2012–13 European Challenge Cup
| 2012–13 Amlin Challenge Cup | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tournament details | |||
| Countries |
 England France Ireland Italy Romania Spain Wales
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| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and knockout | ||
| Date | 11 October 2012 to 17 May 2013 | ||
| Tournament statistics | |||
| Teams | 23 | ||
| Matches played | 67 | ||
| Attendance | 355,554 (5,307 per match) | ||
| Tries scored | 438 (6.54 per match) | ||
| Top point scorer(s) |
Freddie Burns (Gloucester) (86 points) |
||
| Top try scorer(s) |
Horacio Agulla (Bath) Francis Fainifo (Stade Français) Adrien Planté (Perpignan) Andy Short (Worcester) (6 tries) |
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| Final | |||
| Venue | RDS Arena | ||
| Attendance | 20,396 | ||
| Champions |
Leinster (1st 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 2012–13 Amlin Challenge Cup was the 17th season of the European Challenge Cup, Europe's second tier club rugby union competition. A total of 23 teams participated — 20 in the pool stage, plus three teams parachuting into the knockout stages from the Heineken Cup. The original 20 teams represented six different countries.
The pool stage began in Mont-de-Marsan on 11 October 2012, with Stade Montois hosting Gloucester. It ended on 19 January 2013 when Stade Français hosted competition newcomers London Welsh, followed by the knockout stages culminating in the final at the RDS Arena in Dublin on 17 May 2013.
The defending Challenge Cup champions, France's Biarritz Olympique, did not initially have a chance to defend their crown because they earned an automatic berth in the Heineken Cup. However, having finish 2nd in their pool, and failing to reach the knockout stages of the Heineken Cup, they were one of three teams parachuted into the Challenge Cup knockout stages. They were knocked out of the competition by Leinster at the semi-final stage. Leinster went on to win the competition, defeating Stade Français 34–13 in the final.
Gernika Rugby Taldea represented Spain despite finishing just 5th in the División de Honor. Valladolid won the División de Honor, and the championship playoff, but turned down the opportunity to play in the Challenge Cup due to economic factors. As runners up in the championship playoff, Gernika qualified in their place.
Teams that did not qualify for the 2012–13 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.
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