Event | 2012–13 Heineken Cup | ||||||
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Date | 18 May 2013 | ||||||
Venue | Aviva Stadium, Dublin | ||||||
Man of the Match | Mathieu Bastareaud | ||||||
Referee | Alain Rolland (IRFU) | ||||||
Attendance | 50,148 | ||||||
The 2013 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the 2012–13 Heineken Cup, the 18th season of Europe's top club rugby union competition. The match was played on 18 May 2013 in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, kicking off at 5 pm (16:00 UTC). The all-French game was won by Toulon, defeating Clermont 16–15.
Under rules of the competition organiser, European Rugby Cup, the winner of the Heineken Cup receives an automatic entry into the following season's Heineken Cup, as does the winner of the Amlin Challenge Cup. If the Heineken Cup winner has already qualified through its domestic or regional league, the berth will normally pass to another team from its country; both Clermont and Toulon have qualified as the top two teams in the Top 14 home-and-away season. However, France is capped at seven Heineken Cup places (as is England).
The final 2013–14 Heineken Cup participant was determined by the result of the Challenge Cup Final held the previous day at the RDS Arena in Dublin. Leinster's victory over Stade Français meant that the Heineken Cup winner's berth would now pass to the seventh-place team in Top 14, Perpignan.
On 6 April, Clermont defeated Montpellier 36–14 at the Stade Marcel Michelin in the quarterfinals while Toulon defeated Leicester Tigers the following evening 21–15. On 27 April, in the semifinals, Clermont won 16–10 against Munster at Stade de la Mosson while Toulon beat Saracens 26–14 at Twickenham the next day.