# 2020–21 European Rugby Challenge Cup

The 2020–21 European Rugby Challenge Cup is the seventh edition of the European Rugby Challenge Cup, an annual second-tier rugby union competition for professional clubs. Including the predecessor competition, the original European Challenge Cup, this was the 25th edition of European club rugby's second-tier competition.
The tournament began in December 2020. The final, originally scheduled to be held at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, took place on 21 May 2021 at Twickenham Stadium.
On 11 January 2021 EPCR announced the competition was suspended temporarily due to new restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. A revised format to finish the tournament was announced on 24 February 2021.

## Teams

Fourteen teams will qualified for the 2020–21 European Challenge Cup from Premiership Rugby, the Pro14 and the Top 14, as a direct result of their domestic league performance having not qualified for the Heineken Champions Cup. Although, the two South African Pro14 teams are not eligible.
The distribution of teams was:
* England: four teams
** Any teams finishing between 9th and 11th position in the Premiership Rugby that do not qualify for the 2020–21 European Champions Cup
** The champion of the RFU Championship
* France: six teams
** Any teams finishing between 9th and 14th position in the Top 14 that do not qualify for the 2020–21 European Champions Cup
* Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales: four teams
** Four teams from the Pro14, excluding the South African teams, that do not qualify for the 2020–21 European Champions Cup
| Round | Premiership | Top 14 | Pro14 | Pro14 | Pro14 | Pro14 |
| | England | France | Ireland | Italy | Scotland | Wales |
| Preliminary stage | Leicester Tigers London Irish Newcastle Falcons Worcester Warriors | Agen Bayonne Brive Castres Pau Stade Français | | Benetton Zebre | | Cardiff Blues Ospreys |
| Knockout stage | Bath Harlequins Northampton Saints | Montpellier | Connacht Ulster | | Glasgow Warriors | Dragons |

### Team details

Below is the list of coaches, captain and stadiums with their method of qualification for each team.
| Team | Coach / Director of Rugby | Captain | Stadium | Capacity | Method of qualification |
| Entering at Preliminary Stage ||||||
| Agen | Christophe Laussucq Rémi Vaquin | Antoine Erbani | Stade Armandie | 14,000 | Top 14 bottom 6 (13th) |
| Bayonne | Yannick Bru | Antoine Battut | Stade Jean Dauger | 16,934 | Top 14 bottom 6 (11th) |
| Benetton | Kieran Crowley | Dewaldt Duvenage | Stadio Comunale di Monigo | 6,700 | Pro14 Conference B (5th) |
| Brive | Jeremy Davidson | Saïd Hireche | Stade Amédée-Domenech | 13,979 | Top 14 bottom 6 (10th) |
| Cardiff Blues | John Mulvihill | Ellis Jenkins | Cardiff Arms Park | 12,125 | Pro14 Conference B (6th) |
| Castres | Mauricio Reggiardo | Mathieu Babillot | Stade Pierre-Fabre | 12,500 | Top 14 bottom 6 (9th) |
| Leicester Tigers | Steve Borthwick | Tom Youngs | Welford Road Stadium | 25,849 | Premiership 9th–11th (11th) |
| London Irish | Declan Kidney | Blair Cowan Paddy Jackson Nick Phipps Matt Rogerson | Brentford Community Stadium | 17,250 | Premiership 9th–11th (10th) |
| Newcastle Falcons | Dean Richards | Mark Wilson | Kingston Park | 10,200 | RFU Championship champions |
| Ospreys | Toby Booth | Justin Tipuric | Liberty Stadium | 20,827 | Pro14 Conference A (7th) |
| Pau | Nicolas Godignon Frédéric Manca | Quentin Lespiaucq-Brettes | Stade du Hameau | 18,324 | Top 14 bottom 6 (12th) |
| Stade Français | Laurent Sempéré Julien Arias | Yoann Maestri | Stade Jean-Bouin | 20,000 | Top 14 bottom 6 (14th) |
| Zebre | Michael Bradley | Tommaso Castello | Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi | 5,000 | Pro14 Conference A (6th) |
| Worcester Warriors | Alan Solomons | Ted Hill | Sixways Stadium | 11,499 | Premiership 9th–11th (9th) |
| Entering at Knockout Stage (transferred from Champions Cup) ||||||
| Bath | Stuart Hooper | Charlie Ewels | The Recreation Ground | 14,509 | Champions Cup Pool A 9th–12th (10th) |
| Connacht | Andy Friend | Jarrad Butler | Galway Sportsgrounds | 8,129 | Champions Cup Pool B 9th–12th (10th) |
| Dragons | Dean Ryan | Rhodri Williams | Rodney Parade | 8,700 | Champions Cup Pool A 9th–12th (12th) |
| Glasgow Warriors | Danny Wilson | Fraser Brown Ryan Wilson | Scotstoun Stadium | 7,351 | Champions Cup Pool B 9th–12th (12th) |
| Harlequins | Billy Millard | Stephan Lewies | Twickenham Stoop | 14,800 | Champions Cup Pool B 9th–12th (11th) |
| Montpellier | Xavier Garbajosa | Fulgence Ouedraogo | Altrad Stadium | 15,697 | Champions Cup Pool A 9th–12th (11th) |
| Northampton Saints | Chris Boyd | Lewis Ludlam Alex Waller | Franklin's Gardens | 15,200 | Champions Cup Pool A 9th–12th (9th) |
| Ulster | Dan McFarland | Iain Henderson | Ravenhill Stadium | 18,196 | Champions Cup Pool B 9th–12th (9th) |

## Preliminary stage

Teams were placed into one of the two tiers, with the higher ranked clubs being put in Tier 1. The nature of the tier system meant that no draw was needed this year. Brackets show each team's ranking and their league. e.g. 9 Top 14 indicates the team was the ninth placed team from the Top 14.
| Tier 1 | Bayonne (11 Top 14) | Benetton (9 Pro14) | Brive (10 Top 14) | Cardiff Blues (10 Pro14) | Castres (9 Top 14) | London Irish (10 Prem) | Worcester Warriors (9 Prem) |
| Tier 2 | Agen (13 Top 14) | Leicester Tigers (11 Prem) | Newcastle Falcons (12 Prem) | Ospreys (12 Pro14) | Pau (12 Top 14) | Stade Français (14 Top 14) | Zebre (11 Top 14) |
The preliminary stage would consist of a single pool of 14 teams. No team would play a team in the same tier and no club would play another club from the same league. Each team was scheduled to play four matches with the top eight teams advancing to the knockout stage. The top eight teams were due to be joined in the round of 16 by the teams finishing between 5th and 8th in each pool of the 2020–21 European Rugby Champions Cup pool stage.
The revised format announced in February 2021 would see the top 8 teams after 2 pool games advance to the round of 16 along with the eight teams placed between 9th and 12th in each pool of the Champions Cup.
Key to colours :
* Top 8, advance to round of 16
* Eliminated from tournament
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| London Irish | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 25 | +35 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Ospreys | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 77 | 44 | +33 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Cardiff Blues | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 61 | 20 | +41 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| Leicester Tigers | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 37 | +30 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| Zebre | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 41 | +2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Agen | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 34 | +2 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Benetton | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 44 | 48 | −4 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Newcastle Falcons | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 46 | 50 | −4 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Pau | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 41 | 46 | −5 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Bayonne | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 45 | 53 | −8 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Worcester Warriors | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 49 | 62 | −13 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Brive | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 33 | 57 | −24 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Castres | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 65 | −33 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stade Français | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 72 | −52 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Last 16 rankings

Key to colours :
| Top 8 in Challenge Cup | Champions Cup 17th-24th |
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| London Irish | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 60 | 25 | +35 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Ospreys | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 77 | 44 | +33 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Cardiff Blues | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 61 | 20 | +41 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| Leicester Tigers | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 37 | +30 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| Zebre | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 41 | +2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Agen | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 34 | +2 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Benetton | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 44 | 48 | −4 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Newcastle Falcons | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 46 | 50 | −4 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Ulster | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 56 | 67 | −11 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Connacht | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 40 | 53 | −13 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Northampton Saints | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 31 | 51 | −20 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Bath | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 51 | −32 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Montpellier | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 28 | 68 | −40 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dragons | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 71 | −55 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Harlequins | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 70 | −56 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Glasgow Warriors | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 70 | −70 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Knockout stage

The knockout stage commenced with a round of 16 consisting of the top 8 ranked teams from the preliminary stage and the teams placed between 9th and 12th in each Champions Cup pool. Due to the truncation of the preliminary stage, a draw was used to determine matches in both round of 16 and quarter-finals but no team would face a team from the same league in the round of 16. Teams which won both their matches and were not awarded points due to COVID cancellations would be guaranteed home advantage. Therefore, Leicester Tigers, London Irish and Ospreys received home advantage.
The draw for the round of 16 and quarter-finals took place on 9 March 2021 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

### Bracket

| Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final |
| Leicester Tigers | 48 | | | | | | | |
| Connacht | 32 | | | | | | | |
| Connacht | 32 | Leicester Tigers | 39 | | | | | |
| | | Newcastle Falcons | 15 | | | | | |
| Ospreys | 24 | Newcastle Falcons | 15 | | | | | |
| Newcastle Falcons | 28 | | | | | | | |
| Newcastle Falcons | 28 | | | Leicester Tigers | 33 | | | |
| | | | | Ulster | 24 | | | |
| Dragons | 39 | | | | | Ulster | 24 | | | |
| Northampton Saints | 43 | | | | | | | |
| Northampton Saints | 43 | Northampton Saints | 27 | | | | | |
| | | Ulster | 35 | | | | | |
| Harlequins | 21 | Ulster | 35 | | | | | |
| Ulster | 57 | | | | | | | |
| Ulster | 57 | | | | | | Leicester Tigers | 17 |
| | | | | | | | Montpellier | 18 |
| Zebre | 27 | | | | | | | | Montpellier | 18 |
| Bath | 35 | | | | | | | |
| Bath | 35 | Bath | 26 | | | | | |
| | | London Irish | 13 | | | | | |
| London Irish | 41 | London Irish | 13 | | | | | |
| Cardiff Blues | 35 | | | | | | | |
| Cardiff Blues | 35 | | | Bath | 10 | | | |
| | | | | Montpellier | 19 | | | |
| Montpellier | 26 | | | | | Montpellier | 19 | | | |
| Glasgow Warriors | 21 | | | | | | | |
| Glasgow Warriors | 21 | Montpellier | 31 | | | | | |
| | | Benetton | 25 | | | | | |
| Benetton | 29 | Benetton | 25 | | | | | |
| Agen | 16 | | | | | | | |

### Round of 16

Fixtures were announced on 16 March 2021.
* 2 April 2021 16:00 CET
| Zebre | 27–35 | Bath |
| Try: Bruno 2' c, 9' c, 22' c Con: Canna (3/3) 3', 10', 23' Pen: Pescetto (2/3) 67', 71' | Report | Try: Cokanasiga 14' c Stuart 40' c Obano 45' c Watson 61' c du Toit 78' c |
* Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Attendance: 0 Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
* 2 April 2021 17:30 BST
| London Irish | 41–35 | Cardiff Blues |
| Try: Loader 30' c Hassell-Collins (2) 49' c, 74' c Hepetema 71' c Rona 79' c Con: Jackson (5/5) 31', 49', 72', 76', 80' Pen: Jackson (2/3) 13', 39' | Report | Try: Dacey 16' c Adams 20' c Harries 57' m L. Williams 64' c Con: Evans (3/4) 17', 20', 65' Pen: Evans (2/3) 27', 46' Drop: Evans 77' |
* Brentford Community Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
* 2 April 2021 21:00 CET
| Montpellier | 26–21 | Glasgow Warriors |
| Try: Guirado 38' c Bouthier 43' c Con: Lozowski (2/2) 40', 44' Pen: Lozowski (4/6) 14', 24', 58', 71' | Report | Pen: Hastings (5/5) 1', 16', 27', 55', 62' Thompson (2/2) 70', 73' |
* GGL Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Karl Dickson (England)
* 3 April 2021 16:00 CET
| Benetton | 29–16 | Agen |
| Try: Duvenage 20' m Ioane 45' m Brex 62' m Padovani 73' m Pen: Garbisi (3/3) 12', 29', 39' | Report | Try: Hayes 1' c Con: Verdu (1/1) 2' Pen: Verdu (3/3) 18', 50', 55' |
* Stadio Comunale di Monigo Attendance: 0 Referee: Christophe Ridley (England)
* 3 April 2021 15:00 BST
| Ospreys | 24–28 | Newcastle Falcons |
| Try: K. Williams 8' c D. Evans 12' c Botha 70' c Con: Price (3/3) 9', 13', 71' Pen: Price (1/1) 56' | Report | Try: Davison 33' c Penalty try 38' Robinson 41' c McGuigan 64' m van der Walt 66' c Con: Connon (3/4) 34', 42', 67' |
* Liberty Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Ludovic Cayre (France)
* 3 April 2021 17:30 BST
| Dragons | 39–43 | Northampton Saints |
| Try: Hewitt (2) 11' c, 33' m Screech 26' c S. Davies 50' c Brown 60' c Con: S. Davies (4/5) 12', 26', 51', 60' Pen: S. Davies (2/2) 6', 43' | Report | Try: Naiyaravoro (2) 36' c, 73' c Sleightholme 41' c Mitchell 54' c Harrison 62' m Collins 74' c Con: Grayson (5/6) 37', 41, 55', 73' 75' Pen: Grayson (1/1) 24' |
* Rodney Parade Attendance: 0 Referee: Alexandre Ruiz (France)
* 3 April 2021 20:00 BST
| Leicester Tigers | 48–32 | Connacht |
| Try: Clare (2) 11' m, 65' c Porter 14' c Moroni 27' m Henry 31' c Wells 73' c Wiese 78' c Con: Henry (2/4) 15', 32' McPhillips (3/3) 66', 74', 79' Pen: McPhillips (1/1) 57' | Report | Try: Marmion 6' m E. Masterson 43' c Wootton 56' c Boyle 71' c Con: Carty (2/3) 44', 59' C. Fitzgerald (1/1) 71' Pen: Carty (2/3) 23', 40+5' |
* Mattioli Woods Welford Road Attendance: 0 Referee: Adam Jones (Wales)
* 4 April 2021 20:00 BST
| Harlequins | 21–57 | Ulster |
| Try: Lawday 31' c Kenningham 64' c Els 77' c Con: Herron (3/3) 32', 64', 78' | Report | Try: McCloskey 7' c Herring (2) 21' c, 55' c Reidy (2) 26' c, 69' c Lowry 33' m Burns 59' c Mathewson 65' c Con: Cooney (5/6) 8', 23', 27', 57', 60' Madigan (2/2) 66', 70' Pen: Cooney (1/1) 12' |
* Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 0 Referee: Romain Poite (France)

### Quarter-finals

* 9 April 2021 20:00 BST
| Bath | 26–13 | London Irish |
| Try: McNally 8' c Stuart (2) 23' c, 31' m Mercer 67' c Con: Spencer (3/4) 9', 24', 68' | Report | Try: Creevy 5' c Con: Jackson (1/1) 6' Pen: Jackson (2/2) 40', 63' |
* Recreation Ground Attendance: 0 Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
* 10 April 2021 12:30 BST
| Leicester Tigers | 39–15 | Newcastle Falcons |
| Try: Potter (2) 4' m, 80' c Penalty try (2) 13', 75' Moroni 46' c Con: McPhillips (1/2) 47' Ford (1/1) 80+1' Pen: McPhillips (1/1) 17' Ford (1/1) 56' | Report | Try: Wacokecoke 32' m Penny 48' c Con: Connon (1/2) 50' Pen: Connon (1/1) 9' |
* Mattioli Woods Welford Road Attendance: 0 Referee: Romain Poite (France)
* 10 April 2021 20:00 BST
| Northampton Saints | 27–35 | Ulster |
| Try: Mitchell 4' c Freeman (2) 32' m, 34' c Sleightholme 58' m Con: Francis (2/4) 6', 35' Pen: Francis (1/1) 16' | Report | Try: Penalty try 11' Herring 24' c M. Moore 46' c Cooney 61' c Stockdale 72' c Con: Cooney (4/4) 25', 47', 62', 73' |
* Franklin's Gardens Attendance: 0 Referee: Alexandre Ruiz (France)
* 10 April 2021 21:00 CET
| Montpellier | 31–25 | Benetton |
| Try: Paillaugue (2) 11' m, 54' c Willemse 36' c Con: Paillaugue (2/3) 37', 55' Pen: Paillaugue (3/3) 4', 29', 60' Drop: Bouthier 24' | Report | Try: Garbisi 45' c Con: Garbisi (1/1) 46' Pen: Garbisi (5/6) 1', 6', 14', 27', 31' Allan (1/1) 65' |
* GGL Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Karl Dickson (England)

### Semi-finals

The draw for the semi-finals took place on 11 April 2021 at BT Sport's studios in London.
* 30 April 2021 20:00 BST
| Leicester Tigers | 33–24 | Ulster |
| Try: Wiese 44' c Genge 52' c Porter 73' c Con: Ford (3/3) 44', 54', 75' Pen: Ford (3/4) 6', 19', 49' Drop: Ford 58' | Report | Try: Henderson 15' c Burns 21' c Timoney 67' c Con: Cooney (2/2) 16', 22' Lowry (1/1) 68' Pen: Cooney (1/1) 9' |
* Mattioli Woods Welford Road Attendance: 0 Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (France)
* 1 May 2021 20:00 BST
| Bath | 10–19 | Montpellier |
| Try: Dunn 2' c Con: B. Spencer (1/1) 3' Pen: B. Spencer (1/2) 26' | Report | Try: Camara 22' c Con: Paillaugue (1/1) 23' Pen: Paillaugue (3/5) 19', 31', 36' Pollard (1/1) 79' |
* Recreation Ground Attendance: 0 Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)

### Final

* 21 May 2021 20:00
| Leicester Tigers | 17–18 | Montpellier |
| Try: Wells 32' c Wiese 46' c Con: Ford (2/2) 34', 47' Pen: Ford (1/2) 8' | Report | Try: Rattez 13' c Goosen 57' m Con: Paillaugue (1/2) 14' Pen: Paillaugue (2/3) 16', 50' |
* Twickenham Stadium Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
| FB | 15 | Freddie Steward |
| RW | 14 | Guy Porter | 19' |
| OC | 13 | Matías Moroni |
| IC | 12 | Dan Kelly |
| LW | 11 | Nemani Nadolo | 68' |
| FH | 10 | George Ford |
| SH | 9 | Richard Wigglesworth | 45' |
| N8 | 8 | Jasper Wiese |
| OF | 7 | Cyle Brink | 29' |
| BF | 6 | Hanro Liebenberg |
| RL | 5 | Calum Green | 77' |
| LL | 4 | Harry Wells | 60' |
| TP | 3 | Dan Cole | 52' |
| HK | 2 | Tom Youngs (c) | 52' |
| LP | 1 | Ellis Genge | 65' |
| Substitutions: ||
| HK | 16 | Charlie Clare | 52' |
| PR | 17 | Luan de Bruin | 65' |
| PR | 18 | Joe Heyes | 52' |
| LK | 19 | Cameron Henderson | 77' |
| FL | 20 | Tommy Reffell | 29' |
| SH | 21 | Ben Youngs | 45' |
| FH | 22 | Zack Henry | 68' |
| WG | 23 | Kini Murimurivalu | 19' |
| Coach: ||
| Steve Borthwick ||
| FB | 15 | Anthony Bouthier |
| RW | 14 | Arthur Vincent | | 43' |
| OC | 13 | Johan Goosen |
| IC | 12 | Jan Serfontein | | 63' |
| LW | 11 | Vincent Rattez |
| FH | 10 | Alex Lozowski |
| SH | 9 | Benoît Paillaugue | | 62' |
| N8 | 8 | Alexandre Bécognée | 29' to 40' | 52' | 55' |
| OF | 7 | Yacouba Camara |
| BF | 6 | Fulgence Ouedraogo | | 25' |
| RL | 5 | Paul Willemse | | 77' |
| LL | 4 | Florian Verhaeghe | | 67' |
| TP | 3 | Mohamed Haouas | | 65' |
| HK | 2 | Guilhem Guirado (c) | 44' to 54' | | | 65' |
| LP | 1 | Enzo Forletta |
| Substitutions: ||
| HK | 16 | Bismarck du Plessis | | 52' | 55' | 65' |
| PR | 17 | Robert Rodgers |
| PR | 18 | Titi Lamositele | | 65' |
| LK | 19 | Tyler Duguid | | 77' |
| FL | 20 | Jacques du Plessis | | 25' |
| SH | 21 | Cobus Reinach | | 62' |
| FH | 22 | Handré Pollard | | 63' |
| CE | 23 | Gabriel N'Gandebe | | 43' |
| Coach: ||
| Philippe Saint-André ||