2003–04 Heineken Cup

The 2003–04 Heineken Cup was the ninth season for which European teams competed for the Heineken Cup. Competing teams, from England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales, were divided into six pools of four, in which teams played home and away matches against each other. The winners of the pools, together with the two best runners-up, qualified for the knock-out stage.

2003–04 Heineken Cup
Tournament details
Countries England
 France
 Ireland
 Italy
 Scotland
 Wales
Tournament format(s)Round-robin and Knockout
Date22 October 2003 – 23 May 2004
Tournament statistics
Teams24
Matches played79
Attendance817,833 (10,352 per match)
Top point scorer(s)Henry Paul (Gloucester)
(100 points)
Top try scorer(s)Nicolas Brusque (Biarritz)
James Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester)
(6 tries)
Final
VenueTwickenham Stadium, London
Attendance73,057
ChampionsEngland London Wasps (1st title)
Runners-upFrance Toulouse
← 2002–03 (Previous)
(Next) 2004–05 →

This was the first competition in the series to employ the bonus point system for classifying teams. In prior competitions, teams earned two points for a win and one for a draw. Starting with the 2003–04 competition, teams earned points in the pool matches under the following scenarios:

  • Four points for a win
  • Two points for a draw
  • One bonus point for scoring four or more tries, regardless of the final score
  • One bonus point for losing by seven points or less

Teams

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France England Wales Ireland Scotland Italy
  •   Stade Français
  •   Toulouse
  •   Biarritz Olympique
  •   Agen
  •   Bourgoin
  •   Perpignan
  •   Leicester Tigers
  •   Leeds Carnegie
  •   Sale Sharks
  •   Northampton Saints
  •   Gloucester
  •   London Wasps
  •   Newport Gwent Dragons
  •   Neath-Swansea Ospreys
  •   Cardiff Blues
  •   Llanelli Scarlets
  •   Celtic Warriors
  •   Ulster
  •   Munster
  •   Leinster
  •   Border Reivers
  •   Edinburgh
  •   Benetton Treviso
  •   Calvisano

Pool stage

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Pool 1

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Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
  Stade Français 6 4 0 2 11 8 3 134 80 54 1 1 18
  Leicester Tigers 6 3 0 3 17 10 7 137 115 22 3 0 15
  Ulster 6 3 0 3 10 9 1 109 106 3 1 1 14
  Newport Gwent Dragons 6 2 0 4 5 16 −11 67 146 −79 0 1 9

Pool 2

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Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
  Toulouse 6 5 0 1 18 7 11 157 65 92 4 1 25
  Edinburgh 6 5 0 1 14 7 7 130 89 41 2 0 22
  Leeds Tykes 6 1 0 5 5 11 −6 66 122 −56 0 1 5
  Neath-Swansea Ospreys 6 1 0 5 6 18 −12 78 155 −77 0 0 4

Pool 3

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Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
  Biarritz Olympique 6 4 0 2 18 12 6 139 97 42 3 1 20
  Leinster 6 4 0 2 13 11 2 142 113 29 1 1 18
  Cardiff Blues 6 2 0 4 13 13 0 123 132 −9 0 3 11
  Sale Sharks 6 2 0 4 6 14 −8 75 137 −62 0 1 9

Pool 4

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Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
  Llanelli Scarlets 6 5 0 1 17 5 12 160 72 88 2 1 23
  Northampton Saints 6 4 0 2 13 4 9 121 54 67 1 1 18
  Agen 6 2 0 4 8 7 1 83 94 −11 1 2 11
  The Borders 6 1 0 5 4 26 −22 39 183 −144 0 0 4

Pool 5

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Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
  Munster Rugby 6 5 0 1 22 5 17 172 76 96 4 0 24
  Gloucester 6 5 0 1 22 11 11 197 100 97 4 0 24
  Bourgoin 6 1 0 5 13 22 −9 119 191 −72 2 1 7
  Benetton Treviso 6 1 0 5 13 32 −19 104 225 −121 1 0 5

Pool 6

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Team P W D L Tries for Tries against Try diff Points for Points against Points diff TB LB Pts
  London Wasps 6 5 0 1 22 8 14 186 85 101 3 1 24
  Celtic Warriors 6 4 0 2 11 10 1 123 118 5 2 2 20
  Perpignan 6 3 0 3 13 11 2 119 115 4 2 1 15
  Ghial Rugby Calvisano 6 0 0 6 13 30 −17 115 225 −110 1 2 3

Seeding and runners-up

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Seed Pool Winners Pts TF +/-
1   Toulouse 25 18 +92
2   London Wasps 24 22 +101
3   Munster 24 22 +97
4   Llanelli Scarlets 23 17 +88
5   Biarritz Olympique 20 18 +42
6   Stade Français 18 11 +54
Seed Pool Runners-up Pts TF +/-
7   Gloucester 24 22 +96
8   Edinburgh 22 14 +41
  Celtic Warriors 20 11 +5
  Northampton Saints 18 13 +67
  Leinster 18 13 +29
  Leicester Tigers 15 17 +22

Knockout stage

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Quarter-finals

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4 April 2004
19:45
Llanelli Scarlets  10–27  Biarritz
Stradey Park, Llanelli
Attendance: 10,800

10 April 2004
16:00
Toulouse  36–10  Edinburgh
Stadium de Toulouse
Attendance: 36,500

10 April 2004
17:00
Munster  37–32  Stade Français
Thomond Park, Limerick
Attendance: 13,000

11 April 2004
15:00
London Wasps  34–3  Gloucester
Adams Park, High Wycombe
Attendance: 10,000

Semi-finals

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24 April 2004
16:00
Toulouse  19–11  Biarritz
Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux
Attendance: 34,000

25 April 2004
15:00
Munster  32–37  London Wasps
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 49,000

Final

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23 May 2004
15:00
London Wasps  27–20  Toulouse
Try: Abbott 19' c
Van Gisbergen 43' c
Howley 79' c
Con: Van Gisbergen (3)
Pen: Van Gisbergen (2) 15', 31'
ReportTry: Delaigue 38' m
Pen: Delaigue (2) 6', 12'
Élissalde (3) 57', 72', 77'
Twickenham Stadium, London
Attendance: 73,057
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)