2002–03 European Shield
# 2002–03 European Shield

The 2002–03 European Shield (known as the Parker Pen Shield for sponsorship reasons) 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.

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

### Round 1

**1st leg**

All kickoff times are local to the match location.

* 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.

* 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 |

### Quarter-finals

**1st leg**

All kickoff times are local to the match location.

* 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.

* 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 |

### Semifinals

**1st leg**

All kickoff times are local to the match location.

* 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.

* 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)
