2022–23 EPCR Challenge Cup

2022–23 EPCR Challenge Cup
The EPCR Challenge Cup
Tournament details
Countries England
France
Ireland
Italy
Scotland
South Africa
Wales
Tournament format(s)Round-robin and knockout
Date9 December 2022 – 19 May 2023
Tournament statistics
Teams18
Matches played51
Attendance314,320 (6,163 per match)
Highest attendance31,514 - Glasgow Warriors v Toulon
19 May 2023
Lowest attendance200 - Cheetahs v Scarlets
17 December 2022
200 - Cheetahs v Pau
22 January 2023[a]
Tries scored329 (6.45 per match)
Top point scorer(s) Sam Costelow (Scarlets)
62 points
Top try scorer(s) Johnny Matthews (Glasgow Warriors)
Jiuta Wainiqolo (Toulon)
7 tries
Final
VenueAviva Stadium, Dublin
Champions Toulon (1st title)
Runners-up Glasgow Warriors

The 2022–23 EPCR Challenge Cup was the 9th edition of the EPCR Challenge Cup, an annual second-tier rugby union competition for professional clubs. Including the predecessor competition, the original European Challenge Cup, this is the 27th edition of European club rugby's second-tier competition.

The tournament commenced in December 2022, and concluded with the final on 19 May 2023 at Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, which was contested between Glasgow Warriors (their first European final) and Toulon who made their fourth appearance in a European final.

This was the first year that teams from South Africa could qualify, following the inaugural United Rugby Championship season, with Johannesburg-based Lions making their inaugural appearance in European club rugby.[1] In addition, another South African team, the Bloemfontein-based Cheetahs franchise, formerly of the URC predecessor competition the Pro14, had been invited to enter, having been excluded from European competition during their Pro14 tenure.[2]

Teams

Seventeen teams qualified for the 2022–23 EPCR Challenge Cup from Premiership Rugby, the Top 14 and the United Rugby Championship as a direct result of their domestic league performance having not qualified for the Heineken Champions Cup. Plus one invited sides making 18 teams.

The distribution of teams were:

Round Premiership Top 14 United Rugby Championship Invited
England France Ireland Italy Scotland Wales South Africa
Pool stage

Team details

Team Coach /
Director of Rugby 		Captain Stadium Capacity Method of qualification
Entering at Pool stage
Bath Johann van Graan Ben Spencer Recreation Ground [b] 14,509 Premiership 9th–13th (13th)
Bayonne Grégory Patat Antoine Battut Stade Jean-Dauger 18,069 Pro D2 Champions
Benetton Marco Bortolami Dewaldt Duvenage
Michele Lamaro 		Stadio Comunale di Monigo 6,700 URC bottom 8 (13th)
Bristol Bears Pat Lam Steve Luatua Ashton Gate Stadium 27,000 Premiership 9th–13th (10th)
Brive Patrice Collazo Saïd Hireche Stade Amédée-Domenech 13,979 Top 14 bottom 6 (12th)
Cardiff Dai Young Josh Turnbull Cardiff Arms Park 12,125 URC bottom 8 (14th)
Cheetahs Hawies Fourie Victor Sekekete Free State Stadium 46,000 Invited team
Connacht Andy Friend Jack Carty Galway Sportsgrounds 8,129 URC bottom 8 (11th)
Dragons Dai Flanagan [c] Harrison Keddie
Will Rowlands 		Rodney Parade [d] 8,700 URC bottom 8 (15th)
Glasgow Warriors Franco Smith Kyle Steyn Scotstoun Stadium [e] 7,351 URC bottom 8 (8th)
Lions Ivan van Rooyen Reinhard Nothnagel Ellis Park Stadium 62,567 URC bottom 8 (12th)
Newcastle Falcons Dave Walder Will Welch Kingston Park 10,200 Premiership 9th–13th (12th)
Pau Sébastien Piqueronies Lucas Rey Stade du Hameau 18,324 Top 14 bottom 6 (10th)
Perpignan Patrick Arlettaz Mathieu Acebes Stade Aimé Giral 14,593 Top 14 bottom 6 (13th)
Scarlets Dwayne Peel Jonathan Davies Parc y Scarlets 14,870 URC bottom 8 (10th)
Stade Francais Gonzalo Quesada Romain Briatte Stade Jean-Bouin 20,000 Top 14 bottom 6 (11th)
Toulon Pierre Mignoni Charles Ollivon Stade Mayol 18,200 Top 14 bottom 6 (8th)
Zebre Fabio Roselli Dave Sisi Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi 5,000 URC bottom 8 (16th)
Entering at Knockout Stage (transferred from Champions Cup)
Clermont Christophe Urios[f] Arthur Iturria Stade Marcel-Michelin 19,022 Champions Cup Pool B 9th–10th (9th)
Lyon Xavier Garbajosa Jean-Marc Doussain Matmut Stadium de Gerland 35,029 Champions Cup Pool A 9th–10th (9th)
Racing 92 Laurent Travers Henry Chavancy Paris La Défense Arena 32,000 Champions Cup Pool A 9th–10th (10th)
Sale Sharks Alex Sanderson Jono Ross AJ Bell Stadium 12,000 Champions Cup Pool B 9th–10th (10th)

Pool stage

Locations
Locations of European teams of the 2022–23 EPCR Challenge Cup.
Green: Pool A; Purple: Pool B; White: Entered competition in knockout stage.
Locations of South African teams of the 2022–23 EPCR Challenge Cup. Purple: Pool B.
Main article: 2022–23 EPCR Challenge Cup pool stage

Teams were 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 6 in each pool, advance to round of 16.

Pool A

Pool A
Team
 P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
Toulon 4 4 0 0 102 56 +46 14 8 3 0 19
Glasgow Warriors 4 3 1 0 107 82 +25 16 10 2 0 16
Cardiff 4 3 0 1 154 57 +97 23 7 3 0 15
Bristol Bears 4 4 0 0 121 54 +67 19 8 3 0 14*
Connacht 4 3 0 1 135 72 +63 19 10 2 0 14
Brive 4 1 0 3 66 157 –91 9 23 1 1 6
Newcastle Falcons 4 1 0 3 63 132 –69 8 19 1 0 5
Bath 4 0 1 3 68 105 –37 8 14 0 1 3
Perpignan 4 0 0 4 68 118 –50 10 18 1 0 1
Zebre Parma 4 0 0 4 56 107 –51 8 17 0 1 1
Green background (rows 1 to 6) are qualification places for the round of 16.
Starting table — source: EPCR
* Bristol Bears were deducted 5 match points for selecting an ineligible player[4]


Pool B

Pool B
Team
 P W D L PF PA Diff TF TA TB LB Pts
Scarlets 4 4 0 0 124 57 +67 16 8 2 0 18
Benetton 4 3 0 1 120 70 +50 16 10 3 0 15
Lions 4 2 1 1 98 85 +13 11 11 2 0 12
Stade Français 4 2 0 2 85 86 –1 11 10 1 1 10
Dragons 4 1 1 2 98 103 –5 12 11 2 2 10
Cheetahs 4 2 0 2 73 87 –14 8 9 1 1 10
Pau 4 1 0 3 64 72 –8 6 6 0 3 7
Bayonne 4 0 0 4 28 130 –102 4 19 0 0 0
Green background (rows 1 to 6) are qualification places for the round of 16.
Starting table — source: EPCR


Knockout stage

The knockout stage was played across 31 March/1/2 April with a single leg round of 16 matches consisting of the top six ranked teams from each pool and the teams ranked 9th and 10th in each pool of the 2022–23 European Rugby Champions Cup (Clermont, Lyon, Racing 92 and Sale Sharks denoted by * in the bracket). The Round of 16 followed a pre-determined format, while the quarter-finals and semi-finals always guaranteed home advantage to the higher ranked team.

The last-16 were dominated by clubs from Top 14 (eight) and the United Rugby Championship (six), with only two English clubs reaching the knockout stages - both eliminated in the first play-off round along with the only Irish team, Connacht, while both South African clubs departed by the quarter-finals. Treviso became the first Italian side to reach a European semi-final, as three URC teams from three different countries(Italy, Scotland and Wales) reached the final four along with French giant Toulon.

Round of 16 Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
            
B1 Scarlets 19
A6 Brive 7
B1 Scarlets 32
B9 Clermont 30
A4 Bristol Bears 26
B9* Clermont 33
B1 Scarlets 17
A2 Glasgow Warriors 35
A2 Glasgow Warriors 73
B5 Dragons 33
A2 Glasgow Warriors 31
B3 Lions 21
B3 Lions 51
A10* Racing 92 28
A2 Glasgow Warriors 19
A1 Toulon 43
A1 Toulon 36
B6 Cheetahs 21
A1 Toulon 48
A9 Lyon 23
B4 Stade Français 24
A9* Lyon 41
A1 Toulon 23
B2 Benetton 0
B2 Benetton 41
A5 Connacht 19
B2 Benetton 27
A3 Cardiff 23
A3 Cardiff 28
B10* Sale Sharks 27

Round of 16

31 March 2023
20:00
Bristol Bears 26–33 Clermont
Try: Randall 33' c
Radradra 37' c
Con: MacGinty (2/2) 34', 38'
Pen: MacGinty (4/5) 10', 17', 49', 77'		ReportTry: Lavanini 23' c
Penaud (2) 27' c, 70' m
Moala 39' m
Con: Belleau (2/4) 24', 28'
Pen: Belleau (3/3) 13', 42', 56'
Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol
Attendance: 11,207
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
31 March 2023
20:00
Scarlets 19–7 Brive
Try: Fifita 50' m
Shingler 78' m
Pen: Costelow (3/3) 3', 15', 28'		ReportTry: Olding 46' c
Con: Olding (1/1) 48'
Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli
Attendance: 7,784
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe (England)
1 April 2023
13:30
Toulon 36–21 Cheetahs
Try: Salles 12' c
Baubigny 30' m
Luc 40+1' c
Isa 47' m
Wainiqolo 53' c
Con: Salles (3/5) 13', 40+5', 54'		ReportTry: Van Rensburg 42' c
Jasper 58' c
Bernardo 71' c
Con: Pienaar (3/3) 43', 59', 72'
Stade Mayol, Toulon
Attendance: 5,500
Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)
1 April 2023
16:00
Stade Français 24–41 Lyon
Try: Dachary 47' m
Penalty try 19'
Pen: Segonds (4/5) 6', 42', 44', 61'		ReportTry: Penalty try 50'
Couilloud 56' c
Marchand 77' m
Dumortier 79' c
Con: Sopoaga (2/3) 57', 80'
Pen: Sopoaga (5/5) 8', 30', 36', 70', 73'
Stade Jean-Bouin, Paris
Attendance: 7,500
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
1 April 2023
16:00
Benetton 41–19 Connacht
Try: Watson (2) 20' c, 52' c
Smith 27' c
Padovani (2) 36' c, 45' m
Ruzza 61' m
Con: Umaga (4/6) 21', 28', 37', 53'
Pen: Umaga (1/2) 75'		ReportTry: Oliver 12' m
Porch (2) 17' c, 56' c
Con: Hawkshaw (1/2) 18'
Forde (1/1) 57'
Stadio Comunale di Monigo, Treviso
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Christophe Ridley (England)
1 April 2023
17:30
Glasgow Warriors 73–33 Dragons
Try: Horne 2' c
Matthews (5) 14' c, 22' m, 26' c, 33' c, 42' c
Turner 56' c
Forbes 58' c
Jones 60' c
Steyn (2) 72' m, 80' c
Con: Horne (8/10) 3', 15', 27', 34', 43', 57', 59', 61' c
Miotti (1/1) 80'		ReportTry: J. Williams 18' c
Dyer 29' c
Rosser 38' c
Dee (2) 45' c, 75' c
Con: Reed (4/5) 19', 39', 46', 77'
Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
Attendance: 5,140
Referee: Tual Trainini (France)
1 April 2023
18:30
Lions 51–28 Racing 92
Try: Louw (2) 4' c, 51' c
Van der Merwe 7' c
Maxwane 22' c
R. Venter 40' c
Lombard 54' c
Nohamba 66' c
Con: Nohamba (5/6) 5', 40'+1, 52', 55', 67
Pen: Nohamba (1/1) 17'		ReportTry: Moukoro (2) 11' c, 28' c
Volavola 48' c
Taofifénua 58' c
Con: Le Garrec (3/3) 12', 29', 48'c
Spring (1/1) 59'
Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
Attendance: 2,894
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
1 April 2023
20:00
Cardiff 28–27 Sale Sharks
Try: Domachowski 19' c
Adams (2) 33' m, 40'+2 c
Con: Evans (2/3) 20', 40'+3
Pen: Evans (2/2) 9', 71'
Priestland (1/1) 43'		ReportTry: Van der Merwe 15' c
Roebuck 51' c
Ashman 63' c
Con: Ford (3/3) 16', 52', 63'
Pen: Ford (2/2) 29', 58'
Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
Attendance: 7,512
Referee: Luc Ramos (France)

Quarter-finals

7 April 2023
20:00
Scarlets 32–30 Clermont
Try: Halfpenny 7' m
Costelow 14' c
J. Williams 36' c
Conbeer 76' c
Con: Halfpenny (1/2) 15'
Costelow (2/2) 37', 76'
Pen: Halfpenny (1/1) 6'
Costelow (1/2) 68'		ReportTry: Simone 20' m
Raka (2) 29' c, 44' m
Beria 64' c
Con: Belleau (1/3) 31'
Plisson (1/1) 64'
Pen: Belleau (2/2) 3', 35'
Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli
Attendance: 7,634
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
8 April 2023
13:30
Toulon 48–23 Lyon
Try: Wainiqolo (2) 29' m, 66' m
Baubigny 38' c
Priso 40+3' c
Nayacalevu 49' c
Ollivon 57' c
Luc 77' c
Con: West (4/5) 39', 40+5, 50', 58'
Biggar (1/2) 78'
Pen: West (1/1) 5'		ReportTry: Couilloud 61' c
Arnold 71' c
Con: Berdeu (2/2) 61', 72'
Pen: Sopoaga (3/4) 2', 8', 46'
Stade Mayol, Toulon
Attendance: 12,095
Referee: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
8 April 2023
16:00
Benetton 27–23 Cardiff
Try: Smith 20' c
Lamaro 56' c
Watson 68' c
Con: Umaga (2/2) 21', 57'
Albornoz (1/1) 70'
Pen: Umaga (2/2) 6', 12'		ReportTry: Young 30' c
Grady 46' c
Con: Priestland (2/2) 30', 47'
Pen: Priestland (2/2) 43', 61'
Stadio Comunale di Monigo, Treviso
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
8 April 2023
20:00
Glasgow Warriors 31–21 Lions
Try: Dempsey 9' c
Dobie 17' c
Z. Fagerson 48' c
Jordan 73' c
Con: Horne (4/4) 10', 19', 49', 74'
Pen: Horne (1/1) 68'		ReportTry: Nohamba 43' c
F. Horn 64' c
Brandon 76' c
Con: Nohamba (1/1) 43'
Lombard (2/2) 65', 76'
Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
Attendance: 4,249
Referee: Matthew Carley (England)

Semi-finals

The higher-ranked club gained home stadium advantage, however, in the event that a South African team had been the higher ranked side, the game would have been located in Europe.

29 April 2023
17:30
Scarlets 17–35 Glasgow Warriors
Try: Steff Evans 31' m
Pen: Costelow (4/4) 24’, 28’, 40’, 46’		ReportTry: McDowall (2) 2' c, 79' c
Horne 43' c
Matthews 50' c
Darge 56' c
Con: Horne (5/5) 4’, 43’, 51’, 57’, 80’ + 1
Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli
Attendance: 13,077
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)
30 April 2023
13:30
Toulon 23–0 Benetton
Try: Paia'aua 4' c
Gigashvili 17' c
Con: Biggar (2/2) 5', 17'
Pen: Biggar (3/3) 13', 42', 46'		Report
Stade Mayol, Toulon
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Karl Dickson (England)

Final

19 May 2023
20:00 IST (UTC+01)
Glasgow Warriors 19–43 Toulon
Try: Steyn (2) 55' c, 73' c
Cancelliere 68' m
Con: Horne (2/3) 56', 74'		ReportTry: Serin (2) 4' c, 24' c
Parisse 17' c
Wainiqolo 57' m
Nayacalevu 63' m
West 77' c
Con: Serin (3/3) 5', 18', 26'
Paillaugue (2/3) 64', 79'
Pen: Paillaugue (1/2) 50'
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Attendance: 31,514
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

Leading scorers

Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under World Rugby eligibility rules, or primary nationality for players who have not yet earned international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-WR nationalities.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Games when not effected by reduced crowd due to relocation.
  2. ^ Bath were also forced to play one home game at Kingsholm, Gloucester in round 3 due to waterlogged pitch at the Rec.
  3. ^ Flanagan took over coaching duties at the region, replacing Dean Ryan ahead of the Challenge Cup.
  4. ^ Dragons were also forced to play their round 4 game at the CCB Centre for Sporting Excellence due to a frozen pitch at Rodney Parade.
  5. ^ Glasgow were also forced to play one home game at Murrayfield Stadium in round 2 due to an unplayable pitch at Scotstoun.
  6. ^ Jono Gibbes was sacked as head coach of Clermont in January 2023. His assistants took charge of their final pool stage match, with Christophe Urios appointed to take over as the new head coach as of the end of the pool stage.

References

  1. ^ "South African teams to play in Champions Cup for first time". Sky Sports. 2 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b "EPCR confirms inclusion of South African clubs from 2022/23 season". 2 June 2022.
  3. ^ Ospreys finished in the bottom 8 teams, but qualified for the European rugby Champions Cup as Welsh Shield champions.
  4. ^ "Disciplinary decision – EPCR Challenge Cup". Bristol Bears Rugby. 18 January 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Tournament Statistics". EPCR. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
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