1998–99_Heineken_Cup
The 1998–99 Heineken Cup was the fourth edition of the Heineken Cup. Competing teams from France, Ireland, Italy, Wales, and Scotland, were divided into four pools of four, in which teams played home and away matches against each other. Cardiff and Swansea did not compete due to a dispute with their union, the Welsh Rugby Union, whereas teams from England did not compete due to a dispute between European Rugby and the Rugby Football Union. The pool winners and runners-up qualified for the knock-out stages.
Quick Facts Tournament details, Countries ...
| 1998–99 Heineken Cup | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Countries |  France Ireland Italy Scotland Wales |
| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and Knockout |
| Date | 18 September 1998 to 30 January 1999 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Teams | 16 |
| Matches played | 55 |
| Attendance | 322,340 (5,861 per match) |
| Top point scorer(s) | Simon Mason (Ulster) (144 points) |
| Top try scorer(s) | Thomas Lombard (Stade Français) Michel Marfaing (Toulouse) Émile Ntamack (Toulouse) (7 tries) |
| Final | |
| Venue | Lansdowne Road, Dublin |
| Attendance | 49,000 |
| Champions | Ulster (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Colomiers |
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More information France, Wales ...
| France |
Wales |
Scotland |
Ireland |
Italy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Further information: 1998-99 Heineken Cup pool stage
In the pool matches teams received 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and 0 points for a defeat.
Pool 1
More information Team, P ...
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stade Français |
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 10 | 17 | 219 | 117 | 102 | 10 |
| Llanelli |
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 22 | −10 | 113 | 180 | −67 | 6 |
| Leinster |
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 141 | 124 | 17 | 4 |
| Bègles-Bordeaux |
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 23 | −12 | 127 | 179 | −52 | 4 |
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Pool 2
More information Team, P ...
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perpignan |
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 35 | 13 | 22 | 238 | 108 | 130 | 10 |
| Munster |
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 13 | 4 | 144 | 108 | 36 | 9 |
| Neath |
6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 27 | −13 | 118 | 194 | −76 | 3 |
| Petrarca Padova |
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 21 | −13 | 79 | 169 | −90 | 2 |
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Pool 3
More information Team, P ...
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulster |
6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 20 | 3 | 197 | 168 | 29 | 9 |
| Toulouse |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 31 | 11 | 20 | 234 | 103 | 131 | 8 |
| Edinburgh Reivers |
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 179 | 146 | 33 | 5 |
| Ebbw Vale |
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 41 | −30 | 114 | 307 | −193 | 2 |
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Pool 4
More information Team, P ...
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colomiers |
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 10 | 12 | 176 | 121 | 55 | 8 |
| Pontypridd |
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 16 | −3 | 160 | 141 | 19 | 6 |
| Benetton Treviso |
6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 142 | 150 | −8 | 6 |
| Glasgow Caledonians |
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 19 | −9 | 121 | 187 | −66 | 4 |
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More information Seed, Pool winners ...
| Seed | Pool winners | Pts | TF | +/− |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Perpignan |
10 | 35 | +130 |
| 2 | Stade Français |
10 | 27 | +102 |
| 3 | Ulster |
9 | 23 | +29 |
| 4 | Colomiers |
8 | 22 | +55 |
| Seed | Pool runners-up | Pts | TF | +/− |
| 5 | Munster |
9 | 17 | +36 |
| 6 | Toulouse |
8 | 31 | +131 |
| 7 | Pontypridd |
6 | 13 | +19 |
| 8 | Llanelli |
6 | 12 | −67 |
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| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Ulster
| 15 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Toulouse
| 13 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Ulster
| 33 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Stade Français
| 27 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Stade Français
| 71 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Pontypridd
| 14 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Ulster
| 21 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Colomiers
| 6 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Colomiers
| 23 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Munster
| 9 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Colomiers
| 10 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Perpignan
| 6 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Perpignan
| 34 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Llanelli
| 17 | ||||||||||||
Quarter-finals
| 11 December 1998 19:15 |
| Ulster | 15–13 | Toulouse |
| Pen: Mason (3) Drop: Humphreys (2) | Report[1][2] | Try: Pelous Con: Ougier Pen: Delaigue (2) |
| Ravenhill Attendance: 11,500 Referee: B. Campbell |
Semi-finals
Final
Main article: 1999 Heineken Cup Final
| 30 January 1999 14:45 |
| Ulster | 21–6 | Colomiers |
| Pen: Mason (6) Drop: Humphreys | Report | Pen: Labit Mickael Carre |
| Lansdowne Road, Dublin Attendance: 49,000 Referee: Clayton Thomas (Wales) |
- Jim Stokes, "Oh la, la, magical Ulster", Belfast Telegraph, 12 December 1998
- "Chance to remember a lost time", Irish Times, 20 October 2000
- Brendan Fanning, "Euro dream lives on", Sunday Independent, 10 January 1999
- Chris Hewett, "Rugby Union: Ulster revel in magic of Europe", The Independent, 11 January 1999