Tournament format(s) Knockout Matches played 57 | Teams 28 | |
Date 23 October 2004 – 21 May 2005 Attendance 177,521 (3,114 per match) | ||
The 2004–05 European Challenge Cup (known as the Parker Pen Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 9th season of the European Challenge Cup, Europe's second tier club rugby union competition below the Heineken Cup. A total of 28 teams participated, representing seven different countries.
Contents
The competition began with a series of matches on 23 October 2004 and culminated in the final at the Kassam Stadium in Oxford on 21 May 2005.
As in the previous two seasons, the competition was organised in a 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. This was the final season with a pure knockout format; in subsequent seasons the competition reverted to a pool stage followed by a knockout.
For the third and final time, a third tier tournament was held - the European Shield. This was contested between the first round losers from the European Challenge Cup. As there were only 28 teams involved, the 2 "best" 1st Round losers were reprieved and proceeded to the 2nd Round.
The defending champions, England's NEC Harlequins, did not have a chance to defend their crown because they qualified to play in the Heineken Cup. Sale Sharks claimed a comfortable victory over Pau in the final and picked up their second piece of European Club silverware.
Teams
The allocation of teams was as follows:
England: 5 teams — all teams from the Zurich Premiership that did not qualify for the 2004–05 Heineken CupFrance: 10 teams — all teams from the Top 16 that did not qualify for the Heineken CupIreland: 1 team — the Irish team from the Celtic League that did not play in the Heineken CupItaly: 8 teams — all the teams from the Super 10 that did not qualify for the Heineken CupPortugal: 1 teamScotland: 1 team — the Scottish team from the Celtic League that did not play in the Heineken CupSpain: 2 teams — drawn from the División de Honor de RugbyMatches
All kickoff times are local to the match location.