The 2005–06 Heineken Cup was the eleventh edition of the European Heineken Cup rugby union club tournament. 24 teams from 7 countries took part, with the opening game played on Friday October 21, 2005. Munster won the tournament, beating Biarritz in the final held at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, on 20 May 2006.

Quick Facts Tournament details, Countries ...

2005–06 Heineken Cup
Tournament details
Countries	England  France  Ireland  Italy  Scotland  Wales
Tournament format(s)	Round-robin and Knockout
Date	21 October 2005 – 20 May 2006
Tournament statistics
Teams	24
Matches played	79
Attendance	964,863 (12,213 per match)
Top point scorer(s)	Felipe Contepomi (Leinster) (129 points)
Top try scorer(s)	Sireli Bobo (Biarritz) Vincent Clerc (Toulouse) Felipe Contepomi (Leinster) (6 tries)
Final
Venue	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Attendance	74,534
Champions	Munster (1st title)
Runners-up	Biarritz
← 2004–05 (Previous) (Next) 2006–07 →

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The teams 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.

In the pool matches, teams receive:

• four points for a win
• two points for a draw
• a bonus point for scoring four or more tries
• a bonus point for losing by seven or fewer points

Ties between two teams are broken in the following order:

1. Match points earned in head-to-head matches. For example, if tied teams are in the same pool, and split their head-to-head matches, but one team earned a bonus point and the other failed to do so, the team that earned the bonus point will win. Munster won a tiebreaker over Sale Sharks in Pool 1 in this very manner.
2. Tries scored in head-to-head matches.
3. Point difference in head-to-head matches.
4. Tries scored in all pool matches. This is the first tiebreaker between teams in different pools, which can come into play for determining seeding among first-place teams, or breaking ties among second-place teams.
5. Point difference in all pool matches.
6. Best disciplinary record in pool play. The team with the fewest players sent off or sin-binned during pool play wins.
7. Coin toss.

The quarterfinals are seeded from 1 to 8. The six pool winners receive the top six seeds, based on their point totals. The top two-second-place finishers are seeded 7 and 8. The seeds of the qualifying teams are in parentheses next to their names in the tables.

Full results can be found at 2005–06 Heineken Cup pool stage.
All times are local to the match location.

Pool 1

More information Team, P ...

Team	P	W	D	L	Tries for	Tries against	Try diff	Points for	Points against	Points diff	TB	LB	Pts
Munster (4)	6	5	0	1	22	6	16	186	87	99	3	0	23
Sale Sharks (7)	6	5	0	1	17	9	8	159	84	75	3	0	23
Newport Gwent Dragons	6	1	0	5	14	20	−6	99	168	−69	1	1	6
Castres	6	1	0	5	8	26	−18	90	195	−105	1	1	6

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Note: Munster took first place over Sale Sharks on competition points in head-to-head matches, 5–4.

Pool 2

More information Team, P ...

Team	P	W	D	L	Tries for	Tries against	Try diff	Points for	Points against	Points diff	TB	LB	Pts
Perpignan (5)	6	5	0	1	20	5	15	160	52	108	2	1	23
Leeds Tykes	6	4	0	2	19	9	10	143	91	52	3	1	20
Cardiff Blues	6	3	0	3	16	18	−2	128	145	−17	3	0	15
Calvisano	6	0	0	6	4	27	−23	48	191	−143	0	0	0

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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	TB	LB	Pts
Leicester Tigers (3)	6	5	0	1	19	10	9	179	111	68	3	1	24
Stade Français	6	4	0	2	16	7	9	148	98	50	2	2	20
Ospreys	6	2	0	4	9	20	−11	90	144	−54	0	1	9
Clermont Auvergne	6	1	0	5	14	21	−7	136	200	−64	1	1	6

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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	TB	LB	Pts
Biarritz (2)	6	5	0	1	24	10	14	182	93	89	4	0	24
Saracens	6	4	0	2	12	13	−1	128	129	−1	1	0	17
Ulster	6	3	0	3	15	13	2	126	111	15	2	0	14
Benetton Treviso	6	0	0	6	13	28	−15	104	207	−103	2	1	3

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Pool 5

More information Team, P ...

Team	P	W	D	L	Tries for	Tries against	Try diff	Points for	Points against	Points diff	TB	LB	Pts
Bath (6)	6	5	0	1	18	9	9	166	111	55	3	0	23
Leinster (8)	6	4	0	2	28	13	15	214	124	90	4	2	22
Bourgoin	6	2	0	4	9	24	−15	109	195	−86	1	0	9
Glasgow	6	1	0	5	16	25	−9	131	190	−59	1	1	6

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Pool 6

More information Team, P ...

Team	P	W	D	L	Tries for	Tries against	Try diff	Points for	Points against	Points diff	TB	LB	Pts
Toulouse (1)	6	5	1	0	22	11	11	188	124	64	3	0	25
Wasps	6	2	1	3	18	13	5	173	118	55	2	2	14
Llanelli Scarlets	6	2	0	4	18	26	−8	152	206	−54	2	2	12
Edinburgh	6	2	0	4	14	22	−8	121	186	−65	1	2	11

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