2021–22 European Rugby Champions Cup

2021–22 European Rugby Champions Cup
Tournament details
Countries England
France
Ireland
Scotland
Wales
Tournament format(s)Round-robin and knockout
Date10 December 2021 – 28 May 2022
Tournament statistics
Teams24
Matches played60
Attendance843,371 (14,056 per match)
Highest attendance42,067 - Leinster v Toulouse
14 May 2022[1]
Lowest attendance4,000 - Sale Sharks v Ospreys
23 January 2022[a]
Tries scored396 (6.6 per match)
Top point scorer(s) Johnny Sexton (Leinster)
65 points
Top try scorer(s) James Lowe (Leinster)
10 tries
Final
VenueStade Vélodrome, Marseille
Champions La Rochelle (1st title)
Runners-up Leinster

The 2021–22 European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the eighth season of the European Rugby Champions Cup, the annual club rugby union competition run by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) for teams from the top six nations in European rugby. It was the 27th season of pan-European professional club rugby competition.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 24-team, two pool tournament format adopted for the previous season remained.[2]

This is the final year, under the current sponsorship deal, with Dutch beer brand Heineken, after a four-year deal was agreed starting from the 2018/19 season.[3]

The tournament commenced in December 2021. On 28 May 2022, Stade Rochelais won the final at Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, France, defeating Leinster 24 points to 21.[4][5][6]

Teams

Twenty-four clubs from the three major European domestic and regional leagues are competing in the Champions Cup.

The distribution of the teams are:

The following teams have qualified for the tournament as of 12 June 2021.

Premiership Top 14 United Rugby Championship (Pro14)
England France Ireland Scotland Wales

Team details

Below is the list of coaches, captain and stadiums with their method of qualification for each team.

Note: Placing shown in brackets, denotes standing at the end of the regular season for their respective leagues, with their end of season positioning shown through CH for Champions, RU for Runner-up, SF for losing Semi-finalist, and QF for losing Quarter-finalist.

Team Coach /
Director of Rugby 		Captain Stadium Capacity Method of qualification
Bath Stuart Hooper Charlie Ewels The Recreation Ground 14,509 Premiership top 8 (7th)
Bordeaux Bègles Christophe Urios Jefferson Poirot Stade Chaban-Delmas 34,694 Top 14 top 8 (4th)
Bristol Bears Pat Lam Steve Luatua Ashton Gate 27,000 Premiership top 8 (3rd) (SF)
Cardiff Rugby Dai Young Josh Turnbull Cardiff Arms Park 12,125 Pro14 Conference B (4th)
Castres Mauricio Reggiardo Mathieu Babillot Stade Pierre-Fabre 12,500 Top 14 top 8 (6th) (QF)
Clermont Jono Gibbes Camille Lopez Stade Marcel-Michelin 19,022 Top 14 top 8 (5th) (QF)
Connacht Andy Friend Jack Carty Galway Sportsgrounds 8,129 Pro14 Conference B (2nd)
Exeter Chiefs Rob Baxter Jack Yeandle
Joe Simmonds 		Sandy Park 13,593 Premiership top 8 (2nd) (RU)
Glasgow Warriors Danny Wilson Fraser Brown
Ryan Wilson 		Scotstoun Stadium 7,351 Pro14 Conference A (4th)
Harlequins Billy Millard Stephan Lewies Twickenham Stoop 14,800 Premiership top 8 (1st) (CH)
La Rochelle Ronan O'Gara Grégory Alldritt Stade Marcel-Deflandre 16,000 Top 14 top 8 (2nd) (RU)
Leicester Tigers Steve Borthwick Ellis Genge Mattioli Woods Welford Road 25,849 Premiership top 8 (6th)
Leinster Leo Cullen Johnny Sexton RDS Arena
Aviva Stadium 		18,500
51,700 		Pro14 Conference A (1st) (CH)
Montpellier Philippe Saint-André Fulgence Ouedraogo Altrad Stadium 15,697 2020–21 Challenge Cup Champion
Munster Johann van Graan Peter O'Mahony Thomond Park 25,600 Pro14 Conference B (1st) (RU)
Northampton Saints Chris Boyd Lewis Ludlam Franklin's Gardens 15,200 Premiership top 8 (5th)
Ospreys Toby Booth Justin Tipuric Swansea.com Stadium 21,088 Pro14 Conference A (3rd)
Racing 92 Laurent Travers Henry Chavancy Paris La Défense Arena 30,681 Top 14 top 8 (3rd)
Sale Sharks Alex Sanderson Jono Ross AJ Bell Stadium 12,000 Premiership top 8 (3rd) (SF)
Scarlets Dwayne Peel Jonathan Davies Parc y Scarlets 14,870 Pro14 Conference B (3rd)
Stade Français Gonzalo Quesada Yoann Maestri Stade Jean-Bouin 20,000 Top 14 top 8 (6th) (QF)
Toulouse Ugo Mola Julien Marchand Stade Ernest-Wallon 19,500 Top 14 top 8 (1st) (CH)
Ulster Dan McFarland Iain Henderson Ravenhill Stadium 18,196 Pro14 Conference A (2nd)
Wasps Lee Blackett Joe Launchbury Ricoh Arena 32,609 Premiership top 8 (8th)

Seeding and draw

The twenty four teams are seeded based on their finishing position in end of season playoffs and league positions. This follows the format from the previous season with the number 1 and number 2 ranked clubs from each league in Tier 1, the number 3 and number 4 ranked clubs in Tier 2, the number 5 and 6 ranked clubs in Tier 3, and the number 7 and number 8 ranked clubs in Tier 4.[7]

Tier Rank Top 14 Premiership United Rugby Championship (Pro14)
1 1 Toulouse Harlequins Leinster
2 La Rochelle Exeter Chiefs Munster
2 3 Racing 92 Bristol Bears Ulster
4 Bordeaux Bègles Sale Sharks Connacht
3 5 Clermont Northampton Saints Scarlets
6 Stade Français Leicester Tigers Ospreys
4 7 Castres Bath Cardiff
8 Montpellier Wasps Glasgow Warriors

The draw took place on 21 July 2021 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Pool Stage

Main article: 2021–22 European Rugby Champions Cup pool stage

Teams are awarded four points for a win, two for a draw, one for scoring four tries in a game, and one for losing by less than eight points.

Key to colours
     Top 8 in each pool, advance to round of 16.
     Teams ranked 9th–11th in each pool advance to 2021–22 EPCR Challenge Cup round of 16

Pool A

Pool A Standings [8]
Team
 P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
Racing 92 4 4 0 0 126 24 +102 16 3 3 0 19
Ulster 4 4 0 0 114 96 +18 15 9 3 0 19
La Rochelle 4 3 1 0 97 64 +33 11 7 2 0 16
Leinster 4 3 0 1 198 62 +136 30 8 3 0 15
Sale Sharks 4 2 1 1 89 48 +41 13 5 1 1 12
Exeter Chiefs 4 2 0 2 127 82 +45 19 7 3 0 11
Montpellier 4 2 0 2 78 157 –79 9 23 2 0 10
Clermont 4 1 1 2 79 82 –3 8 10 0 2 8
Glasgow Warriors 4 1 0 3 82 117 –35 7 15 0 1 5
Northampton Saints 4 0 0 4 56 124 –68 6 17 0 2 2
Bath 4 0 1 3 48 148 –100 6 22 0 0 2
Ospreys 4 0 0 4 33 123 –90 3 17 0 0 0

Pool B

Pool B Standings [9]
Team
 P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
Leicester Tigers 4 4 0 0 102 64 +38 14 7 3 0 19
Harlequins 4 4 0 0 135 101 +34 18 15 3 0 19
Munster 4 4 0 0 115 47 +68 12 5 2 0 18
Bristol Bears 4 3 1 0 108 38 +70 16 4 3 0 17
Connacht 4 1 0 3 118 104 +14 16 14 3 3 10
Bordeaux 4 1 1 2 58 54 +4 8 7 1 1 8
Toulouse 4 1 1 2 61 65 –4 8 8 1 0 7
Stade Français 4 1 1 2 63 95 –32 7 14 1 0 7
Cardiff 4 1 0 3 85 118 –33 13 16 2 1 7
Wasps 4 1 1 2 51 102 –51 6 13 0 0 6
Castres 4 0 0 4 77 91 –14 9 9 1 4 5
Scarlets 4 0 1 3 31 125 –94 4 19 0 0 2

Knockout stage

The knockout stage began across the 8/9/10 April with a home and away round of 16 matches consisting of the top eight ranked teams from each pool.

Bracket

Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
              
A1 Racing 92 22 33 55
B8 Stade Français 9 22 31
A1 Racing 92 41
A5 Sale Sharks 22
B4 Bristol Bears 10 29 39
A5 Sale Sharks 9 35 44
A1 Racing 92 13
A3 La Rochelle 20
A3 La Rochelle 31 31 62
B6 Bordeaux 13 23 36
A3 La Rochelle 31
A7 Montpellier 19
B2 Harlequins 26 33 59
A7 Montpellier 40 20 60
La Rochelle 24
Leinster 21
B1 Leicester Tigers 29 27 56
A8 Clermont 10 17 27
B1 Leicester Tigers 14
A4 Leinster 23
A4 Leinster 26 56 82
B5 Connacht 21 20 41
A4 Leinster 40
B7 Toulouse 17
B3 Munster 8 26 34
A6 Exeter Chiefs 13 10 23
B3 Munster 24 (2)
B7 Toulouse (p) 24 (4)
A2 Ulster 26 23 49
B7 Toulouse 20 30 50

Round of 16

First leg

8 April 2022
20:00 IST
Connacht 21–26 Leinster
Try: Porch 2' m
Fifita 60' c
Con: Carty (1/2) 61'
Pen: Carty (3/3) 33', 40'+4, 45'		ReportTry: Lowe (2) 22' c, 26' m
Keenan 52' m
Con: Sexton (1/3) 23'
Pen: Sexton (2/2) 18', 37'
Byrne (1/1) 76'
Galway Sportsgrounds
Attendance: 8,126[10]
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
9 April 2022
13:00 BST
Sale Sharks 9–10 Bristol Bears
Pen: du Preez (3/4) 4', 9', 77'ReportTry: Radradra 71' c
Con: Sheedy (1/1) 72'
Pen: Sheedy (1/1) 25'
AJ Bell Stadium
Attendance: 4,672
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
9 April 2022
14:00 CET
Bordeaux 13–31 La Rochelle
Try: Woki 50' m
Mori 67' m
Pen: Lucu (1/1) 9'		ReportTry: Rhule 21' c
Danty 53' m
Penalty try 63'
Con: West (1/2) 22'
Pen: West (4/4) 9', 38' 48', 71'
Stade Chaban-Delmas
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
9 April 2022
16:15 CET
Toulouse 20–26 Ulster
Try: Meafou 6' c
Ntamack 79' c
Con: Ramos (2/2) 7', 79'
Pen: Ramos (1/2) 40'		ReportTry: Baloucoune (3) 12' c, 44' m, 66' c
Warwick 58' c
Con: Cooney (3/4) 13', 59', 66'
Le Stadium
Attendance: 28,000
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
9 April 2022
17:30 BST
Exeter Chiefs 13–8 Munster
Try: Hogg 5' m
Vermeulen 37' m
Drop: Hogg (1/1) 65'		ReportTry: S. Daly 66' m
Pen: Healy (1/1) 56'
Sandy Park
Attendance: 10,307
Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
9 April 2022
18:30 CET
Stade Français 9–22 Racing 92
Pen: Segonds (2/2) 37', 40+2'
Sánchez (1/2) 70'		ReportTry: Fickou 60' c
Con: Le Garrec (1/1) 60'
Pen: Le Garrec (5/6) 14', 20', 23', 30', 76'
Stade Jean-Bouin
Attendance: 12,500
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
10 April 2022
14:00 CET
Montpellier 40–26 Harlequins
Try: N'Gandebe 21' c
Mercer (2) 31' c, 38' c
Reinach 34' m
Lamositele 41' m
Con: Garbisi (3/5) 22', 32', 39'
Pen: Garbisi (1/2) 47'
Pollard (2/2) 74', 80'		ReportTry: Hammond 40' m
Esterhuizen 61' c
Marchant 65' c
Lynagh 78' c
Con: Smith (3/4) 62', 66', 79'
Altrad Stadium
Attendance: 7,500
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
10 April 2022
16:15 CET
Clermont 10–29 Leicester Tigers
Try: Tiberghien 12' c
Con: Parra (1/1) 14'
Pen: Parra (1/1) 27'		ReportTry: Genge 18' m
Montoya 32' m
Van Poortvliet 45' m
Saumaki 52' c
Potter 64' c
Con: Ford (2/5) 53', 65'
Stade Marcel-Michelin
Attendance: 15,328
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)

Second leg

15 April 2022
17:30 IST
Leinster 56–20 Connacht
Try: Gibson-Park 10' c
Henshaw (2) 17' c, 41' c
Furlong 27' c
Lowe (4) 35' c, 54' c, 64' c, 80' c
Con: Sexton (6/6) 11', 17', 28', 35', 42', 56'
R. Byrne (2/2) 66', 80'		ReportTry: O'Halloran 45' m
Arnold 61' m
Papali'i 69' c
Con: Carty (1/3) 70'
Pen: Carty (1/2) 1'
Aviva Stadium
Attendance: 32,604[11]
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
15 April 2022
20:00 BST
Bristol Bears 29–35 Sale Sharks
Try: Thacker 48' c
Morahan (2) 53' c, 77' m
Joyce 62' c
Con: Sheedy (3/4) 49', 53', 63'
Pen: Sheedy (1/2) 20'		ReportTry: de Jager 31' c
Van der Merwe 40' c
Roebuck 41' c
Ross 74' m
Con: R. du Preez (3/4) 31', 40+1', 41'
Pen: R. du Preez (3/3) 23', 65', 72'
Ashton Gate
Attendance: 13,840
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
16 April 2022
12:30 BST
Harlequins 33–20 Montpellier
Try: Jones 1' c
Dombrandt 14' c
Marchant 29' c
Lynagh (2) 38' c, 75' m
Con: Smith (4/5) 2', 16', 30', 39'		ReportTry: Reilhac 11' c
Tisseron 33' c
Con: Foursans-Bourdette (2/2) 12', 34'
Pen: Foursans-Bourdette (1/1) 27'
Pollard (1/2) 55'
Twickenham Stoop
Attendance: 14,800
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
16 April 2022
15:00 IST
Munster 26–10 Exeter Chiefs
Try: Carbery 25' c
de Allende 72' c
Con: Carbery (2/2) 26', 72'
Pen: Carbery (4/4) 5', 16', 59', 64'		ReportTry: S. Maunder 10' m
Vermeulen 48' m
Thomond Park
Attendance: 21,125 [12]
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
16 April 2022
16:00 CET
La Rochelle 31–23 Bordeaux
Try: West 41' c
Alldritt 47' c
Kerr-Barlow 54' c
Botia 68' c
Con: West (4/4) 42', 48', 55', 68'
Pen: West (1/2) 20'		ReportTry: Massé 52' c
Mori 76' c
Con: Lucu (1/1) 52'
Garcia (1/1) 77'
Pen: Lucu (2/3) 15', 37'
Garcia (1/1) 64'
Stade Marcel-Deflandre
Attendance: 16,000
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
16 April 2022
17:30 BST
Leicester Tigers 27–17 Clermont
Try: Liebenberg 8' c
Scott 49' m
Penalty try 61'
Steward 65' m
Con: Ford (1/2) 9'
Pen: Ford (1/1) 45'		ReportTry: Raka 57' c
Lee 68' c
Con: Parra (2/2) 58', 69'
Pen: Lopez (1/1) 16'
Mattioli Woods Welford Road
Attendance: 22,722
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
16 April 2022
20:00 IST
Ulster 23–30 Toulouse
Try: McIlroy (2) 10' c, 37' c
Con: Cooney (2/2) 11', 39'
Pen: Cooney (3/3) 18', 52', 68'		ReportTry: Ramos 21' c
Ntamack 26' c
Dupont 74' c
Con: Ramos (3/3) 22', 27', 75'
Pen: Ramos (3/3) 1', 13', 63'
Ravenhill Stadium
Attendance: 18,196
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)
17 April 2022
16:30 CET
Racing 92 33–22 Stade Français
Try: Penalty try 34'
Thomas (2) 43' c, 78' m
Lauret 72' m
Con: Le Garrec (1/3) 44'
Pen: Le Garrec (3/3) 19', 30', 55'		ReportTry: Veainu 5' c
Lapegue (2) 21' m, 37' c
Con: Sánchez (2/3) 5', 38'
Pen: Sánchez (1/1) 13'
Paris La Défense Arena
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)

Quarter-finals

7 May 2022
15:00 IST
Munster 24–24 (a.e.t.) Toulouse
Try: Kendellen 9' c
Earls 38' c
Haley 43' c
Con: Carbery (3/3) 9', 39', 44'
Pen: Carbery (1/3) 56'		ReportTry: Ntamack 11' c
Lebel (2) 25' c, 66' c
Con: Ramos (3/3) 12', 26', 66'
Pen: Ramos (1/1) 75'
Penalties
Murray Y
Healy N
Carbery Y
Murray N
Healy N		2–4Y Dupont
Y Ramos
Y Ntamack
Y Dupont
Aviva Stadium
Attendance: 40,479[13]
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
7 May 2022
18:30 CEST
La Rochelle 31–19 Montpellier
Try: Priso 12' c
Vito 22' c
Botia 47' m
Con: West (2/3) 13', 23'
Pen: West (4/4) 17', 64', 69', 78'		ReportTry: Thomas 28' c
Reilhac 41' c
Mercer 53' m
Con: Foursans-Bourdette (2/3) 30', 42'
Stade Marcel-Deflandre
Attendance: 16,000
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
7 May 2022
17:30 BST
Leicester Tigers 14–23 Leinster
Try: Ashton 45' c
Dolly 78' c
Con: Ford (2/2) 46', 78'		ReportTry: Van der Flier 14' c
Henshaw 19' c
Con: Sexton (2/2) 16', 20'
Pen: Sexton (2/2) 3', 36'
Byrne (1/1) 65'
Mattioli Woods Welford Road
Attendance: 19,066
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
8 May 2022
16:00 CEST
Racing 92 41–22 Sale Sharks
Try: Thomas 41' c
Russell 49' c
Imhoff 68' m
Spring 79' c
Con: Le Garrec (2/3) 42', 50'
Machenaud (1/1) 80'
Pen: Le Garrec (5/6) 11', 14', 47', 62', 67'		ReportTry: Tuilagi 40' c
Van der Merwe 54' c
B. Curry 73' m
Con: R. du Preez (2/3) 40+1', 55'
Pen: R. du Preez (1/2) 22'
Paris La Défense Arena
Attendance: 9,356
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)

Semi-finals

14 May 2022
15:00 IST
Leinster 40–17 Toulouse
Try: Lowe (2) 14' c, 49' c
Van der Flier 19' c
Keenan 78' c
Con: Sexton (3/3) 16', 20', 51'
Byrne (1/1) 79'
Pen: Sexton (3/3) 4', 12', 33'
Byrne (1/1) 73'		ReportTry: Dupont 6' c
Tolofua 65' c
Con: Ramos (2/2) 7', 65'
Pen: Ramos (1/1) 24'
Aviva Stadium
Attendance: 42,067[1]
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
15 May 2022
16:00 CEST
Racing 92 13–20 La Rochelle
Try: Vakatawa 25' c
Con: Le Garrec (1/1) 27'
Pen: Le Garrec (2/3) 2', 50'		ReportTry: Alldritt 40+2' m
Penalty try 52'
West 80' m
Pen: West (1/3) 32'
Stade Bollaert-Delelis
Attendance: 15,522 [14]
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)

Final

Main article: 2022 European Rugby Champions Cup Final
28 May 2022
17:45
La Rochelle 24–21 Leinster
Try: Rhule 9' c
Bourgarit 60' c
Retière 79' c
Con: West (3/3) 11', 61', 80'
Pen: West (1/1) 41'		ReportPen: Sexton (6/6) 4', 8', 22', 40+2', 47', 53'
R. Byrne (1/1) 64'
Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Attendance: 59,682
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

See also

Notes

  1. ^ When crowds were in attendance

References

  1. ^ a b "Sublime Leinster dethrone Toulouse to march into Champions Cup final". the42. 14 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Twickenham Stadium to host 2021 EPCR finals". European Professional Club Rugby. 2021-04-30. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  3. ^ "EPCR confirms Heineken Champions Cup title sponsorship – SportsPro Media". www.sportspromedia.com. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
  4. ^ "EPCR statement – 2021 Marseille finals and semi-final matches". European Professional Club Rugby. 2021-03-31. Retrieved 2021-03-31.
  5. ^ "Key 2021/22 EPCR dates announced". European Professional Club Rugby. 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2021-06-16.
  6. ^ "Ronan O'Gara leads La Rochelle to first Champions Cup title with stunning last-gasp victory over Leinster". The 42. 22 May 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  7. ^ "2021–22 Heineken Cup format and qualifiers confirmed". Scarlets Rugby. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-28.
  8. ^ "Pool Tables". Heineken Champions Cup. EPCR. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Pool Tables". Heineken Champions Cup. EPCR. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Connacht 21-26 Leinster: Hosts cause Leo Cullen's side all sorts of problems as Lowe steals the show". irish mirror. 8 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  11. ^ Glennon, Michael (15 April 2022). "Lowe lays waste to Connacht as Leinster let loose". RTE. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  12. ^ "Munster Rugby Fixtures & Results". Munster Rugby. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  13. ^ "Munster Lose Place-Kicking Competition As Toulouse Advance". Munster Rugby. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  14. ^ "Coupe d'Europe: La Rochelle, en dominant le Racing 92, s'offre une deuxième finale de suite". La Croix. 15 May 2022.
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