2020–21 European Rugby Champions Cup
The 2020–21 European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons)[1] will be the seventh season of the European Rugby Champions Cup, the annual club rugby union competition run by European Professional Club Rugby (ECPR) for teams from the top six nations in European rugby. It will be the 26th season of pan-European professional club rugby competition.
| 2020–21 European Rugby Champions Cup | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Countries |     .svg.png){kind=small} |
| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and knockout |
| Date | 12 December 2020 – 22 May 2021 (tentative) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Teams | 24 (tentative) |
| Final | |
| Venue | Stade de Marseille, Marseille |
The tournament is tentatively scheduled to begin on 12 December 2020. The final will take place on 22 May 2021 at the Stade de Marseille.[2]
Teams
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic delaying the end of the previous tournament twenty-four clubs from the three major European domestic and regional leagues are expected to compete in the Champions Cup in a one-year exceptional basis.[3]
The expected distribution of teams is therefore:
- England: eight clubs
- The top eight clubs in Premiership Rugby
- France: eight clubs
- The top eight clubs in the Top 14
- Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales: eight clubs
- The top four sides (not including the South African sides, which are ineligible for European competition) in both conferences in the Pro14.
The following teams qualified for the tournament at suspension of their respective leagues.
| Premiership | Top 14 | Pro14 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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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, QF for losing Quarter-finalist, and PO for the Pro14 7th place play-off winner.
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Notes:
- Although Murrayfield's full capacity is 67,144, only the lower section of the East Stand, with a capacity of 12,464, is generally opened for Edinburgh fixtures.
See also
References
- "Heineken® Returns as Headline Sponsor of European Rugby Champions Cup". Heineken. 4 June 2018.
- "Marseille finals moved to 2021 with new venues for this season to be decided". European Professional Club Rugby. 9 July 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- "New EPCR dates for 2019/20 announced". European Professional Club Rugby. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.