1996–97 Heineken Cup

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The 1996–97 Heineken Cup was the second edition of the Heineken Cup, an international competition for the top European rugby union clubs. Competing teams from France, Ireland, Italy, Wales and, for the first time, England and Scotland, were divided into four pools of five, with each team playing the other teams once, meaning two home and two away games per team. The pool winners and runners-up qualified for the knock-out stages. The competition was won by a French team for the second time, when Brive beat their English opponents Leicester Tigers 28–9 at the Cardiff Arms Park. The defending champions Toulouse were knocked out in the semi-final by Leicester Tigers and Brive beat Cardiff in the other semi-final.[1]

1996–97 Heineken Cup
Tournament details
Countries England
 France
 Ireland
 Italy
 Scotland
 Wales
Tournament format(s)Round-robin and Knockout
Date12 October 1996 to 25 January 1997
Tournament statistics
Teams20
Matches played47
Attendance317,987 (6,766 per match)
Top point scorer(s)Richard Dourthe (Dax)
(82 points)
Top try scorer(s)Sebastien Carrat (Brive)
(10 tries)
Final
VenueCardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
Attendance41,664
ChampionsFrance Brive (1st title)
Runners-upEngland Leicester Tigers
← 1995–96 (Previous)
(Next) 1997–98 →

Teams

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The qualifying teams were drawn from six countries. Generally, these were the strongest teams from the top division of domestic rugby; weaker teams participated in the Challenge Cup:

  England   France   Ireland   Italy   Scotland   Wales

Pool stage

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In the pool matches teams received

  • 2 points for a win
  • 1 point for a draw

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

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

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

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

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

Knockout stage

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Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
         
2   Brive 35
8   Llanelli 14
2   Brive 26
6   Cardiff 13
6   Cardiff 22
7   Bath 19
2   Brive 28
1   Leicester Tigers 9
1   Leicester Tigers 23
6   Harlequins 13
1   Leicester Tigers 37
3   Toulouse 11
4   Dax 18
3   Toulouse 26

Quarter finals

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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

Semi finals

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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

Final

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The final 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
Try: Viars
Fabre
Carrat (2)
Con: Lamaison
Pen: Lamaison
Drop: Lamaison
ReportPen: Liley (3)
Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
Attendance: 41,664
Referee: Derek Bevan (Wales)

References

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  1. ^ Cleary, Mick; Griffiths, John, eds. (1997). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1997–98. London: Headline Book Publishing. ISBN 0-7472-7732-X.