CHALLENGE CUP MESSAGE

EPCR CHAIRMAN WELCOME MESSAGE

Only 56 days after Bristol Bears lifted the European Rugby Challenge Cup trophy in Aix-en-Provence, the tournament kicks off again with a new, dynamic format to meet the challenges that club rugby has been presented by the containment of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Wherever you are watching the action, the whole EPCR team joins me in hoping that you enjoy it.

When the global health crisis struck, we were well on course to have the final of this tournament in 2019-20 watched by a record attendance, with more than 50,000 expected for a showpiece in Marseille. As we set out on the pathway to the Stade Vélodrome again this term, we will not be swayed from our purpose of lobbying for fans to return to stadiums across Europe.

We believe it is essential for the sport and for the mental health of a public and of clubs who have suffered enough in recent months. Of course, we say that believing this can be achieved safely and consistently with guidelines of various governments across other industries.

European club rugby tournaments will be played across eight weekends on an exceptional basis this season and that means 14 runners and riders in this Preliminary Stage of the Challenge Cup. The top eight will progress to an exciting and expanded knockout round, where they will be joined by the clubs classified between fifth and eighth place in each pool of the Heineken Champions Cup. They will form a Round of 16, who will battle it out from the start of April in a series of straight shootouts ahead of the final on Friday, May 21 in the south of France.

This tournament features three previous winners (Pau, Cardiff Blues, Stade Français Paris) and the pedigree of the participants is highlighted by a repeat of the 1997 Heineken Cup Final, with twiceEuropean champions Leicester Tigers coming up against the winners that day, Brive.

There is no doubting in the quality of the matches as this tournament goes from strength-to-strength.

We thank our broadcast partners - BT Sport, beIN SPORTS and France Télévisions domestically - for their dedication to taking the action to homes across the world, which has been appreciated even more during the pandemic.

Their service is supplemented by the online offering through official channels of the tournament online, where streaming is available on matches which are not broadcast via linear or digital broadcasters.

We share this journey with you, the fans, but also with the support of partners Tissot, the Financial Times, Gilbert and Kappa, and hope to be in your company soon once more as we make our way through what promises to be an exciting 2020-21 season.

Yours in Rugby, Simon Halliday, Chairman, EPCR

WALL: SYREN MIDNIGHT BLUE, CARRARA POLISHED