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2003–04 Heineken Cup

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2003–04 Heineken Cup
Tournament details
Countries England
 France
 Ireland
 Italy
 Scotland
 Wales
Tournament format(s)Round-robin and Knockout
Date22 October 2003 – 23 May 2004
Tournament statistics
Teams24
Matches played79
Attendance817,833 (10,352 per match)
Top point scorer(s)Henry Paul (Gloucester)
(100 points)
Top try scorer(s)Nicolas Brusque (Biarritz)
James Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester)
(6 tries)
Final
VenueTwickenham Stadium, London
Attendance73,057
ChampionsEngland London Wasps (1st title)
Runners-upFrance Toulouse
← 2002–03 (Previous)
(Next) 2004–05 →

The 2003–04 Heineken Cup was the ninth season for which European teams competed for the Heineken Cup. Competing teams, from England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales, were divided into six pools of four, in which teams played home and away matches against each other. The winners of the pools, together with the two best runners-up, qualified for the knock-out stage.

This was the first competition in the series to employ the bonus point system for classifying teams. In prior competitions, teams earned two points for a win and one for a draw. Starting with the 2003–04 competition, teams earned points in the pool matches under the following scenarios:

  • Four points for a win
  • Two points for a draw
  • One bonus point for scoring four or more tries, regardless of the final score
  • One bonus point for losing by seven points or less

Teams

[edit]
France England Wales Ireland Scotland Italy
  • France Stade Français
  • France Toulouse
  • France Biarritz Olympique
  • France Agen
  • France Bourgoin
  • France Perpignan
  • England Leicester Tigers
  • England Leeds Carnegie
  • England Sale Sharks
  • England Northampton Saints
  • England Gloucester
  • England London Wasps
  • Wales Newport Gwent Dragons
  • Wales Neath-Swansea Ospreys
  • Wales Cardiff Blues
  • Wales Llanelli Scarlets
  • Wales Celtic Warriors
  • Ireland Ulster
  • Ireland Munster
  • Ireland Leinster
  • Scotland Border Reivers
  • Scotland Edinburgh
  • Italy Benetton Treviso
  • Italy Calvisano

Pool stage

[edit]

Pool 1

[edit]
Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
France Stade Français 6 4 0 2 11 8 3 134 80 54 1 1 18
England Leicester Tigers 6 3 0 3 17 10 7 137 115 22 3 0 15
Ireland Ulster 6 3 0 3 10 9 1 109 106 3 1 1 14
Wales Newport Gwent Dragons 6 2 0 4 5 16 −11 67 146 −79 0 1 9

Pool 2

[edit]
Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
France Toulouse 6 5 0 1 18 7 11 157 65 92 4 1 25
Scotland Edinburgh 6 5 0 1 14 7 7 130 89 41 2 0 22
England Leeds Tykes 6 1 0 5 5 11 −6 66 122 −56 0 1 5
Wales Neath-Swansea Ospreys 6 1 0 5 6 18 −12 78 155 −77 0 0 4

Pool 3

[edit]
Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
France Biarritz Olympique 6 4 0 2 18 12 6 139 97 42 3 1 20
Ireland Leinster 6 4 0 2 13 11 2 142 113 29 1 1 18
Wales Cardiff Blues 6 2 0 4 13 13 0 123 132 −9 0 3 11
England Sale Sharks 6 2 0 4 6 14 −8 75 137 −62 0 1 9

Pool 4

[edit]
Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
Wales Llanelli Scarlets 6 5 0 1 17 5 12 160 72 88 2 1 23
England Northampton Saints 6 4 0 2 13 4 9 121 54 67 1 1 18
France Agen 6 2 0 4 8 7 1 83 94 −11 1 2 11
Scotland The Borders 6 1 0 5 4 26 −22 39 183 −144 0 0 4

Pool 5

[edit]
Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
Ireland Munster Rugby 6 5 0 1 22 5 17 172 76 96 4 0 24
England Gloucester 6 5 0 1 22 11 11 197 100 97 4 0 24
France Bourgoin 6 1 0 5 13 22 −9 119 191 −72 2 1 7
Italy Benetton Treviso 6 1 0 5 13 32 −19 104 225 −121 1 0 5

Pool 6

[edit]
Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
England London Wasps 6 5 0 1 22 8 14 186 85 101 3 1 24
Wales Celtic Warriors 6 4 0 2 11 10 1 123 118 5 2 2 20
France Perpignan 6 3 0 3 13 11 2 119 115 4 2 1 15
Italy Ghial Rugby Calvisano 6 0 0 6 13 30 −17 115 225 −110 1 2 3

Seeding and runners-up

[edit]
Seed Pool Winners Pts TF +/-
1 France Toulouse 25 18 +92
2 England London Wasps 24 22 +101
3 Ireland Munster 24 22 +97
4 Wales Llanelli Scarlets 23 17 +88
5 France Biarritz Olympique 20 18 +42
6 France Stade Français 18 11 +54
Seed Pool Runners-up Pts TF +/-
7 England Gloucester 24 22 +96
8 Scotland Edinburgh 22 14 +41
Wales Celtic Warriors 20 11 +5
England Northampton Saints 18 13 +67
Ireland Leinster 18 13 +29
England Leicester Tigers 15 17 +22

Knockout stage

[edit]

Quarter-finals

[edit]
4 April 2004
19:45
Llanelli Scarlets Wales10–27France Biarritz
Stradey Park, Llanelli
Attendance: 10,800

10 April 2004
16:00
Toulouse France36–10Scotland Edinburgh
Stadium de Toulouse
Attendance: 36,500

10 April 2004
17:00
Munster Ireland37–32France Stade Français
Thomond Park, Limerick
Attendance: 13,000

11 April 2004
15:00
London Wasps England34–3England Gloucester
Adams Park, High Wycombe
Attendance: 10,000

Semi-finals

[edit]
24 April 2004
16:00
Toulouse France19–11France Biarritz
Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux
Attendance: 34,000

25 April 2004
15:00
Munster Ireland32–37England London Wasps
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 49,000

Final

[edit]
23 May 2004
15:00
London Wasps England27–20France Toulouse
Try: Abbott 19' c
Van Gisbergen 43' c
Howley 79' c
Con: Van Gisbergen (3)
Pen: Van Gisbergen (2) 15', 31'
ReportTry: Delaigue 38' m
Pen: Delaigue (2) 6', 12'
Élissalde (3) 57', 72', 77'
Twickenham Stadium, London
Attendance: 73,057
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)