2002–03 European Shield

The 2002–03 European Shield (known as the Parker Pen Shield for sponsorship reasons)[1] was the 1st season of the European Shield, Europe's third-tier club rugby union competition below the Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup. A total of 16 teams participated, representing five different countries.

2002-03 European Shield
Tournament details
Countries	France  Italy  Romania  Spain  Wales
Tournament format(s)	Knockout
Date	6 December 2002 - 25 May 2003
Tournament statistics
Teams	16
Matches played	29
Attendance	44,380 (1,530 per match)
Tries scored	182 (6.28 per match)
Final
Venue	Madejski Stadium, Reading
Attendance	4,000
Champions	Castres Olympique (1st title)
Runners-up	Caerphilly

This competition was contested between the first round losers from the 2002–03 European Challenge Cup.[2] 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 6 December 2002 and culminated in the final at the Madejski Stadium in Reading on 25 May 2003. Castres Olympique secured a victory over Caerphilly in the final and picked up their first piece of European Club silverware.

Teams

This competition was contested between the 16 first round losers from the 2002–03 European Challenge Cup.

France	Italy	Romania	Spain	Wales
Castres Olympique Grenoble Mont de Marsan Pau	Gran Parma L'Aquila Overmach Parma Petrarca Padova Rugby Roma Rovigo Rugby Silea	Dinamo București	La Moraleja UC Madrid	Caerphilly Ebbw Vale

Matches

1st Leg

All kickoff times are local to the match location.[3]

6 December 2002 19:30

Castres Olympique	14 – 13	Grenoble
	Report

Stade Pierre-Antoine Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Giovanni Morandin (Italy)

7 December 2002 14:00

Ebbw Vale	37 – 16	UC Madrid
	Report

Eugene Cross Park Attendance: 900 Referee: Antonio Lombardi (Italy)

7 December 2002 14:00

Gran Parma	21 – 16	Pau
	Report

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Roy Maybank (England)

7 December 2002 14:30

Rovigo	26 – 22	Caerphilly
	Report

Stadio Comunale Mario Battaglini Attendance: 450 Referee: Christophe Berdos (France)

7 December 2002 14:30

Rugby Roma	18 – 38	Petrarca Padova
	Report

Stadio Tre Fontane Attendance: 700 Referee: Colin Saunders (Wales)

7 December 2002 16:30

La Moraleja	26 – 19	Overmach Parma
	Report

Pol. Municipal de Alcobendas Attendance: 800 Referee: Gregg Davis (Scotland)

7 December 2002 19:00

Mont de Marsan	17 – 7	Rugby Silea
	Report

Stade Guy Boniface Attendance: 2,306 Referee: Ashley Rowden (England)

8 December 2002 15:00

L'Aquila	24 – 27	Dinamo București
	Report

Stadio Tommaso Fattori Attendance: 500 Referee: Franck Maciello (France)

2nd Leg

All kickoff times are local to the match location.[4]

14 December 2002 14:30

Caerphilly	58 – 17	Rovigo
	Report

Virginia Park Attendance: 650 Referee: Gregg Davies (Scotland)

14 December 2002 14:30

Petrarca Padova	14 – 14	Rugby Roma
	Report

Stadio Plebiscito Attendance: 1,000 Referee: Tony Redmond (Ireland)

14 December 2002 15:00

Rugby Silea	17 – 32	Mont de Marsan
	Report

Stadio Comunale di Monigo Attendance: 400 Referee: Keri Evans (Wales)

14 December 2002 15:30

UC Madrid	16 – 38	Ebbw Vale
	Report

Estadio Nacional ComplutenseCiudad Universitaria Attendance: 350 Referee: Stefano Mancini (Italy)

14 December 2002 17:30

Grenoble	30 – 31	Castres Olympique
	Report

Stade Lesdiguières Attendance: 4,000 Referee: David Changleng (Scotland)

14 December 2002 19:00

Overmach Parma	26 – 13	La Moraleja
	Report

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Attendance: 750 Referee: Roy Maybank (England)

14 December 2002 19:00

Pau	30 – 20	Gran Parma
	Report

Stade du Hameau Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Paul Adams (Wales)

15 December 2002 13:00

Dinamo București	26 – 24	L'Aquila
	Report

Complexul Cultural Sportiv Attendance: 500 Referee: John Hogg (Scotland)

Aggregate Results

Proceed to Quarter-final	Match points	Aggregate score	Points margin	Eliminated from competition
Ebbw Vale	4 – 0	75 – 32	43	UC Madrid
Mont de Marsan	4 – 0	49 – 24	25	Rugby Silea
Dinamo București	4 – 0	53 – 48	5	L'Aquila
Castres Olympique	4 – 0	45 – 43	2	Grenoble
Petrarca Padova	3 – 1	52 – 32	20	Rugby Roma
Caerphilly	2 – 2	80 – 43	37	Rovigo
Overmach Parma	2 – 2	45 – 39	6	La Moraleja
Pau	2 – 2	46 – 41	5	Gran Parma

1st Leg

All kickoff times are local to the match location.[5]

11 January 2003 14:00

Ebbw Vale	29 – 3	Pau
	Report

Eugene Cross Park Attendance: 600 Referee: Steve Leyshon (England)

11 January 2003 14:30

Caerphilly	41 – 28	Overmach Parma
	Report

Virginia Park Attendance: 650 Referee: Christophe Berdos (France)

11 January 2003 14:30

Petrarca Padova	15 – 16	Mont de Marsan
	Report

Stadio Plebiscito Attendance: 600 Referee: David Changleng (Scotland)

12 January 2003

Dinamo București	0 – 88	Castres Olympique
	Report

Complexul Cultural Sportiv Attendance: 700 Referee: Ashley Rowden (England)

2nd Leg

All kickoff times are local to the match location.[6]

17 January 2003 18:30

Castres Olympique	123 – 0	Dinamo București
	Report

Stade Pierre-Antoine Attendance: 350 Referee: Steve Leyshon (England)

18 January 2003 14:30

Overmach Parma	15 – 10	Caerphilly
	Report

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi Attendance: 300 Referee: Didier Mene (France)

18 January 2003 18:00

Mont de Marsan	16 – 30	Petrarca Padova
	Report

Stade Guy Boniface Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Paul Adams (Wales)

18 January 2003 19:00

Pau	63 – 17	Ebbw Vale
	Report

Stade du Hameau Attendance: 4,124 Referee: Andy Ireland (Scotland)

Aggregate Results

Proceed to Semifinal	Match points	Aggregate score	Points margin	Eliminated from competition
Castres Olympique	4 – 0	211 – 0	211	Dinamo București
Pau	2 – 2	66 – 46	20	Ebbw Vale
Petrarca Padova	2 – 2	45 – 32	13	Mont de Marsan
Caerphilly	2 – 2	51 – 43	8	Overmach Parma

1st Leg

All kickoff times are local to the match location.[7]

11 April 2003 19:00

Castres Olympique	54 – 25	Pau
	Report

Stade Pierre-Antoine Attendance: 2,500 Referee: Giulio De Santis (Italy)

12 April 2003 16:00

Petrarca Padova	10 – 28	Caerphilly
	Report

Stadio Plebiscito Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Gregg Davies (Scotland)

2nd Leg

All kickoff times are local to the match location.[8]

25 April 2003 19:30

Caerphilly	26 – 33	Petrarca Padova
	Report

Virginia Park Attendance: 1,750 Referee: Eric Darrière (France)

26 April 2003 17:30

Pau	26 – 24	Castres Olympique
	Report

Stade du Hameau Attendance: 3,000 Referee: Roy Maybank (England)

Aggregate Results

Proceed to Final	Match points	Aggregate score	Points margin	Eliminated from competition
Castres Olympique	2 – 2	78 – 51	27	Pau
Caerphilly	2 – 2	54 – 43	11	Petrarca Padova

Final

25 May 2003 13:00

Caerphilly	12 – 40	Castres Olympique
Try: Boobyer El-Abd Con: Thomas (1)	Report	Try: Roque Forment (2) Spanghero Arbo Con: Teulet (3) Pen: Teulet (3)

Madejski Stadium, Reading, Berkshire Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Donal Courtney (Ireland)

See also

• 2002-03 Heineken Cup
• 2002-03 European Challenge Cup
• European Shield

External links

• BBC Parker Pen 2002/3 results summary

References

1. "European Shield History". ERC. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
2. "Challenge Cup European Champions". ERC. Archived from the original on 6 May 2008. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
3. "All-French Kick-off For Parker Pen Shield". ERC. 2 December 2002. Archived from the original on 6 May 2008. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
4. "Kick-off Times". ERC. 10 December 2002. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
5. "Quarter Finals First Leg Review". ERC. 14 January 2003. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
6. "Parken Pen Shield Quarter-final Draw". ERC. 16 December 2002. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
7. "Semi-final Teams". ERC. 10 April 2003. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
8. "Parker Pen Shield Semi-final Teams". ERC. 25 April 2003. Retrieved 28 January 2013.