# 2003–04 European Shield

The 2003–04 European Shield (known as the Parker Pen Shield for sponsorship reasons) was the 2nd season of the European Shield, Europe's third-tier club rugby union competition below the Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup. A total of 16 teams participated, representing five different countries.
This competition was contested between 12 first round losers from the 2003–04 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 10 January 2004 and culminated in the final at the Stadio Luigi Zaffanella in Viadana on 21 May 2004. Montpellier secured a victory over Viadana in the final and picked up their first piece of European Club silverware.

## Teams

This competition was contested between 12 first round losers from the 2003–04 European Challenge Cup, plus 4 other Clubs that joined directly at the 1st Round of the Shield.
| England | France | Italy | Portugal | Spain |
| Rotherham | Montpellier | Gran Parma L'Aquila Leonessa Overmach Parma Petrarca Padova Rugby Roma Rovigo Viadana | | El Salvador Valladolid RAC |
| | | | AA Coimbra Clube Rugby Lisboa | UC Madrid UE Santboiana |

## Matches
### Round 1

All kickoff times are local to the match location.

#### 1st leg

* 10 January 2004 14:30
| Clube Rugby Lisboa | 25 – 13 | Leonessa |
| | Report | |
* Estádio Universitário de Lisboa Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Malcolm Changleng (Scotland)
* 10 January 2004 15:00
| AA Coimbra | 0 – 45 | Petrarca Padova |
| | Report | |
* Estádio Municipal Sérgio Conceição Referee: David Changleng (Scotland)
* 10 January 2004 15:00
| L'Aquila | 36 – 22 | UE Santboiana |
| | Report | |
* Stadio Tommaso Fattori Attendance: 500 Referee: Sean Davy (England)
* 10 January 2004 15:00
| Rovigo | 48 – 13 | El Salvador |
| | Report | |
* Stadio Comunale Mario Battaglini Attendance: 300 Referee: Marshall Kilgore (Ireland)
* 10 January 2004 16:00
| UC Madrid | 27 – 60 | Viadana |
| | Report | |
* Ciudad Universitaria Attendance: 500 Referee: Andy Ireland (Scotland)
* 10 January 2004 19:30
| Montpellier | 46 – 10 | Rugby Roma |
| | Report | |
* Stade Sabathé Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
* 11 January 2004 12:30
| Valladolid RAC | 9 – 15 | Overmach Parma |
| | Report | |
* Estadio Pepe Rojo Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Neil Ballard (Wales)
* 11 January 2004 14:30
| Gran Parma | 41 – 33 | Rotherham |
| | Report | |
* Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Attendance: 300 Referee: Franck Maciello (France)

#### 2nd leg

* 17 January 2004 14:30
| Overmach Parma | 27 – 10 | Valladolid RAC |
| | Report | |
* Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Attendance: 400 Referee: Franck Maciello (France)
* 17 January 2004 14:30
| Viadana | 43 – 3 | UC Madrid |
| | Report | |
* Stadio Luigi Zaffanella Attendance: 500 Referee: Malcolm Changleng (Scotland)
* 17 January 2004 15:00
| Petrarca Padova | 83 – 3 | AA Coimbra |
| | Report | |
* Stadio Plebiscito Attendance: 500 Referee: Sean Davy (England)
* 17 January 2004 17:00
| Leonessa | 42 – 18 | Clube Rugby Lisboa |
| | Report | |
* Campo Comunale di Rugby Attendance: 800 Referee: Marshall Kilgore (Ireland)
* 18 January 2004 12:30
| El Salvador | 40 – 24 | Rovigo |
| | Report | |
* Estadio Pepe Rojo Attendance: 1,100 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
* 18 January 2004 12:30
| UE Santboiana | 26 – 8 | L'Aquila |
| | Report | |
* Estadi Baldiri Aleu Attendance: 1,600 Referee: Andy Ireland (Scotland)
* 18 January 2004 13:00
| Rotherham | 42 – 17 | Gran Parma |
| | Report | |
* Millmoor Attendance: 1,183 Referee: Phil Fear (Wales)
* 18 January 2004 14:30
| Rugby Roma | 10 – 22 | Montpellier |
| | Report | |
* Stadio Tre Fontane Attendance: 100 Referee: David Rose (England)

#### Aggregate Results

| Proceed to Quarter-final | Match points | Aggregate score | Points margin | Eliminated from competition |
| Petrarca Padova | 4 – 2 | 128 – 3 | 125 | AA Coimbra |
| Viadana | 4 – 2 | 103 – 30 | 73 | UC Madrid |
| Montpellier | 4 – 2 | 68 – 20 | 48 | Rugby Roma |
| Overmach Parma | 4 – 2 | 42 – 19 | 23 | Valladolid RAC |
| Rovigo | 2 – 2 | 72 – 53 | 19 | El Salvador |
| Rotherham | 2 – 2 | 75 – 58 | 17 | Gran Parma |
| Leonessa | 2 – 2 | 55 – 43 | 12 | Clube Rugby Lisboa |
| UE Santboiana | 2 – 2 | 48 – 44 | 4 | L'Aquila |

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

All kickoff times are local to the match location.
* 24 January 2004 14:30
| Overmach Parma | 29 – 10 | Rovigo |
| | Report | |
* Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Attendance: 500 Referee: Franck Maciello (France)
* 24 January 2004 14:30
| Viadana | 32 – 30 | Rotherham |
| | Report | |
* Stadio Luigi Zaffanella Attendance: 1,200 Referee: R McDowell (Ireland)
* 24 January 2004 15:00
| UE Santboiana | 19 – 27 | Leonessa |
| | Report | |
* Estadi Baldiri Aleu Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Jean Matheu (France)
* 24 January 2004 19:30
| Montpellier | 34 – 6 | Petrarca Padova |
| | Report | |
* Stade Sabathé Attendance: 2,300 Referee: David Changleng (Scotland)

#### 2nd leg

All kickoff times are local to the match location.
* 31 January 2004 15:00
| Petrarca Padova | 18 – 9 | Montpellier |
| | Report | |
* Stadio Plebiscito Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
* 31 January 2004 15:00
| Rotherham | 22 – 21 | Viadana |
| | Report | |
* Millmoor Attendance: 1,153 Referee: Christophe Berdos (France)
* 31 January 2004 15:00
| Rovigo | 24 – 20 | Overmach Parma |
| | Report | |
* Stadio Comunale Mario Battaglini Attendance: 800 Referee: Simon McDowell (Ireland)
* 31 January 2004 17:00
| Leonessa | 28 – 10 | UE Santboiana |
| | Report | |
* Campo Comunale di Rugby Attendance: 800 Referee: David Keane (Ireland)

#### Aggregate Results

| Proceed to Semifinal | Match points | Aggregate score | Points margin | Eliminated from competition |
| Leonessa | 4 – 2 | 55 – 29 | 26 | UE Santboiana |
| Montpellier | 2 – 2 | 43 – 24 | 19 | Petrarca Padova |
| Overmach Parma | 2 – 2 | 49 – 34 | 15 | Rovigo |
| Viadana | 2 – 2 | 53 – 52 | 1 | Rotherham |

### Semifinals

All kickoff times are local to the match location.

#### 1st leg

* 9 April 2004 19:30
| Montpellier | 45 – 12 | Leonessa |
| | Report | |
* Stade Sabathé Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Sean Davey (England)
* 10 April 2004 15:00
| Overmach Parma | 32 – 42 | Viadana |
| | Report | |
* Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Attendance: 500 Referee: Malcolm Changleng (Scotland)

#### 2nd leg

* 24 April 2004 15:00
| Leonessa | 23 – 26 | Montpellier |
| | Report | |
* Campo Comunale di Rugby Attendance: 500 Referee: David Changleng (Scotland)
* 25 April 2004 15:05
| Viadana | 33 – 27 | Overmach Parma |
| | Report | |
* Stadio Luigi Zaffanella Attendance: 1,200 Referee: Christophe Berdos (France)

#### Aggregate Results

| Proceed to Final | Match points | Aggregate score | Points margin | Eliminated from competition |
| Montpellier | 4 – 2 | 71 – 35 | 36 | Leonessa |
| Viadana | 4 – 2 | 75 – 59 | 16 | Overmach Parma |

### Final

* 21 May 2004 21:00
| Montpellier | 25 – 19 | Viadana |
| Try: Buada Arbo Daniell Con: Bortolussi (1) Jouve (1) Pen: Jouve (2) | Report | Try: Steyn (1) Con: Steyn (1) Pen: Steyn (4) |
* Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma Attendance: 2,553 Referee: Dave Pearson (England)