1 v Team 8; Team 2 v Team 7; Team 3 v Team 6; Team 4 v Team 5.
All matches are played at nominally neutral venues. Each of the two semi-final venues are in the country of the first team out of the hat when the draw is made. For example, in 2004, Munster v Wasps was played at Lansdowne Road in Dublin, while Toulouse v Biarritz was played in Bordeaux.
However, the "neutrality" requirement is satisfied simply by the designated "home" team playing outside of its normal stadium. Both 2005 semifinals were held in the host's home city; Leicester Tigers v Toulouse was held at Walkers Stadium in Leicester, not far from Leicester's normal home of Welford Road, while Stade Français v Biarritz was played at Parc des Princes in Paris, across the street from Stade's normal home field.
The final is held at a predetermined site.
Pool 1: Munster, Castres, Sale Sharks, Newport Gwent Dragons
Pool 2: Calvisano, Perpignan, Leeds Tykes, Cardiff Blues
Pool 3: Ospreys, Stade Français, Leicester Tigers, Clermont Auvergne
Pool 4: Biarritz, Saracens, Ulster, Benetton Treviso
Pool 5: Glasgow, Bourgoin, Bath, Leinster
Pool 6: Wasps, Toulouse, Llanelli Scarlets, Edinburgh
| Ranking | Club | Times won |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toulouse | 3 |
| 2 | Leicester Tigers | 2 |
| 3= | Bath | 1 |
| 3= | Brive | 1 |
| 3= | Northampton Saints | 1 |
| 3= | Ulster | 1 |
| 3= | Wasps | 1 |