2012–13 Heineken Cup

2012–13 Heineken Cup
Tournament details
Countries  England
 France
 Ireland
 Italy
 Scotland
 Wales
Tournament format(s) Round-robin and Knockout
Date 12 October 2012 – 18 May 2013
Tournament statistics
Teams 24
Matches played 79
Attendance 1,063,218 (13,458 per match)
Tries scored 293 (3.71 per match)
Top point scorer(s) Morgan Parra (Clermont)
(113 points)[1]
Top try scorer(s) Napolioni Nalaga (Clermont)
(8 tries)[2]
Final
Venue Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Attendance 50,148
Champions France Toulon (1st title)
Runner-up France Clermont
Official website http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/
← 2011–12 (Previous) (Next) 2013–14 →

The 2012–13 Heineken Cup was the 18th season of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. The tournament began with two pool matches on 12 October 2012 and ended with the final at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on 18 May 2013.[3]

Leinster, who became one of only two clubs ever to win two consecutive Heineken Cups in 2012,[4] attempted to become the first club ever to win the competition three straight years. However they were eliminated at the pool stages,[5] the first defending champions to do so since London Wasps in 2007–08.[5] Toulon won an all-French final 16–15 against Clermont.[6][7]

Teams

The default allocation of teams is as follows:[8]

The remaining two places are filled by the winners of the previous year's Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup. If the cup winners are already qualified through their domestic league, an additional team from their country will claim a Heineken Cup place (assuming another team is available). Accordingly, Biarritz claimed the Challenge Cup winner's berth, and since Heineken Cup winners Leinster were already qualified through Pro12, the extra Irish berth went to Connacht.

Teams are listed in the order they are presented to Heineken Cup organiser European Rugby Cup by their respective leagues. In the cases of England and France, this does not necessarily match the teams' placement in their national leagues in the preceding season.

England France Ireland Wales Italy Scotland

Seeding

The seeding system was the same as in the 2011–12 tournament. The 24 competing teams are ranked based on past Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup performance, with each pool receiving one team from each quartile, or Tier. The requirement to have only one team per country in each pool, however, still applies (with the exception of the inclusion of the seventh French team).[12]

The brackets show each team's European Rugby Club Ranking at the end of the 2011–12 season.

Tier 1 Ireland Leinster (1) France Toulouse (2) France Biarritz (3) Ireland Munster (4) Wales Cardiff Blues (5) England Northampton (6)
Tier 2 France Clermont Auvergne (7) Ireland Ulster (8) England Leicester Tigers (9) England Harlequins (11) France Toulon (12) Scotland Edinburgh (13)
Tier 3 Wales Ospreys (14) Wales Scarlets (18) Scotland Glasgow (19) England Saracens (20) Ireland Connacht (24) England Sale Sharks (25)
Tier 4 Italy Benetton Treviso (27) France Castres (28) France Racing Métro (29) France Montpellier (30) England Exeter Chiefs (34) Italy Zebre (NR)

Pool stage

For more details on this topic, see 2012–13 Heineken Cup pool stage.

The draw for the pool stage took place on 12 June 2012 at the Aviva Stadium.

Under the rules of the competition organiser, European Rugby Cup, tie–breakers within each pool are as follows.[13]

ERC has four additional tie–breakers, used if tied teams are in different pools, or if the above steps cannot break a tie between teams in the same pool:

Key to colours
     Pool winners, and the two best pool runners–up, advance to quarter–finals.
     Third–, fourth– and fifth–highest scoring second–place teams parachute into the knock–out stage
of the 2012–13 European Challenge Cup.

Pool 1

Team P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
England Saracens [4] 6 5 0 1 180 76 +104 15 6 2 1 23
Ireland Munster [8] 6 4 0 2 133 73 +60 14 4 2 2 20
France Racing Métro 6 3 0 3 103 125 −22 7 11 0 0 12
Scotland Edinburgh 6 0 0 6 36 178 −142 3 18 0 0 0

Pool 2

Team P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
England Leicester Tigers [6] 6 4 1 1 119 103 +16 13 9 2 0 20
France Toulouse 6 4 0 2 132 84 +48 15 4 2 1 19
Wales Ospreys 6 2 1 3 120 124 −4 11 15 1 1 12
Italy Benetton Treviso 6 1 0 5 107 167 −60 9 20 0 1 5

Pool 3

Team P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
England Harlequins [1] 6 6 0 0 243 71 +172 28 6 4 0 28
France Biarritz 6 3 0 3 123 101 +22 14 7 2 1 15
Ireland Connacht 6 3 0 3 96 138 −42 5 13 0 0 12
Italy Zebre 6 0 0 6 72 224 −152 6 27 0 1 1

Pool 4

Team P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
Ireland Ulster [5] 6 5 0 1 126 55 +71 12 5 2 1 23
England Northampton Saints 6 3 0 3 94 109 −15 9 11 1 2 15
France Castres 6 3 0 3 77 98 −21 6 6 0 2 14
Scotland Glasgow Warriors 6 1 0 5 70 105 −35 7 12 0 2 6

Pool 5

Team P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
France Clermont [2] 6 6 0 0 213 64 +149 23 3 4 0 28
Ireland Leinster 6 4 0 2 124 96 +28 12 5 2 2 20
England Exeter Chiefs 6 2 0 4 93 166 −73 6 19 0 1 9
Wales Scarlets 6 0 0 6 79 183 −104 6 20 0 2 2

Pool 6

Team P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
France Toulon [3] 6 5 0 1 186 84 +102 23 8 3 0 23
France Montpellier [7] 6 5 0 1 168 109 +59 17 9 2 0 22
Wales Cardiff Blues 6 1 0 5 143 184 −41 12 20 1 1 6
England Sale Sharks 6 1 0 5 78 198 −120 7 22 0 0 4

Seeding and runners–up

Seed Pool Winners Pts TF +/−
1 England Harlequins 2828+172
2 France Clermont 2823+149
3 France Toulon 2323+102
4 England Saracens 2315+104
5 Ireland Ulster 2312+71
6 England Leicester Tigers 2013+16
Seed Pool Runners–up Pts TF +/−
7 France Montpellier 2217+59
8 Ireland Munster 2014+60
5C Ireland Leinster 2012+28
6C France Toulouse 1915+48
7C France Biarritz 1514+22
– England Northampton Saints 159−15

Knock–out stages

All kick–off times are local to the match location.

Quarter–finals

6 April 2013
16:40
Clermont France 36–14 France Montpellier
Try: Fofana 27' m
Rougerie 32' c
Sivivatu 52' c
Byrne 66' c
Nalaga 75' c
Con: Parra (2/3)
Skrela (2/2)
Pen: Parra (1/2) 20'
 Report Try: Nagusa 80' m
Pen: Paillaugue (3/4) 5', 12', 23'
6 April 2013
18:30
Saracens England 27–16 Ireland Ulster
Try: Fraser 32' c
Ashton 62' m
Con: Farrell (1/2)
Pen: Farrell (5/5) 1', 28', 36', 49', 59'
 Report Try: Henderson 78' c
Con: Pienaar (1/1)
Pen: Pienaar (3/5) 26', 30', 56'
Twickenham, London[14]
Attendance: 37,888
Referee: Romain Poite (FFR)
7 April 2013
14:00
Harlequins England 12–18 Ireland Munster
Pen: Evans (4/5) 3', 18', 28', 65'
 Report Pen: O'Gara (6/8) 24', 33', 42', 46', 48', 56'
The Stoop, London[15]
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (FFR)
7 April 2013
17:30
Toulon France 21–15 England Leicester Tigers
Pen: Wilkinson (6/6) 29', 34', 43', 46', 59', 64'
Drop: Wilkinson (1/2) 79'
 Report Pen: Flood (5/6) 10', 14', 18', 57', 65'
Stade Mayol, Toulon
Attendance: 15,263
Referee: George Clancy (IRFU)

Semi–finals

27 April 2013
18:00
Clermont France 16–10 Ireland Munster
Try: Nalaga 8' c
Con: Parra (1/1)
Pen: Parra (3/4) 13', 17', 47'
 Report Try: Hurley 59' c
Con: O'Gara (1/1)
Pen: O'Gara (1/1) 5'
Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier[16]
Attendance: 31,259
Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU)
28 April 2013
15:00
Saracens England 12–24 France Toulon
Pen: Farrell (4/5) 2', 21', 34', 49'
 Report Pen: Wilkinson (7/7) 4', 12', 17', 24', 46', 55', 76'
Drop: Wilkinson (1/2) 73'
Twickenham, London[16]
Attendance: 25,584
Referee: Alain Rolland (IRFU)

Final

18 May 2013
17:00 IST
Clermont France 15–16 France Toulon
Try: Nalaga 41' m
James 47' c
Con: Parra (1/2)
Pen: Parra (1/1) 3'
 Report Try: D. Armitage 63' c
Con: Wilkinson (1/1)
Pen: Wilkinson (3/3) 13', 45', 60'
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Attendance: 50,148
Referee: Alain Rolland (IRFU)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Heineken Cup: Points Scorers". Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  2. ↑ "Heineken Cup: Try Scorers". Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  3. ↑ "2012/13 Heineken Cup Pool Draw" (Press release). European Rugby Cup. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  4. ↑ Palmer, Bryn (19 May 2012). "Heineken Cup final: Leinster beat Ulster to retain trophy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Confirmed: Defending champions Leinster out at pool stage". TheScore.ie. 20 January 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  6. ↑ "Toulon claim Heineken Cup glory". ESPN. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  7. ↑ "Clermont 15 Toulon 16". Sporting Life. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  8. ↑ "ERC : Heineken Cup : Rules : Qualification Process". Ercrugby.com. 13 August 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  9. ↑ "ERC : European Qualification : England". Ercrugby.com. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  10. ↑ "ERC : European Qualification : France". Ercrugby.com. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "ERC : European Qualification : Celtic Countries". Ercrugby.com. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  12. ↑ Heineken Cup Pool Draw. European Rugby Cup. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  13. ↑ "Key Tournament Rules". European Rugby Cup. Archived from the original on 8 October 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  14. ↑ "Saracens take euro quarter to Twickenham". 30 January 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  15. ↑ "Harlequins confirm Heineken Cup quarter-final will be played at The Twickenham Stoop". 22 January 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Semi-final venues confirm route to Dublin 2013".

External links