2005–06 European Challenge Cup

The 2005–06 European Challenge Cup was the tenth year of the European Challenge Cup, the second tier rugby union cup competition below the Heineken Cup. The tournament was held between October 2005 and May 2006.

2005–06 European Challenge Cup
Tournament details
Countries	England France Ireland Italy Romania Scotland
Tournament format(s)	Round-robin and Knockout
Date	22 October 2005 – 21 May 2006
Tournament statistics
Top point scorer(s)	Shane Drahm (Worcester) (101 points)
Top try scorer(s)	James Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester) (9 tries)
Final
Champions	Gloucester (1st title)
Runners-up	London Irish

Group stage

Main article: 2005–06 European Challenge Cup pool stage

Pool 1

Team	P	W	D	L	Tries for	Tries against	Try diff	Points for	Points against	Points diff	TB	LB	Pts
Northampton Saints	6	5	0	1	32	12	20	194	96	98	5	0	25
Narbonne	6	4	0	2	16	11	5	125	113	12	2	0	18
Bristol	6	3	0	3	26	21	5	203	150	53	3	1	16
Viadana	6	0	0	6	9	39	−30	81	244	−163	0	1	1

Pool 2

Team	P	W	D	L	Tries for	Tries against	Try diff	Points for	Points against	Points diff	TB	LB	Pts
London Irish	6	6	0	0	32	11	21	239	81	158	3	0	27
Agen	6	3	0	3	23	15	8	163	143	20	3	0	14
Pau	6	2	0	4	12	19	−7	107	153	−46	2	1	11
Overmach Parma	6	1	0	5	8	30	−22	74	206	−132	0	0	4

Pool 3

Team	P	W	D	L	Tries for	Tries against	Try diff	Points for	Points against	Points diff	TB	LB	Pts
Gloucester	6	6	0	0	49	6	43	331	53	278	5	0	29
Bayonne	6	4	0	2	31	11	20	202	93	109	4	0	20
București	6	1	0	5	7	40	−33	71	253	−182	0	1	5
Toulon	6	1	0	5	9	39	−30	64	269	−205	0	1	5

Pool 4

Team	P	W	D	L	Tries for	Tries against	Try diff	Points for	Points against	Points diff	TB	LB	Pts
Newcastle Falcons	6	6	0	0	44	10	34	324	81	243	4	0	28
Brive	6	3	0	3	30	19	11	203	169	34	4	2	18
Borders	6	3	0	3	19	23	−4	155	177	−22	2	1	15
L'Aquila	6	0	0	6	14	55	−41	103	358	−255	0	1	1

Pool 5

Team	P	W	D	L	Tries for	Tries against	Try diff	Points for	Points against	Points diff	TB	LB	Pts
Worcester Warriors	6	5	0	1	24	12	12	181	103	78	3	1	25
Connacht	6	4	0	2	25	14	11	190	119	71	3	1	20
Catania	6	2	0	4	15	41	−26	116	257	−141	1	1	8
Montpellier	6	1	0	5	26	23	3	170	178	−8	2	2	7

Seeding and runners-up

Seed	Pool Winners	Pts	TF	+/-
1	Gloucester	29	49	+278
2	Newcastle Falcons	28	44	+243
3	London Irish	27	32	+158
4	Northampton Saints	25	32	+98
5	Worcester Warriors	25	24	+78
Seed	Pool Runners-up	Pts	TF	+/-
6	Bayonne	20	31	+109
7	Connacht	20	25	+71
8	Brive	18	30	+34
–	Narbonne	18	16	+12
–	Agen	14	16	+20

Knockout stage

Quarter-finals

31 March 2006 19:30

Newcastle Falcons	23–3	Connacht

Kingston Park Attendance: 4,486

1 April 2006 15:00

Gloucester	46–13	Brive

Kingsholm Attendance: 6,898

1 April 2006 15:00

Northampton Saints	25–34	Worcester Warriors

Franklin's Gardens Attendance: 9,531

2 April 2006 15:00

London Irish	48–5	Bayonne

Madejski Stadium Attendance: 5,100

Semi-finals

22 April 2006 12:35

Gloucester	31–23	Worcester Warriors

Kingsholm Attendance: 8,609

23 April 2006 12:35

Newcastle Falcons	22–27	London Irish

Kingston Park Attendance: 4,243

Final

21 May 2006 12:15

Gloucester	36–34	London Irish

The Twickenham Stoop Attendance: 12,053

See also

• European Challenge Cup
• 2005–06 Heineken Cup