| 1996–1997 Heineken Cup | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament details | |||
| Countries | England France Ireland Italy Scotland Wales |
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| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and Knockout | ||
| Date | 12 October 1996 to 25 January 1997 | ||
| Tournament statistics | |||
| Teams | 20 | ||
| Matches played | 47 | ||
| Attendance | 317,987 (6,766 per match) | ||
| Top point scorer(s) | Richard Dourthe (Dax) (82 points) |
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| Top try scorer(s) | Sebastien Carrat (Brive) (10 tries) |
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| Final | |||
| Venue | National Stadium, Cardiff | ||
| Attendance | 41,664 | ||
| Champions | Brive (1st title) | ||
| Runner-up | Leicester Tigers | ||
| Official website | http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/ | ||
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The 1996–97 Heineken Cup was the second edition of the Heineken Cup. Competing teams from France, Ireland, Italy, Wales and for the first time England and Scotland, were divided into four pools of five, in which teams played each other only once, meaning two home and two away games per team. The pool winners and runners-up qualified for the knock-out stages.
Contents |
| France | Wales | England | Scotland | Ireland | Italy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
In the pool matches teams received
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dax | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 2 | 14 | 141 | 69 | 72 | 6 |
| Bath | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 136 | 88 | 48 | 6 |
| Pontypridd | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 97 | 60 | 37 | 6 |
| Benetton Treviso | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 15 | –2 | 106 | 135 | –29 | 2 |
| Edinburgh | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 29 | –23 | 71 | 199 | –128 | 0 |
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leicester | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 11 | 114 | 43 | 71 | 8 |
| Llanelli | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 97 | 81 | 16 | 4 |
| Leinster | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 12 | –3 | 86 | 109 | –23 | 4 |
| Pau | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 137 | 103 | 34 | 2 |
| Scottish Borders | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 24 | –17 | 80 | 178 | –98 | 2 |
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brive | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 106 | 65 | 41 | 8 |
| Harlequins | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 8 | 12 | 131 | 95 | 36 | 6 |
| Neath | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 16 | –6 | 83 | 109 | –26 | 4 |
| Ulster | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 10 | –4 | 75 | 87 | –12 | 2 |
| Caledonia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 20 | –7 | 117 | 156 | –39 | 0 |
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toulouse | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 13 | 8 | 157 | 142 | 15 | 6 |
| Cardiff | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 135 | 97 | 38 | 6 |
| London Wasps | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 14 | 3 | 156 | 115 | 41 | 4 |
| Munster | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 22 | –11 | 109 | 135 | –26 | 4 |
| Milan | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 15 | –9 | 73 | 141 | –68 | 0 |
| Seed | Pool Winners | Pts | TF | +/− |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leicester | 8 | 14 | +71 |
| 2 | Brive | 8 | 13 | +41 |
| 3 | Toulouse | 6 | 21 | +15 |
| 4 | Dax | 6 | 16 | +72 |
| Seed | Pool Runners-up | Pts | TF | +/− |
| 5 | Harlequins | 6 | 20 | +36 |
| 6 | Cardiff RFC | 6 | 16 | +38 |
| 7 | Bath | 6 | 15 | +48 |
| 8 | Llanelli RFC | 4 | 9 | +16 |
| 9 November 1996 14:30 |
Cardiff | 22 – 19 | Bath | Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff Attendance: 12,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 November 1996 15:00 |
Leicester Tigers | 23 – 13 | Harlequins | Welford Road, Leicester Attendance: 10,263 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 November 1996 16:00 |
Dax | 18 – 26 | Toulouse | Stade Maurice-Boyau, Dax Attendance: 14,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 November 1996 14:45 |
Brive | 35 – 14 | Llanelli | Parc Municipal des Sports, Brive-la-Gaillarde Attendance: 14,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 January 1997 15:05 |
Leicester Tigers | 37 – 11 | Toulouse | Welford Road Attendance: 16,300 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 January 1997 15:30 |
Brive | 26 – 13 | Cardiff | Parc Municipal des Sports Attendance: 14,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The 1997 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the 1996–97 Heineken Cup, the second season of Europe's top club rugby union competition. The match was played on 25 January 1997 at the Arms Park in Cardiff. The match was contested by Brive of France and Leicester of England. Brive won the match 28–9; they took the lead early on through a fourth-minute penalty from Christophe Lamaison, and Sébastien Viars extended that lead with an unconverted try two minutes later. Leicester responded with three penalties from John Liley, but Brive finally made their pressure show with three second-half tries, one of which was converted, before Lamaison added a drop goal to seal a 19-point victory.
| 25 January 1997 14:30 |
Brive | 28 – 9 | Leicester | Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff Attendance: 41,664 Referee: Derek Bevan (Wales) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tries: Viars Fabre Carrat (2) Con: Lamaison Pen: Lamaison Drop: Lamaison |
Report | Pen: Liley (3) |
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