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The European Challenge Cup in rugby union, known as the Parker Pen Shield from 2001 to 2003 and Parker Pen Challenge Cup from 2003, is the sister competition to the Heineken Cup.
It is competed for by teams from England, France, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Spain and Portugal on a knock-out basis.
England, France, Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Italy set their own criteria for qualification for the Heineken Cup. Clubs that do not qualify for the Heineken Cup enter the European Challenge Cup. Wales have not always had a team in the competition due to complexities arising from club mergers. Spain and Portugal do not enter the Heineken Cup and their strongest teams go straight into the European Challenge Cup.
Draw for 2004/5 France (10), Italy (8), England (5), Spain (2), Ireland (1), Scotland (1) and Portugal (1).
The 14 seeded teams were:
France (6): Brive, Beziers, A.S. Monferrand, Montpellier, Agen, Section Paloise
England (4): Sale Sharks, London Irish, Saracens and Leeds Tykes
Italy (2): Viadana, Overmach Rugby Parma
Ireland (1): Connacht
Scotland (1): The Borders
The 14 non-seeded teams were:
France (4): RC Narbonne, Grenoble, Auch, Bayonne
Italy (6): Rovigo, Petrarca Padova, Gran Parma, L’Aquila, Leonessa and Catania
Spain (2): Centransa El Salvador, UCM Madrid (replaced by VRAC)
England (1): Worcester
Portugal (1): A.A Coimbra
Teams from the same country cannot play each other in the first round and the unseeded team automatically has the advantage of playing at home. The fourteen winners plus 2 lucky losers go onto round two (now known as the Parker Pen Challenge Cup), the twelve other teams go on to play in a separate tournament, the European Shield (Parker Pen Shield; note, this was also an early name for the European Challenge Cup) with four additional teams.
Previous Winners of the European Challenge Cup | 1997 | Bourgoin | 18-9 | Castres | (known as European Shield) | | 1998 | Colomiers | 43-5 | Agen | (European Shield) | | 1999 | Montferrand | 35-16 | Bourgoin | (European Shield) | | 2000 | Pau | 34-21 | Castres | (European Shield) | | 2001 | NEC Harlequins | 42-33 | Narbonne | (European Shield) | | 2002 | Sale | 25-22 | Pontypridd | (Parker Pen Shield) | | 2003 | London Wasps | 48-30 | Bath | (Parker Pen Challenge Cup) | | 2004 | NEC Harlequins | 27-26 | Montferrand | (Parker Pen Challenge Cup) |
See also
External links - Official site (in English) (http://www.europeanchallengecup.com)
- Official site (in French) (http://www.ercfrancais.com/)
| Competitons
Heineken Cup | Parker Pen Challenge Cup | Parker Pen Shield | | Heineken Cup Results
2004/05 | 2003/04 | 2002/03 | 2001/02 | 2000/01 | 1999/2000 | 1998/99 | 1997/98 | 1996/97 | 1995/96 | | 
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