2022–23 European Rugby Champions Cup
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Article ImagesThe 2022–23 European Rugby Champions Cup was the ninth 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 five nations in European rugby and South Africa. It was the 28th season of pan-European professional club rugby competition.
2022–23 European Rugby Champions Cup | |
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Tournament details | |
Countries | England France Ireland Scotland South Africa Wales |
Tournament format(s) | Modified round-robin and knockout |
Date | 9 December 2022 – 20 May 2023 |
Tournament statistics | |
Teams | 24 |
Matches played | 63 |
Attendance | 1,028,422 (16,324 per match) |
Highest attendance | 51,711 – Leinster v La Rochelle 20 May 2023 |
Lowest attendance | 4,800 – Castres v Exeter Chiefs 10 December 2022 [a] |
Tries scored | 396 (6.29 per match) |
Top point scorer(s) | Antoine Hastoy (La Rochelle) 97 points |
Top try scorer(s) | Josh van der Flier (Leinster) 6 tries |
Final | |
Venue | Aviva Stadium, Dublin |
Attendance | 51,711 |
Champions | La Rochelle (2nd title) |
Runners-up | Leinster |
Dutch beer brand Heineken continued as the title sponsor of the competition, extending their deal after their previous agreement expired at the end of the 2021–22 season.[1]
This was the first year to feature the top teams from South Africa, following the inaugural United Rugby Championship season.
The tournament commenced in December 2022. The final was held at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland on 20 May 2023.[2] The match was a repeat of the 2022 final, with Stade Rochelais defeating Leinster for the second consecutive year.[3]
Twenty-four clubs from the three major European domestic and regional leagues competed in the Champions Cup.
The distribution of teams was:
- England: eight clubs
- The top eight clubs from Premiership Rugby
- France: eight clubs
- The top eight clubs from the Top 14
- Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, Wales: eight clubs
- The top side in each of the four regional shields from the United Rugby Championship (one Irish, one Welsh, one South African and one either Scottish or Italian), along with the remaining top four ranked clubs regardless of nation, within the league, that didn't win their respective shield.[4] If the club that wins the championship has not qualified by the methods above then that club, the four shield winners and the remaining top three ranked clubs regardless of nation, within the league, that didn't win their respective shield will qualify.[5]
The following teams qualified for the tournament.
Premiership | Top 14 | United Rugby Championship | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
England | France | Ireland | South Africa | Scotland | Wales |
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.
Seedings and structure
For the purposes of the pool draw, the 24 clubs were separated into tiers based on their league finishing position, and clubs from the same league in the same tier were not drawn into the same pool. The number 1 and number 2 ranked clubs from each league are in Tier 1, the number 3 and number 4 ranked clubs are in Tier 2, the number 5 and 6 ranked clubs are in Tier 3, and the number 7 and number 8 ranked clubs are in Tier 4.
In effect, each pool contains one team from each of the three leagues, from each of the four tiers.
Pool play will feature the Tier 1 teams playing the Tier 4 teams in their pool twice, home and away, while the Tier 2 and 3 clubs will follow in a similar manner. However a team will not play the relevant team from its own league i.e. the tier 1 French team will play the tier 4 English and tier 4 URC team in its pool, but will not play the tier 4 French team in its pool. Each team will therefore play four pool games over four match weekends.
As with the previous two seasons, the 24 teams will play four rounds of pool matches. These will take place from 9–18 December 2022 and 13–22 January 2023.[needs update] Sixteen teams will qualify for the knockout rounds. In a change from the 2021–22 format, the round of 16 contests will take the form of a single match rather than a two-legged tie.[12]
The eight teams from each pool with the best points will qualify for the knockout stage, a single-leg single-elimination bracket of 16 teams. Teams finishing 9th and 10th after pool play will join the Challenge Cup, also at the round of 16 stage (joining twelve qualifiers from the Challenge Cup pool stage), once more in a single-leg single-elimination bracket. Last season's home-and-away two-legged round of 16 has not been continued.
Locations of London teams of the 2022–23 European Rugby Champions Cup group stage.
Red: Pool A; Blue: Pool B.
Locations of South African teams of the 2022–23 European Rugby Champions Cup group stage.
Red: Pool A; Blue: Pool B.
Teams were awarded four points for a win, two for a draw, one bonus point for scoring four tries in a game, and one bonus point for losing by less than eight points.
Teams ranked in the top 8 of each pool advance to 2022–23 EPCR Champions Cup round of 16. | |
Teams ranked 9th and 10th in each pool advance to 2022–23 EPCR Challenge Cup round of 16. | |
Teams ranked 11th and 12th in each pool are eliminated from 2022 to 2023 European competition. |
2022–23 European Rugby Champions Cup Pool A | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | |
Leinster | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 184 | 34 | +150 | 28 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 20 |
Exeter Chiefs | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 139 | 68 | +71 | 20 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 16 |
Sharks | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 119 | 89 | +30 | 15 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
Saracens | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 120 | 94 | +26 | 15 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
Edinburgh | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 111 | 85 | +26 | 12 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
Harlequins | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 113 | 108 | +5 | 16 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 12 |
Bulls | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 102 | 139 | –37 | 15 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
Gloucester | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 62 | 140 | –78 | 9 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
Lyon | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 115 | 125 | –10 | 16 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
Racing 92 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 60 | 121 | –61 | 7 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
Bordeaux Bègles | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 53 | 99 | –46 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Castres | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 56 | 132 | –76 | 6 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Green background (rows 1 to 8) indicates qualification places for the Champions Cup round of 16. Blue background (rows 9 to 10) indicates qualification places for the Challenge Cup round of 16. Starting table — source: European Professional Club Rugby |
2022–23 European Rugby Champions Cup Pool B | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | |
La Rochelle | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 120 | 57 | +63 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 18 |
Toulouse | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 110 | 53 | +57 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
Stormers | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 106 | 68 | +38 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
Leicester Tigers | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 116 | 89 | +27 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
Ospreys | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 100 | 88 | +12 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
Munster | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 73 | 67 | +6 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
Montpellier | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 92 | 104 | –12 | 13 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 9 |
Ulster | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 54 | 93 | –39 | 7 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
Clermont | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 85 | 111 | –26 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
Sale Sharks | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 74 | 94 | –20 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
London Irish | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 76 | 115 | –39 | 10 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
Northampton Saints | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 54 | 121 | –67 | 5 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Green background (rows 1 to 8) indicates qualification places for the Champions Cup round of 16. Blue background (rows 9 to 10) indicates qualification places for the Challenge Cup round of 16. Starting table — source: European Professional Club Rugby |
The knockout stage began with the round of 16, starting on 31 March 2023, and concludes with the final on 20 May 2023.
Unlike the previous year, the round of 16 consists of a single leg of matches, consisting of the top eight ranked teams from Pool A and Pool B respectively, with the top four from each receiving home advantage.[13]
Whilst the round of 16 follows a pre-determined format, the quarter-finals include an expected home advantage to the higher ranked team. The semi-finals are to be played at a neutral venue.
Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||||||
A1 | Leinster | 30 | |||||||||||||||||
B8 | Ulster | 15 | |||||||||||||||||
A1 | Leinster | 55 | |||||||||||||||||
B4 | Leicester | 24 | |||||||||||||||||
B4 | Leicester | 16 | |||||||||||||||||
A5 | Edinburgh | 6 | |||||||||||||||||
A1 | Leinster | 41 | |||||||||||||||||
B2 | Toulouse | 22 | |||||||||||||||||
B2 | Toulouse | 33 | |||||||||||||||||
A7 | Bulls | 9 | |||||||||||||||||
B2 | Toulouse | 54 | |||||||||||||||||
A3 | Sharks | 20 | |||||||||||||||||
A3 | Sharks | 50 | |||||||||||||||||
B6 | Munster | 35 | |||||||||||||||||
A1 | Leinster | 26 | |||||||||||||||||
B1 | La Rochelle | 27 | |||||||||||||||||
B1 | La Rochelle | 29 | |||||||||||||||||
A8 | Gloucester | 26 | |||||||||||||||||
B1 | La Rochelle | 24 | |||||||||||||||||
A4 | Saracens | 10 | |||||||||||||||||
A4 | Saracens | 35 | |||||||||||||||||
B5 | Ospreys | 20 | |||||||||||||||||
B1 | La Rochelle | 47 | |||||||||||||||||
A2 | Exeter | 28 | |||||||||||||||||
A2 | Exeter[g] | 33 | |||||||||||||||||
B7 | Montpellier | 33 | |||||||||||||||||
A2 | Exeter | 42 | |||||||||||||||||
B3 | Stormers | 17 | |||||||||||||||||
B3 | Stormers | 32 | |||||||||||||||||
A6 | Harlequins | 28 |
Toulouse | 54–20 | Sharks |
Try: Mallía (2) 37' m, 58' m Ramos (2) 47' c, 72' c Mauvaka 69' c Retière 76' c Ntamack 80' c Con: Ramos (5/7) 48', 70', 73', 77', 80+1' Pen: Ramos (3/3) 23', 32', 40+1' | Report | Try: Williams 27' c Chamberlain 55' c Con: Bosch (2/2) 28', 56' Pen: Bosch (2/3) 10', 67' |
Both semi-finals will be played in Europe and the highest-ranked clubs from the pool stage has country advantage. If a South African team had been ranked higher, the game would still have been located in Europe.[15]
La Rochelle | 47–28 | Exeter Chiefs |
Try: Rhule (2) 8' c, 43' c Seuteni 22' c Alldritt 31' m Kerr-Barlow (2) 38' c, 67' c Bourgarit 52' c Con: Hastoy (6/7) 10', 23', 39', 44', 54', 68' | Report | Try: S. Simmonds 5' c Iosefa-Scott 58' c Woodburn 69' c Yeandle 74' c Con: J. Simmonds (4/4) 6', 58', 70', 75' |
Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under World Rugby eligibility rules, or primary nationality for players who have not yet earned international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-WR nationalities.
- ^ The lowest attendance does not include the match between Ulster and La Rochelle on 17 December 2022, which was played behind closed doors, due to the fixture's forced relocation to a neutral venue.
- ^ Christophe Urios was sacked as head coach of Bordeaux Bègles in November 2022. His assistants, Frédéric Charrier and Julien Laïrle, took over as joint interim head coaches for the rest of the season.[6]
- ^ Jono Gibbes was sacked as head coach of Clermont in January 2023. His assistants took charge of their final pool stage match, with Christophe Urios appointed to take over as the new head coach as of the end of the pool stage.[7]
- ^ Mike Blair was the head coach of Edinburgh until March 2023, having taken charge of the club's pool stage fixtures, before he stepped down to transition into the role of attack coach. Steve Diamond was then appointed to take on head coaching duties for the remainder of the season, from the position of lead rugby consultant.[8]
- ^ Steve Borthwick was the head coach of Leicester until 19 December 2022, when he departed the club to take up the role of England head coach.[9] Assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth was then appointed as the Tigers interim head coach until the end of the season.[10]
- ^ Ulster were also forced to play one home game at the Aviva Stadium behind closed doors during the pool stages, due to the pitch at Ravenhill being frozen.[11]
- ^ a b Exeter Chiefs advanced to the quarter-finals after the scores were tied at the end of extra time, due to the try count-back rule, having outscored Montpellier by five tries to four.[14]
- ^ "2023 Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup Finals set for Dublin's Aviva Stadium". 19 May 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ "Aviva Stadium To Host 2023 Heineken Champions Cup And Challenge Cup Finals". IRFU. 19 May 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ "Champions Cup: Leinster 26-27 La Rochelle - French side edge thriller". BBC. 20 May 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
- ^ "URC confirms Shield trophies for winners". www.unitedrugby.com. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
- ^ "United Rugby Championship – Summary of Rules". www.unitedrugby.com. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
- ^ "Bordeaux statement: Termination of Christophe Urios' contract". Rugby Pass. 16 November 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ^ "Struggling French powerhouse Clermont fire Kiwi coach Gibbes". France 24. 16 January 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ^ Bean, Graham (9 March 2023). "Steve Diamond is Edinburgh Rugby's new head coach, with new role for Mike Blair". The Scotsman. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
- ^ "Steve Borthwick: England appoint Leicester coach to replace Eddie Jones". BBC Sport. 19 December 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
- ^ Wright, Jared (19 December 2022). "Premiership: Richard Wigglesworth appointed interim head coach of Leicester Tigers". Planet Rugby. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
- ^ Watterson, Johnny (17 December 2022). "Ulster and La Rochelle to take place at empty Aviva Stadium". The Irish Times. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
- ^ EPC (10 May 2022). "EPCR 2022/23 season dates announced". Retrieved 16 May 2022.
- ^ "Heineken Champions Cup – Round of 16 fixture dates, venues, kick-off times and TV coverage". EPCR. 26 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
- ^ "European Professional Club Rugby - Champions Cup - Rules". EPCR. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- ^ Tarbouriech, Laura (6 April 2023). "Heineken Champions Cup semi-final venues". European Professional Club Rugby. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
- ^ a b "Tournament Statistics". EPCR. Retrieved 30 April 2023.