2008–09 Heineken Cup | |||
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Tournament details | |||
Countries | England France Ireland Italy Scotland Wales |
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Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and Knockout | ||
Date | 10 October 2008 – 23 May 2009 | ||
Tournament statistics | |||
Teams | 24 | ||
Matches played | 79 | ||
Attendance | 1,177,064 (14,900 per match) | ||
Top point scorer(s) | Ben Blair (Cardiff) (99 points) |
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Top try scorer(s) | Brian O'Driscoll (Leinster) (5 tries) |
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Final | |||
Venue | Murrayfield, Edinburgh | ||
Attendance | 66,523 | ||
Champions | Leinster (1st title) | ||
Runner-up | Leicester Tigers | ||
Official website | http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/ | ||
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The 2008–09 Heineken Cup was the fourteenth edition of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. It started in October 2008 and ended on 23 May 2009 at Murrayfield in Edinburgh. Irish side Leinster became the champions, defeating Leicester Tigers 19–16 in the final.[1]
Contents |
Seven French teams competed, as a French team, Toulouse, progressed further in the previous year's tournament than any English or Italian team.
Four Welsh teams competed, as Italy forfeited its place in the Italo-Celtic playoff[2] and a Welsh team were the highest-placed team in the previous year's Celtic league not to qualify otherwise.[3] Other nations had their usual number of participants: England six, Ireland three, Italy two and Scotland two.[4]
England | France | Wales | Ireland | Scotland | Italy |
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The seeding system for participating teams changed from previous editions of the Heineken Cup. Previously, each participating nation would seed one of their teams and these six teams would be drawn in different groups at the group stage.[5] Starting with the 2008–09 edition, the 24 competing teams were ranked based on past Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup performance, with each group receiving one team from each quartile, or Tier.[6] The requirement to have only one team per country in each group however, still applied (with the exception of the inclusion of the seventh French team).[7]
The brackets show each team's European Rugby Club Ranking before the start of the 2008–09 season.
Tier 1 | Munster (1) | Toulouse (2) | Biarritz (3) | Leicester Tigers (4) | Stade Français (5) | London Wasps (6) |
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Tier 2 | Leinster (7) | Bath (8) | Gloucester (9) | Perpignan (10) | Sale Sharks (12) | Scarlets (13) |
Tier 3 | Ospreys (15) | Cardiff Blues (17) | Clermont (18) | Newport Gwent Dragons (20) | Ulster (21) | Castres (22) |
Tier 4 | Glasgow Warriors (24) | Benetton Treviso (25) | Edinburgh (28) | Calvisano (32) | Harlequins (35) | Montauban |
The draw for the pool stages took place on 17 June 2008 in Dublin.
Winner of each pool, advance to quarterfinals. Seed # in parentheses |
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Two highest-scoring second-place teams, advance to quarterfinals. Seed # in parentheses |
Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Munster (2) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 6 | 12 | 161 | 98 | 63 | 2 | 1 | 23 |
Sale | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 11 | 3 | 136 | 115 | 21 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
Clermont | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 137 | 129 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 13 |
Montauban | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 21 | −16 | 81 | 173 | −92 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Leinster (6) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 3 | 12 | 140 | 70 | 70 | 2 | 2 | 20 |
Wasps | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 12 | −3 | 114 | 112 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 17 |
Edinburgh | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 91 | 103 | −12 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
Castres | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 15 | −9 | 73 | 133 | −60 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Leicester Tigers (4) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 6 | 17 | 191 | 90 | 101 | 3 | 2 | 21 |
Ospreys (7) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 3 | 14 | 155 | 71 | 84 | 2 | 2 | 20 |
Perpignan | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 154 | 120 | 34 | 1 | 1 | 18 |
Benetton Treviso | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 43 | −38 | 72 | 291 | −219 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Harlequins (3) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 12 | 4 | 144 | 115 | 29 | 2 | 0 | 22 |
Stade Français | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 131 | 109 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 15 |
Ulster | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 113 | 134 | −21 | 0 | 1 | 11 |
Scarlets | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 18 | −6 | 124 | 154 | −30 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bath (5) | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 107 | 92 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 21 |
Toulouse (8) | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 121 | 88 | 33 | 1 | 1 | 20 |
Glasgow | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 17 | −3 | 134 | 150 | −16 | 1 | 3 | 12 |
Newport Gwent Dragons | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 14 | −6 | 83 | 115 | −32 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
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Cardiff Blues (1) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 9 | 14 | 202 | 99 | 103 | 3 | 0 | 27 |
Biarritz | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 4 | 10 | 121 | 88 | 33 | 1 | 2 | 15 |
Gloucester | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 156 | 109 | 47 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
Calvisano | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 37 | −29 | 87 | 270 | −183 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Seed | Pool Winners | Pts | TF | +/− |
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1 | Cardiff Blues | 27 | 23 | +103 |
2 | Munster | 23 | 18 | +63 |
3 | Harlequins | 22 | 16 | +29 |
4 | Leicester Tigers | 21 | 23 | +101 |
5 | Bath | 21 | 13 | +15 |
6 | Leinster | 20 | 15 | +70 |
Seed | Pool Runners-up | Pts | TF | +/− |
7 | Ospreys | 20 | 17 | +84 |
8 | Toulouse | 20 | 12 | +33 |
– | Sale | 19 | 14 | +21 |
– | Wasps | 17 | 7 | +8 |
– | Biarritz | 15 | 14 | +33 |
– | Stade Français | 15 | 13 | +22 |
The draw for the quarter-finals took place on 27 January at Murrayfield.[8]
11 April 2009 15:30 |
Cardiff Blues | 9 – 6 | Toulouse | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 36,728 Referee: Chris White (England) |
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Pen: Blair (3/3) 1', 30', 57' | Report | Pen: Michalak (1/1) 5' Skrela (1/1) 64' |
11 April 2009 18:00 |
Leicester Tigers | 20 – 15 | Bath | Walkers Stadium, Leicester Attendance: 26,100 Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland) |
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Try: Dupuy 80' m Pen: Vesty (5/5) 20', 22', 51', 55', 67' |
Report | Tries: Berne 35' c Maddock 64' m Con: James (1/2) Pen: James (1/2) 45' |
12 April 2009 13:00 |
Munster | 43 – 9 | Ospreys | Thomond Park, Limerick Attendance: 26,000 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England) |
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Tries: Warwick 34' c O'Connell 55' c Earls (2) 63' c, 65' c Con: O'Gara (4/4) Pen: O'Gara (3/3) 14', 20', 50' Drop: Warwick (2) 39', 58' |
Report | Pen: Hook (3/6) 16', 30', 45' |
12 April 2009 15:30 |
Harlequins | 5 – 6 | Leinster | Twickenham Stoop, London Attendance: 12,638 Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales) |
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Try: Brown 65' m | Report | Pen: Contepomi (2/2) 15', 39' |
2 May 2009 17:30 |
Munster | 6 – 25 | Leinster | Croke Park, Dublin Attendance: 82,208 Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales) |
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Pen: O'Gara (2/2) 18', 36' | Report | Tries: D'Arcy 30' m Fitzgerald 42' c B. O'Driscoll 61' c Con: Sexton (2/3) Pen: Sexton (1/1) 26' Drop: Contepomi (1/1) 15' |
3 May 2009 15:00 |
Cardiff Blues | 26 – 26 (a.e.t.) | Leicester Tigers | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 44,212 Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland) |
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Tries: Roberts 73' c James 74' c Con: Blair (2/2) Pen: Blair (2/2) 14', 33' Halfpenny 27', 35' |
Report | Tries: Hamilton 21' c G. Murphy 45' c Con: Dupuy (2/2) Pen: Dupuy (4/7) 24', 38', 54', 56' |
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Penalties | ||||
Blair N. Robinson Halfpenny Sweeney James Shanklin Rees M. Williams |
6 – 7 | Dupuy Vesty G. Murphy J. Murphy Hamilton Mauger Newby Crane |
23 May 2009 17:00 |
Leicester Tigers | 16 – 19 | Leinster | Murrayfield, Edinburgh Attendance: 66,523 Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales) |
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Try: Woods 38' c Con: Dupuy (1/1) Pen: Dupuy (3/3) 8', 33', 42' |
(Report) | Try: Heaslip 49' c Con: Sexton (1/1) Pen: Sexton (2/3) 24', 70' Drop: O'Driscoll (1/1) 5' Sexton (1/1) 17' |
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Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
H. Cup | Six Nations Championship | Heineken Cup | Mid-Year Tests | H. Cup | End of year Int'ls | H. Cup | ||||||
Guinness Premiership | Guinness Premiership | |||||||||||
Celtic League | Celtic League | |||||||||||
Top 14 | Top 14 | |||||||||||
Shute Shield | ||||||||||||
Currie Cup | ||||||||||||
Sevens | Sevens | |||||||||||
Pacific Rugby Cup | Churchill Cup | Air New Zealand Cup | ||||||||||
Super 14 | Pacific Nations Cup | Tri Nations |
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
H. Cup | Six Nations Championship | Heineken Cup | Mid-Year Tests | H. Cup | End of year Int'ls | H. Cup | ||||||
British & Irish Lions Tour | ||||||||||||
English Premiership | English Premiership | |||||||||||
Celtic League | Celtic League | |||||||||||
Top 14 | Top 14 | |||||||||||
Top League | Top League | |||||||||||
Shute Shield | ||||||||||||
Currie Cup | ||||||||||||
Sevens | Sevens | |||||||||||
World Cup Sevens | Pacific Rugby Cup | Churchill Cup | Air New Zealand Cup | |||||||||
Super 14 | Pacific Nations Cup | Tri Nations |