2017–18 European Rugby Champions Cup
The 2017–18 European Rugby Champions Cup was the fourth European Rugby Champions Cup championship (23rd overall), the annual rugby union club competition for teams from the top six nations in European rugby and was the twenty-third season of pan-European professional club rugby competition.
| 2017–18 European Rugby Champions Cup | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Countries | England France Ireland Italy Scotland Wales |
| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and knockout |
| Date | 13 October 2017 – 12 May 2018 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Teams | 20 |
| Matches played | 67 |
| Attendance | 1,005,537 (15,008 per match) |
| Highest attendance | 52,282 – Leinster v Racing 92 (12 May 2018) |
| Lowest attendance | 2,600 – Benetton v Scarlets (16 December 2017) |
| Tries scored | 366 (5.46 per match) |
| Top point scorer(s) | Owen Farrell (Saracens) (92 points) |
| Top try scorer(s) | Dan Evans (Ospreys) (6 tries) |
| Final | |
| Venue | San Mamés Stadium, Bilbao |
| Attendance | 52,282 |
| Champions | Leinster (4th title) |
| Runners-up | Racing 92 |
The format of the competition began with a play-off qualification round at the end of the preceding season featuring teams from England, France, Ireland and Wales. The winner joined 19 teams already qualified by way of their domestic league position in the pool stage of the competition - a home and away round-robin for five groups of four teams. Following the pool stage, five pool winners, and three highest ranked runners-up, qualified for the quarter-finals of the competition, as the Cup thereafter reverted to a single elimination knockout format.
The tournament began on 13 October 2017. The final was won by Leinster on 12 May 2018 at San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao, Spain. This was Leinster's fourth title, tying the record for the most successful team in the competition's history. This was the first time the final was held outside one of the Six Nations countries.