European Professional Club Rugby

European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR)

Sport	Rugby union
Founded	2014
Headquarters	Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Chairman	Simon Halliday (From 4 May 2015)
Chief Exec	Vincent Gaillard (From 1 July 2015)
Replaced	European Rugby Cup (ERC)
Official website
www.epcrugby.com

European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) is the governing body and organiser of two European rugby union club tournaments: the European Rugby Champions Cup and the European Rugby Challenge Cup.^[1] The organisation was established in 2014 and is headquartered in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Switzerland was chosen so as not to have the headquarters based in any of the six participating countries.^[2]

The Champions Cup and Challenge Cup run by EPCR replace the Heineken Cup tournament that was run by Dublin-based European Rugby Cup until 2014.

EPCR’s has nine major shareholders – the six-tier one unions and federations whose national teams play in the Six Nations Championship, and the three club bodies that represent English, French and Welsh teams in their respective leagues.

The inaugural competitions were held in the 2014–15 season.

EPCR Governance

Board of Directors

EPCR is managed through a 12-person Board of Directors, which represents all shareholders, and includes an independent chairman. The nine shareholders, by country, are listed below:^[3]

• England - Rugby Football Union, Premiership Rugby Limited
• France - Fédération Française de Rugby, Ligue Nationale de Rugby
• Ireland - Irish Rugby Football Union
• Italy - Federazione Italiana Rugby
• Scotland - Scottish Rugby Union
• Wales - Welsh Rugby Union, Regional Rugby Wales

As of 4 May 2015, the independent chairman will be ex-England rugby player Simon Halliday, whose appointment was announced 29 April 2015.^[4]

Executive Committee

There is also an Executive Committee, in charge of commercial matters relating to the tournaments, and preparations for Board meetings. This committee includes the Independent Chairman, Director-General, and three voting representatives, one representing each of the major European domestic leagues, the Top 14, the English Premiership and Pro 12. Representation by English and French clubs on the three-person executive committee represents an increase in voting power for these two leagues as compared to the previous European Rugby Cup.^[5]

The three voting members of the executive are:^[6]

• English Premiership: Bruce Craig
• Pro12: Paul McNaughton
• Top 14: René Fontès

Jacques Pineau became the interim Director General of EPCR when the tournament began, and was be responsible for the day-to-day operations of EPCR.^[3][7][8] On 29 April 2015, it was announced that Swiss national Vincent Gaillard had been appointed the Director General, and would work with Pineau until 1 July 2015, when he would officially take on the role.^[4]

Revenue

Revenues generated by EPCR tournaments will be divided in three equal parts — one third to English clubs, one third to French clubs, and one third to Pro12 clubs, but with a minimum distribution guarantee for Pro12 clubs during the first five years.^[9][10] Under the previous European Rugby Cup, the Irish, Welsh, Scottish and Italian clubs had received 52% of revenues, while the English and French clubs received 48%.^[11]

European Player of the Year

The European Player Award was introduced by ERC in 2010, as part of their ERC15 awards, created to recognise the outstanding contributors of the first 15 years of European rugby. The first recipient of the award, considered the best player of the previous 15 years, was Munster Rugby's Ronan O'Gara. Following the award, and beginning with the 2010-11 Heineken Cup season, ERC began presenting a Player of the Year Award annually.

Following EPCR taking over the running of European Competitions, they continued the award, and the first EPCR European Player of the Year Award will be presented following the 2014-15 European Rugby Champions Cup season.

The most recent player to be awarded the accolade was Nick Abendanon, in 2015.

ERC European Player of the Year (2010 - 2014)

• 2010: Ronan O'Gara (Munster Rugby) (Awarded for the previous 15 seasons)
• 2011: Seán O'Brien (Leinster Rugby)
• 2012: Rob Kearney (Leinster Rugby)
• 2013: Jonny Wilkinson (Toulon)
• 2014: Steffon Armitage(Toulon)

EPCR European Player of the Year (2015 - )

• 2015: Nick Abendanon (Clermont)

EPCR Elite Awards

The Elite Awards were created by ERC, to celebrate the 10th anniversary season of the Heineken Cup. Introduced to recognise the most prominent teams and players of the competitions, EPCR has since maintained and continued the awards, updating them to include both Heineken Cup and European Rugby Champions Cup appearances.

Teams with 50 or more European Cup appearances

Team	Appearances (Heineken Cup)	Appearances (Champions Cup)	Total Appearances
Munster	138	10	148
Toulouse	138	10	148
Leinster	128	12	140
Leicester Tigers	124	10	134
Ulster	117	10	127
Scarlets [n 1]	117	10	127
Cardiff Blues [n 2]	114	0	114
Benetton Rugby Treviso	96	10	106
Edinburgh Rugby	103	0	103
Glasgow Rugby	91	10	101
Northampton Saints	83	11	94
Biarritz Olympique	92	0	92
Wasps	78	11	89
Montferrand/Clermont Auvergne	76	13	89
Bath	72	11	83
Stade Français	79	4	83
USA Perpignan	81	0	81
Ospreys	69	10	79
Harlequins	68	6	74
Castres Olympique	64	6	70
Saracens	56	12	68
Gloucester	64	0	64
Includes 48 appearances as Llanelli RFC before the introduction of regional teams in Wales Includes 44 appearances as Cardiff RFC before the introduction of regional teams in Wales Updated 11 January 2016

Players with 100 or more European Cup caps

Player	Club(s)	Appearances (Heineken Cup)	Appearances (Champions Cup)	Total Appearances
Ronan O'Gara	Munster	110	0	110
Gordon D'Arcy	Leinster	98	6	104
John Hayes	Munster	101	0	101
Peter Stringer	Munster, Saracens, Bath	94	6	100
Updated 11 January 2016

Players with 50 or more European Cup caps

Player	Club(s)	Appearances (Heineken Cup)	Appearances (Champions Cup)	Total Appearances
Ronan O'Gara	Munster	110	0	110
Gordon D'Arcy	Leinster	98	6	104
John Hayes	Munster	101	0	101
Peter Stringer	Munster, Saracens, Bath	94	6	100
Donncha O'Callaghan	Munster	96	0	96
Leo Cullen	Leinster, Leicester Tigers, Leinster (2nd stint)	92	0	92
Clément Poitrenaud	Toulouse	87	5	92
Shane Horgan	Leinster	87	0	87
Nathan Hines	Edinburgh, Perpignan, Leinster, Clermont Auvergne, Sale Sharks	85	2	87
Brian O'Driscoll	Leinster	87	0	87
Anthony Foley	Munster	86	0	86
David Wallace	Munster	86	0	86
Jean Bouilhou	Toulouse	84	0	84
Marcus Horan	Munster	84	0	84
Stephen Jones	Llanelli, Scarlets, Clermont Auvergne, Scarlets (2nd stint)	84	0	84
Paul O'Connell	Munster	76	6	82
Fabien Pelous	Dax, Toulouse	81	0	81
Martyn Williams	Pontypridd, Cardiff, Cardiff Blues	81	0	81
Vincent Clerc	Toulouse	73	6	79
Yannick Jauzion	Colomiers, Toulouse	79	0	79
Alan Quinlan	Munster	78	0	78
Sylvain Marconnet	Stade Français, Biarritz	76	0	76
Jamie Heaslip	Leinster	66	9	75
Julien Peyrelongue	Biarritz	75	0	75
Eoin Reddan	Munster, London Wasps, Leinster	66	9	75
Ian Gough	Pontypridd, Newport, Newport Gwent Dragons, Ospreys	74	0	74
Geordan Murphy	Leicester Tigers	74	0	74
Malcolm O'Kelly	Leinster	74	0	74
Jean-Baptiste Poux	Toulouse	74	0	74
William Servat	Toulouse	74	74	74
Martin Castrogiovanni	Calvisano, Leicester Tigers, Toulon	71	3	74
Florian Fritz	Bourgoin, Toulouse	70	4	74
Julien Bonnaire	Bourgoin, Clermont Auvergne	64	8	72
Allan Jacobsen	Edinburgh	72	0	72
Cédric Heymans	Brive, Toulouse	71	0	71
Shane Jennings	Leinster, Leicester Tigers, Leinster (2nd stint)	71	0	71
Jérôme Thion	Montferrand, Perpignan, Biarritz	71	0	71
Vernon Cooper	Llanelli, Scarlets	70	0	70
Simon Shaw	London Wasps	70	0	70
Grégory Lamboley	Toulouse	67	3	70
Martin Corry	Leicester Tigers	69	0	69
Nicolas Mas	Perpignan	67	2	69
Benjamin Kayser	Stade Français, Leicester Tigers, Stade Français (2nd stint), Castres Olympique, Clermont Auvergne	60	9	69
Louis Deacon	Leicester Tigers	68	0	68
Girvan Dempsey	Leinster	68	0	68
Thierry Dusautoir	Biarritz, Toulouse	61	7	68
Duncan Jones	Neath, Ospreys	66	2	68
George Chuter	Saracens, Leicester Tigers	67	0	67
John Kelly	Munster	67	0	67
Chris Paterson	Edinburgh, Gloucester, Edinburgh (2nd stint)	67	0	67
Adam Jones	Neath, Ospreys	66	0	66
Romain Millo-Chluski	Toulouse	64	2	66
David Skrela	Colomiers, Stade Français, Toulouse, Clermont Auvergne	66	0	66
Chris Wyatt	Llanelli, Scarlets, Bourgoin	66	0	66
Ben Kay	Leicester Tigers	65	0	65
Yannick Bru	Toulouse	64	0	64
Nicolas Brusque	Pau, Biarritz	64	0	64
Dimitri Yachvili	Biarritz	63	0	63
Roger Wilson	Ulster, Northampton Saints, Ulster (2nd stint)	57	6	63
Benoît August	Stade Français, Biarritz	62	0	62
Mick O'Driscoll	Munster, Perpignan, Munster (2nd stint)	62	0	62
Iestyn Thomas	Ebbw Vale, Llanelli, Scarlets	62	0	62
Shane Byrne	Leinster, Saracens	61	0	61
Reggie Corrigan	Leinster	61	0	61
Dougie Hall	Edinburgh, Glasgow Warriors	60	1	61
Frederic Michalak	Toulouse, Toulon	59	2	61
Isaac Boss	Ulster, Leinster	53	7	60
Tommy Bowe	Ulster, Ospreys, Ulster (2nd stint)	55	5	60
Kelly Brown	Borders, Glasgow Warriors, Saracens	52	8	60
Dafydd James	Pontypridd, Llanelli, Bridgend, Celtic Warriors, Harlequins, Scarlets, Cardiff Blues	60	0	60
Gethin Jenkins	Celtic Warriors, Cardiff Blues	60	0	60
Christian Labit	Toulouse, Northampton Saints	60	0	60
Gareth Thomas	Cardiff, Bridgend, Celtic Warriors, Toulouse, Cardiff Blues	60	0	60
Andrew Trimble	Ulster	60	0	60
Yannick Nyanga	Béziers, Toulouse	55	5	60
Aurélien Rougerie	Clermont Auvergne	52	8	60
Iain Balshaw	Bath, Gloucester, Biarritz	59	0	59
Steve Borthwick	Bath, Saracens	59	0	59
Lewis Moody	Leicester Tigers, Bath	59	0	59
Graham Rowntree	Leicester Tigers	59	0	59
Vincent Debaty	Perpignan, Clermont Auvergne	52	7	59
Perry Freshwater	Leicester Tigers, Perpignan	58	0	58
Rob Kearney	Leinster	52	6	58
Salvatore Perugini	L'Aquila, Calvisano, Toulouse, Aironi	58	0	58
Trevor Brennan	Leinster, Toulouse	57	0	57
Victor Costello	Leinster	57	0	57
Justin Fitzpatrick	Ulster, Castres Olympique, Ulster (2nd stint)	57	0	57
David Humphreys	Ulster	57	0	57
Jonathan Thomas	Swansea, Ospreys	57	0	57
Richard Wigglesworth	Sale Sharks, Saracens	48	9	57
Shane Williams	Neath, Ospreys	57	0	57
Joe Worsley	London Wasps	57	0	57
Philippe Bidabé	Biarritz	56	0	56
Simon Easterby	Llanelli, Scarlets	56	0	56
Andy Goode	Leicester Tigers, Brive, Wasps	49	7	56
Imanol Harinordoquy	Pau, Biarritz Olympique	52	4	56
Anthony Horgan	Munster	56	0	56
Maxime Médard	Stade Toulousain	49	7	56
Gavin Thomas	Bath, Ospreys, Scarlets, Newport Gwent Dragons	56	0	56
David Auradou	Stade Français	55	0	55
Marcos Ayerza	Leicester Tigers	48	7	55
Serge Betsen	Biarritz, London Wasps	55	0	55
Robin McBryde	Llanelli, Scarlets	55	0	55
Shaun Payne	Swansea, Munster	55	0	55
Julien Pierre	Bourgoin, Clermont Auvergne	50	5	55
Frankie Sheahan	Munster	55	0	55
Damien Traille	Pau, Biarritz	55	0	55
Garan Evans	Llanelli, Scarlets	54	0	54
Denis Hickie	Leinster	54	0	54
Benoît Lecouls	Toulouse, Biarritz, Toulouse (2nd stint)	54	0	54
Tom Voyce	Bath, London Wasps, Gloucester	54	0	54
Paddy Wallace	Ulster	54	0	54
Antonio Pavanello	Benetton Treviso	49	5	54
Jason White	Glasgow, Sale Sharks, Clermont Auvergne	54	0	54
Rory Best	Ulster Rugby	48	5	53
Lawrence Dallaglio	London Wasps	53	0	53
Austin Healey	Leicester Tigers	53	0	53
Alex King	London Wasps, Clermont	53	0	53
Leon Lloyd	Leicester Tigers, Gloucester	53	0	53
Mauro Bergamasco	Petrarca, Benetton Treviso, Stade Français, Aironi Zebre	52	0	52
Pieter de Villiers	Stade Français	52	0	52
Charlie Hodgson	Sale Sharks, Saracens	44	8	52
Deiniol Jones	Bridgend, Celtic Warriors, Cardiff Blues	52	0	52
Eric Miller	Leinster, Leicester Tigers, Ulster, Leinster (2nd stint)	52	0	52
Al Kellock	Edinburgh, Glasgow Warriors	51	1	52
Mike Ross	Harlequins, Leinster	47	5	52
Rimas Álvarez Kairelis	Perpignan	51	0	51
Peter Buxton	Newport, Gloucester	51	0	51
Lee Byrne	Scarlets, Ospreys, Clermont Auvergne	51	0	51
Ben Cohen	Northampton Saints, Sale Sharks	51	0	51
John Davies	Neath, Llanelli, Scarlets	51	0	51
Cian Healy	Leinster	48	3	51
Martin Johnson	Leicester Tigers	51	0	51
Scott Murray	Saracens, Edinburgh, Montauban, Castres Olympique	51	0	51
Brendan Williams	Petrarca, Benetton Treviso	51	0	51
Patricio Albacete	Toulouse	46	4	50
Jordan Crane	Leeds Tykes, Leicester Tigers	43	7	50
Nicolas Durand	Béziers, Perpignan, Racing Métro 92, Toulon, Perpignan (2nd stint)	50	0	50
Ross Ford	Borders, Edinburgh	50	0	50
Paul James	Neath, Ospreys, Bath, Ospreys (2nd stint)	42	8	50
Gary Longwell	Ulster	50	0	50
Sonny Parker	Pontypridd, Celtic Warriors, Ospreys	50	0	50
Matthew Rees	Celtic Warriors, Scarlets, Cardiff Blues	50	0	50

Players with 500 or more European Cup points

Player	Club(s)	Points (Heineken Cup)	Points (Champions Cup)	Points
Ronan O'Gara	Munster	1,365	0	1,365
Stephen Jones	Llanelli, Scarlets, Clermont Auvergne, Scarlets (2nd stint)	869	0	869
Dimitri Yachvili	Biarritz	661	0	661
Diego Domínguez	Milan, Stade Français	645	0	645
David Humphreys	Ulster	564	0	564
Neil Jenkins	Pontypridd, Cardiff, Celtic Warriors	502	0	502
David Skrela	Colomiers, Stade Français, Toulouse, Clermont Auvergne	500	0	500

Players with 25 or more European Cup tries

Player	Club(s)	Tries (Heineken Cup)	Tries (Champions Cup)	Tries
Vincent Clerc	Toulouse	35	1	36
Brian O'Driscoll	Leinster	33	0	33
Dafydd James	Pontypridd, Llanelli, Bridgend, Celtic Warriors, Harlequins, Scarlets, Cardiff Blues	29	0	29
Chris Ashton	Northampton Saints, Saracens	23	4	27
Shane Horgan	Leinster	27	0	27
Tommy Bowe	Ulster, Ospreys, Ulster (2nd stint)	24	2	26
Gordon D'Arcy	Leinster	26	0	26
Geordan Murphy	Leicester Tigers	25	0	25
Naipolioni Nalaga	Clermont Auvergne	23	2	25

References

1. Official site
2. "European Rugby Cup officials seconded to run the inaugural European Rugby Champions Cup", Telegraph, 9 July 2014.
3. Future of European Rugby resolved, RFU.com
4. Appointments of new Director General and Independent Chairman announced - EPCR
5. "European Rugby Cup officials seconded to run the inaugural European Rugby Champions Cup", Telegraph, 9 July 2014.
6. Registre du Commerce du Canton de Neuchâtel - EPCR Entry
7. The Guardian Northampton to face Racing, Ospreys and Treviso in European Cup - Accessed 16/6/14
8. Inaugural EPCR finals set for London
9. "European Rugby Cup officials seconded to run the inaugural European Rugby Champions Cup", Telegraph, 9 July 2014.
10. "Heads of disagreement: reflections on the European rugby debacle", Sports Pro, 11 April 2014.
11. "Heads of disagreement: reflections on the European rugby debacle", Sports Pro, 11 April 2014.