Heineken cup what is

Search Search. Menu Sections. Toulouse claimed a record fifth European crown as they defeated man French rivals La Rochelle to win the Heineken Champions Cup final at Twickenham. Sometimes the most wounding scars can lead to a healing that re-affirms innate beauty. There have been blow-outs and duds, last-gasp finishes and incredibly polished final displays across the 25 Heineken Champions Cup finals.

Since Toulouse overcame Cardiff in extra-time in , this competition has thrown up some epic affairs but as we pick a top 10 there is one game that stands alone. Saturday's win over Tonga gave a glimpse of the balance Eddie Jones is trying to find as he reshapes the England team. How England's players rated as they opened their Autumn Nations Series campaign with a win over Tonga. How Harlequins and Gloucester are reaping both performance and player welfare benefits from microchipped gumshields.

Will Greenwood says Owen Farrell "knows he's crossed a line" after getting a five-match ban for his tackle on Wasps' Charlie Atkinson. Rugby Union Heineken Champions Cup. France and Stade Toulousain in particular held sway between and It was then the turn of Ireland's Munster and Leinster to take charge, with tournament wins respectively coming their way in and and in , and Since France's Toulon and England's Saracens have dominated the competition, winning it six times between them, with only Leinster breaking the sequence in Toulon won the title three years in a row between and , while Saracens were victorious in , and The competition format changed in , with the number of teams being cut from 24 to Qualification systems vary from country to country.

Before , each country had a number of teams to select from. The system has since changed, with the current format being as follows: - The top six teams in England's Aviva Premiership - The top six teams in France's Top 14 - The top seven teams in the Pro The following criteria are used to determine the 20th team: 1. Foley's story and that of the Heineken Cup are entwined. Of all the Munster stalwarts, it was Foley who the rugby public yearned for most to end the wait for a Munster victory.

The No. He finally ended the agony in when he captained the province to victory over Biarritz. He retired in as the most capped Munster player and now holds a coaching role at the organisation.

Dallaglio, much like Martin Johnson for Leicester, was the driving force behind Wasps' rise to the top of the European summit. Wasps snared Premiership titles in , and under him and added the and Heineken Cups with that famous win over Toulouse and a one-sided affair against Leicester. Dallaglio was the beating heart of those sides and the best No. The Heineken Cup is the competition the Irish provinces live and breathe for, but it holds a particular affection for Munster who, after years of trying, got their hands on it at last in He is one of those few players capable of raising his performance level for the big occasion and has done so on countless Heineken Cup days for Munster.

Notably, he returned from a long injury lay-off last season to play in the quarter-final at Harlequins , where he was the best player on the field by a mile, a performance that sealed his spot on the plane to Australia for the Lions tour.

The diminutive Toulouse wing was the most dangerous wide man in France from the moment he made his international debut in He scored in the final against Perpignan and also appeared in their win as well as their final defeats of and Yannick Jauzion made an instant impact on the Heineken Cup by winning it in his first season with Toulouse.

He followed that up with a man-of-the-match display in the final when Toulouse beat Stade Francais in the final at Murrayfield. He claimed a third title in when Toulouse beat Biarritz to go with the three Six Nations title he helped France to. With his retirement in , the game said goodbye to a modern-day centre who had the lot—pace, power, skill and intelligence. The former Munster fly-half was another of the players who could raise his game for the big European stage, and he delivered nerveless displays with the boot time and time again.