2003–04 Heineken Cup
Template:Short description Template:Unreferenced Template:Infobox European Cup Rugby season
The 2003–04 Heineken Cup was the ninth season for which European teams competed for the Heineken Cup. Competing teams, from England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales, were divided into six pools of four, in which teams played home and away matches against each other. The winners of the pools, together with the two best runners-up, qualified for the knock-out stage.
This was the first competition in the series to employ the bonus point system for classifying teams. In prior competitions, teams earned two points for a win and one for a draw. Starting with the 2003–04 competition, teams earned points in the pool matches under the following scenarios:
- Four points for a win
- Two points for a draw
- One bonus point for scoring four or more tries, regardless of the final score
- One bonus point for losing by seven points or less
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Teams
| France | England | Wales | Ireland | Scotland | Italy |
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Pool stage
Pool 1
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Flagicon Stade Français | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 134 | 80 | 54 | 1 | 1 | 18 |
| Template:Flagicon Leicester Tigers | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 137 | 115 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
| Template:Flagicon Ulster | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 109 | 106 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
| Template:Flagicon Newport Gwent Dragons | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 16 | −11 | 67 | 146 | −79 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
Pool 2
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Flagicon Toulouse | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 7 | 11 | 157 | 65 | 92 | 4 | 1 | 25 |
| Template:Flagicon Edinburgh | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 130 | 89 | 41 | 2 | 0 | 22 |
| Template:Flagicon Leeds Tykes | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 11 | −6 | 66 | 122 | −56 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Template:Flagicon Neath-Swansea Ospreys | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 18 | −12 | 78 | 155 | −77 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Pool 3
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Flagicon Biarritz Olympique | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 139 | 97 | 42 | 3 | 1 | 20 |
| Template:Flagicon Leinster | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 142 | 113 | 29 | 1 | 1 | 18 |
| Template:Flagicon Cardiff Blues | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 123 | 132 | −9 | 0 | 3 | 11 |
| Template:Flagicon Sale Sharks | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 14 | −8 | 75 | 137 | −62 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
Pool 4
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Flagicon Llanelli Scarlets | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 5 | 12 | 160 | 72 | 88 | 2 | 1 | 23 |
| Template:Flagicon Northampton Saints | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 121 | 54 | 67 | 1 | 1 | 18 |
| Template:Flagicon Agen | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 83 | 94 | −11 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| Template:Flagicon The Borders | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 26 | −22 | 39 | 183 | −144 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Pool 5
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Flagicon Munster Rugby | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 5 | 17 | 172 | 76 | 96 | 4 | 0 | 24 |
| Template:Flagicon Gloucester | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 11 | 11 | 197 | 100 | 97 | 4 | 0 | 24 |
| Template:Flagicon Bourgoin | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 22 | −9 | 119 | 191 | −72 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Template:Flagicon Benetton Treviso | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 32 | −19 | 104 | 225 | −121 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
Pool 6
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Flagicon London Wasps | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 8 | 14 | 186 | 85 | 101 | 3 | 1 | 24 |
| Template:Flagicon Celtic Warriors | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 123 | 118 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 20 |
| Template:Flagicon Perpignan | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 119 | 115 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
| Template:Flagicon Ghial Rugby Calvisano | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 30 | −17 | 115 | 225 | −110 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Seeding and runners-up
| Seed | Pool Winners | Pts | TF | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Template:Flagicon Toulouse | 25 | 18 | +92 |
| 2 | Template:Flagicon London Wasps | 24 | 22 | +101 |
| 3 | Template:Flagicon Munster | 24 | 22 | +97 |
| 4 | Template:Flagicon Llanelli Scarlets | 23 | 17 | +88 |
| 5 | Template:Flagicon Biarritz Olympique | 20 | 18 | +42 |
| 6 | Template:Flagicon Stade Français | 18 | 11 | +54 |
| Seed | Pool Runners-up | Pts | TF | +/- |
| 7 | Template:Flagicon Gloucester | 24 | 22 | +96 |
| 8 | Template:Flagicon Edinburgh | 22 | 14 | +41 |
| – | Template:Flagicon Celtic Warriors | 20 | 11 | +5 |
| – | Template:Flagicon Northampton Saints | 18 | 13 | +67 |
| – | Template:Flagicon Leinster | 18 | 13 | +29 |
| – | Template:Flagicon Leicester Tigers | 15 | 17 | +22 |