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1996–97 Heineken Cup

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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 →

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]

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 England France France Ireland Ireland Italy Italy Scotland Scotland Wales 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
France Dax 4 3 0 1 16 2 14 141 69 72 6
England Bath 4 3 0 1 15 8 7 136 88 48 6
Wales Pontypridd 4 3 0 1 7 3 4 97 60 37 6
Italy Benetton Treviso 4 1 0 3 13 15 −2 106 135 −29 2
Scotland 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
England Leicester 4 4 0 0 14 3 11 114 43 71 8
Wales Llanelli 4 2 0 2 9 9 0 97 81 16 4
Ireland Leinster 4 2 0 2 9 12 −3 86 109 −23 4
France Pau 4 1 0 3 19 10 9 137 103 34 2
Scotland 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
France Brive 4 4 0 0 13 8 5 106 65 41 8
England Harlequins 4 3 0 1 20 8 12 131 95 36 6
Wales Neath 4 2 0 2 10 16 −6 83 109 −26 4
Ireland Ulster 4 1 0 3 6 10 −4 75 87 −12 2
Scotland 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
France Toulouse 4 3 0 1 21 13 8 157 142 15 6
Wales Cardiff 4 3 0 1 16 7 9 135 97 38 6
England London Wasps 4 2 0 2 17 14 3 156 115 41 4
Ireland Munster 4 2 0 2 11 22 −11 109 135 −26 4
Italy Milan 4 0 0 4 6 15 −9 73 141 −68 0

Seeding

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Seed Pool Winners Pts TF +/−
1 England Leicester 8 14 +71
2 France Brive 8 13 +41
3 France Toulouse 6 21 +15
4 France Dax 6 16 +72
Seed Pool Runners-up Pts TF +/−
5 England Harlequins 6 20 +36
6 Wales Cardiff RFC 6 16 +38
7 England Bath 6 15 +48
8 Wales Llanelli RFC 4 9 +16

Knockout stage

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

Quarter finals

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9 November 1996
14:30
Cardiff Wales22–19England Bath
Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
Attendance: 12,000
16 November 1996
15:00
Leicester Tigers England23–13England Harlequins
Welford Road, Leicester
Attendance: 10,263
16 November 1996
16:00
Dax France18–26France Toulouse
Stade Maurice-Boyau, Dax
Attendance: 14,000
17 November 1996
14:45
Brive France35–14Wales Llanelli
Parc Municipal des Sports, Brive-la-Gaillarde
Attendance: 14,000

Semi finals

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4 January 1997
15:05
Leicester Tigers England37–11France Toulouse
Welford Road
Attendance: 16,300
5 January 1997
15:30
Brive France26–13Wales 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 France28–9England 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.