With just two Rounds of the 2008/09 European Challenge Cup to go, the maximum points and wins each club can earn are detailed
POOL 1
Maximum points and wins attainable:
London Irish - 30 points / 6 wins
Connacht Rugby - 24 points / 5 wins
Rugby Rovigo - 14 points / 3 wins
Dax - 10 points / 2 wins
POOL 2
Maximum points and wins attainable:
Northampton Saints - 30 points / 6 wins
Montpellier - 18 points / 4 wins
Bristol Rugby - 15 points / 3 wins
Toulon - 15 points / 3 wins
POOL 3
Maximum points and wins attainable:
Worcester Warriors - 24 points / 5 wins
Bourgoin - 19 points / 4 wins
Petrarca Rugby - 19 points / 4 wins
Bucuresti Oaks - 15 points / 3 wins
POOL 4
Maximum points and wins attainable:
Brive - 25 points / 5 wins
Newcastle Falcons - 23 points / 5 wins
Overmach Parma -21 points / 4 wins
Cetransa El Salvador - 10 points / 2 wins
POOL 5
Maximum points and wins attainable:
Saracens - 28 points / 6 wins
Viadana - 22 points / 5 wins
Bayonne - 14 points / 3 wins
Mont de Marsan - 11 points / 2 wins
HOW THEY QUALIFY FOR THE QUARTER-FINALS
POOL MATCHES
Four points for a win, two points for a draw (match points). A bonus point will be earned by a team scoring four or more tries and by a team losing by seven or less points. The five Pool winners and three best placed runners-up will qualify for the quarter-finals and will be decided by the following criteria:
(i) the Pool winner will be the Club with the highest number of match points earned in each Pool. The runners-up will be the three second placed Clubs from all five Pools with the next highest number of points. For the quarter-final round, the Pool winners will be ranked 1 - 5 in terms of the number of points earned. The runners-up will be ranked 6, 7 and 8.
CLUBS IN THE SAME POOL
(ii) if two or more Clubs are equal on points and the Clubs are in the same Pool, then qualification / ranking will be based on the matches played between the Clubs concerned:
(a) the Club which has earned the most number of match points from the matches
(b) the Club which has scored the most tries in the matches
(c) the Club with the best aggregate points difference from the matches
CLUBS FROM DIFFERENT POOLS
(iii) if still unresolved, or the teams have not played each other previously in the Pool stage, qualification / ranking will be based on:
(a) the number of tries scored in all Pool matches
(b) aggregate points difference from all Pool matches
(c) the Club with the fewest number of players sent off and / or suspended in all Pool
matches
(d) toss of a coin
THE QUARTER-FINALS
Teams ranked 1 - 4 will have home advantage. The Quarter-Finals will be:
Team 1 v Team 8 (Match A) Team 2 v Team 7 (Match B)
Team 3 v Team 6 (Match C) Team 4 v Team 5 (Match D)
THE SEMI-FINALS
The Semi-Finals will be knock-out, each played over one match. The winners of the Quarter-final Match A will play the winners of Match D and the winners of Match B will play the winners of Match C at the home venues of the winners of Match A and B.
