The 2011–12 Heineken Cup was the 17th season of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. The final was held at Twickenham on Saturday, 19 May 2012, kicking off at 5 pm (16:00 UTC).
Leinster lifted the Heineken Cup by defeating fellow Pro12 and Irish side Ulster 42–14. The victory gave Leinster their third Heineken Cup title in four years — a run of success unprecedented in the competition's history.
The remaining two places are filled by the winners of the previous year's Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup. If the cup winners are already qualified through their domestic league, an additional team from their country will claim a Heineken Cup place (assuming another team is available). Accordingly, Harlequins claimed the Challenge Cup winner's berth, and since Heineken Cup winners Leinster were already domestically qualified, the extra Irish berth went to Connacht.
The seeding system was the same as in the 2010–11 tournament. The 24 competing teams are ranked based on past Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup performance, with each pool receiving one team from each quartile, or Tier. The requirement to have only one team per country in each pool, however, still applies (with the exception of the inclusion of the seventh English team).
The brackets show each team's European Rugby Club Ranking at the end of the 2010–11 season.
The draw for the pool stage took place on 7 June 2011.
Under rules of the competition organiser, European Rugby Cup, tiebreakers within each pool are as follows.
Pool winners, and the two best pool runners-up, advance to quarterfinals.
of the European Challenge Cup.
Bare numbers indicate Heineken Cup quarterfinal seeding.
Numbers with "C" indicate Challenge Cup quarterfinal seeding.
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^ "Teams learn 2011/2012 Heineken Cup pool stages fate". BBC Sport. 7 June 2011. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
^ Palmer, Bryn (19 May 2012). "Heineken Cup final: Leinster beat Ulster to retain trophy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
^ "ERC : Heineken Cup : Rules : Qualification Process". Ercrugby.com. 13 August 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
^ "ERC : European Qualification : England". Ercrugby.com. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
^ "ERC : European Qualification : France". Ercrugby.com. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
^ a b c "ERC : European Qualification : Celtic Countries". Ercrugby.com. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
^ Heineken Cup Pool Draw. European Rugby Cup. 7 June 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
^ "Key Tournament Rules". European Rugby Cup. Archived from the original on 8 October 2010. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
This page was last edited on 11 February 2018, at 10:01 (UTC).