1996–97 Heineken Cup pool stage

The 1996–97 Heineken Cup pool stage was played during October and November 1996. The top two teams in each group qualified for the quarter-finals.

1996–97 Heineken Cup pool stage
Season1996–97 Heineken Cup
Date12 October 1996 – 2 November 1996
Qualifiers
Seed 1England Leicester
Seed 2France Brive
Seed 3France Toulouse
Seed 4France Dax
Seed 5England Harlequins
Seed 6Wales Cardiff RFC
Seed 7England Bath
Seed 8Wales Llanelli RFC
1995–96
(Previous)
1997–98
(Next)

All times are local to the game site.

Key to colours
     Top two teams in each group advance to quarter-finals

Pool 1

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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
12 October 1996
14:30
Pontypridd  28–22  Benetton Treviso
Sardis Road
Attendance: 3,500
12 October 1996
15:00
Bath  55–26  Edinburgh
Recreation Ground
Attendance: 6,500

16 October 1996
19:00
Edinburgh  10–32  Pontypridd
Myreside
Attendance: 3,000
16 October 1996
20:00
Benetton Treviso  14–34  Dax
Stadio Comunale di Monigo
Attendance: 1,000

19 October 1996
14:30
Pontypridd  19–6  Bath
Sardis Road
Attendance: 7,000
20 October 1996
14:30
Dax  69–12  Edinburgh
Parc Municipal des Sports
Attendance: 8,000

26 October 1996
15:00
Bath  25–16  Dax
Recreation Ground
Attendance: 8,000
27 October 1996
14:30
Edinburgh  23–43  Benetton Treviso
Myreside
Attendance: 1,500

2 November 1996
14:30
Benetton Treviso  27–50  Bath
Stadio Comunale di Monigo
Attendance: 2,500
2 November 1996
19:30
Dax  22–18  Pontypridd
Parc Municipal des Sports
Attendance: 9,000

Pool 2

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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
12 October 1996
14:30
Llanelli  34–17  Leinster
Stradey Park
Attendance: 2,800
12 October 1996
17:00
Pau  85–28  Borders
Stade Municipal du Hameau
Attendance: 3,000

16 October 1996
18:45
Leinster  10–27  Leicester Tigers
Lansdowne Road
Attendance: 3,500
16 October 1996
19:00
Borders  24–16  Llanelli
Mansfield Park
Attendance: 2,000

19 October 1996
14:30
Llanelli  31–15  Pau
Stradey Park
Attendance: 3,000
19 October 1996
14:30
Leicester Tigers  43–3  Borders
Welford Road
Attendance: 4,609

26 October 1996
14:30
Borders  25–34  Leinster
The Greenyards
Attendance: 3,500
26 October 1996
16:45
Pau  14–19  Leicester
Stade Municipal du Hameau
Attendance: 9,000

2 November 1996
14:30
Leinster  25–23  Pau
Donnybrook
Attendance: 4,000
2 November 1996
15:00
Leicester Tigers  25–16  Llanelli
Welford Road
Attendance: 11,000

Pool 3

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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
12 October 1996
17:15
Brive  34–19  Neath
Parc Municipal des Sports
Attendance: 5,000
13 October 1996
14:30
Caledonia  34–41  Ulster
Try: Rowen Shepherd
Paul Rouse
Stuart Grimes
Con: Rowen Shepherd (2)
Pen: Rowen Shepherd (4)
Drop: Jonathan Newton
Report[1][2]Try: David Humphreys (2)
Jan Cunningham (2)
Stephen McKinty
Con: David Humphreys (2)
Pen: David Humphreys (2)
Stuart Laing
Drop: David Humphreys
McDiarmid Park
Attendance: 2,400
Referee: J. C. Gastou

16 October 1996
19:00
Ulster  15–21  Harlequins
Pen: David Humphreys (4)
Drop: David Humphreys
Report[3]Try: Mick Watson
Daren O'Leary
Con: Will Carling
Pen: Will Carling (2)
Ravenhill
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: I. Ramage
16 October 1996
19:15
Neath  27–18  Caledonia
The Gnoll
Attendance: 2,000

19 October 1996
15:00
Harlequins  44–22  Neath
Twickenham Stoop
Attendance: 3,500
20 October 1996
15:00
Caledonia  30–32  Brive
McDiarmid Park
Attendance: 2,000

26 October 1996
14:30
Neath  15–13  Ulster
Try: Steve Williams
Leighton Gerrard
Con: Geraint Davies
Pen: Geraint Davies
Report[4]Try: Andrew Matchett
Con: David Humphreys
Pen: David Humphreys (2)
The Gnoll
Attendance: 2,000
27 October 1996
16:15
Brive  23–10  Harlequins
Parc Municipal des Sports
Attendance: 13,000

2 November 1996
14:30
Ulster  6–17  Brive
Pen: David Humphreys
Drop: David Humphreys
Report[5]Try: Francois Duboisset
Sebastian Carrat
Sébastien Viars
Con: David Venditti
Ravenhill
Attendance: 3,500
Referee: H. Lewis
2 November 1996
14:30
Harlequins  56–35  Caledonia
Twickenham Stoop
Attendance: 3,751

Pool 4

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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
12 October 1996
15:00
Munster  23–5  Milan
Report
Musgrave Park
Attendance: 1,500
13 October 1996
15:00
London Wasps  24–26  Cardiff
Loftus Road
Attendance: 6,000

16 October 1996
19:15
Cardiff  48–18  Munster
Report
Cardiff Arms Park
Attendance: 4,000
16 October 1996
20:30
Milan  26–44  Toulouse
Stadio Comunale Giuriati
Attendance: 500

19 October 1996
15:30
Munster  49–22  London Wasps
Report
Thomond Park
Attendance: 6,000
19 October 1996
15:30
Toulouse  36–20  Cardiff
Les Sept Deniers
Attendance: 10,000

26 October 1996
15:00
London Wasps  77–17  Toulouse
Loftus Road
Attendance: 8,000
27 October 1996
15:00
Cardiff  41–19  Milan
Arms Park
Attendance: 3,000

2 November 1996
14:30
Milan  23–33  London Wasps
Stadio Comunale Giuriati
Attendance: 1,200
2 November 1996
16:00
Toulouse  60–19  Munster
Report
Les Sept Deniers
Attendance: 14,000

Seeding

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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

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Bill Leith, "Rugby Union: Topping grabs spoils", The Independent, 13 October 1996
  2. ^ "Humphreys points the way for Ulster", Irish Independent, 14 October 1996
  3. ^ Jim Stokes, "Defiant Ulster lose to late Harlequins try", Irish Independent, 17 October 1966
  4. ^ "Ulster rue missed chances as Neath steal it", Sunday Independent, 27 October 1996
  5. ^ "Ulster challenge fades tamely", Sunday Independent, 3 November 1996