| 2003-04 European Shield | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Countries |  England France Italy Portugal Spain |
| Tournament format(s) | Knockout |
| Date | 10 January 2004 - 21 May 2004 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Teams | 16 |
| Matches played | 29 |
| Attendance | 27,489 (948 per match) |
| Tries scored | 176 (6.07 per match) |
| Final | |
| Venue | Stadio Luigi Zaffanella,Viadana |
| Attendance | 2,553 |
| Champions | Montpellier (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Viadana |
The2003–04 European Shield (known as theParker Pen Shield forsponsorship reasons)[1] was the 2nd season of theEuropean Shield, Europe's third-tier clubrugby union competition below theHeineken Cup andEuropean Challenge Cup. A total of 16 teams participated, representing five countries.
This competition was contested between 12 first round losers from the2003–04 European Challenge Cup[2] plus 4 other Clubs entering directly into the 1st Round. The structure of the competition was a purely knockout format; teams played each other on a home and away basis, with the aggregate points winner proceeding to the next round. The final was a single leg.
The competition began on 10 January 2004 and culminated in the final at theStadio Luigi Zaffanella inViadana on 21 May 2004.Montpellier secured a victory overViadana in the final and picked up their first piece of European Club silverware.
This competition was contested between 12 first round losers from the2003–04 European Challenge Cup, plus 4 other Clubs that joined directly at the 1st Round of the Shield.[3]
| England | France | Italy | Portugal | Spain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Gran Parma | ||||
All kickoff times are local to the match location.[4]
| 10 January 2004 14:30 |
| Clube Rugby Lisboa | 25 – 13 | Leonessa |
| Report |
| Estádio Universitário de Lisboa Attendance: 1,000 Referee:Malcolm Changleng (Scotland) |
| 10 January 2004 15:00 |
| AA Coimbra | 0 – 45 | Petrarca Padova |
| Report |
| Estádio Municipal Sérgio Conceição Referee:David Changleng (Scotland) |
| 10 January 2004 15:00 |
| L'Aquila | 36 – 22 | UE Santboiana |
| Report |
| Stadio Tommaso Fattori Attendance: 500 Referee:Sean Davy (England) |
| 10 January 2004 15:00 |
| Rovigo | 48 – 13 | El Salvador |
| Report |
| Stadio Comunale Mario Battaglini Attendance: 300 Referee:Marshall Kilgore (Ireland) |
| 10 January 2004 16:00 |
| UC Madrid | 27 – 60 | Viadana |
| Report |
| Ciudad Universitaria Attendance: 500 Referee:Andy Ireland (Scotland) |
| 10 January 2004 19:30 |
| Montpellier | 46 – 10 | Rugby Roma |
| Report |
| Stade Sabathé Attendance: 2,500 Referee:Wayne Barnes (England) |
| 11 January 2004 12:30 |
| Valladolid RAC | 9 – 15 | Overmach Parma |
| Report |
| Estadio Pepe Rojo Attendance: 1,200 Referee:Neil Ballard (Wales) |
| 11 January 2004 14:30 |
| Gran Parma | 41 – 33 | Rotherham |
| Report |
| Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Attendance: 300 Referee:Franck Maciello (France) |
| 17 January 2004 14:30 |
| Overmach Parma | 27 – 10 | Valladolid RAC |
| Report |
| Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Attendance: 400 Referee:Franck Maciello (France) |
| 17 January 2004 14:30 |
| Viadana | 43 – 3 | UC Madrid |
| Report |
| Stadio Luigi Zaffanella Attendance: 500 Referee:Malcolm Changleng (Scotland) |
| 17 January 2004 15:00 |
| Petrarca Padova | 83 – 3 | AA Coimbra |
| Report |
| Stadio Plebiscito Attendance: 500 Referee:Sean Davy (England) |
| 17 January 2004 17:00 |
| Leonessa | 42 – 18 | Clube Rugby Lisboa |
| Report |
| Campo Comunale di Rugby Attendance: 800 Referee:Marshall Kilgore (Ireland) |
| 18 January 2004 12:30 |
| El Salvador | 40 – 24 | Rovigo |
| Report |
| Estadio Pepe Rojo Attendance: 1,100 Referee:Wayne Barnes (England) |
| 18 January 2004 12:30 |
| UE Santboiana | 26 – 8 | L'Aquila |
| Report |
| Estadi Baldiri Aleu Attendance: 1,600 Referee:Andy Ireland (Scotland) |
| 18 January 2004 13:00 |
| Rotherham | 42 – 17 | Gran Parma |
| Report |
| Millmoor Attendance: 1,183 Referee:Phil Fear (Wales) |
| 18 January 2004 14:30 |
| Rugby Roma | 10 – 22 | Montpellier |
| Report |
| Stadio Tre Fontane Attendance: 100 Referee:David Rose (England) |
| Proceed to Quarter-final | Match points | Aggregate score | Points margin | Eliminated from competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petrarca Padova | 4 – 2 | 128 – 3 | 125 | AA Coimbra |
| Viadana | 4 – 2 | 103 – 30 | 73 | UC Madrid |
| Montpellier | 4 – 2 | 68 – 20 | 48 | Rugby Roma |
| Overmach Parma | 4 – 2 | 42 – 19 | 23 | Valladolid RAC |
| Rovigo | 2 – 2 | 72 – 53 | 19 | El Salvador |
| Rotherham | 2 – 2 | 75 – 58 | 17 | Gran Parma |
| Leonessa | 2 – 2 | 55 – 43 | 12 | Clube Rugby Lisboa |
| UE Santboiana | 2 – 2 | 48 – 44 | 4 | L'Aquila |
All kickoff times are local to the match location.[5]
| 24 January 2004 14:30 |
| Overmach Parma | 29 – 10 | Rovigo |
| Report |
| Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Attendance: 500 Referee:Franck Maciello (France) |
| 24 January 2004 14:30 |
| Viadana | 32 – 30 | Rotherham |
| Report |
| Stadio Luigi Zaffanella Attendance: 1,200 Referee:R McDowell (Ireland) |
| 24 January 2004 15:00 |
| UE Santboiana | 19 – 27 | Leonessa |
| Report |
| Estadi Baldiri Aleu Attendance: 1,000 Referee:Jean Matheu (France) |
| 24 January 2004 19:30 |
| Montpellier | 34 – 6 | Petrarca Padova |
| Report |
| Stade Sabathé Attendance: 2,300 Referee:David Changleng (Scotland) |
All kickoff times are local to the match location.[6]
| 31 January 2004 15:00 |
| Petrarca Padova | 18 – 9 | Montpellier |
| Report |
| Stadio Plebiscito Attendance: 1,000 Referee:Wayne Barnes (England) |
| 31 January 2004 15:00 |
| Rotherham | 22 – 21 | Viadana |
| Report |
| Millmoor Attendance: 1,153 Referee:Christophe Berdos (France) |
| 31 January 2004 15:00 |
| Rovigo | 24 – 20 | Overmach Parma |
| Report |
| Stadio Comunale Mario Battaglini Attendance: 800 Referee:Simon McDowell (Ireland) |
| 31 January 2004 17:00 |
| Leonessa | 28 – 10 | UE Santboiana |
| Report |
| Campo Comunale di Rugby Attendance: 800 Referee:David Keane (Ireland) |
| Proceed to Semifinal | Match points | Aggregate score | Points margin | Eliminated from competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leonessa | 4 – 2 | 55 – 29 | 26 | UE Santboiana |
| Montpellier | 2 – 2 | 43 – 24 | 19 | Petrarca Padova |
| Overmach Parma | 2 – 2 | 49 – 34 | 15 | Rovigo |
| Viadana | 2 – 2 | 53 – 52 | 1 | Rotherham |
All kickoff times are local to the match location.[7]
| 9 April 2004 19:30 |
| Montpellier | 45 – 12 | Leonessa |
| Report |
| Stade Sabathé Attendance: 1,000 Referee:Sean Davey (England) |
| 10 April 2004 15:00 |
| Overmach Parma | 32 – 42 | Viadana |
| Report |
| Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Attendance: 500 Referee:Malcolm Changleng (Scotland) |
| 24 April 2004 15:00 |
| Leonessa | 23 – 26 | Montpellier |
| Report |
| Campo Comunale di Rugby Attendance: 500 Referee:David Changleng (Scotland) |
| 25 April 2004 15:05 |
| Viadana | 33 – 27 | Overmach Parma |
| Report |
| Stadio Luigi Zaffanella Attendance: 1,200 Referee:Christophe Berdos (France) |
| Proceed to Final | Match points | Aggregate score | Points margin | Eliminated from competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montpellier | 4 – 2 | 71 – 35 | 36 | Leonessa |
| Viadana | 4 – 2 | 75 – 59 | 16 | Overmach Parma |
| 21 May 2004 21:00 |
| Montpellier | 25 – 19 | Viadana |
| Try:Buada Arbo Daniell Con:Bortolussi (1) Jouve (1) Pen:Jouve (2) | Report | Try:Steyn (1) Con:Steyn (1) Pen:Steyn (4) |
| Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi,Parma Attendance: 2,553 Referee:Dave Pearson (England) |