View source for 2003–04 Heineken Cup

{{Short description|International rugby union competition}}
{{unreferenced|date=August 2017}}
{{Infobox European Cup Rugby season
| name = 2003–04 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 = 22 October 2003 – 23 May 2004
| teams = 24
| matches = 79
| attendance = 817833
| tries =
| top point scorer = [[Henry Paul (rugby)|Henry Paul]] (Gloucester)<br>(100 points)
| top try scorer = [[Nicolas Brusque]] (Biarritz)<br>[[James Simpson-Daniel]] (Gloucester)<br>(6 tries)
| venue =  [[Twickenham Stadium]], [[London]]
| attendance2 = 73,057
| champions =  {{flagicon|ENG}} [[Wasps RFC|London Wasps]]
| count = 1
| runner-up = {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Stade Toulousain|Toulouse]]
| previous year = 2002–03
| previous tournament = 2002–03 Heineken Cup
| next year = 2004–05
| next tournament = 2004–05 Heineken Cup
}}

The '''2003–04 Heineken Cup''' was the ninth season for which European teams competed for the [[Heineken Cup]]. Competing teams, from England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales, were divided into six pools of four, in which teams played home and away matches against each other. The winners of the pools, together with the two best runners-up, qualified for the knock-out stage.

This was the first competition in the series to employ the [[rugby union bonus points system|bonus point system]] for classifying teams. In prior competitions, teams earned two points for a win and one for a draw. Starting with the 2003–04 competition, teams earned points in the pool matches under the following scenarios: 
* Four points for a win
* Two points for a draw
* One bonus point for scoring four or more tries, regardless of the final score
* One bonus point for losing by seven points or less

{{TOC left}}
{{Clear}}

==Teams==
{| class="wikitable" width=100%
|-
!France
!England
!Wales
!Ireland
!Scotland
!Italy
|- valign=top
|
*{{Flagicon|FRA}} Stade Français
*{{Flagicon|FRA}} Toulouse
*{{Flagicon|FRA}} Biarritz Olympique
*{{Flagicon|FRA}} Agen
*{{Flagicon|FRA}} Bourgoin
*{{Flagicon|FRA}} Perpignan
|
*{{Flagicon|ENG}} Leicester Tigers
*{{Flagicon|ENG}} Leeds Carnegie
*{{Flagicon|ENG}} Sale Sharks
*{{Flagicon|ENG}} Northampton Saints
*{{Flagicon|ENG}} Gloucester
*{{Flagicon|ENG}} London Wasps
|
*{{Flagicon|WAL}} Newport Gwent Dragons
*{{Flagicon|WAL}} Neath-Swansea Ospreys
*{{Flagicon|WAL}} Cardiff Blues
*{{Flagicon|WAL}} Llanelli Scarlets
*{{Flagicon|WAL}} Celtic Warriors
|
*{{flagicon|Ireland|rugby union}} Ulster
*{{flagicon|Ireland|rugby union}} Munster
*{{flagicon|Ireland|rugby union}} Leinster
|
*{{Flagicon|SCO}} Border Reivers
*{{Flagicon|SCO}} Edinburgh
|
*{{Flagicon|ITA}} Benetton Treviso
*{{Flagicon|ITA}} Calvisano
|}

==Pool stage==
{{Further|2003-04 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="20"|Try diff
!width="20"|Points for
!width="20"|Points against
!width="25"|Points diff
!width="20"|TB
!width="20"|LB
!width="20"|Pts
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
|align=left| {{Flagicon|FRA}} '''[[Stade Français Paris|Stade Français]]''' 
|6||4||0||2||11||8||3||134||80||54||1||1||'''18'''
|- 
|align=left| {{Flagicon|ENG}} [[Leicester Tigers]]
|6||3||0||3||17||10||7||137||115||22||3||0||'''15'''
|- 
|align=left| {{flagicon|Ireland|rugby union}} [[Ulster Rugby|Ulster]]
|6||3||0||3||10||9||1||109||106||3||1||1||'''14'''
|- 
|align=left| {{Flagicon|WAL}} [[Dragons (rugby union)|Newport Gwent Dragons]]
|6||2||0||4||5||16||−11||67||146||−79||0||1||'''9'''
|}

===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="20"|Try diff
!width="20"|Points for
!width="20"|Points against
!width="25"|Points diff
!width="20"|TB
!width="20"|LB
!width="20"|Pts
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
|align=left| {{Flagicon|FRA}} '''[[Stade Toulousain|Toulouse]]''' 
|6||5||0||1||18||7||11||157||65||92||4||1|||'''25'''
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
|align=left| {{Flagicon|SCO}} '''[[Edinburgh Rugby|Edinburgh]]'''
|6||5||0||1||14||7||7||130||89||41||2||0||'''22'''
|- 
|align=left| {{Flagicon|ENG}} [[Leeds Tykes]]
|6||1||0||5||5||11||−6||66||122||−56||0||1||'''5'''
|- 
|align=left| {{Flagicon|WAL}} [[Ospreys (rugby union)|Neath-Swansea Ospreys]]
|6||1||0||5||6||18||−12||78||155||−77||0||0||'''4'''
|}

===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="20"|Try diff
!width="20"|Points for
!width="20"|Points against
!width="25"|Points diff
!width="20"|TB
!width="20"|LB
!width="20"|Pts
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
|align=left| {{Flagicon|FRA}} '''[[Biarritz Olympique]]''' 
|6||4||0||2||18||12||6||139||97||42||3||1||'''20'''
|- 
|align=left| {{flagicon|Ireland|rugby union}} [[Leinster Rugby|Leinster]]
|6||4||0||2||13||11||2||142||113||29||1||1||'''18'''
|- 
|align=left| {{Flagicon|WAL}} [[Cardiff Blues]]
|6||2||0||4||13||13||0||123||132||−9||0||3||'''11'''
|- 
|align=left| {{Flagicon|ENG}} [[Sale Sharks]] 
|6||2||0||4||6||14||−8||75||137||−62||0||1||'''9'''
|}

===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="20"|Try diff
!width="20"|Points for
!width="20"|Points against
!width="25"|Points diff
!width="20"|TB
!width="20"|LB
!width="20"|Pts
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
|align=left| {{Flagicon|WAL}} '''[[Scarlets|Llanelli Scarlets]]''' 
|6||5||0||1||17||5||12||160||72||88||2||1||'''23'''
|- 
|align=left| {{Flagicon|ENG}} [[Northampton Saints]]
|6||4||0||2||13||4||9||121||54||67||1||1||'''18'''
|- 
|align=left| {{Flagicon|FRA}} [[SU Agen|Agen]] 
|6||2||0||4||8||7||1||83||94||−11||1||2||'''11'''
|- 
|align=left| {{Flagicon|SCO}} [[Border Reivers (rugby union)|The Borders]] 
|6||1||0||5||4||26||−22||39||183||−144||0||0||'''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="20"|Try diff
!width="20"|Points for
!width="20"|Points against
!width="25"|Points diff
!width="20"|TB
!width="20"|LB
!width="20"|Pts
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
|align=left| {{flagicon|Ireland|rugby union}} '''[[Munster Rugby]]'''
|6||5||0||1||22||5||17||172||76||96||4||0||'''24'''
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
|align=left| {{Flagicon|ENG}} '''[[Gloucester RFC|Gloucester]]''' 
|6||5||0||1||22||11||11||197||100||97||4||0||'''24'''
|- 
|align=left| {{Flagicon|FRA}} [[CS Bourgoin-Jallieu|Bourgoin]] 
|6||1||0||5||13||22||−9||119||191||−72||2||1||'''7'''
|- 
|align=left| {{Flagicon|ITA}} [[Benetton Rugby|Benetton Treviso]] 
|6||1||0||5||13||32||−19||104||225||−121||1||0||'''5'''
|}

===Pool 6===
{| 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="20"|Try diff
!width="20"|Points for
!width="20"|Points against
!width="25"|Points diff
!width="20"|TB
!width="20"|LB
!width="20"|Pts
|- bgcolor="#ccffcc"
|align=left| {{Flagicon|ENG|rugby}} '''[[Wasps RFC|London Wasps]]'''
|6||5||0||1||22||8||14||186||85||101||3||1||'''24'''
|- 
|align=left| {{Flagicon|WAL}} [[Celtic Warriors]] 
|6||4||0||2||11||10||1||123||118||5||2||2||'''20'''
|- 
|align=left| {{Flagicon|FRA}}  [[USA Perpignan|Perpignan]] 
|6||3||0||3||13||11||2||119||115||4||2||1||'''15'''
|- 
|align=left| {{Flagicon|ITA}} [[Ghial Rugby Calvisano]] 
|6||0||0||6||13||30||−17||115||225||−110||1||2||'''3'''
|}

==Seeding and runners-up==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!Seed
!Pool Winners
!Pts
!TF
!+/-
|-
|'''1'''
|align=left| {{Flagicon|FRA}} '''[[Stade Toulousain|Toulouse]]'''
|25||18||+92
|-
|'''2'''
|align=left| {{Flagicon|ENG}} '''[[Wasps RFC|London Wasps]]'''
|24||22||+101
|-
|'''3'''
|align=left| {{flagicon|Ireland|rugby union}} '''[[Munster Rugby|Munster]]'''
|24||22||+97
|-
|'''4'''
|align=left| {{Flagicon|WAL}} '''[[Scarlets|Llanelli Scarlets]]'''
|23||17||+88
|-
|5
|align=left| {{Flagicon|FRA}} [[Biarritz Olympique]]
|20||18||+42
|-
|6
|align=left| {{Flagicon|FRA}} [[Stade Français]]
|18||11||+54
|-
!Seed
!Pool Runners-up
!Pts
!TF
!+/-
|-
|7
|align=left| {{Flagicon|ENG}} [[Gloucester RFC|Gloucester]]
|24||22||+96
|-
|8
|align=left| {{Flagicon|SCO}} [[Edinburgh Rugby|Edinburgh]]
|22||14||+41
|-
| –
|align=left| {{Flagicon|WAL}} [[Celtic Warriors]]
|20||11||+5
|-
| –
|align=left| {{Flagicon|ENG}} [[Northampton Saints]]
|18||13||+67
|-
| –
|align=left| {{flagicon|Ireland|rugby union}} [[Leinster Rugby|Leinster]]
|18||13||+29
|-
| –
|align=left| {{Flagicon|ENG}} [[Leicester Tigers]]
|15||17||+22
|}

==Knockout stage==

===Quarter-finals===
{{Rugbybox
|date = 4 April 2004
|time = 19:45
|home = [[Scarlets|Llanelli Scarlets]] {{Flagicon|WAL}}
|score = 10–27
|report = 
|away = {{Flagicon|FRA}} [[Biarritz Olympique|Biarritz]]
|homescore = 
|awayscore = 
|stadium = [[Stradey Park]], Llanelli
|attendance = 10,800
|referee = 
}}
----
{{Rugbybox
|date = 10 April 2004
|time =  16:00
|home = [[Stade Toulousain|Toulouse]] {{Flagicon|FRA}}
|score = 36–10
|report = 
|away = {{Flagicon|SCO}} [[Edinburgh Rugby|Edinburgh]]
|homescore = 
|awayscore = 
|stadium = [[Stadium de Toulouse]]
|attendance = 36,500
|referee = 
}}
----
{{Rugbybox
|date = 10 April 2004
|time =  17:00
|home = [[Munster Rugby|Munster]] {{flagicon|IRE|rugby union}}
|score = 37–32
|report = [https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2004/apr/12/rugbyunion.heinekencup2003041 Report]
|away = {{Flagicon|FRA}} [[Stade Français]]
|homescore = 
|awayscore = 
|stadium = [[Thomond Park]], Limerick
|attendance = 13,000
|referee = 
}}
----
{{Rugbybox
|date = 11 April 2004
|time = 15:00
|home = [[Wasps RFC|London Wasps]] {{Flagicon|ENG}}
|score =  34–3
|report = 
|away = {{Flagicon|ENG}} [[Gloucester Rugby|Gloucester]]
|homescore = 
|awayscore = 
|stadium =  [[Adams Park]], High Wycombe
|attendance = 10,000
|referee = 
}}

===Semi-finals===
{{Rugbybox
|date = 24 April 2004
|time = 16:00
|home = [[Stade Toulousain|Toulouse]] {{Flagicon|FRA}}
|score = 19–11
|report = 
|away = {{Flagicon|FRA}} [[Biarritz Olympique|Biarritz]]
|homescore = 
|awayscore = 
|stadium = [[Stade Chaban-Delmas]], Bordeaux
|attendance = 34,000
|referee = 
}}
----
{{Rugbybox
|date = 25 April 2004
|time = 15:00
|home = [[Munster Rugby|Munster]] {{flagicon|IRE|rugby union}}
|score =  32–37
|report = [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/european/3651479.stm Report]
|away = {{Flagicon|ENG}} [[Wasps RFC|London Wasps]]
|homescore = 
|awayscore = 
|stadium = [[Lansdowne Road]], Dublin
|attendance = 49,000
|referee = 
}}

===Final===
{{main|2004 Heineken Cup Final}}
{{rugbybox
|date=23 May 2004
|time=15:00
|home=[[Wasps RFC|London Wasps]] {{flagicon|ENG}}
|score=27–20
|report=[http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/matchcentre/16711.php Report]
|away={{flagicon|FRA}} [[Stade Toulousain|Toulouse]]
|try1=[[Stuart Abbott|Abbott]] 19' c<br />[[Mark van Gisbergen|Van Gisbergen]] 43' c<br />[[Robert Howley|Howley]] 79' c
|con1=[[Mark van Gisbergen|Van Gisbergen]] (3)
|pen1=[[Mark van Gisbergen|Van Gisbergen]] (2) 15', 31'
|try2=[[Yann Delaigue|Delaigue]] 38' m
|pen2=[[Yann Delaigue|Delaigue]] (2) 6', 12'<br />[[Jean-Baptiste Élissalde|Élissalde]] (3) 57', 72', 77'
|stadium=[[Twickenham Stadium]], [[London]]
|attendance=73,057
|referee=[[Alain Rolland]] ([[Irish Rugby Football Union|Ireland]])
}}

{{European Rugby Champions Cup}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:2003-04 Heineken Cup}}
[[Category:2003–04 Heineken Cup| ]]
[[Category:Heineken Cup seasons]]