2013 Heineken Cup final

Background

Under rules of the competition organiser, European Rugby Cup, the winner of the Heineken Cup receives an automatic entry into the following season's Heineken Cup, as does the winner of the Amlin Challenge Cup. If the Heineken Cup winner has already qualified through its domestic or regional league, the berth will normally pass to another team from its country; both Clermont and Toulon have qualified as the top two teams in the Top 14 home-and-away season. However, France is capped at seven Heineken Cup places (as is England).

The final 2013–14 Heineken Cup participant was determined by the result of the Challenge Cup Final held the previous day at the RDS Arena in Dublin. Leinster's victory over Stade Français meant that the Heineken Cup winner's berth would now pass to the seventh-placed team in Top 14, Perpignan.

Route to final

On 6 April, Clermont defeated Montpellier 36–14 at the Stade Marcel-Michelin in the quarter-finals while Toulon defeated Leicester Tigers the following evening 21–15. On 27 April, in the semi-finals, Clermont won 16–10 against Munster at Stade de la Mosson while Toulon beat Saracens 24–12 at Twickenham the next day.

Match

The European Champions Village was staged in Merrion Square and was a point for all travelling supporters to congregate before the match.

Summary

The final was an all-French clash between Clermont and Toulon. At half-time the score was 3–3, with Toulon's Jonny Wilkinson and Clermont's Morgan Parra scoring a penalty each. Early in the second half, Clermont scored two tries (Napolioni Nalaga and Brock James) taking the score to 15–6, but despite this, Delon Armitage's converted try resulted in a 16–15 win for Toulon. Delon later apologized for mocking Brock James on the way to scoring the winning try, after being criticized for being unprofessional.

Details

James 48' c

|}

Reaction

Wilkinson, who had turned down a place on the British and Irish Lions side to focus on his club rugby, said that winning the Heineken Cup was "right up there with winning the World Cup". The following day, Wilkinson was named European Player of the Year following his performance in the Heineken Cup.

Toulon's victory also doubled, to six, the number of players to have won titles in the premier club competitions of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, respectively the Heineken Cup and Super Rugby. Bakkies Botha and Danie Rossouw had won the then-Super 14 title with the Bulls in 2007, 2009, and 2010, while Matt Giteau had won the title with the Brumbies in 2004 when the competition was known as Super 12. The previous three players to have claimed both titles were Rod Kafer, Doug Howlett, and Brad Thorn.

References

References

1. "Debut Dublin delight – and despair".
2. (12 June 2012). "2012/13 Heineken Cup Pool Draw". European Rugby Cup.
3. "Heinken Cup Final returns to Dublin in 2013". ERC Rugby Official Site.
4. (18 March 2013). "Heineken Cup final: Clermont Auvergne 15 Toulon 16: match report". Daily Telegraph.
5. (18 March 2013). "Toulon claim Heineken Cup glory". ESPN.
6. "Rules". [[European Rugby Cup]].
7. (17 May 2013). "Amlin Challenge Cup final: Leinster 34-13 Stade Francais". BBC Sport.
8. "Heineken Cup fixtures". [[European Rugby Cup.
9. "Heineken Cup Final Update". ERC Rugby Official Site.
10. Butler, Eddie. (27 April 2013). "Munster's final fades away as Morgan Parra puts boot in for Clermont". Guardian.
11. Kitson, Robert. (28 April 2013). "Toulon's Jonny Wilkinson excels to ruin Saracens' Heineken Cup dream". Guardian.
12. Lewis, Aimee. (18 May 2013). "Clermont Auvergne 15-16 Toulon". BBC Sport.
13. (18 March 2013). "Toulon 16 Clermont Auvergne 15 Heineken Cup final match report: Delon Armitage and Jonny Wilkinson finally bring reward for Toulon". The Independent.
14. (18 March 2013). "Clermont Auvergne 15-16 Toulon". RTÉ Sport.
15. "Delon Armitage admits: I was stupid to mock Clermont's Brock James | Sky Sports".
16. Moore, Brian. (20 May 2013). "Delon Armitage's behaviour was not in keeping with the spirit Toulon showed when winning the Heineken Cup - Telegraph". The Daily Telegraph.
17. (19 May 2013). "Jonny Wilkinson named European Player of the Year". BBC Sport.
18. (19 May 2013). "The most glittering rugby CVs in the world?". ESPN Scrum.