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The 2018 European Rugby Challenge Cup will be the 4th season of the second tier club rugby competition in Europe. It replaced the Amlin Cup. There will be 20 teams playing in the competition, the teams that did not qualify for the European Rugby Champions Cup from the Premiership, the Top 14, and the Pro 12, teams promoted to the Premiership and Top 14 and two qualifiers from Qualifying Competitions held earlier. Teams play in 5 pools of 4 teams and will play each team in their pool twice, home and away. Following pool play, the top team from each pool and the best 3 runners-up will progress to the play-offs: quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final. |
The final two qualifiers come from matches between the top two teams in each pool in the Continental Shield competition and the two qualifiers from the 2017/18 European Rugby Challenge Cup. The winners from the Continental Shield matches played off for one Challenge Cup position and the two teams from the 2017/18 Challenge Cup played off for the other position in the competition. The winners from the Continental Shield were Heidelberger RK from Germany and Timișoara Saracens from Romania.
The two teams from the Challenge Cup were Enisei-STM from Russia and Krasny Yar from Russia.
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March 31 April 21 |
Enisei-STM Timișoara Saracens Krasny Yar Heidelberger RK |
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Krasny Yar Heidelberger RK Enisei-STM Timișoara Saracens |
Krasnodar Timișoara Krasnoyarsk Timișoara |
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22 20 27 15 |
Heidelberger RK were subsequently ruled ineligible due to ownership issues and the team they beat in the play-offs, Timișoara Saracens replaced them.
Timișoara Saracens and Enisei-STM qualified for the European Rugby Challenge Cup.
The teams playing in the competition are:
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France
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England
Romania
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Wales
Italy
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Ireland
Russia
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The December 15 match between Timișoara Saracens and Northampton Saints was not played due to the condition of the playing field. Northampton was awarded a 28-0 bonus point win following a disciplinary decision against Timișoara Saracens for not taking all appropriate measures to prepare and protect the playing surface and that no alternative field was available.
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October 12 October 13
October 19
October 20
December 7
December 8
December 14
December 15
January 11
January 12
January 18
January 19
March 29 March 30 March 31
April 20
May 10 |
Perpignan Enisei-STM Timișoara Saracens Benetton Rugby Harlequins Northampton Saints Bristol Bears Connacht Opsreys Stade Français Agen La Rochelle Dragons Pau Zebre Rugby Club Worcester Warriors Clermont Auvergne Sale Sharks Bordeaux Bègles Grenoble Pau Grenoble Timișoara Saracens Benetton Rugby Northampton Saints Connacht Bristol Bears Ospreys Bordeaux Bègles Enisei-STM Agen Perpignan Stade Français Timișoara Saracens Clermont Auvergne Zebre Rugby Club Harlequins Worcester Warriors Sale Sharks La Rochelle Perpignan La Rochelle Dragons Stade Français Benetton Rugby Ospreys Harlequins Enisei-STM Connacht Clermont Auvergne Grenoble Agen Northampton Saints Dragons Pau Bordeaux Bègles Sale Sharks Worcester Warriors Zebre Rugby Club Bristol Bears Quarter-Finals Sale Worcester Warriors La Rochelle Clermont Auvergne Semi-Finals Clermont Auvergne La Rochelle
Final La Rochelle |
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Sale Sharks La Rochelle Dragons Grenoble Agen Clermont Auvergne Zebre Rugby Club Bordeaux Bègles Pau Worcester Warriors Benetton Rugby Enisei-STM Northampton Saints Stade Français Bristol Bears Ospreys Timișoara Saracens Connacht Perpignan Harlequins Worcester Warriors Agen Clermont Auvergne Harlequins Dragons Perpignan La Rochelle Stade Français Sale Sharks Zebre Rugby Club Grenoble Connacht Ospreys Northampton Saints Dragons Enisei-STM Benetton Rugby Pau Bordeaux Bègles Bristol Bears Bordeaux Bègles Zebre Rugby Club Timișoara Saracens Pau Agen Worcester Warriors Grenoble Bristol Bears Sale Sharks Northampton Saints Benetton Rugby Harlequins Timișoara Saracens Clermont Auvergne Ospreys Connacht Perpignan Stade Français La Rochelle Enisei-STM
Connacht Harlequins Bristol Bears Northampton Saints
Harlequins Sale Sharks
Clermont Auvergne |
Perpignan Krasnoyarsk Timișoara Treviso London Northampton Bristol Galway Swansea Paris Agen La Rochelle Newport Pau Parma Worcester Clermont-Ferrand Salford Bordeaux Grenoble Pau Grenoble Timișoara Treviso Northampton Galway Bristol Swansea Bordeaux Sochi Agen Perpignan Paris Timișoara Clermont-Ferrand Parma London Worcester Salford La Rochelle Perpignan La Rochelle Newport Paris Treviso Swansea London Sochi Galway Clermont-Ferrand Grenoble Agen Northampton Newport Pau Bordeaux Salford Worcester Parma Bristol
Salford Worcester La Rochelle Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand La Rochelle
Newcastle |
24 21 17 40 54 20 43 22 27 27 20 64 21 21 20 27 70 34 25 19 21 22 14 26 48 22 22 51 24 14 14 21 12 0 49 58 20 23 14 3 27 32 59 35 38 18 38 9 20 48 7 17 111 7 26 27 39 36 10 107
20 16 39 61
32 24
16 |
41 82 54 14 22 41 22 10 0 38 19 26 35 15 17 21 12 13 25 13 6 15 47 21 14 10 35 20 50 31 10 36 3 28 24 14 9 7 17 13 34 12 3 14 24 20 20 65 18 40 39 33 3 49 21 33 10 31 22 19
10 18 15 38
27 20
36 |