2002–03 European Challenge Cup

2002-03 Parker Pen Challenge Cup
Tournament details
Countries	England  France  Ireland  Italy  Romania  Scotland  Spain  Wales
Tournament format(s)	Knockout
Date	11 October 2002 - 25 May 2003
Tournament statistics
Teams	32
Matches played	61
Attendance	225,733 (3,701 per match)
Tries scored	384 (6.3 per match)
Top point scorer(s)	Olly Barkley (Bath) (118 points)[1]
Top try scorer(s)	Tom Shanklin (Saracens) (8 tries)[2]
Final
Venue	Madejski Stadium, Reading
Attendance	18,074
Champions	London Wasps (1st title)
Runner-up	Bath Rugby

The 2002–03 European Challenge Cup (known as the Parker Pen Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 7th season of the European Challenge Cup, Europe's second tier club rugby union competition below the Heineken Cup. A total of 32 teams participated, representing eight different countries.

The competition began when Gran Parma hosted Bath and Ebbw Vale hosted Montauban on 11 October 2002 and culminated in the final at the Madejski Stadium in Reading on 25 May 2003.

Unlike previous seasons, the structure of the competition was changed to a purely knockout format. Teams played each other on a home and away basis, with the aggregate points winner proceeding to the next round. The final was a single leg. For that first time, a third tier tournament was created - the European Shield. This was contested between the first round losers from the European Challenge Cup.^[3]

The defending champions, England's Sale Sharks, did not have a chance to defend their crown because they qualified to play in the Heineken Cup. London Wasps claimed a victory over Bath in the final and picked up their first piece of European Club silverware.

Teams

The allocation of teams was as follows:

England: 6 teams — all teams from the Zurich Premiership that did not qualify for the 2002–03 Heineken Cup

France: 9 teams — all teams from the Top 16 that did not qualify for the Heineken Cup, and Agen who were banned by ERC ^[4]

Ireland: 1 team — the Irish team from the Celtic League that did not play in the Heineken Cup

Italy: 8 teams — all the teams from the Super 10 that did not qualify for the Heineken Cup

Romania: 1 team specially created for the competition

Scotland: 1 team — the Scottish team from the Celtic League that did not play in the Heineken Cup

Spain: 2 teams — drawn from the División de Honor de Rugby

Wales: 4 teams — all the teams from the Celtic League that did not qualify for the Heineken Cup

England	France	Ireland	Italy	Romania	Scotland	Spain	Wales
Bath NEC Harlequins Leeds Tykes London Wasps Newcastle Falcons Saracens	Bordeaux-Bègles Castres Olympique Colomiers Grenoble Montauban Mont de Marsan Narbonne Pau Stade Français	Connacht	Gran Parma L'Aquila Overmach Parma Petrarca Padova Rugby Roma Rovigo Rugby Silea Benetton Treviso	Dinamo București	Borders	La Moraleja UC Madrid	Bridgend Caerphilly Ebbw Vale Pontypridd

Matches

All kickoff times are local to the match location.^[5]

Round 1

1st Leg

2nd Leg

Aggregate Results

Proceed to 2nd Round	Match points	Aggregate score	Points margin	Proceed to Shield
Saracens	4 – 0	238 – 11	227	Dinamo București
Stade Français	4 – 0	145 – 26	119	Rovigo
Pontypridd	4 – 0	143 – 26	117	Rugby Roma
Colomiers	4 – 0	133 – 19	114	L'Aquila
Borders	4 – 0	150 – 37	113	UC Madrid
Bath	4 – 0	97 – 22	75	Gran Parma
London Wasps	4 – 0	82 – 24	58	Overmach Parma
NEC Harlequins	4 – 0	104 – 47	57	Caerphilly
Leeds Tykes	4 – 0	81 – 36	45	Petrarca Padova
Narbonne	4 – 0	75 – 37	38	Rugby Silea
Connacht	4 – 0	73 – 41	32	Mont de Marsan
Benetton Treviso	4 – 0	55 – 26	29	Castres Olympique
Bordeaux-Bègles	4 – 0	70 – 46	24	La Moraleja
Newcastle Falcons	4 – 0	52 – 29	23	Grenoble
Montauban	2 – 2	45 – 36	9	Ebbw Vale
Bridgend	2 – 2	33 – 27	6	Pau

Round 2

1st Leg

2nd Leg

Aggregate Results

Proceed to Quarter-final	Match points	Aggregate score	Points margin	Eliminated from competition
London Wasps	4 – 0	72 – 29	43	Bordeaux-Bègles
Stade Français	4 – 0	55 – 12	43	NEC Harlequins
Saracens	4 – 0	46 – 25	21	Colomiers
Montauban	4 – 0	31 – 22	9	Borders
Pontypridd	3 – 1	56 – 42	14	Leeds Tykes
Bath	2 – 2	64 – 38	26	Bridgend
Newcastle Falcons	2 – 2	43 – 32	11	Benetton Treviso
Connacht	2 – 2	50 – 49	1	Narbonne

Quarter finals

1st Leg

2nd Leg

Aggregate Results

Proceed to Semi-final	Match points	Aggregate score	Points margin	Eliminated from competition
London Wasps	4 – 0	62 – 34	28	Stade Français
Pontypridd	4 – 0	47 – 39	8	Connacht
Saracens	2 – 2	60 – 41	19	Newcastle Falcons
Bath	2 – 2	48 – 45	3	Montauban

Semi finals

1st Leg

2nd Leg

Aggregate Results

Proceed to Final	Match points	Aggregate score	Points margin	Eliminated from competition
London Wasps	4 – 0	61 – 36	25	Pontypridd
Bath	2 – 2	57 – 57	0[n 1]	Saracens
↑ Bath go through on superior try count (6-5).[6]

Final

See also

• 2002-03 Heineken Cup
• European Challenge Cup
• 2002–03 European Shield

References