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European Shield

Rugby competition

Field	Value
name	European Shield
logo	ERC Logo (2003-2011).svg
pixels	140px
caption	Competition logo
sport	Rugby union
founded	2002
inaugural	2002–03
ceotag	Chairman
teams	16
countrytag	Nations
country	England
France
Italy
Portugal
Romania
Spain
Wales
champion	Auch
season	2004–05
most_champs	FRA Castres Olympique
FRA Montpellier
FRA Auch
count	1
website	Official site
related_comps	Heineken Cup
European Challenge Cup

France Italy Portugal Romania Spain Wales FRA Montpellier FRA Auch European Challenge Cup The European Shield (known as the Parker Pen Shield for sponsorship reasons) was a repechage tournament for teams knocked out in the first round of the European Challenge Cup. As such, it formed Europe's third-tier club rugby union competition below the Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup. The name "European Shield" had previously been used for the now renamed European Challenge Cup.

A total of 16 teams participated in each season. The competition was contested between the first round losers from the European Challenge Cup with teams being added directly to make up the full 16 team complement. The structure of the competition was 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.

The competition had a brief existence, running for just three seasons in 2002–03, 2003–04 and 2004–05. Three clubs won the competition in each year that it was run and there were three different runners up. Thereafter, the European Challenge Cup reverted to its previous "pool and knockout" format and the European Shield was discontinued.

Winners of the European Shield

Year	Winner	Score	Runner up	Venue	Attendance
2002–03	Castres Olympique FRA	40–12	WAL Caerphilly	Madejski Stadium, Reading ENG	3,500
2003–04	Montpellier FRA	25–19	ITA Viadana	Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma ITA	2,553
2004–05	Auch FRA	23–10	ENG Worcester Warriors	Kassam Stadium, Oxford ENG	2,823

Seasons

2002–03 competition

Main article: 2002–03 European Shield

This competition was contested between the first round losers from the 2002–03 European Challenge Cup. A total of 16 teams participated, representing five countries.

The competition began on 6 December 2002 and culminated in the final at the Madejski Stadium in Reading on 25 May 2003. Castres Olympique secured a victory over Caerphilly in the final and picked up their first piece of European Club silverware.

Teams

FRA France	ITA Italy	ROM Romania	ESP Spain	WAL Wales

Final

El-Abd Forment (2) Spanghero Arbo

2003–04 competition

Main article: 2003–04 European Shield

This competition was contested between 12 first round losers from the 2003–04 European Challenge Cup plus 4 other Clubs entering directly into the 1st Round. A total of 16 teams participated, representing five countries.

The competition began on 10 January 2004 and culminated in the final at the Stadio Luigi Zaffanella in Viadana on 21 May 2004. Montpellier secured a victory over Viadana in the final and picked up their first piece of European Club silverware.

Teams

ENG England	FRA France	ITA Italy	POR Portugal	ESP Spain

Final

Arbo Daniell Jouve (1)

2004–05 competition

Main article: 2004–05 European Shield

This competition was intended to be contested between 12 first round losers from the 2004–05 European Challenge Cup, plus 4 other Clubs that joined directly at the 1st Round of the Shield. AA Coimbra subsequently declined to play in the competition. therefore a total of 15 teams participated, representing six countries.

The competition began on 4 December 2004 and culminated in the final at Kassam Stadium in Oxford on 21 May 2005. Auch secured a victory over Worcester Warriors in the final and picked up their first piece of European Club silverware.

Teams

ENG England	FRA France	ITA Italy	POR Portugal	ROM Romania	ESP Spain

Final

Report Patat (1)

References

"European Shield History". [[European Rugby Cup.
"Challenge Cup European Champions". [[European Rugby Cup.
(14 December 2003). "Parker Pen Shield News". [[European Rugby Cup.
(2 November 2004). "ERC Press Release: European Shield Draw". [[European Rugby Cup.
(24 November 2004). "ERC Press Release: Coimbra Withdraw". [[European Rugby Cup.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

european-shield epcr-challenge-cup 2002-establishments-in-europe defunct-rugby-union-competitions-in-europe-for-clubs-and-provinces recurring-sporting-events-established-in-2002

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