EPCR Challenge Cup

The European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) Challenge Cup, typically referred to as simply the Challenge Cup, is European rugby union’s second-tier club competition. The Challenge Cup is contested each year by teams from the English Premiership, France’s Top 14, and the United Rugby Championship (URC), as well as invitational sides on occasion. It ranks below the Champions Cup in terms of prestige but is still considered one of the most coveted trophies in European rugby union.

📜 Challenge Cup History

The inaugural Challenge Cup was held during the 1996/97 season, a year after the first Champions Cup competition was held. Originally known as the European Conference or European Shield, the first Challenge Cup was contested by teams from across England, France, Italy, Romania, Scotland, and Wales, and was won by French side CS Bourgoin-Jallieu.

English and Scottish clubs did not feature during the 1998/99 Challenge Cup, prompting the first of many reorganisations of the competition, however sides from these nations returned to the tournament the following season. The 2001/02 competition then exhibited many firsts in the Challenge Cup’s history: teams from Spain participated for the first time, no French sides went further than the quarterfinals, and a Welsh team, Pontypridd, became the first club from the nation to contest a Challenge Cup final – though they ultimately lost to Sale Sharks. In 2022 South African sides contested the Challenge Cup for the first time, following on from their entry into the URC.

In 2004 Harlequins became the first club to win the Challenge Cup twice, having also won in 2001, and in 2011 they then became the first club to win the trophy on 3 occasions. French club Clermont Auvergne have since won the competition on 3 occasions too, and the 2 clubs remain the most successful in Challenge Cup history, in terms of trophies lifted. Teams from England and France have won the competition 12 times each, with Welsh teams winning twice, and a sole Irish team, Leinster, has also won.

Whilst the Challenge Cup has undergone many changes to its qualification process and tournament structure and format, it has remained a prominent and highly coveted rugby union competition, contested by some of the strongest teams and most talented players plying their trade in the Northern Hemisphere – and sometimes beyond!

💯 Challenge Cup Format & Scoring

Since the inaugural edition in 1996, the Challenge Cup’s format has undergone several changes. Currently, 18 teams initially qualify for the Challenge Cup. Of these 18 teams, 16 qualify on the basis of their performance in their respective domestic years the season before. The other 2 clubs are invited to participate, despite not competing in the Premiership, Top 14, or URC.

The 18 qualified sides are drawn in 3 pools (or groups) of 6 teams each. Each team plays 4 of its fellow 5 pool sides once each – 2 of these games are played at home and 2 are played away from home. Once all sides have played their 4 pool stage matches, the 4 teams ranked highest in each of the 3 pools advance to the knock-out stages. These 12 teams are joined at the knock-out stage by the 4 teams which finish fifth in each of the 4 Champions Cup pools.

The first knock-out round is the round of 16. Round of 16 winners advance to the quarterfinals, whilst losers are eliminated from the competition; quarterfinal winners then advance to the semifinals. After the semifinals only 2 teams will remain, and these teams contest the Challenge Cup final – the victors are crowned that season’s Challenge Cup winners!

All Challenge Cup fixtures are standard 80-minute rugby union games. During the pool stage, try and losing bonus points are awarded, and matches can end in a draw. During the knock-out stage, matches cannot be tied: a period of extra-time is played, should the teams be level after 80 minutes. All knock-out matches are single-leg fixtures.