# 2004–05 European Shield

The 2004–05 European Shield (known as the Parker Pen Shield for sponsorship reasons) was the 3rd, and final, season of the European Shield, Europe's third-tier club rugby union competition below the Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup. A total of 15 teams participated, representing six countries.
This competition was intended to be contested between 12 first round losers from the 2004–05 European Challenge Cup plus 4 other Clubs entering directly into the 1st Round. The structure of the competition was a purely knockout format; teams played each other on a home and away basis, with the aggregate points winner proceeding to the next round. The final was a single leg.
The competition began on 4 December 2004 and culminated in the final at Kassam Stadium in Oxford on 21 May 2005. Auch secured a victory over Worcester Warriors in the final and picked up their first piece of European Club silverware.
After this season, the European Challenge Cup reverted to its previous "pool and knockout" format and the European Shield was discontinued.

## Teams

This competition was intended to be contested between 12 first round losers from the 2004–05 European Challenge Cup, plus 4 other Clubs that joined directly at the 1st Round of the Shield. AA Coimbra subsequently declined to play in the competition.
| England | France | Italy | Portugal | Romania | Spain |
| Leeds Tykes Worcester Warriors | Auch Bayonne | Catania Gran Parma L'Aquila Leonessa Petrarca Padova Rovigo | AA Coimbra | | Valladolid RAC |
| | | | Clube Rugby Lisboa | București | Bera Bera UC Madrid |

## Matches
### Round 1
#### 1st leg

* 4 December 2004 13:00
| Rovigo | 3–48 | Worcester Warriors |
| | Report | |
* Stadio Comunale Mario Battaglini Attendance: 500 Referee: Jean-Luc Rebollal
* 4 December 2004 14:30
| Petrarca Padova | 35–7 | Bera Bera |
| | Report | |
* Stadio Plebiscito Attendance: 200 Referee: Tim Hayes
* 4 December 2004 15:00
| Catania | 12–39 | Bayonne |
| | Report | |
* Stadio Santa Maria Goretti Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Phil Fear
* 4 December 2004 15:00
| Clube Rugby Lisboa | 17–12 | UC Madrid |
| | Report | |
* Tapada da Ajuda Attendance: 474
* 4 December 2004 18:00
| Auch | 48–6 | L'Aquila |
| | Report | |
* Stade du Moulias Attendance: 1,300
* 5 December 2004 13:00
| București | 18–15 | Leonessa |
| | Report | |
* Steaua Stadium Attendance: 500
* 5 December 2004 14:30
| Leeds Tykes | 121–0 | Valladolid RAC |
| | Report | |
* Headingley Stadium Attendance: 1,601 Referee: David Rosich

#### 2nd leg

* 10 December 2004 19:30
| Leonessa | 32–21 | București |
| | Report | |
* Campo Comunale di Rovato Attendance: 850 Referee: Romain Poite
* 11 December 2004 14:00
| Worcester Warriors | 67–14 | Rovigo |
| | Report | |
* Sixways Stadium Attendance: 3,076 Referee: Neil Ballard
* 11 December 2004 15:00
| Bayonne | 41–0 | Catania |
| | Report | |
* Stade Jean Dauger Attendance: 2,000 Referee: George Clancy
* 11 December 2004 15:00
| L'Aquila | 23–31 | Auch |
| | Report | |
* Stadio Tommaso Fattori Attendance: 600 Referee: Rob Debney
* 11 December 2004 16:30
| Bera Bera | 17–36 | Petrarca Padova |
| | Report | |
* Miniestadio de Anoeta Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Colin Stanley
* 11 December 2004 17:00
| UC Madrid | 40–26 | Clube Rugby Lisboa |
| | Report | |
* Campo Central Madrid Attendance: 250 Referee: Mauro Dordolo
* 12 December 2004 12:30
| Valladolid RAC | 11–53 | Leeds Tykes |
| | Report | |
* Estadio Pepe Rojo Attendance: 850 Referee: Maurizio Vancini

#### Aggregate Results

| Proceed to Quarter-final | Match points | Aggregate score | Points margin | Eliminated from competition |
| Gran Parma | walkover | walkover | walkover | AA Coimbra |
| Leeds Tykes | 4–0 | 174–11 | 163 | Valladolid RAC |
| Worcester Warriors | 4–0 | 115–17 | 98 | Rovigo |
| Bayonne | 4–0 | 80–12 | 68 | Catania |
| Auch | 4–0 | 79–29 | 50 | L'Aquila |
| Petrarca Padova | 4–0 | 71–24 | 47 | Bera Bera |
| UC Madrid | 2–2 | 52–43 | 9 | Clube Rugby Lisboa |
| Leonessa | 2–2 | 47–39 | 8 | București |

### Quarter-finals
#### 1st leg

* 7 January 2005 19:00
| Bayonne | 99–0 | UC Madrid |
| | Report | |
* Stade Jean Dauger Attendance: 1,500 Referee: George Clancy
* 7 January 2005 20:00
| Worcester Warriors | 32–6 | Leonessa |
| | Report | |
* Sixways Stadium Attendance: 3,062 Referee: Romain Poite
* 8 January 2005 15:00
| Auch | 50–12 | Gran Parma |
| | Report | |
* Stade du Moulias Attendance: 1,060 Referee: Phil Fear
* 9 January 2005 14:30
| Leeds Tykes | 29–13 | Petrarca Padova |
| | Report | |
* Headingley Stadium Attendance: 1,067 Referee: Jean-Pierre Matheu

#### 2nd leg

* 14 January 2005 19:30
| Leonessa | 12 – 28 | Worcester Warriors |
| | Report | |
* Campo Comunale di Rovato Attendance: 600 Referee: Malcolm Changleng (Scotland)
* 15 January 2005 14:00
| Petrarca Padova | 9–57 | Leeds Tykes |
| | Report | |
* Stadio Plebiscito Attendance: 1,000 Referee: David Keane
* 15 January 2005 14:30
| Gran Parma | 14–5 | Auch |
| | Report | |
* Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Attendance: 200 Referee: Sean Davey
* 15 January 2005 16:00
| UC Madrid | 3–108 | Bayonne |
| | Report | |
* Campo Central Madrid Attendance: 250 Referee: Stefano Mancini

#### Aggregate Results

| Proceed to Semifinal | Match points | Aggregate score | Points margin | Eliminated from competition |
| Bayonne | 4–0 | 207–3 | 204 | UC Madrid |
| Leeds Tykes | 4–0 | 86–22 | 64 | Petrarca Padova |
| Worcester Warriors | 4–0 | 60–18 | 42 | Leonessa |
| Auch | 2–2 | 55–26 | 29 | Gran Parma |

### Semifinals

All kick off times are local.

#### 1st leg

* 1 April 2005 19:30
| Bayonne | 23–21 | Auch |
| | Report | |
* Stade Jean Dauger Attendance: 600 Referee: Malcolm Changleng (Scotland)
* 2 April 2005 14:00
| Worcester Warriors | 43–34 | Leeds Tykes |
| | Report | |
* Sixways Stadium Attendance: 4,204 Referee: Nigel Owens

#### 2nd leg

* 22 April 2005 20:00
| Leeds Tykes | 30–30 | Worcester Warriors |
| | Report | |
* Headingley Stadium Attendance: 1,300 Referee: David Rosich
* 23 April 2005 18:00
| Auch | 16–13 | Bayonne |
| | Report | |
* Stade du Moulias Attendance: 5,800 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

#### Aggregate Results

| Proceed to Final | Match points | Aggregate score | Points margin | Eliminated from competition |
| Worcester Warriors | 3–1 | 73–64 | 9 | Leeds Tykes |
| Auch | 2–2 | 37–36 | 1 | Bayonne |

### Final

* 21 May 2005 17:00
| Worcester Warriors | 10–23 | Auch |
| Try: O'Leary (1) Con: Hayes (1) Pen: Hayes (1) | Stats Report | Try: Bastide (1) Patat (1) Con: Dambielle (2) Pen: Dambielle (3) |
* Kassam Stadium, Oxford Attendance: 2,823 Referee: Carlo Damasco (Italy)