New Dates & Format Announced for Champions and Challenge Cups
Rugby NewsThursday, 25 June 2020 at 10:04
EPCR has announced that new dates for the postponed knockout stage matches in the 2019/20 Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup have been officially agreed at a meeting of its Board yesterday (Wednesday, 24 June).
STATEMENT:
Subject to government guidelines and with the health and welfare of players, club staff, match officials, supporters and the wider rugby community to the fore, it is now planned that the quarter-finals of both tournaments will be played on the weekend of 18/19/20 September with the semi-finals scheduled for the weekend of 25/26/27 September.
Exact fixture dates, venues, kick-off times and TV coverage will be announced in the near future.
The European season will conclude with the Challenge Cup final on Friday, 16 October followed by the Heineken Champions Cup final on Saturday, 17 October. EPCR remains committed to staging the matches in Marseille, however, the situation is under review in light of public gathering and international travel restrictions which might be in place at the time of the finals.
EPCR and the local organising committee in Marseille intend to clarify the position regarding the finals, including details of ticket refunds where applicable, as soon as possible.
As previously communicated, new Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup tournament formats for the 2020/21 season are being considered as a consequence of widespread fixture disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A 24-club Heineken Champions Cup with eight representatives from each of Europe’s leading league competitions is one of the options under discussion.
Any changes would apply to next season’s tournaments, which are scheduled to start on the weekend of 11/12/13 December, only on an exceptional basis. An official announcement regarding formats will be made once all discussions are concluded.
New EPCR dates
Quarter-finals: weekend of 18/19/20 September
Semi-finals: weekend of 25/26/27 September
Challenge Cup final: Friday, 16 October
Heineken Champions Cup final: Saturday, 17 October
Start of 2020/21 season: weekend of 11/12/13 December
Quarter-finals: weekend of 18/19/20 September
Semi-finals: weekend of 25/26/27 September
Challenge Cup final: Friday, 16 October
Heineken Champions Cup final: Saturday, 17 October
Start of 2020/21 season: weekend of 11/12/13 December
5 of the worst rugby stadiums in the world – Premiership, Six Nations & more
We’ve picked out five stadia from Britain and across the globe which have their issues.
Take a look, below, and let us know which rugby grounds you dislike and why…
1. AJ Bell Stadium
In five words or less: Archetypal 21st century ground
Most recent visit: 2019
Best feature: Good shop for merchandise
Worst feature: You pay £10 to park in a massive puddle in the mud before being penned in for almost an hour post match!
Quirk factor: 0/5
2. Stadio Olimpico
In five words or less: Standard ex-Olympic stadium.
Most recent visit: 2017
Best feature: Impressive venue, reasonable ticket prices
Worst feature: Unfortunately, a running track surrounds the pitch and this affects the atmosphere. The view is also somewhat compromised.
Quirk factor: 2/5
3. Scotstoun Stadium
In five words or less: Not another running track, FFS
Most recent visit: 2018
Best feature: The supporters are great craic.
Worst feature: Old stadium with limited facilities. Again, the view is somewhat ruined by the design of the stadium.
Quirk factor: 1/5
4. Ricoh Arena
In five words or less: A depressing experience
Most recent visit: 2019
Best feature: Proximity to motorway. Wasps also do their best to make it an enjoyable matchday experience using the stadium’s extensive facilities.
Worst feature: Often-soulless atmosphere in a virtually empty stadium - the move to Coventry just hasn't worked out, and it's hard not to feel for Wasps fans in that situation.
Quirk factor: 1/5
5. ANZ stadium
In five words or less: At least it looks pretty
Most recent visit: 2016
Best feature: The only time ANZ is any good is when there's more than 60,000 people there.
Worst feature: That hardly ever happens. It's a soulless, empty cave with expensive food that isn't even that good and pricey parking.
Quirk factor: 3/5
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