Tournament format(s) Knockout Matches played 61 | Teams 32 | |
Countries England
France
Ireland
Italy
Romania
Scotland
Spain
Wales Date 11 October 2002 - 25 May 2003 Attendance 225,733 (3,701 per match) | ||
The 2002–03 European Challenge Cup (known as the Parker Pen Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 7th season of the European Challenge Cup, Europe's second tier club rugby union competition below the Heineken Cup. A total of 32 teams participated, representing eight different countries.
Contents
The competition began when Gran Parma hosted Bath and Ebbw Vale hosted Montauban on 11 October 2002 and culminated in the final at the Madejski Stadium in Reading on 25 May 2003.
Unlike previous seasons, the structure of the competition was changed to a purely knockout format. Teams played each other on a home and away basis, with the aggregate points winner proceeding to the next round. The final was a single leg. For that first time, a third tier tournament was created - the European Shield. This was contested between the first round losers from the European Challenge Cup.
The defending champions, England's Sale Sharks, did not have a chance to defend their crown because they qualified to play in the Heineken Cup. London Wasps claimed a victory over Bath in the final and picked up their first piece of European Club silverware.
Teams
The allocation of teams was as follows:
England: 6 teams — all teams from the Zurich Premiership that did not qualify for the 2002–03 Heineken Cup France: 9 teams — all teams from the Top 16 that did not qualify for the Heineken Cup, and Agen who were banned by ERC Ireland: 1 team — the Irish team from the Celtic League that did not play in the Heineken Cup Italy: 8 teams — all the teams from the Super 10 that did not qualify for the Heineken Cup Romania: 1 team specially created for the competition Scotland: 1 team — the Scottish team from the Celtic League that did not play in the Heineken Cup Spain: 2 teams — drawn from the División de Honor de Rugby Wales: 4 teams — all the teams from the Celtic League that did not qualify for the Heineken CupMatches
All kickoff times are local to the match location.