2008-09 Heineken Cup
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| 2007-08 Heineken Cup | |
|---|---|
| Date | |
| Teams | 24 |
| Matches played | 79 |
| Attendance | |
| Final | |
| Venue | Murrayfield, Edinburgh  |
| Attendance | |
| Champions | |
| Runner-up | |
The 2008-09 Heineken Cup will be the fourteenth edition of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. It will start in October 2008 and end on either 23 May or 24 May 2009 at Murrayfield in Edinburgh.[1] The draw will take place on Tuesday 17 June 2008.
[edit] Teams
Seven French teams will participate, as a French team, Toulouse, progressed farther in the previous year's tournament than any English or Italian team.
Four Welsh teams will compete, as Italy forfeited its place in the Italo-Celtic playoff[2] and a Welsh team were the highest-placed team in the previous year's Celtic league not to qualify otherwise.[3]
Other nations have their usual number of participants: England six, Ireland three, Italy two and Scotland two.[4]
| England | France | Wales | Ireland | Scotland | Italy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
[edit] Seeding
In this tournament, the seeding system for participating teams has changed. Whereas before, each participating nation would seed one of their teams and these six teams would be drawn in different groups at the group stage[5], the 24 competing teams are now ranked based on past Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup performance, with each group receiving one team from each quartile, or Tier[6].
The brackets show each team's ERC Ranking before the start of the 2008/2009 season.
| Tier 1 |  Munster (1) |
 Toulouse (2) |
Biarritz (3) |
 Leicester Tigers (4) |
Stade Français (5) |
London Wasps (6) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 2 | Leinster (7) |
Bath (8) |
Gloucester (9) |
Perpignan (10) |
Sale Sharks (12) |
 Llanelli Scarlets (13) |
| Tier 3 | Ospreys (15) |
Cardiff Blues (17) |
Clermont (18) |
Newport Gwent Dragons (20) |
Ulster (21) |
Castres (22) |
| Tier 4 | Glasgow Warriors (24) |
 Benetton Treviso (25) |
Edinburgh (28) |
Calvisano (32) |
Harlequins (35) |
Montauban OR Montpellier (37) |
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ Edinburgh secures 2009 Heineken Cup Final. European Rugby Cup (2008-05-19). Retrieved on 2008-05-20.
- ^ Fourth team for Ireland or Wales in 2008/2009. European Rugby Cup (2008-05-06). Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
- ^ Newport Gwent Dragons Secure 4th Heineken Cup Spot for Wales. European Rugby Cup (2008-05-07). Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
- ^ Heineken Cup – Key Tournament Rules. European Rugby Cup. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
- ^ Heineken Cup Pool Draw Confirmed. European Rugby Cup (2007-06-11). Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
- ^ ERC European Rankings (May 2008). European Rugby Cup. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
| Preceded by Heineken Cup 2007-08 |
Heineken Cup 2008-09 |
Succeeded by Heineken Cup 2009-10 |
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