2000–01 Heineken Cup

Template:Infobox European Cup Rugby season The 2000–01 Heineken Cup was the sixth edition of the Heineken Cup, a rugby union tournament. Competing teams from France, Ireland, Italy, Wales, England and Scotland, were divided into six pools of four, in which teams played home and away matches against each other. The pool winners and two best runners-up qualified for the knock-out stages.

Teams

Template:Flagicon France	Template:Flagicon England	Template:Flagicon Wales	Template:Flagicon Scotland	Template:Flagicon Ireland	Template:Flagicon Italy
Biarritz Olympique Stade Français Toulouse Castres Colomiers Pau	Northampton London Wasps Saracens Bath Gloucester Rugby Leicester Tigers	Swansea Cardiff Newport Llanelli Pontypridd	Edinburgh Reivers Glasgow Caledonians	Leinster Ulster Munster	L'Aquila Roma

Pool stage

In the pool matches teams received

• 2 points for a win
• 1 points for a draw

Pool 1

Team	P	W	D	L	Tries for	Tries against	Try diff	Points for	Points against	Points diff	Pts
Template:Flagicon Biarritz Olympique	6	4	0	2	13	20	−7	164	152	12	8
Template:Flagicon Edinburgh Reivers	6	3	1	2	17	12	5	154	141	13	7
Template:Flagicon Leinster	6	3	1	2	13	14	−1	149	156	−7	7
Template:Flagicon Northampton	6	1	0	5	17	14	3	138	156	−18	2

Edinburgh finished above Leinster despite having a lower points difference, as the first tie-breaker was the results in the two matches between the teams.

Pool 2

Team	P	W	D	L	Tries for	Tries against	Try diff	Points for	Points against	Points diff	Pts
Template:Flagicon Stade Français	6	5	0	1	36	4	32	297	85	212	10
Template:Flagicon Swansea	6	4	0	2	28	11	17	244	123	121	8
Template:Flagicon Wasps	6	3	0	3	20	14	6	175	156	19	6
Template:Flagicon L'Aquila	6	0	0	6	3	58	−55	40	392	−352	0

Pool 3

Team	P	W	D	L	Tries for	Tries against	Try diff	Points for	Points against	Points diff	Pts
Template:Flagicon Cardiff	6	4	0	2	18	13	5	182	146	36	8
Template:Flagicon Saracens	6	4	0	2	14	13	1	174	140	34	8
Template:Flagicon Toulouse	6	2	1	3	19	15	4	171	182	−11	5
Template:Flagicon Ulster	6	1	1	4	11	21	−10	146	205	−59	3

Cardiff won the pool despite having a lower points difference than Saracens, as the first tie-breaker was the results in the two matches between the teams.

Pool 4

Team	P	W	D	L	Tries for	Tries against	Try diff	Points for	Points against	Points diff	Pts
Template:Flagicon Munster	6	5	0	1	15	7	8	154	109	45	10
Template:Flagicon Bath	6	4	0	2	14	11	3	139	106	33	8
Template:Flagicon Newport	6	2	0	4	10	22	−12	122	183	−61	4
Template:Flagicon Castres	6	1	0	5	14	13	1	135	152	−17	2

Pool 5

Team	P	W	D	L	Tries for	Tries against	Try diff	Points for	Points against	Points diff	Pts
Template:Flagicon Gloucester	6	4	1	1	13	11	2	186	140	46	9
Template:Flagicon Llanelli	6	4	0	2	18	8	10	187	103	84	8
Template:Flagicon Colomiers	6	3	1	2	14	11	3	148	120	28	7
Template:Flagicon Roma	6	0	0	6	10	25	−15	88	246	−158	0

Pool 6

Team	P	W	D	L	Tries for	Tries against	Try diff	Points for	Points against	Points diff	Pts
Template:Flagicon Leicester	6	5	0	1	15	9	6	178	105	73	10
Template:Flagicon Pau	6	4	0	2	19	10	9	154	142	12	8
Template:Flagicon Pontypridd	6	2	0	4	9	12	−3	136	131	5	4
Template:Flagicon Glasgow Caledonians	6	1	0	5	12	24	−12	137	227	−90	2

Seeding

Seed	Pool Winners	Pts	TF	+/−
1	Template:Flagicon Stade Français	10	36	+212
2	Template:Flagicon Leicester Tigers	10	15	+73
3	Template:Flagicon Munster	10	15	+45
4	Template:Flagicon Gloucester	9	13	+46
5	Template:Flagicon Cardiff	8	18	+36
6	Template:Flagicon Biarritz Olympique	8	13	+12
Seed	Pool Runners-up	Pts	TF	+/−
7	Template:Flagicon Swansea	8	28	+121
8	Template:Flagicon Pau	8	19	+12
–	Template:Flagicon Llanelli	8	18	+84
–	Template:Flagicon Saracens	8	14	+34
–	Template:Flagicon Bath	8	14	+33
–	Template:Flagicon Edinburgh Reivers	7	17	+13

Knockout stage

Final

Going into the final stages of the game, the scores were level at 27–27. A drop goal from Diego Domínguez then put Stade three points ahead. Meanwhile, Leicester brought on replacement scrum-half Jamie Hamilton for starting fly-half Andy Goode, with starting scrum-half Austin Healey switching to fly-half. Glenn Gelderbloom was also brought on at outside centre, with Leon Lloyd switching from outside centre to wing.

Leicester won a penalty just inside their own half and kicked to the left-hand touchline. The resulting line-out throw was too high and but it was cleaned up by Neil Back at the back of the line. Back passed the ball to out to Healey, though the pass forced Healey to check his run to gather the ball. With the two sets of opposing backs 20 metres apart for the line-out, the Tigers backs executed a pre-called backs move. Healey would dummy scissors with inside centre Pat Howard, another dummy scissors with outside centre Glenn Gelderbloom before the ball would be passed to the big full back Tim Stimpson who would take the ball into contact. Howard drew Domínguez and Gelderbloom drew the Stade inside centre, but the Stade outside centre who had only been on the field a few minutes, drifted onto Stimpson. Healey broke the Stade defensive line through the gap, before drawing the full back and putting Leon Lloyd in the right hand corner.

Lloyd's second try of the game gave Leicester a two-point lead, with the conversion to come. If Stimpson missed, another goal would give Stade the lead. If he scored the conversion, however, Stade would need a try. The kick from the right-hand touchline was from the most difficult position on the field for a right-footed kicker. Stimpson however hit the conversion straight between the posts, and Leicester were able to hang on to their lead for victory.