2010–11 European Challenge Cup

The 2010–11 Amlin Challenge Cup was the 15th season of the European Challenge Cup, Europe's second-tier club rugby union competition, and the second to be sponsored by the British insurance company Amlin. The tournament began on 7 October 2010, with the final played on 20 May 2011 at Cardiff City Stadium, the day before the 2011 Heineken Cup Final in the same city at Millennium Stadium. A total of 23 teams from six countries participated. The competition began with 20 teams; three more teams that began their seasons in the Heineken Cup parachuted into the knockout stage. Cardiff Blues did not defend their title, as by winning the 2009–10 cup, they qualified for the 2010–11 Heineken Cup, and did not parachute into the Challenge Cup.

2010–11 Amlin Challenge Cup
European challenge cup 2010-11
Tournament details
Countries England
 France
 Ireland
 Italy
 Romania
 Spain
Tournament format(s)Round-robin and Knockout
Date7 October 2010 to 20 May 2011
Tournament statistics
Teams23
Matches played67
Top point scorer(s)Julien Caminati (Brive)
(97 points)
Top try scorer(s)Tom Brady (Sale)
Sam Gerber (Bayonne)
Nicolas Jeanjean (Brive)
Nick Macleod (Sale)
Pierre Rabadan (Stade Français)
James Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester)
Henry Trinder (Gloucester)
(5 tries)
Final
VenueCardiff City Stadium, Cardiff
ChampionsEngland Harlequins (3rd title)
Runners-upFrance Stade Français

Harlequins claimed the title with a 19–18 win over Stade Français, becoming the first team to win the Challenge Cup three times.[1] The victory also sent Quins into the 2011–12 Heineken Cup.

Teams

The allocation of teams is as follows:

  • England: 6 teams — all teams from the Aviva Premiership that did not qualify for the Heineken Cup
  • France: 7 teams — all teams from the Top 14 that did not qualify for the Heineken Cup. Normally 8 teams, but Toulouse's win in the 2009–10 Heineken Cup gave France an extra place in the 2010–11 Heineken Cup.
  • Italy: 4 teams — the top four teams from the 2009–10 Super 10 (now Top12) that did not move to the Celtic League for 2010–11
  • Ireland: 1 team — the Irish team that failed to qualify for the Heineken Cup through the Magners League
  • Spain: 1 team — the champion of the previous season's División de Honor
  • Romania: 1 team specially created for the competition
England France Ireland Italy Romania Spain

Seeding

Teams that did not qualify for the 2010–11 Heineken Cup were ordered into four tiers according to the European Rugby Club Ranking. Five pools of four teams were drawn comprising one team from each tier.

The brackets show each team's European Rugby Club Ranking at the end of the 2009–10 season.

Tier 1 FranceStade Français (8) EnglandGloucester (13) EnglandSale Sharks (18) FranceBourgoin (20) EnglandHarlequins (22)
Tier 2 EnglandNewcastle Falcons (25) FranceBrive (28) Ireland Connacht (31) FranceAgen (33) ItalyCrociati Parma (37)
Tier 3 EnglandLeeds Carnegie (38) FranceMontpellier (39) FranceBayonne ItalyPetrarca Padova ItalyRovigo
Tier 4 FranceLa Rochelle ItalyCavalieri Prato EnglandExeter Chiefs RomaniaBucurești Oaks SpainEl Salvador

Pool stage
Main article: 2010–11 Amlin Challenge Cup pool stage

The draw for the pool stage took place on 9 June 2010.

Key to colours
     Winner of each pool advances to quarterfinals.
Seed # in parentheses.

Pool 1
Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
England Harlequins (4) 6501216+1518984+1053124
Ireland Connacht 6303198+1117399+741215
France Bayonne 63031912+7163116+472115
Italy Cavalieri Prato 6105841−3377303−226004

Pool 2
Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
France Brive (2) 6600343+3125754+2033027
England Sale Sharks 6402394+3527958+2214121
Italy Petrarca Padova 61051026−1688213−125116
Spain El Salvador 6105656−5069368−299004

Pool 3
Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
France Montpellier (8) 65011011−1147101+461021
England Exeter Chiefs 63031610+6154113+411316
France Bourgoin 62041012−2119130−112111
England Newcastle Falcons 6204710−366142−76019

Pool 4
Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
France Stade Français (1) 6600297+2221673+1435029
England Leeds Carnegie 6402246+1817388+853019
Romania București Oaks 6105417−1374148−74015
Italy Crociati Parma 6105330−2770224−154015

Pool 5
Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
France La Rochelle (3) 65012610+1619791+1063124
England Gloucester 6402357+2825577+1783221
France Agen 63032118+3167158+92115
Italy Rugby Rovigo 6006653−4755348−293000

Knockout stage

Seeding

Following the end of the pool stage, the 5 pool winners were seeded alongside the top 3 2010–11 Heineken Cup pool runners-up who failed to qualify for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals.

(HC) Means a team has entered the competition from the Heineken Cup

Seed Team
1 France Stade Français
2 France Brive
3 France La Rochelle
4 England Harlequins
5 (HC) England London Wasps
6 (HC) France Clermont
7 (HC) Ireland Munster
8 France Montpellier

Quarter-finals

The quarter-finals were decided based on the above seeding. All game times are local.

7 April 2011
20.45
La Rochelle France13–23France Clermont
Try: Goosen 63' c
Con: Goosen (1/1)
Pen: Goosen (2/4) 7', 17'		ReportTry: Rougerie 13' c
Murimurivalu 71' c
Con: James (2/2)
Pen: James (3/6) 3', 28', 76'
Stade Marcel-Deflandre, La Rochelle
Attendance: 8,500
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
8 April 2011
20.45
Stade Français France32–28France Montpellier
Try: Southwell 26' c
Rabadan 30' m
Penalty try 53' c
Burban 59' c
Con: Dupuy (1/2)
Beauxis (2/2)
Pen: Beauxis (2) 50', 67'		ReportTry: Chkhaidze 9' c
Con: Paillaugue (1/1)
Pen: Paillaugue (3) 7', 12' 21'
Lagarde (4) 35', 48', 61', 63'
Stade Charléty, Paris
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)
8 April 2011
19.45
Harlequins England32–22England London Wasps
Try: Care 1' c
Fa'asavalu 4' c
Con: Evans (2/2)
Pen: Evans (5/5) 28', 35', 40', 46', 59'
Drop: Evans 76'		ReportTry: Jewell 11' c
Lindsay 51' c
Haughton 71' m
Con: Walder (2/3)
Drop: Walder 24'
Twickenham Stoop, London
Attendance: 8,565
Referee: Christophe Berdos (France)
9 April 2011
14.00
Brive France37–42Ireland Munster
Try: Uys 17' c
Estebanez 20' c
Palisson 70' c
Perry 80' c
Con: Belie (4/4) 17',20',80',70'
Pen: Belie 10',36',45'		ReportTry: Howlett (2) 1' c, 22' c
Earls (2) 4' c, 46' c
Stringer 50' c
Con: O'Gara (4/5)
Pen: O'Gara (3/3) 53', 66', 68'
Stade Amédée-Domenech, Brive-la-Gaillarde
Attendance: 8,500
Referee: Dave Pearson (England)

Semi-finals

The draw for the semi-finals of both the Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup took place after the Pool 6 Heinieken Cup match between London Wasps and Toulouse on 23 January 2011. The draw was conducted in the Sky Sports booth by Ieuan Evans and Jean-Pierre Lux, Chairman of ERC, at Adams Park, High Wycombe.

In last season's Challenge Cup, any semi-final that involved a club that started the season in the Challenge Cup and a club that started in the Heineken Cup would be hosted by the club that started in the Challenge Cup. This rule was abandoned for 2010–11; the home club in each semi-final is now determined strictly by the draw.

29 April 2011
20:45
Stade Français France29–25France Clermont
Try: Arias 21' c
Boussès 65' c
Con: Beauxis (2/2)
Pen: Beauxis (5/7) 12', 27', 32', 36', 56'		ReportTry: Pisi 16' c
Russell 48' c
Cudmore 76' m
Con: Parra (2/3)
Pen: Parra (2/5) 14', 46'
Stade Charléty, Paris
Attendance: 6,712
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
30 April 2011
13:00
Munster Ireland12–20England Harlequins
Try: Jones 40' c
Howlett 78' m
Con: O'Gara (1/2)		ReportTry: Robson 9' c
Care 34' c
Con: Evans (1/1)
Care (1/1)
Pen: Clegg (2/2) 49', 59'
Thomond Park, Limerick
Attendance: 24,907
Referee: Romain Poite (France)

Final

The final of the Amlin Challenge Cup took place at Cardiff City Stadium on 20 May 2011. Harlequins won the trophy for the third time with a 19–18 victory over Stade Francais.[2][3]

20 May 2011
19.45
Harlequins England19–18France Stade Français
Try: Camacho 76' c
Con: Evans (1/1)
Pen: Evans (4/5) 6', 16', 27', 66'		ReportPen: Beauxis (4/5) 12', 32', 46', 57'
Drop: Bastareaud (1/1) 47'
Rodríguez (1/2) 72'
Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff
Attendance: 12,236
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)

Individual statistics

References
  1. "Harlequins 19-18 Stade Francais". BBC Sport. 20 May 2011. Archived from the original on 21 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  2. "Quins claim Challenge Cup glory". espnscrum. 20 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  3. "Harlequins 19 Stade Francais 18". Daily Telegraph. 20 May 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  4. "Amlin Challenge Cup: Points Scorers". European Rugby Cup. Archived from the original on 2010-12-23. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
  5. "Amlin Challenge Cup: Try Scorers". European Rugby Cup. Archived from the original on 2010-12-27. Retrieved 2011-05-20.
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