The 2009–10 Amlin Challenge Cup pool stage was the opening stage of the 14th season of the European Challenge Cup, the second-tier competition for European rugby union clubs. It began on 8 October 2009 when Worcester Warriors hosted Montpellier and ended on 24 January 2010 with the match between Leeds Carnegie and Bourgoin.
| 2009–10 Amlin Challenge Cup pool stage | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 2009–10 Amlin Challenge Cup | ||
| Date | 8 October 2009 – 23 January 2010 | ||
| Qualifiers | |||
| Seed 1 |  Connacht | ||
| Seed 2 |  Toulon | ||
| Seed 3 |  London Wasps | ||
| Seed 4 | Newcastle Falcons | ||
| Seed 5 |  Cardiff Blues | ||
| Seed 6 | Gloucester Rugby | ||
| Seed 7 | Scarlets | ||
| Seed 8 | Bourgoin | ||
| |||
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 pool winners advanced to the knockout stage, where they were joined by three entrants from the Heineken Cup pool stage. These teams then competed in a single-elimination tournament that ended with the final at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille on 23 May 2010.
Results
All times are local to the game location.
Key to colours Winner of each pool advances to quarterfinals. Seed # in parentheses.
Pool 1
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bourgoin (8) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 6 | +10 | 141 | 86 | +55 | 2 | 1 | 23 |
| Leeds Carnegie | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 6 | +13 | 160 | 82 | +78 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
 Overmach Parma | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 17 | −12 | 78 | 145 | −67 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
 București Oaks | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 16 | −11 | 70 | 136 | −66 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
Pool 2
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connacht (1) | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 5 | +23 | 199 | 63 | +136 | 2 | 0 | 26 |
| Montpellier | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 10 | +8 | 158 | 92 | +66 | 2 | 1 | 19 |
| Worcester Warriors | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 18 | 8 | +10 | 140 | 83 | +57 | 2 | 3 | 13 |
 Olympus Madrid | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 45 | −41 | 44 | 303 | −269 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pool 3
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toulon (2) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 7 | +20 | 218 | 88 | +130 | 3 | 0 | 23 |
| Saracens | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 6 | +11 | 184 | 83 | +101 | 2 | 0 | 22 |
| Castres Olympique | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 24 | 12 | +12 | 173 | 127 | +46 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| Rovigo | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 46 | −43 | 41 | 318 | −277 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pool 4
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London Wasps (3) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 3 | +18 | 176 | 69 | +107 | 2 | 1 | 23 |
| Bayonne | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 4 | −19 | 184 | 73 | +111 | 2 | 1 | 19 |
| Racing Métro | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 7 | +15 | 177 | 85 | +92 | 2 | 2 | 16 |
| Rugby Roma Olimpic | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 53 | −52 | 28 | 338 | −310 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pool 5
| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newcastle Falcons (4) | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 6 | +10 | 146 | 77 | +69 | 2 | 1 | 23 |
| Montauban | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 9 | +4 | 132 | 96 | +36 | 1 | 0 | 21 |
| Albi | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 14 | −1 | 117 | 137 | −20 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
| Petrarca Padova | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 22 | −13 | 95 | 180 | −85 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Seeding
- Bare numbers indicate Challenge quarterfinal seeding.
- Numbers with "HC" indicate Heineken Cup 3rd-5th Runners-Up.
| Seeds | Top 4 Pool Winners | Pts | TF | +/− |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Connacht | 26 | 28 | +136 |
| 2 | Toulon | 23 | 27 | +130 |
| 3 | London Wasps | 23 | 21 | +108 |
| 4 | Newcastle Falcons | 23 | 16 | +69 |
| Non-Seeds | (Worst Pool Winner and HC Runners-up) | Pts | TF | +/− |
| 5HC | Cardiff Blues | 18 | 14 | +45 |
| 6HC | Gloucester | 17 | 12 | -10 |
| 7HC | Scarlets | 17 | 12 | -31 |
| 8 | Bourgoin | 23 | 15 | +55 |