2007–08 European Challenge Cup

2007–08 European Challenge Cup
Tournament details
Countries England
France
Ireland
Italy
Romania
Spain
Tournament format(s)Round-robin and Knockout
Date8 November 2007 – 25 May 2008
Tournament statistics
Top point scorer(s)Olly Barkley (Bath)
(91 points)
Top try scorer(s)Ollie Phillips (Newcastle)
(8 tries)
Final
Champions Bath (1st title)
Runners-up Worcester Warriors

The 2007–08 European Challenge Cup was the 12th year of the European Challenge Cup, the second tier rugby union cup competition below the Heineken Cup. The tournament was held between November 2007 and May 2008.

Pool stage

Pool 1

Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
Bath Rugby 6 6 0 0 28 6 +22 203 65 +138 5 0 29
Auch 6 3 0 3 11 19 −8 109 147 −38 1 1 14
Albi 6 2 0 4 15 21 −6 130 177 −47 1 2 11
Overmach Parma 6 1 0 5 10 18 −8 104 157 −53 0 3 7

Pool 2

Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
Worcester Warriors 6 6 0 0 36 6 +30 245 49 +196 5 0 29
Montauban 6 3 0 3 28 12 +16 175 113 +62 3 1 16
București 6 2 1 3 7 22 −15 77 158 −81 0 0 10
Gran Parma 6 0 1 5 7 38 −31 82 259 −177 0 1 3

Pool 3

Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
Newcastle Falcons 6 5 0 1 34 3 +31 264 57 +207 3 1 24
Brive 6 4 0 2 21 5 +16 179 73 +106 3 2 20
Connacht 6 3 0 3 25 10 +15 172 97 +75 2 1 15
El Salvador 6 0 0 6 3 65 −62 26 414 −388 0 0 0

Pool 4

Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
Sale Sharks 6 5 1 0 34 8 +26 244 62 +182 5 0 27
Montpellier 6 4 1 1 12 14 −2 114 115 −1 1 0 19
Bayonne 6 1 0 5 16 20 −4 100 164 −64 2 2 8
Petrarca Padova 6 1 0 5 7 27 −20 73 190 −117 0 1 5

Pool 5

Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
Castres Olympique 6 5 0 1 19 12 +7 160 105 +55 1 0 21
Leeds Carnegie 6 4 0 2 18 10 +8 157 101 +56 2 1 19
Calvisano 6 2 0 4 13 29 −16 123 200 −77 1 0 9
Dax 6 1 0 5 15 14 +1 109 143 −34 1 3 7

Seeding and runners-up

Seed Pool Winners Pts TF +/-
1 Worcester Warriors 29 36 +196
2 Bath 29 28 +138
3 Sale Sharks 27 34 +182
4 Newcastle Falcons 24 34 +207
5 Castres Olympique 21 19 +55
Seed Pool Runners-up Pts TF +/-
6 Brive 20 21 +106
7 Leeds Carnegie 19 18 +56
8 Montpellier 19 12 −1
Montauban 16 28 +62
Auch 14 11 −38

Knockout stage

Quarter-finals

4 April 2008
19:30
Sale Sharks 49–24 Brive
Edgeley Park
Attendance: 6,192
5 April 2008
14:15
Bath 57–5 Leeds Carnegie
Recreation Ground
Attendance: 7,569
5 April 2008
15:00
Worcester Warriors 36–26 Montpellier
Sixways Stadium
Attendance: 5,210
5 April 2008
20:00
Newcastle Falcons 40–13 Castres Olympique
Kingston Park
Attendance: 6,005

Semi-finals

25 April 2008
20:00
Worcester Warriors 31–16 Newcastle Falcons
Sixways Stadium
Attendance: 6,795
26 April 2008
12:30
Bath 36–14 Sale Sharks
Recreation Ground
Attendance: 8,216

Final

25 May 2008
12:00
Bath 24–16 Worcester Warriors
Tries: Fa'amatuainu 31' c
Abendanon 35' m
Con: Barkley (1/2) 32'
Pen: Barkley 15', 53'
James 75'
Drop: Barkley 67'
ReportTry: Delport 79' c
Con: Carlisle (1/1) 79'
Pen: Drahm 23', 39', 45'
Kingsholm Stadium
Attendance: 16,157
Referee: Christophe Berdos (France)

See also