# 2019–20 European Rugby Champions Cup

The 2019–20 European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the sixth season of the European Rugby Champions Cup, the annual club rugby union competition run by European Professional Club Rugby (ECPR) for teams from the top six nations in European rugby. It was the 25th season of pan-European professional club rugby competition.
The tournament began on 15 November 2019. The knock-out stage of the tournament was rescheduled from April and May to September and October 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the final, originally scheduled for 23 May 2020 at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille in France, taking place on 17 October 2020 at Ashton Gate in Bristol.

## Teams

Twenty clubs from the three major European domestic and regional leagues competed in the Champions Cup. Nineteen of these qualified directly as a result of their league performance. The final place was awarded in the following order:
* 2018–19 Champions Cup winner, if not already qualified. Saracens have qualified through their league position.
* 2018–19 Challenge Cup winner, if not already qualified. Clermont have qualified through their league position.
* 2018–19 Challenge Cup losing finalist, if not already qualified. La Rochelle have qualified through their league position.
* 2018–19 Challenge Cup losing semi-finalist if not already qualified, or the winner of a play-off between both losing semi-finalists if neither have already qualified. As Harlequins have qualified through their league position, Sale Sharks took this place.
* Highest ranked non-qualified club by virtue of league position from the same league as the 2018–19 Champions Cup winner. This step will not be needed, as a team will have qualified via one of the previous steps.
The distribution of teams is:
* England: seven clubs
** The top six clubs in the English Premiership
** Sale Sharks also qualified as Challenge Cup losing semi-finalists because Saracens, Clermont, La Rochelle, and Harlequins all qualified through their league positions
* France: six clubs
** The top six clubs in the Top 14
* Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales: seven clubs
** The top three sides (not including the South African sides, which are ineligible for European competition) in both conferences in the Pro14
** The next best-placed eligible team in each conference will compete in a one-off play-off game to determine the 7th Pro14 team.
The following teams qualified for the tournament.
| Gallagher Premiership | Top 14 | Guinness Pro14 | Guinness Pro14 | Guinness Pro14 | Guinness Pro14 |
| England | France | Ireland | Italy | Scotland | Wales |
| Bath Exeter Chiefs Gloucester Harlequins Northampton Saints Sale Sharks Saracens | Clermont Lyon Montpellier Racing La Rochelle Toulouse | Connacht Leinster Munster Ulster | Benetton | Glasgow Warriors | Ospreys |

### Team details

Below is the list of coaches, captain and stadiums with their method of qualification for each team.
Note: Placing shown in brackets, denotes standing at the end of the regular season for their respective leagues, with their end of season positioning shown through CH for Champions, RU for Runner-up, SF for losing Semi-finalist, QF for losing Quarter-finalist, and PO for the Pro14 7th place play-off winner.
| Team | Coach / Director of Rugby | Captain | Stadium | Capacity | Method of qualification |
| Bath | Stuart Hooper | Matt Garvey | Recreation Ground | 14,509 | English Premiership top 6 (6th) |
| Benetton | Kieran Crowley | Dean Budd | Stadio Comunale di Monigo | 6,700 | Pro14 Conference B (3rd) (QF) |
| Clermont | Franck Azéma | Morgan Parra | Stade Marcel-Michelin | 19,022 | Top 14 top 6 (2nd) (RU) |
| Connacht | Andy Friend | Jarrad Butler | Galway Sportsgrounds | 8,129 | Pro14 Conference A (3rd) (QF) |
| Exeter Chiefs | Rob Baxter | Jack Yeandle | Sandy Park | 13,593 | English Premiership top 6 (1st) (RU) |
| Glasgow Warriors | Dave Rennie | Ryan Wilson Callum Gibbins | Scotstoun Stadium | 7,351 | Pro14 Conference A (1st) (RU) |
| Gloucester | George Skivington | Willi Heinz | Kingsholm Stadium | 16,115 | English Premiership top 6 (4th) (SF) |
| Harlequins | Paul Gustard | Chris Robshaw | Twickenham Stoop | 14,800 | English Premiership top 6 (5th) |
| La Rochelle | Jono Gibbes | Victor Vito | Stade Marcel-Deflandre | 16,000 | Top 14 top 6 (5th) (SF) |
| Leinster | Leo Cullen | Johnny Sexton | RDS Arena Aviva Stadium | 18,500 51,700 | Pro14 Conference A (1st) (CH) |
| Lyon | Pierre Mignoni | Baptiste Couilloud Félix Lambey | Matmut Stadium de Gerland | 25,000 | Top 14 top 6 (3rd) (SF) |
| Montpellier | Xavier Garbajosa | Fulgence Ouedraogo | Altrad Stadium | 15,697 | Top 14 top 6 (6th) (QF) |
| Munster | Johann van Graan | Peter O'Mahony | Thomond Park | 25,600 | Pro14 Conference A (2nd) (SF) |
| Northampton Saints | Chris Boyd | Teimana Harrison Alex Waller | Franklin's Gardens | 15,200 | English Premiership top 6 (4th) (SF) |
| Ospreys | Allen Clarke | Justin Tipuric | Liberty Stadium | 20,827 | Pro14 Conference A (4th) (PO) |
| Racing 92 | Laurent Travers | Henry Chavancy | Paris La Défense Arena | 30,681 | Top 14 top 6 (4th) (QF) |
| Sale Sharks | Steve Diamond | Jono Ross | AJ Bell Stadium | 12,000 | European Challenge Cup (SF) |
| Saracens | Mark McCall | Brad Barritt | Allianz Park | 8,500 | English Premiership top 6 (2nd) (CH) |
| Toulouse | Ugo Mola | Julien Marchand | Stade Ernest-Wallon | 19,500 | Top 14 top 6 (1st) (CH) |
| Ulster | Dan McFarland | Iain Henderson | Ravenhill Stadium | 18,196 | Pro14 Conference B (2nd) (SF) |

## Seeding

The twenty competing teams are seeded and split into four tiers, each containing five teams.
For the purpose of creating the tiers, clubs are ranked based on their domestic league performances and on their qualification for the knockout phases of their championships, so a losing quarter-finalist in the Top 14 would be seeded below a losing semi-finalist, even if they finished above them in the regular season.
| Rank | Top 14 | Premiership | Pro14 |
| 1 | Toulouse | Saracens | Leinster |
| 2 | Clermont | Exeter Chiefs | Glasgow Warriors |
| 3 | Lyon | Gloucester | Munster |
| 4 | La Rochelle | Northampton Saints | Ulster |
| 5 | Racing | Harlequins | Connacht |
| 6 | Montpellier | Bath | Benetton |
| 7 | | Sale Sharks | Ospreys |
Based on these seedings, teams are placed into one of the four tiers, with the top-seeded clubs being put in Tier 1. The nature of the tier system means that a draw is needed to allocate two of the three second-seed clubs to Tier 1. The fourth-seed team from the same domestic league as the second-seed team which was put in Tier 2 will also be placed in Tier 2. Brackets show each team's seeding and their league. e.g. 1 Top 14 indicates the team was the top seed from the Top 14.
| Tier 1 | Saracens (1 Prem) | Leinster (1 Pro14) | Toulouse (1 Top 14) | Exeter Chiefs (2 Prem) | Clermont (2 Top 14) |
| Tier 2 | Glasgow Warriors (2 Pro14) | Gloucester (3 Prem) | Munster (3 Pro14) | Lyon (3 Top 14) | Ulster (4 Pro14) |
| Tier 3 | Northampton Saints (4 Prem) | La Rochelle (4 Top 14) | Harlequins (5 Prem) | Connacht (5 Pro14) | Racing (5 Top 14) |
| Tier 4 | Bath (6 Prem) | Benetton (6 Pro14) | Montpellier (6 Top 14) | Ospreys (7 Pro14) | Sale Sharks (CC) |
The following restrictions will apply to the draw:
* Each pool will consist of four clubs, one from each Tier in the draw.
* Each pool must have one from each league drawn from Tier 1, 2, or 3. No pool will have a second team from the same league until the allocation of Tier 4 takes place.
* Where two Pro14 clubs compete in the same pool, they must be from different countries.

## Pool stage

The draw took place on 19 June 2019, in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Teams in the same pool play each other twice, at home and away, in the group stage that begins on the weekend of 15–17 November 2019, and continues through to 17–19 January 2020. The five pool winners and three best runners-up progress to the quarter finals.
Teams are awarded group points based on match performances. Four points are awarded for a win, two points for a draw, one attacking bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match and one defensive bonus point for losing a match by seven points or fewer.
In the event of a tie between two or more teams, the following tie-breakers are used, as directed by EPCR:
* Where teams have played each other
** The club with the greater number of competition points from only matches involving tied teams.
** If equal, the club with the best aggregate points difference from those matches.
** If equal, the club that scored the most tries in those matches.
* Where teams remain tied and/or have not played each other in the competition (i.e. are from different pools)
** The club with the best aggregate points difference from the pool stage.
** If equal, the club that scored the most tries in the pool stage.
** If equal, the club with the fewest players suspended in the pool stage.
** If equal, the drawing of lots will determine a club's ranking.
Key to colours :
* Winner of each pool, advance to quarter-finals.
* Three second-place teams with the highest number of points advance to quarter-finals.

### Pool 1

| Teamvte | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| Leinster (1) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 199 | 76 | 123 | 28 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 28 |
| Northampton Saints (7) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 166 | 183 | –17 | 19 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
| Lyon | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 108 | 141 | –33 | 14 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| Benetton | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 96 | 169 | –73 | 12 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 6 |

### Pool 2

| Teamvte | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| Exeter Chiefs (2) | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 186 | 105 | 81 | 25 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 27 |
| Glasgow Warriors | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 141 | 115 | 26 | 17 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 17 |
| La Rochelle | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 107 | 146 | –39 | 14 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Sale Sharks | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 92 | 160 | –68 | 11 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 7 |

### Pool 3

| Teamvte | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| Clermont (4) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 207 | 114 | 93 | 24 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 24 |
| Ulster (6) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 129 | 107 | 22 | 16 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 21 |
| Harlequins | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 114 | 166 | –52 | 13 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| Bath | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 102 | 165 | –63 | 12 | 20 | 1 | 4 | 5 |

### Pool 4

| Teamvte | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| Racing 92 (5) | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 194 | 126 | 68 | 26 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 23 |
| Saracens (8) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 121 | 88 | 33 | 13 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 18 |
| Munster | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 124 | 97 | 27 | 13 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 16 |
| Ospreys | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 83 | 211 | –128 | 11 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 2 |

### Pool 5

| Teamvte | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
| Toulouse (3) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 162 | 85 | 77 | 19 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 27 |
| Gloucester | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 140 | 140 | 0 | 19 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 14 |
| Montpellier | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 118 | 157 | –39 | 12 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Connacht | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 120 | 158 | –38 | 15 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 10 |

### Ranking of pool leaders and runners-up

| Rank | Pool leaders | Pts | Diff | TF |
| 1 | Leinster | 28 | 123 | 28 |
| 2 | Exeter Chiefs | 27 | 81 | 25 |
| 3 | Toulouse | 27 | 77 | 19 |
| 4 | Clermont | 24 | 93 | 24 |
| 5 | Racing 92 | 23 | 68 | 26 |
| Rank | Pool runners–up | Pts | Diff | TF |
| 6 | Ulster | 21 | 22 | 16 |
| 7 | Northampton Saints | 19 | –17 | 19 |
| 8 | Saracens | 18 | 33 | 13 |
| 9 | Glasgow Warriors | 17 | 26 | 17 |
| 10 | Munster | 16 | 27 | 13 |

## Knock-out stage
### Bracket

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final |
| 4 | Clermont | 27 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Racing 92 | 36 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Racing 92 | 36 | 5 | Racing 92 | 19 | | | |
| | | | 8 | Saracens | 15 | | | |
| 1 | Leinster | 17 | 8 | Saracens | 15 | | | |
| 8 | Saracens | 25 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Saracens | 25 | | | | 5 | Racing 92 | 27 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Exeter Chiefs | 31 |
| 2 | Exeter Chiefs | 38 | | | | | | | 2 | Exeter Chiefs | 31 |
| 7 | Northampton Saints | 15 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Northampton Saints | 15 | 2 | Exeter Chiefs | 28 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Toulouse | 18 | | | |
| 3 | Toulouse | 36 | 3 | Toulouse | 18 | | | |
| 6 | Ulster | 8 | | | | | | |

### Quarter-finals

* 19 September 2020 15:00
| Leinster (1) | 17–25 | (8) Saracens |
| Try: Porter 48' c Larmour 61' c Con: Sexton (2/2) 49', 63' Pen: Sexton (1/1) 5' | Report | Try: Goode 36' c Con: Goode (1/1) 38' Pen: Goode (3/4) 2', 8', 10', 79' Daly (2/4) 24', 27' |
* Aviva Stadium Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (FFR)
* 19 September 2020 18:45
| Clermont (4) | 27–36 | (5) Racing 92 |
| Try: Falgoux 22' m Fofana 60' c Matsushima 70' c Penaud 77' m Con: Lopez (2/4) 61', 70' Pen: Lopez (1/1) 31' | Report | Try: Dupichot 3' m Trinh-Duc 39' c Con: Iribaren (1/2) 40' Pen: Iribaren (6/6) 8', 12', 29', 35', 54', 58' Machenaud (2/2) 64', 74' |
* Stade Marcel-Michelin Referee: Romain Poite (FFR)
* 20 September 2020 13:30
| Toulouse (3) | 36–8 | (6) Ulster |
| Try: Kolbe (2) 2' m, 39' c Dupont 50' c Ramos 66' c Ahki 61' c Con: Ramos (4/5) 40'+1, 52', 63', 69' Pen: Ramos (1/2) 14' | Report | Try: Cooney 72' m Pen: Cooney (1/1) 26' |
* Stade Ernest-Wallon Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU)
* 20 September 2020 17:30
| Exeter Chiefs (2) | 38–15 | (7) Northampton Saints |
| Try: Maunder 17' c Vermeulen (2) 25' c, 77' c Nowell 42' c J. Hill 54' c Con: J. Simmonds (4/4) 17', 26', 43', 55' Steenson (1/1) 79' Pen: J. Simmonds (1/1) 61' | Report | Try: Harrison 37' c Dingwall 57' m Con: Biggar (1/2) 38' Pen: Biggar (1/1) 7' |
* Sandy Park Referee: Matthew Carley (RFU)

### Semi-finals

* 26 September 2020 14:00
| Racing 92 (5) | 19–15 | (8) Saracens |
| Try: Imhoff 76' c Con: Machenaud (1/1) 77' Pen: Iribaren (3/4) 11', 32', 40'+1 Machenaud (1/1) 68' | Report | Pen: Goode (5/5) 24', 30', 43', 47', 53' |
* Paris La Défense Arena Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU)
* 26 September 2020 15:30
| Exeter Chiefs (2) | 28–18 | (3) Toulouse |
| Try: Williams (2) 31' c, 60' c S. Simmonds 40' c J. Simmonds 70' c Con: J. Simmonds (4/4) 32', 40'+1, 61', 71' | Report | Try: Placines 36' m Lebel 76' c Con: Ramos (1/2) 76' Pen: Ramos (2/3) 5', 14' |
* Sandy Park Attendance: 0 Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)

### Final

* 17 October 2020 16:45
| Exeter Chiefs (2) | 31–27 | (5) Racing 92 |
| Try: Cowan-Dickie 8' c S. Simmonds 16' c Williams 40'+1 c Slade 45' c Con: J. Simmonds (4/4) 9', 17', 40'+1, 46' Pen: J. Simmonds (1/1) 80'+1 | Report | Try: Zebo (2) 20' m, 43', m Imhoff 32' c Chat 50' c Con: Russell (1/2) 32' Machenaud (1/2) 51' Pen: Machenaud (1/1) 65' |
* Ashton Gate, Bristol Referee: Nigel Owens (WRU)

## Player scoring

* Appearance figures also include coming on as substitutes (unused substitutes not included).