European Challenge Cup Fixtures 2022-23

Toulon brushed Glasgow Warriors aside 43-19 at Aviva Stadium to claim the 2022-23 European Challenge Cup. It was the French team’s first Challenge Cup title following defeats in the 2010, 2012, 2020 and 2022 finals.

Glasgow, hoping to become the first Scottish side to win a European trophy, were never in serious contention as they fell 21-0 behind at the break. Scrum-half Baptiste Serin (two) and 39-year-old Italy legend Sergio Parisse, in his final season before retiring, scored to leave Warriors a mountain to climb.

Franco Smith’s team fired a few shots in the second half, captain Kyle Steyn crossing twice, but they were always well adrift of the three-time European champions. Springbok Cheslin Kolbe, playing at full-back, was named Man of the Match.

This season’s EPCR Challenge Cup featured two pools of ten teams. The six best-ranked clubs from each pool qualified for the knockout stage, where they were joined by four clubs dropping down from the Heineken Champions Cup – Sale, Clermont, Lyon and Racing.

Fri 9 Dec Perpignan 5-19 Bristol

Fri 9 Dec Stade Français 24-14 Benetton

Sat 10 Dec Bath 19-22 Glasgow

Sat 10 Dec Pau 16-21 Cheetahs

Sat 10 Dec Lions 31-31 Dragons

Sat 10 Dec Cardiff 41-0 Brive

Sat 10 Dec Connacht 22-8 Newcastle

Sat 10 Dec Zebre Parma 21-24 Toulon

Sun 11 Dec Scarlets 39-7 Bayonne

Fri 16 Dec Lions 30-12 Stade Français

Fri 16 Dec Brive 24-31 Connacht

Fri 16 Dec Glasgow 26-18 Perpignan

Sat 17 Dec Toulon 29-7 Bath

Sat 17 Dec Cheetahs 26-45 Scarlets

Sat 17 Dec Bayonne 7-45 Benetton

Sat 17 Dec Dragons 21-27 Pau

Sat 17 Dec Newcastle 10-47 Cardiff

Sun 18 Dec Bristol 35-19 Zebre Parma

Fri 13 Jan Pau 15-21 Dragons

Fri 13 Jan Scarlets 20-17 Cheetahs

Sat 14 Jan Benetton 26-7 Bayonne

Sat 14 Jan Stade Français 17-7 Lions

Sat 14 Jan Connacht 61-5 Brive

Sat 14 Jan Perpignan 26-40 Glasgow

Sat 14 Jan Zebre Parma 11-34 Bristol

Sun 15 Jan Cardiff 42-10 Newcastle

Sun 15 Jan Bath 23-35 Toulon

Fri 20 Jan Bristol 33-19 Perpignan

Fri 20 Jan Glasgow 19-19 Bath

Fri 20 Jan Toulon 14-5 Zebre Parma

Sat 21 Jan Bayonne 7-20 Scarlets

Sat 21 Jan Benetton 35-32 Stade Français

Sat 21 Jan Brive 37-24 Cardiff

Sat 21 Jan Newcastle 35-21 Connacht

Sun 22 Jan Dragons 25-30 Lions

Sun 22 Jan Cheetahs 9-6 Pau

Round of 16

Fri 31 Mar Match 4 Bristol 26-33 Clermont

Fri 31 Mar Match 8 Scarlets 19-7 Brive

Sat 1 Apr Match 1 Toulon 36-21 Cheetahs

Sat 1 Apr Match 7 Benetton 41-19 Connacht

Sat 1 Apr Match 5 Stade Français 24-41 Lyon

Sat 1 Apr Match 2 Glasgow 73-33 Dragons

Sat 1 Apr Match 6 Lions 51-28 Racing

Sat 1 Apr Match 3 Cardiff 28-27 Sale

Quarter-finals

Fri 7 Apr Scarlets 32-30 Clermont

Sat 8 Apr Toulon 48-23 Lyon

Sat 8 Apr Benetton 27-23 Cardiff

Sat 8 Apr Glasgow 31-21 Lions

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EPCR has announced the dates for its fixtures in the 2023-24 season. The Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup will kick off in December with two consecutive weekends of pool stage action.

The knockout stages will start on 5-7 April with the finals taking place on Friday 24 and Saturday 25 May in London.

The venue for the 2024 finals is Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the largest football ground in the English capital with a capacity of 62,850.

2023-24 weekends
Round 1 – 8/9/10 December
Round 2 – 15/16/17 December
Round 3 – 12/13/14 January
Round 4 – 19/20/21 January
Round of 16 – 5/6/7 April
Quarter-finals – 12/13/14 April
Semi-finals – 3/4/5 May

EPCR Challenge Cup final – Friday 24 May 2024 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Heineken Champions Cup final – Saturday 25 May 2024 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

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European Challenge Cup Results 2021-22

Round 1

Round 3

Fri 14 Jan Biarritz 13-17 Newcastle

Fri 14 Jan Brive 33-25 Pau

Sat 15 Jan Benetton 23-9 Dragons

Sat 15 Jan London Irish 21-20 Edinburgh

Sat 15 Jan Worcester 23-34 Toulon

Sat 15 Jan Perpignan 6-37 Lyon

Round 4

Fri 21 Jan Edinburgh 66-3 Brive

Fri 21 Jan Lyon 25-10 Benetton

Sat 22 Jan Zebre Parma 26-36 Worcester

Sat 22 Jan Gloucester 68-19 Perpignan

Sat 22 Jan Toulon C-C Newcastle (Toulon awarded 28-0 win)

Sun 23 Jan Saracens 45-24 London Irish

Round of 16

European Challenge Cup Results 2020-21

The 2020-21 Challenge Cup was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The preliminary stages involved 14 clubs, who were due to play four pool matches. However, the two rounds in January couldn’t be played as French clubs were not permitted to travel.

The competition resumed in April with a round of 16 featuring the top eight clubs after two rounds of Challenge Cup matches and the eight clubs who didn’t make the Champions Cup knockout stages. You’ll find the results below.

The final was played on Friday 21 May at Twickenham, instead of Marseille as first planned. A crowd of 10,000 saw Montpellier pip Leicester Tigers to the trophy.

Round 1

Sat 12 Dec Zebre 25-25 Bayonne

Sat 12 Dec Agen 8-34 London Irish

Sat 12 Dec Ospreys 39-15 Castres

Round 3

Fri 15 Jan Pau v London Irish Cancelled

Fri 15 Jan Leicester v Bayonne Cancelled

Fri 15 Jan Agen v Benetton Cancelled

Fri 15 Jan Ospreys v Worcester Cancelled

Sat 16 Jan Zebre v Brive Cancelled

Sat 16 Jan Newcastle v Castres Cancelled

Sat 16 Jan Stade Français v Cardiff Blues Cancelled

Round 4

22-23 Jan Castres v Ospreys Cancelled

22-23 Jan Brive v Leicester Cancelled

Fri 22 Jan Bayonne v Zebre Cancelled

Sat 23 Jan Benetton v Stade Français Cancelled

Sat 23 Jan Worcester v Pau Cancelled

Sat 23 Jan London Irish v Agen Cancelled

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European Challenge Cup Results 2018-19

Round 1

Fri 12 Oct Perpignan 24-41 Sale

Sat 13 Oct Enisei-STM 21-82 La Rochelle

Sat 13 Oct Timisoara Saracens 17-54 Dragons

Sat 13 Oct Benetton 40-14 Grenoble

Sat 13 Oct Bristol 43-22 Zebre 

Sat 13 Oct Connacht 22-10 Bordeaux-Begles

Sat 13 Oct Harlequins 54-22 Agen

Sat 13 Oct Northampton 20-41 Clermont Auvergne

Sat 13 Oct Ospreys 27-0 Pau

Sat 13 Oct Stade Français 27-38 Worcester

Round 2

Fri 19 Oct Agen 20-19 Benetton

Fri 19 Oct La Rochelle 64-26 Enisei-STM

Fri 19 Oct Dragons 21-35 Northampton

Sat 20 Oct Pau 21-15 Stade Français

Sat 20 Oct Clermont Auvergne 70-12 Timisoara Saracens

Sat 20 Oct Sale 34-13 Connacht

Sat 20 Oct Worcester 27-21 Ospreys

Sat 20 Oct Zebre 20-17 Bristol

Sat 20 Oct Bordeaux-Begles 25-25 Perpignan

Sat 20 Oct Grenoble 19-13 Harlequins

Round 3

Fri 7 Dec Pau 21-6 Worcester

Fri 7 Dec Grenoble 22-15 Agen

Sat 8 Dec Enisei-STM 14-31 Zebre

Sat 8 Dec Timisoara Saracens 14-47 Clermont Auvergne

Sat 8 Dec Benetton 26-21 Harlequins

Sat 8 Dec Bristol 22-35 La Rochelle

Sat 8 Dec Connacht 22-10 Perpignan

Sat 8 Dec Northampton 48-14 Dragons

Sat 8 Dec Ospreys 51-20 Stade Français

Sat 8 Dec Bordeaux-Begles 24-50 Sale

Round 4

Fri 14 Dec Agen 14-10 Grenoble

Fri 14 Dec Perpignan 21-36 Connacht

Fri 14 Dec Stade Français 12-3 Ospreys

Sat 15 Dec Timisoara Saracens P-P Northampton

Sat 15 Dec Clermont Auvergne 49-24 Dragons

Sat 15 Dec Zebre 58-14 Enisei-STM

Sat 15 Dec Harlequins 20-9 Benetton

Sat 15 Dec Sale 14-17 Bordeaux-Begles

Sat 15 Dec Worcester 23-7 Pau

Sat 15 Dec La Rochelle 3-13 Bristol

Round 5

Fri 11 Jan La Rochelle 32-12 Zebre

Fri 11 Jan Perpignan 27-34 Bordeaux-Begles

Fri 11 Jan Dragons 59-3 Timisoara Saracens

Fri 11 Jan Stade Français 35-14 Pau

Sat 12 Jan Benetton 38-24 Agen

Sat 12 Jan Enisei-STM 9-65 Bristol

Sat 12 Jan Connacht 20-18 Sale

Sat 12 Jan Harlequins 38-20 Grenoble

Sat 12 Jan Ospreys 18-20 Worcester

Sat 12 Jan Clermont Auvergne 48-40 Northampton

Round 6

Fri 18 Jan Agen 17-33 Harlequins

Fri 18 Jan Grenoble 7-39 Benetton

Fri 18 Jan Dragons 7-49 Clermont Auvergne

Fri 18 Jan Northampton 111-3 Timisoara Saracens

Sat 19 Jan Pau 26-21 Ospreys

Sat 19 Jan Worcester 36-31 Stade Français 

Sat 19 Jan Bordeaux-Begles 27-33 Connacht

Sat 19 Jan Bristol 107-19 Enisei-STM

Sat 19 Jan Sale 39-10 Perpignan 

Sat 19 Jan Zebre 10-22 La Rochelle

Quarter-finals

Fri 29 Mar Sale 20-10 Connacht

Sat 30 Mar Worcester 16-18 Harlequins

Sun 31 Mar La Rochelle 39-15 Bristol

Sun 31 Mar Clermont Auvergne 61-38 Northampton

Semi-finals

Sat 20 Apr La Rochelle 24-20 Sale

Sat 20 Apr Clermont Auvergne 32-27 Harlequins

Final

Friday 10 May Clermont Auvergne 36-16 La Rochelle (St James’ Park, Newcastle)

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