2010–11 European Challenge Cup
| 2010–11 Amlin Challenge Cup | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament details | |||
| Countries |
 England France Ireland Italy Romania Spain
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| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and Knockout | ||
| Date | 7 October 2010 to 20 May 2011 | ||
| Tournament statistics | |||
| Teams | 23 | ||
| Matches played | 67 | ||
| Top point scorer(s) |
Julien Caminati (Brive) (97 points) |
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| Top try scorer(s) |
Tom Brady (Sale) Sam Gerber (Bayonne) Nicolas Jeanjean (Brive) Nick Macleod (Sale) Pierre Rabadan (Stade Français) James Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester) Henry Trinder (Gloucester) (5 tries) |
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| Final | |||
| Venue | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff | ||
| Champions |
Harlequins (3rd title) |
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| Runner-up |
Stade Français
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| Official website | http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/ | ||
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The 2010–11 Amlin Challenge Cup was the 15th season of the European Challenge Cup, Europe's second tier club rugby union competition, and the second to be sponsored by the British insurance company Amlin. The tournament began on 7 October 2010, with the final played on 20 May 2011 at Cardiff City Stadium, the day before the 2011 Heineken Cup Final in the same city at Millennium Stadium. A total of 23 teams from six countries participated. The competition began with 20 teams; three more teams that began their seasons in the Heineken Cup parachuted into the knockout stage. Cardiff Blues did not defend their title, as by winning the 2009–10 cup, they qualified for the 2010–11 Heineken Cup, and did not parachute into the Challenge Cup.
Harlequins claimed the title with a 19–18 win over Stade Français, becoming the first team to win the Challenge Cup three times. The victory also sent Quins into the 2011–12 Heineken Cup.
The allocation of teams is as follows:
Teams that did not qualify for the 2010-11 Heineken Cup were ordered into four tiers according to the European Rugby Club Ranking. Five pools of four teams were drawn comprising one team from each tier.
The brackets show each team's European Rugby Club Ranking at the end of the 2009–10 season.
The draw for the pool stage took place on 9 June 2010.
Following the end of the pool stage, the 5 pool winners were seeded alongside the top 3 2010-11 Heineken Cup pool runners-up who failed to qualify for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals.
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