2012–13 Heineken Cup
The 2012–13 Heineken Cup was the 18th season of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. The tournament began with two pool matches on 12 October 2012 and ended with the final at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on 18 May 2013.[3]
| 2012–13 Heineken Cup | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Countries |  England France Ireland Italy Scotland.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Wales |
| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and Knockout |
| Date | 12 October 2012 – 18 May 2013 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Teams | 24 |
| Matches played | 79 |
| Attendance | 1,063,218 (13,458 per match) |
| Tries scored | 293 (3.71 per match) |
| Top point scorer(s) | Morgan Parra (Clermont) (113 points)[1] |
| Top try scorer(s) | Napolioni Nalaga (Clermont) (8 tries)[2] |
| Final | |
| Venue | Aviva Stadium, Dublin |
| Attendance | 50,148 |
| Champions | Toulon (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Clermont |
Leinster, who became one of only two clubs ever to win two consecutive Heineken Cups in 2012,[4] attempted to become the first club ever to win the competition three straight years. However they were eliminated at the pool stages,[5] the first defending champions to do so since London Wasps in 2007–08.[5] Toulon won an all-French final 16–15 against Clermont.[6][7]
Teams
The default allocation of teams is as follows:[8]
- England: 6 teams, based on performance in the Aviva Premiership and Anglo–Welsh Cup[9]
- France: 6 teams, based on regular-season finish in the Top 14[10]
- Ireland: 3 teams, based on regular-season finish in Pro12[11]
- Wales: 3 teams, based on regular-season finish in Pro12[11]
- Italy and Scotland: 2 teams each, based on participation in Pro12 (as there are only 2 from each nation)[11]
The remaining two places are filled by the winners of the previous year's Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup. If the cup winners are already qualified through their domestic league, an additional team from their country will claim a Heineken Cup place (assuming another team is available). Accordingly, Biarritz claimed the Challenge Cup winner's berth, and since Heineken Cup winners Leinster were already qualified through Pro12, the extra Irish berth went to Connacht.
Teams are listed in the order they are presented to Heineken Cup organiser European Rugby Cup by their respective leagues. In the cases of England and France, this does not necessarily match the teams' placement in their national leagues in the preceding season.
| England | France | Ireland | Wales | Italy | Scotland |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seeding
The seeding system was the same as in the 2011–12 tournament. The 24 competing teams are ranked based on past Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup performance, with each pool receiving one team from each quartile, or Tier. The requirement to have only one team per country in each pool, however, still applies (with the exception of the inclusion of the seventh French team).[12]
The brackets show each team's European Rugby Club Ranking at the end of the 2011–12 season.
| Tier 1 | Leinster (1) |
Toulouse (2) |
Biarritz (3) |
Munster (4) |
Cardiff Blues (5) |
Northampton (6) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 2 | Clermont Auvergne (7) |
Ulster (8) |
Leicester Tigers (9) |
Harlequins (11) |
Toulon (12) |
Edinburgh (13) |
| Tier 3 | Ospreys (14) |
Scarlets (18) |
Glasgow (19) |
Saracens (20) |
Connacht (24) |
Sale Sharks (25) |
| Tier 4 | Benetton Treviso (27) |
Castres (28) |
Racing Métro (29) |
Montpellier (30) |
Exeter Chiefs (34) |
Zebre (NR) |
Pool stage
The draw for the pool stage took place on 12 June 2012 at the Aviva Stadium.
Under the rules of the competition organiser, European Rugby Cup, tie–breakers within each pool are as follows.[13]
- Competition points earned in head–to–head matches
- Total tries scored in head–to–head matches
- Point differential in head–to–head matches
ERC has four additional tie–breakers, used if tied teams are in different pools, or if the above steps cannot break a tie between teams in the same pool:
- Tries scored in all pool matches
- Point differential in all pool matches
- Best disciplinary record (fewest players receiving red or yellow cards in all pool matches)
- Coin toss
| Pool winners, and the two best pool runners–up, advance to quarter–finals. | |
| Third–, fourth– and fifth–highest scoring second–place teams parachute into the knock–out stage of the 2012–13 European Challenge Cup. |
Pool 1
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saracens [4] |
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 180 | 76 | +104 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 23 |
| Munster [8] |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 133 | 73 | +60 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 20 |
| Racing Métro |
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 103 | 125 | −22 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Edinburgh |
6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 36 | 178 | −142 | 3 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pool 2
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leicester Tigers [6] |
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 119 | 103 | +16 | 13 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 20 |
| Toulouse |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 132 | 84 | +48 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 19 |
| Ospreys |
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 120 | 124 | −4 | 11 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| Benetton Treviso |
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 107 | 167 | −60 | 9 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
Pool 3
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harlequins [1] |
6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 243 | 71 | +172 | 28 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 28 |
| Biarritz |
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 123 | 101 | +22 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
| Connacht |
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 96 | 138 | −42 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Zebre |
6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 72 | 224 | −152 | 6 | 27 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Pool 4
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulster [5] |
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 126 | 55 | +71 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 23 |
| Northampton Saints |
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 94 | 109 | −15 | 9 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 15 |
| Castres |
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 77 | 98 | −21 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 14 |
| Glasgow Warriors |
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 70 | 105 | −35 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
Pool 5
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clermont [2] |
6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 213 | 64 | +149 | 23 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 28 |
| Leinster |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 124 | 96 | +28 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 20 |
| Exeter Chiefs |
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 93 | 166 | −73 | 6 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| Scarlets |
6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 79 | 183 | −104 | 6 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Pool 6
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toulon [3] |
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 186 | 84 | +102 | 23 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 23 |
| Montpellier [7] |
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 168 | 109 | +59 | 17 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 22 |
| Cardiff Blues |
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 143 | 184 | −41 | 12 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Sale Sharks |
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 78 | 198 | −120 | 7 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Seeding and runners–up
- Bare numbers indicate Heineken Cup quarter–final seeding.
- Numbers with "C" indicate Challenge Cup quarter–final seeding.
| Seed | Pool Winners | Pts | TF | +/− |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harlequins |
28 | 28 | +172 |
| 2 | Clermont |
28 | 23 | +149 |
| 3 | Toulon |
23 | 23 | +102 |
| 4 | Saracens |
23 | 15 | +104 |
| 5 | Ulster |
23 | 12 | +71 |
| 6 | Leicester Tigers |
20 | 13 | +16 |
| Seed | Pool Runners–up | Pts | TF | +/− |
| 7 | Montpellier |
22 | 17 | +59 |
| 8 | Munster |
20 | 14 | +60 |
| 5C | Leinster |
20 | 12 | +28 |
| 6C | Toulouse |
19 | 15 | +48 |
| 7C | Biarritz |
15 | 14 | +22 |
| – | Northampton Saints |
15 | 9 | −15 |
Knock–out stages
All kick–off times are local to the match location.
Quarter–finals
6 April 2013 16:40 |
| Clermont |
36–14 | Montpellier |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Fofana 27' m Rougerie 32' c Sivivatu 52' c Byrne 66' c Nalaga 75' c Con: Parra (2/3) Skrela (2/2) Pen: Parra (1/2) 20' |
Report | Try: Nagusa 80' m Pen: Paillaugue (3/4) 5', 12', 23' |
6 April 2013 18:30 |
| Saracens |
27–16 | Ulster |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Fraser 32' c Ashton 62' m Con: Farrell (1/2) Pen: Farrell (5/5) 1', 28', 36', 49', 59' |
Report | Try: Henderson 78' c Con: Pienaar (1/1) Pen: Pienaar (3/5) 26', 30', 56' |
7 April 2013 14:00 |
| Harlequins |
12–18 | Munster |
|---|---|---|
| Pen: Evans (4/5) 3', 18', 28', 65' |
Report | Pen: O'Gara (6/8) 24', 33', 42', 46', 48', 56' |
Semi–finals
27 April 2013 18:00 |
| Clermont |
16–10 | Munster |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Nalaga 8' c Con: Parra (1/1) Pen: Parra (3/4) 13', 17', 47' |
Report | Try: Hurley 59' c Con: O'Gara (1/1) Pen: O'Gara (1/1) 5' |
See also
References
- "Heineken Cup: Points Scorers". Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- "Heineken Cup: Try Scorers". Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- "2012/13 Heineken Cup Pool Draw" (Press release). European Rugby Cup. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
- Palmer, Bryn (19 May 2012). "Heineken Cup final: Leinster beat Ulster to retain trophy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
- "Confirmed: Defending champions Leinster out at pool stage". TheScore.ie. 20 January 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
- "Toulon claim Heineken Cup glory". ESPN. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- "Clermont 15 Toulon 16". Sporting Life. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
- "ERC : Heineken Cup : Rules : Qualification Process". Ercrugby.com. 13 August 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
- "ERC : European Qualification : England". Ercrugby.com. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
- "ERC : European Qualification : France". Ercrugby.com. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
- "ERC : European Qualification : Celtic Countries". Ercrugby.com. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
- Heineken Cup Pool Draw. European Rugby Cup. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
- "Key Tournament Rules". European Rugby Cup. Archived from the original on 8 October 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
- "Saracens take euro quarter to Twickenham". 30 January 2013. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
- "Harlequins confirm Heineken Cup quarter-final will be played at The Twickenham Stoop". 22 January 2013. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
- "Semi-final venues confirm route to Dublin 2013".