View source for 1997–98 Heineken Cup

{{Short description|International rugby union competition}}
{{Infobox European Cup Rugby season
| name = 1997–1998 Heineken Cup
| image =
| imagesize = 100px
| caption = Official logo
| countries = {{flag|England}}<br />{{flag|France}}<br />{{flag|Ireland|rugby union}}<br />{{flag|Italy}}<br />{{flag|Scotland}}<br />{{flag|Wales}}
| tournament format = [[Round-robin tournament|Round-robin]] and [[Single-elimination tournament|Knockout]]
| date = October 1997 to 31 January 1998
| teams = 20
| matches = 70
| attendance = 462958
| tries =
| top point scorer = [[Lee Jarvis]] (Cardiff)<br>(134 points)
| top try scorer = [[Kenny Logan]] (Wasps)<br>(7 tries)
| venue = [[Stade Lescure]], [[Bordeaux]]
| attendance2 = 36,500
| champions =  {{flagicon|ENG}} [[Bath Rugby|Bath]]
| count = 1
| runner-up = {{flagicon|FRA}} [[CA Brive|Brive]]
| website =
| previous year = 1996–97
| previous tournament = 1996–97 Heineken Cup
| next year = 1998–99
| next tournament = 1998–99 Heineken Cup
}}
The '''1997–98 Heineken Cup''' was the third edition of the [[Heineken Cup]] European [[rugby union]] club competition. Competing professional club teams from France, Ireland, Italy, Wales, England and Scotland, were divided into five pools of four, in which teams played home and away matches against each other. The pool winners automatically qualified for the knock-out stages. The five runners-up and the best third placed team entered the play-offs, where they competed for the remaining three quarter final positions.

{{TOC left}}
{{Clear}}

==Teams==
{| class="wikitable" width=100%
|-
!{{flagicon|ENG}} England
!{{flagicon|Ireland|rugby union}} Ireland
!{{flagicon|ITA}} Italy
!{{flagicon|FRA}} France
!{{flagicon|SCO}} Scotland
!{{flagicon|WAL}} Wales
|- valign=top
|
* [[Leicester Tigers]]
* [[Wasps RFC|London Wasps]]
* [[Bath Rugby|Bath]]
* [[Harlequin F.C.|Harlequins]]
|
* [[Leinster Rugby|Leinster]]
* [[Munster Rugby|Munster]]
* [[Ulster Rugby|Ulster]]
|
* [[Benetton Rugby|Treviso]]
* [[Amatori Rugby Milano|Rugby Milano]]
|
* [[Stade Toulousain|Toulouse]]
* [[CA Brive|Brive]]
* [[Section Paloise|Pau]]
* [[Bourgoin-Jallieu|Bourgoin]]
|
* [[Glasgow Warriors|Glasgow]]
* [[Border Reivers (rugby union)|Borders]]
* [[Caledonia Reds|Caledonia]]
|
* [[Swansea RFC|Swansea]]
* [[Pontypridd RFC|Pontypridd]]
* [[Llanelli RFC|Llanelli]]
* [[Cardiff RFC|Cardiff]]
|}

==Pool stage==
In the pool matches teams received
* 2 points for a win
* 1 points for a draw

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Key to colours
|-
| style="background: #ccffcc;" | &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
| Winner of each pool advances to [[1997-98 Heineken Cup#Quarter-finals|quarter-final]] stage
|-
| style="background: #CCCCFF;" | &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
| Advance to [[1997-98 Heineken Cup#Quarter-final play-offs|quarter-final playoffs]]
|}

{{further|1997-98 Heineken Cup pool stage}}

===Pool 1===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width="200"|Team
!width="20"|P
!width="20"|W
!width="20"|D
!width="20"|L
!width="20"|Tries for
!width="20"|Tries against
!width="30"|Try diff
!width="20"|Points for
!width="20"|Points against
!width="25"|Points diff
!width="20"|Pts
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
|align="left"| {{flagicon|FRA}}  '''[[Stade Toulousain|Toulouse]]'''
|6||5||0||1||25||12||13||200||121||79||'''10'''
|- bgcolor="#ccccff"
|align="left"| {{flagicon|ENG}} '''[[Leicester Tigers|Leicester]]'''
|6||4||0||2||16||14||2||163||117||46||'''8'''
|-
|align="left"| {{flagicon|Ireland|rugby union}} [[Leinster Rugby|Leinster]]
|6||2||0||4||15||19||−4||137||167||−30||'''4'''
|-
|align="left"| {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Milan]]
|6||1||0||5||15||26||−11||111||206||−95||'''2'''
|}

===Pool 2===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width="200"|Team
!width="20"|P
!width="20"|W
!width="20"|D
!width="20"|L
!width="20"|Tries for
!width="20"|Tries against
!width="30"|Try diff
!width="20"|Points for
!width="20"|Points against
!width="25"|Points diff
!width="20"|Pts
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
|align="left"| {{flagicon|ENG}}  '''[[Wasps RFC|Wasps]]'''
|6||6||0||0||31||12||19||243||104||139||'''12'''
|- bgcolor="#ccccff"
|align="left"| {{flagicon|SCO}} '''[[Glasgow Warriors|Glasgow]]'''
|6||3||0||3||14||15||−1||132||167||−35||'''6'''
|-
|align="left"| {{flagicon|WAL}} [[Swansea RFC|Swansea]]
|6||2||0||4||15||16||−1||157||161||−4||'''4'''
|-
|align="left"| {{flagicon|Ireland|rugby union}} [[Ulster Rugby|Ulster]]
|6||1||0||5||6||23||−17||95||195||−100||'''2'''
|}

===Pool 3===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width="200"|Team
!width="20"|P
!width="20"|W
!width="20"|D
!width="20"|L
!width="20"|Tries for
!width="20"|Tries against
!width="30"|Try diff
!width="20"|Points for
!width="20"|Points against
!width="25"|Points diff
!width="20"|Pts
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
|align="left"| {{flagicon|ENG}}  '''[[Bath Rugby|Bath]]'''
|6||5||0||1||12||12||0||141||119||22||'''10'''
|- bgcolor="#ccccff"
|align="left"| {{flagicon|FRA}} '''[[CA Brive|Brive]]'''
|6||4||1||1||24||13||11||210||146||64||'''9'''
|- bgcolor="#ccccff"
|align="left"| {{flagicon|WAL}} ''' [[Pontypridd RFC|Pontypridd]]''' 
|6||2||1||3||17||13||4||154||147||7||'''5'''
|-
|align="left"| {{flagicon|SCO}} [[Border Reivers (rugby union)|Scottish Borders]]
|6||0||0||6||14||29||−15||129||222||−93||'''0'''
|}

===Pool 4===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width="200"|Team
!width="20"|P
!width="20"|W
!width="20"|D
!width="20"|L
!width="20"|Tries for
!width="20"|Tries against
!width="30"|Try diff
!width="20"|Points for
!width="20"|Points against
!width="25"|Points diff
!width="20"|Pts
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
|align="left"| {{flagicon|ENG}}  '''[[Harlequins (rugby club)|Harlequins]]'''
|6||4||0||2||21||12||9||198||141||57||'''8'''
|- bgcolor="#ccccff"
|align="left"| {{flagicon|WAL}} '''[[Cardiff RFC|Cardiff]]'''
|6||4||0||2||17||15||2||184||146||38||'''8'''
|-
|align="left"| {{flagicon|FRA}} [[CS Bourgoin-Jallieu|Bourgoin]]
|6||2||0||4||14||21||−7||141||180||−39||'''4'''
|-
|align="left"| {{flagicon|Ireland|rugby union}} [[Munster Rugby|Munster]]
|6||2||0||4||7||11||−4||93||149||−56||'''4'''
|}

===Pool 5===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!width="200"|Team
!width="20"|P
!width="20"|W
!width="20"|D
!width="20"|L
!width="20"|Tries for
!width="20"|Tries against
!width="30"|Try diff
!width="20"|Points for
!width="20"|Points against
!width="25"|Points diff
!width="20"|Pts
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
|align="left"| {{flagicon|FRA}}  '''[[Section Paloise|Pau]]'''
|6||4||0||2||27||8||19||203||89||114||'''8'''
|- bgcolor="#ccccff"
|align="left"| {{flagicon|WAL}} '''[[Llanelli RFC|Llanelli]]'''
|6||4||0||2||15||18||−3||144||142||2||'''8'''
|-
|align="left"| {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Benetton Rugby|Benetton Treviso]]
|6||2||0||4||18||19||−1||146||162||−16||'''4'''
|-
|align="left"| {{flagicon|SCO}}  [[Caledonia Reds|Caledonia]]
|6||2||0||4||8||23||−15||89||189||−100||'''4'''
|}

==Seeding==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!Seed
!Pool Winners
!Pts
!TF
!+/−
|-
|'''1'''
|align=left| {{flagicon|ENG}} '''[[Wasps RFC|London Wasps]]'''
|12||31||+139 
|-
|'''2'''
|align=left| {{flagicon|FRA}} '''[[Stade Toulousain|Toulouse]]'''
|10||25||+79
|-
|'''3'''
|align=left| {{flagicon|ENG}} '''[[Bath Rugby|Bath]]'''
|10||12||+22 
|-
|'''4'''
|align=left| {{flagicon|FRA}} '''[[Section Paloise|Pau]]'''
|8||27||+114 
|-
|'''5'''
|align=left| {{flagicon|ENG}} '''[[Harlequin F.C.|Harlequins]]'''
|8||21||+57 
|-
!Seed
!Pool Runners-up (and best third place)
!Pts
!TF
!+/−
|-
|'''6'''
|align=left| {{flagicon|FRA}} '''[[CA Brive|Brive]]'''
|9||24||+64
|-
|'''7'''
|align=left| {{flagicon|WAL}} '''[[Cardiff RFC|Cardiff]]'''
|8||17||+38
|-
|'''8'''
|align=left| {{flagicon|ENG}} '''[[Leicester Tigers]]'''
|8||16||+46
|-
|'''9'''
|align=left| {{flagicon|WAL}} [[Llanelli RFC|Llanelli]]
|8||15||+2
|-
|'''10'''
|align=left| {{flagicon|SCO}} [[Glasgow Warriors|Glasgow]]
|6||14||−35 
|-
|'''11'''
|align=left| {{flagicon|WAL}} [[Pontypridd RFC|Pontypridd]]
|5||17||+7
|-
|}

==Knockout stage==

===Quarter-final play-offs===
{{Rugbybox |
date = 1 November 1997<br />15:00 |
home = Leicester Tigers {{flagicon|ENG}} |
score = 90 – 19 |
report =  |
away = {{flagicon|SCO}} Glasgow  | 
homescore = |
awayscore = |
stadium = [[Welford Road Stadium|Welford Road]] |
attendance = 6,500|
referee =  }}

{{Rugbybox |
date = 1 November 1997<br />16:30 |
home = Brive {{flagicon|FRA}} |
score = 25 – 20 |
report =  |
away = {{flagicon|WAL}} Pontypridd  | 
homescore = |
awayscore = |
stadium = [[Parc Municipal des Sports]] |
attendance = 13,000|
referee =  }}

{{Rugbybox |
date = 1 November 1997<br />17:15 |
home = Cardiff {{flagicon|WAL}} |
score = 24 – 20 |
report =  |
away = {{flagicon|WAL}} Llanelli  | 
homescore = |
awayscore = |
stadium = [[Cardiff Arms Park]] |
attendance = 8,000|
referee =  }}

===Quarter-finals===
{{Rugbybox |
date = 8 November 1997<br />14:15 |
home = Bath {{flagicon|ENG}} |
score = 32 – 21 |
report =  |
away = {{flagicon|WAL}} Cardiff  | 
homescore = |
awayscore = |
stadium = [[Recreation Ground (Bath)|Recreation Ground]] |
attendance = 8,200|
referee =  }}

{{Rugbybox |
date = 8 November 1997<br />15:30 |
home = Toulouse {{flagicon|FRA}} |
score = 51 – 10 |
report =  |
away = {{flagicon|ENG}} Harlequins  | 
homescore = |
awayscore = |
stadium = [[Stadium Municipal|Stade Municipal]] |
attendance = 18,000|
referee =  }}

{{Rugbybox |
date = 9 November 1997<br />14:15 |
home = London Wasps {{flagicon|ENG}} |
score = 18 – 25 |
report =  |
away = {{flagicon|FRA}} Brive  | 
homescore = |
awayscore = |
stadium = [[Loftus Road Stadium]] |
attendance = 10,481|
referee =  }}

{{Rugbybox |
date = 9 November 1997<br />15:20 |
home = Pau {{flagicon|FRA}} |
score = 35 – 18 |
report =  |
away = {{flagicon|ENG}} Leicester Tigers  | 
homescore = |
awayscore = |
stadium = [[Stade Municipal du Hameau]] |
attendance = 12,000|
referee =  }}

===Semi-finals===
{{Rugbybox |
date = 20 December 1997<br />14:00 |
home = Bath {{flagicon|ENG}} |
score = 20 – 14 |
report =  |
away = {{flagicon|FRA}} Pau  | 
homescore = |
awayscore = |
stadium = [[Recreation Ground (Bath)|Recreation Ground]] |
attendance = 8,200|
referee =  }}

{{Rugbybox |
date = 21 December 1997<br />15:20 |
home = Toulouse {{flagicon|FRA}} |
score = 22 – 22 |
report =  |
away = {{flagicon|FRA}} Brive  | 
homescore = |
awayscore = |
stadium = [[Stadium Municipal|Stade Municipal]] |
attendance = 26,000|
referee =  }}

Brive advance to final on try count (two tries to one)

===Final===
{{main|1998 Heineken Cup Final}}

{{rugbybox
|date=31 January 1998
|time=15:30
|home=[[Bath Rugby|Bath]] {{flagicon|ENG}}
|score=19 – 18
|report=[http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/matchcentre/17106.php Report]
|away={{flagicon|FRA}} [[CA Brive|Brive]]
|homescore='''Try:''' [[Jonathan Callard|Callard]]<br />'''Con:''' [[Jonathan Callard|Callard]]<br />'''Pen:''' [[Jonathan Callard|Callard]] (4)
|awayscore='''Pen:''' [[Christophe Lamaison|Lamaison]] (5)<br />'''Drop:''' [[Alain Penaud|Penaud]]
|stadium=[[Stade Chaban-Delmas|Stade du Parc Lescure]], [[Bordeaux]]
|attendance=36,500
|referee=[[Jim Fleming (rugby)|Jim Fleming]] ([[Scottish Rugby Union|Scotland]]) }}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{European Rugby Champions Cup}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heineken Cup}}
[[Category:1997–98 Heineken Cup| ]]
[[Category:1997–98 in English rugby union]]
[[Category:1997–98 in French rugby union]]
[[Category:1997–98 in Irish rugby union]]
[[Category:1997–98 in Italian rugby union]]
[[Category:1997–98 in Scottish rugby union]]
[[Category:1997–98 in Welsh rugby union]]
[[Category:Heineken Cup seasons|1996-97]]
[[Category:1997–98 in European rugby union]]