List of European Rugby Champions Cup finals

List of European Rugby Champions Cup finals
Sport	Rugby union
Instituted	1995
Number of teams	20
Country	International club (European Professional Club Rugby)
Holders	Saracens
Most titles	Toulouse (4 titles)

The European Rugby Champions Cup is an annual rugby union competition for European clubs whose countries compete in the Six Nations Championship. Established in 1995, it is organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR), with teams qualifying via their final positions in their respective national/regional leagues (Premiership, Top 14, and Pro12). It was known as the Heineken Cup until it was rebranded in 2014. The winners of the first final were French team Toulouse, who beat Welsh side Cardiff 21–18 after extra time. Saracens of England are the current champions, they beat French team Racing 92 21–9 in the 2016 final in Lyon.^[1]

The European rugby Champions Cup final is the last match of the competition, which sees 20 teams initially compete in five separate pools. The top eight teams from the pools progress to the knockout stage. The winning team is declared European champion and receives the European Rugby Champions Cup trophy. If the score is a draw after 80 minutes of regular play, an additional 20-minute period of play, called extra time, is added. If the score remains tied, an additional 10 minutes of sudden-death extra time are played, with the first team to score points immediately declared the winner. If no team is able to break the tie during extra time, the winner is ultimately decided by a penalty shootout. As well as the first final, the 2005 final between French teams Toulouse and Stade Français went to extra time, which Toulouse won 18–12.^[2]

Toulouse are the most successful team in the history of the tournament, with three wins. Leinster and Toulon are second with three wins each. Toulon are the only team to have won three consecutive tournaments, from 2013 to 2015. Stade Français, Biarritz and Clermont have each appeared in two finals without winning. Teams from Scotland and Italy have failed to progress to the final.

Finals

Key

Match was won during extra time

European Rugby Champions Cup finals

Season	Country	Winners	Score	Runners-up	Country	Venue	Attendance
1995–96	France	Toulouse	21–18	Cardiff	Wales	Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff	21,800
1996–97	France	Brive	28–9	Leicester Tigers	England	Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff	41,664
1997–98	England	Bath	19–18	Brive	France	Parc Lescure, Bordeaux	36,500
1998–99	Ireland	Ulster	21–6	Colomiers	France	Lansdowne Road, Dublin	49,000
1999–2000	England	Northampton Saints	9–8	Munster	Ireland	Twickenham, London	68,441
2000–01	England	Leicester Tigers	34–30	Stade Français	France	Parc des Princes, Paris	44,000
2001–02	England	Leicester Tigers	15–9	Munster	Ireland	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	74,600
2002–03	France	Toulouse	22–17	Perpignan	France	Lansdowne Road, Dublin	28,600
2003–04	England	London Wasps	27–20	Toulouse	France	Twickenham, London	73,057
2004–05	France	Toulouse	18–12	Stade Français	France	Murrayfield, Edinburgh	51,326
2005–06	Ireland	Munster	23–19	Biarritz	France	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	74,534
2006–07	England	London Wasps	25–9	Leicester Tigers	England	Twickenham, London	81,076
2007–08	Ireland	Munster	16–13	Toulouse	France	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	74,500
2008–09	Ireland	Leinster	19–16	Leicester Tigers	England	Murrayfield, Edinburgh	66,523
2009–10	France	Toulouse	21–19	Biarritz	France	Stade de France, Saint-Denis	78,962
2010–11	Ireland	Leinster	33–22	Northampton Saints	England	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	72,456
2011–12	Ireland	Leinster	42–14	Ulster	Ireland	Twickenham, London	81,774
2012–13	France	Toulon	16–15	Clermont	France	Aviva Stadium, Dublin	50,198
2013–14	France	Toulon	23–6	Saracens	England	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	67,586
2014–15	France	Toulon	24–18	Clermont	France	Twickenham, London	56,622
2015–16	England	Saracens	21–9	Racing 92	France	Grande Stade de Lyon, Décines	58,017

Performances

By club

Club	Won	Runner-up	Years won	Years runner-up
Toulouse	4	2	1995–96, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2009–10	2003–04, 2007–08
Leinster	3	0	2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12
Toulon	3	0	2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15
Leicester Tigers	2	3	2000–01, 2001–02	1996–97, 2006–07, 2008–09
Munster	2	2	2005–06, 2007–08	1999–2000, 2001–02
Wasps	2	0	2003–04, 2006–07
Brive	1	1	1996–97	1997–98
Ulster	1	1	1998–99	2011–12
Northampton Saints	1	1	1999–2000	2010–11
Saracens	1	1	2015–16	2013–14
Bath	1	0	1997–98
Stade Français	0	2		2000–01, 2004–05
Biarritz	0	2		2005–06, 2009–10
Clermont	0	2		2012–13, 2014–15
Cardiff	0	1		1995–96
Colomiers	0	1		1998–99
Perpignan	0	1		2002–03
Racing 92	0	1		2015–16

By nation

Nation	Winners	Runners-up
France	8	12
England	7	5
Ireland	6	3
Wales	0	1

References

1. Standley, James (14 May 2016). "Saracens beat Racing 92 to win first European Champions Cup". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
2. "Stade Francais 12–18 Toulouse". BBC Sport. 22 May 2005. Retrieved 6 July 2016.

External links

• Official website