Sharks face French hurdle
Wed, 09 Jun 2010 17:34
The Sale Sharks were handed a tough draw for new season's Amlin Challenge Cup as they were drawn in the same pool as stong French opposition Brive on Wednesday.
Double tournament winners Sale Sharks, who claimed the title in 2002 and 2005, were drawn in Pool 2 where they will face 1997 Heineken Cup winners and 1998 beaten finalists Brive, Italian side Petrarca Rugby and Spanish outfit Cetransa El Salvador when the competition kicks-off in early October.
The five Tier 1 teams - Stade Français Paris, Gloucester, Sale Sharks, Bourgoin and Harlequins - were kept apart as the 20 teams who have qualified for the 2010/11 competition were graded into four Tiers of five teams with each of the five Pools having one team from each of the four Tier levels.
This year’s competition features five sides who took part in last season’s Heineken Cup - Stade Français Paris, Gloucester, Sale, Brive and Harlequins. Meanwhile, Exeter Chiefs, who won promotion to the Guinness Premiership last month, will be making their European bow when they face Montpellier, Bourgoin, who were Amlin Challenge Cup runners up in 2009, and another English club, Newcastle Falcons, in Pool 3.
Only Connacht remain from last season’s Amlin Challenge Cup semi-finalists, with the Irish province looking to match their unbeaten run to the last four when they take on Harlequins, Bayonne and Cavalieri Prato from Italy in Pool 1.
France have seven clubs in the tournament so Pool 3 features two French representatives in Bougoin and Montpellier, while Pool 5 features Agen and debutants, La Rochelle. Pool 3 also has two English clubs in Newcastle Falcons and Exeter Chiefs.
The draw was conducted using the merit-based ERC European Ranking system compiled on the qualified teams' performances over the past four seasons in the Heineken Cup and knock-out stages of the Amlin Challenge Cup.
AMLIN CHALLENGE CUP 2010/11 POOLS
POOL 1: Harlequins, Connacht R, Bayonne, Cavalieri Prato
POOL 2: Sale Sharks, Brive, Petrarca Rugby, Cetransa El Salvador
POOL 3: Bourgoin, Newcastle Falcons, Montpellier, Exeter Chiefs
POOL 4: Stade Francais Paris, Rugby Parma, Leeds Carnegie, Bucuresti Oaks
POOL 5: Gloucester, Agen, Rugby Rovigo, La Rochelle