2004–05 European Challenge Cup

2004-05 European Challenge Cup
Tournament details
Countries	England  France  Ireland  Italy  Portugal  Scotland  Spain
Tournament format(s)	Knockout
Date	23 October 2004 – 21 May 2005
Tournament statistics
Teams	28
Matches played	57
Attendance	177,521 (3,114 per match)
Tries scored	360 (6.32 per match)
Top point scorer(s)	Paul Warwick (Connacht) (97 points)[1]
Top try scorer(s)	Mark Cueto (Sale Sharks) (9 tries)[2]
Final
Venue	Kassam Stadium, Oxford
Attendance	7,230
Champions	Sale Sharks (2nd title)
Runner-up	Pau
Official website	http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/
← 2003–04 (Previous) (Next) 2005–06 →

The 2004–05 European Challenge Cup (known as the Parker Pen Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 9th season of the European Challenge Cup, Europe's second tier club rugby union competition below the Heineken Cup. A total of 28 teams participated, representing seven different countries.

The competition began with a series of matches on 23 October 2004 and culminated in the final at the Kassam Stadium in Oxford on 21 May 2005.

As in the previous two seasons, the competition was organised in a knockout format. Teams played each other on a home and away basis, with the aggregate points winner proceeding to the next round. The final was a single leg. This was the final season with a pure knockout format; in subsequent seasons the competition reverted to a pool stage followed by a knockout.

For the third and final time, a third tier tournament was held - the European Shield. This was contested between the first round losers from the European Challenge Cup.^[3] As there were only 28 teams involved, the 2 "best" 1st Round losers were reprieved and proceeded to the 2nd Round.

The defending champions, England's NEC Harlequins, did not have a chance to defend their crown because they qualified to play in the Heineken Cup. Sale Sharks claimed a comfortable victory over Pau in the final and picked up their second piece of European Club silverware.

Teams

The allocation of teams was as follows:

England: 5 teams — all teams from the Zurich Premiership that did not qualify for the 2004–05 Heineken Cup

France: 10 teams — all teams from the Top 16 that did not qualify for the Heineken Cup

Ireland: 1 team — the Irish team from the Celtic League that did not play in the Heineken Cup

Italy: 8 teams — all the teams from the Super 10 that did not qualify for the Heineken Cup

Portugal: 1 team

Scotland: 1 team — the Scottish team from the Celtic League that did not play in the Heineken Cup

Spain: 2 teams — drawn from the División de Honor de Rugby

England	France	Ireland	Italy	Portugal	Scotland	Spain
Leeds Tykes London Irish Sale Sharks Saracens Worcester Warriors	Agen Auch Bayonne Béziers Brive Clermont Auvergne Grenoble Montpellier Narbonne Pau	Connacht	Catania Gran Parma L'Aquila Leonessa Overmach Parma Petrarca Padova Rovigo Viadana	AA Coimbra	Borders	El Salvador Valladolid RAC

Matches

All kickoff times are local to the match location.^[4]

Round 1

1st Leg

2nd Leg

Aggregate Results

Key to colours

	14 winners and 2 best losers advance to 2nd Round.
	12 other teams to Shield.

Winners	Match points	Aggregate score	Points margin	Losers
Borders	4 – 0	205 – 6	199	AA Coimbra
Viadana	4 – 0	147 – 10	137	Valladolid RAC
Clermont Auvergne	4 – 0	116 – 6	110	Leonessa
Montpellier	4 – 0	110 – 10	100	Rovigo
Béziers	4 – 0	126 – 42	84	Petrarca Padova
Agen	4 – 0	109 – 48	61	L'Aquila
Sale Sharks	4 – 0	81 – 25	56	Catania
Pau	4 – 0	66 – 37	29	Bayonne
Saracens	4 – 0	60 – 31	29	Gran Parma
London Irish	4 – 0	62 – 36	26	Auch
Grenoble	3 – 1	27 – 26	1	Leeds Tykes
Brive	2 – 2	55 – 39	16	Worcester Warriors
Connacht	2 – 2	51 – 46	5	Narbonne
Overmach Parma	2 – 2	48 – 46	2	El Salvador

Round 2

1st Leg

2nd Leg

Aggregate Results

Proceed to Quarter-final	Match points	Aggregate score	Points margin	Eliminated from competition
Brive	4 – 0	102 – 29	73	El Salvador
Clermont Auvergne	4 – 0	78 – 37	41	Borders
Sale Sharks	4 – 0	58 – 25	33	Narbonne
Grenoble	4 – 0	65 – 38	27	Béziers
Connacht	2 – 2	70 – 22	48	Montpellier
Saracens	2 – 2	70 – 25	45	Overmach Parma
Pau	2 – 2	41 – 38	3	London Irish
Agen	2 – 2	40 – 37	3	Viadana

Quarter-finals

1st Leg

2nd Leg

Aggregate Results

Proceed to Semi-final	Match points	Aggregate score	Points margin	Eliminated from competition
Connacht	4 – 0	45 – 24	21	Grenoble
Sale Sharks	2 – 2	49 – 35	14	Agen
Pau	2 – 2	50 – 47	3	Clermont Auvergne
Brive	2 – 2	37 – 35	2	Saracens

Semi-finals

1st Leg

2nd Leg

Aggregate Results

Proceed to Final	Match points	Aggregate score	Points margin	Eliminated from competition
Sale Sharks	4 – 0	84 – 27	57	Connacht
Pau	2 – 2	50 – 43	7	Brive

Final

See also

• 2004-05 Heineken Cup
• European Challenge Cup
• 2004–05 European Shield

References