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The Heineken Cup

21 October 2005 - 21 May 2006

Although The Heineken Cup only began in 1995, it has rapidly become one of the top events in the rugby union calendar. When it first began it consisted of twelve teams from Ireland, France, Wales, Italy and Romania.

Today, The Heineken Cup is seen as one of the most prestigious European rugby union events and features 24 of the top rugby union teams from six countries: England, Ireland, France, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It attracts rugby union fans and gamblers alike, and with matches taking place between October and May each year, offers a substantial number of betting opportunities.

For more information about how the Heineken Cup competition has developed over the years, check out our History of The Heineken Cup page.

Qualifying for The Heineken Cup

Each country taking part in The Heineken Cup is allocated a specific number of places. Each country then has its own qualifying procedure. In England, qualification for The Heineken Cup is based on a team's performance in a number of events during the previous year. If a team wins, for example, The Heineken Cup, the Zurich Premiership, the Zurich Wildcard Competition or the Powergen Cup, then they will almost certainly qualify for the following year's Heineken Cup competition. Other places in the competition will generally be allocated as a result of a team's final position in the Zurich Premiership.

Format of The Heineken Cup

The Heineken Cup consists of two stages, the pools stage and the knockout stage. The 24 teams are divided into 6 pools of 4 teams, and each team plays all other teams in the pool in both home and away matches.

Teams are awarded four points for a win and two points for a draw in each game played in the pools stage. They are also awarded a bonus point if they score 4 or more tries and a bonus point if they lose by 7 or less points.

The winners of each pool automatically qualify for the knockout stage of the competition, and the two other places in the second stage are awarded to the two runners-up with the highest number of points.

The knockout stage consists of the quarterfinals, semi-finals and the final.

The pools for the 2005/06 Heineken Cup Competition are as follows:

Pool 1: Castres Olympique (France); Newport Dragons (Wales); Munster (Ireland); Sale Sharks (England).

Pool 2: Calvisano (Italy); Cardiff Blues (Wales); Leeds Tykes (England); Perpignan (France).

Pool 3: ASM Clermont Auvergne (France); Leicester Tigers (England); Ospreys (Wales); Stade Francais (France).

Pool 4: Benetton Treviso (Italy); Biarritz Olympique (France); Saracens (England); Ulster (Northern Ireland).

Pool 5: Bath Rugby (England); Bourgoin (France); Glasgow Warriors (Scotland); Leinster (Ireland).

Pool 6: Edinburgh Gunners (Scotland); Llanelli Scarletts (Wales); London Wasps (England); Toulouse (France).

Previous Winners of The Heineken Cup

The last five winners of the Heineken Cup were:

• 2005/06 Munster
• 2004/05 Toulouse
• 2003/04 London Wasps
• 2002/03 Toulouse
• 2001/02 Leicester Tigers
• 2000/01 Leicester Tigers.

Betting on The Heineken Cup

Most bookmakers and betting exchanges allow you to place various types of bet on the Heineken Cup. You can bet on which teams will win each of the pools groups and which will be the outright winner of the competition well in advance of the deciding matches, so there's no need to wait. For the latest odds on The Heineken Cup from a range of bookmakers and betting exchanges, visit our Latest Odds section.

If you are thinking of betting on The Heineken Cup, the best guide is to look at each team's current form. Take a look at their performances in their national leagues - although these are the top teams from each country, the fact that qualifying depends on their performance in the previous year means that they might not still be in the same form as they were.

However, it's also worth looking at how well a team has done in previous Heineken Cup events. French teams, for example, have done particularly well (and they traditionally have more places allocated to them than other countries). Toulouse, for example, won the first ever Heineken Cup in 1996 and also became the first team to win the trophy on three occasions. However, the competition is not always dominated by the French: in the 1999/2000 season, four different nations made it through to the knock-out stages for the first time England, Ireland, France and Wales). English teams have won the title on five out of the past ten competitions, and didn't compete in two of the others, so are well worth looking at.

The Heineken Cup is only one of many events in the tennis calendar. Check out other rugby union events!

If you are new to betting and want to place a bet on Wimbledon, be sure to check out our Rugby Union - How To Bet and Rugby Union Betting Strategy sections for some betting hints and tips.

The Heineken Cup - 2005/06 Fixtures

The fixtures for the 2005/06 Heineken Cup are as follows:

Pools Stage:

• Weekend 1: 21/22/23 October 2005.
• Weekend 2: 28/29/30 October 2005.
• Weekend 3: 9/10/11 December 2005.
• Weekend 4: 16/17/18 December 2005.
• Weekend 5: 13/14/15 January 2006.
• Weekend 6: 20/21/22 January 2006.

Knock-out Stage:

• Quarter Finals: 1/2 April 2006.
• Semi-Finals: 22/23 April 2006.
• Final: 20/21 May 2006 (at The Millennium Stadium, Cardiff).

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