The 2005–06 European Challenge Cup pool stage was the opening stage of the tenth season of the European Challenge Cup, the second-tier competition for European rugby union clubs. It began with all twenty teams playing on 22 October 2005 and ended when Bristol hosted Narbonne on 22 January 2006.
| 2005–06 European Challenge Cup pool stage | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 2005–06 European Challenge Cup | ||
| Date | 22 October 2005 – 22 January 2006 | ||
| Qualifiers | |||
| Seed 1 |  Gloucester | ||
| Seed 2 | Newcastle Falcons | ||
| Seed 3 | London Irish | ||
| Seed 4 | Northampton Saints | ||
| Seed 5 | Worcester Warriors | ||
| Seed 6 |  Bayonne | ||
| Seed 7 |  Connacht | ||
| Seed 8 | Brive | ||
| |||
Twenty teams participated in this phase of the competition; they were divided into five pools of four teams each, with each team playing the others home and away. Competition points were earned using the standard bonus point system. The five pool winners and the best three runners-up advanced to the knockout stage. These teams then competed in a single-elimination tournament that ended with the final at the Twickenham Stoop in London on 21 May 2006.
Results
All times are local to the game location.
Key to colours Winner of each pool, advance to quarterfinals. Seed # in parentheses Three highest-scoring second-place teams advance to quarterfinals. Seed # in parentheses
Pool 1
| Team[1] | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northampton Saints (4) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 32 | 12 | 20 | 194 | 96 | 98 | 5 | 0 | 25 |
| Narbonne | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 11 | 5 | 125 | 113 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 18 |
| Bristol | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 26 | 21 | 5 | 203 | 150 | 53 | 3 | 1 | 16 |
 Viadana | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 39 | −30 | 81 | 244 | −163 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 16 December 2005[5] 19:30 |
| Narbonne | 7–22 | Northampton Saints |
| Parc des Sports Et de l'Amitié Attendance: 3,500 |
Pool 2
| Team[1] | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London Irish (3) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 11 | 21 | 239 | 81 | 158 | 3 | 0 | 27 |
| Agen | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 23 | 15 | 8 | 163 | 143 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 14 |
| Pau | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 19 | −7 | 107 | 153 | −46 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| Overmach Parma | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 30 | −22 | 74 | 206 | −132 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Pool 3
| Team[1] | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gloucester (1) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 6 | 43 | 331 | 53 | 278 | 5 | 0 | 29 |
| Bayonne (6) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 31 | 11 | 20 | 202 | 93 | 109 | 4 | 0 | 20 |
 București | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 40 | −33 | 71 | 253 | −182 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| Toulon | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 39 | −30 | 64 | 269 | −205 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
Pool 4
| Team[1] | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle Falcons (2) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 10 | 34 | 324 | 81 | 243 | 4 | 0 | 28 |
| Brive (8) | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 30 | 19 | 11 | 203 | 169 | 34 | 4 | 2 | 18 |
 Borders | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 23 | −4 | 155 | 177 | −22 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
| L'Aquila | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 55 | −41 | 103 | 358 | −255 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Pool 5
| Team[1] | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worcester Warriors (5) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 12 | 12 | 181 | 103 | 78 | 3 | 1 | 25 |
| Connacht (7) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 25 | 14 | 11 | 190 | 119 | 71 | 3 | 1 | 20 |
| Catania | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 41 | −26 | 116 | 257 | −141 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Montpellier | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 26 | 23 | 3 | 170 | 178 | −8 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
Seeding and runners-up
| Seed | Pool Winners | Pts | TF | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gloucester | 29 | 49 | +278 |
| 2 | Newcastle Falcons | 28 | 44 | +243 |
| 3 | London Irish | 27 | 32 | +158 |
| 4 | Northampton Saints | 25 | 32 | +98 |
| 5 | Worcester Warriors | 25 | 24 | +78 |
| Seed | Pool Runners-up | Pts | TF | +/- |
| 6 | Bayonne | 20 | 31 | +109 |
| 7 | Connacht | 20 | 25 | +71 |
| 8 | Brive | 18 | 30 | +34 |
| – | Narbonne | 18 | 16 | +12 |
| – | Agen | 14 | 16 | +20 |