2014 The reduced format for the inaugural Qualifying Competition included two Italian Clubs, a Romanian and a Georgian side. Sides were paired up and competed in two matches, home and away. The winners, on aggregate, of these two games received one of the two places in the
2014–15 European Rugby Challenge Cup.
Rugby Europe 1 play-off •
Rovigo Delta won the play-off 46 – 39 on aggregate, and qualifies as Rugby Europe 1 for the
2014–15 European Rugby Challenge Cup.
Rugby Europe 2 play-off •
București Wolves won the play-off 28 – 26 on aggregate, and qualified as Rugby Europe 2 for the
2014–15 European Rugby Challenge Cup.
2015 The expanded competition for entry into the
2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup features six teams, in two pools of three. Russia is represented in European competition for the first time. Matches are scheduled for the same weekends as the 2014–15 Challenge Cup, beginning with the 5th Round of the Challenge Cup.
Pool 1 Qualifying play-off ---- •
Calvisano won the play-off 52–24 on aggregate, and will play in the
2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup.
Pool 2 Qualifying play-off ---- •
Enisey-STM won the play-off 63–32 on aggregate, and will play in the
2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup.
2015–16 The Qualifying Competition was once again expanded, this time featuring 8 teams in two pools of four. Each team will play the teams in the other pool once. Belgium and Germany are represented in pan-European Rugby competition for the first time, through
Royal Kituro and
Heidelberger RK respectively.
Fixtures Qualifying play-offs ---- • On aggregate,
Enisey-STM (Aggregate score: 70–5) and
Timișoara Saracens (Aggregate score: 64–40) qualify for the
2016–17 European Rugby Challenge Cup.
2016–17 The format of the Qualifying Competition remains similar to the previous season. As before, two places in the next year's Challenge Cup will be available for teams in the Qualifying Competition. This season's competition features clubs from the domestic leagues of non-EPCR unions Russia, Spain, Germany and Belgium, as well as four representatives from the Italian Eccellenza. The eight participating clubs will compete in two pools with each club in Pool A playing once against each club in Pool B. The two pool winners will then play off against Timișoara Saracens of Romania and Russia's Enisei-STM on a home and away basis to decide which two clubs will qualify for the 2017–18 Challenge Cup. Mid-season it was announced the competition would become the
European Rugby Continental Shield and the two qualifiers will play a final match as part of EPCR's 2017 Edinburgh Finals weekend. On February 14, at the office of RK "Yenisei-STM" received a letter signed by the coordinator of the qualifying competitions EPCR Vincent Prebande. Mr. Prebande reports that, like last year, the second stage of Qualifying teams will play in accordance with the principle of sport. The two-legged confrontation "Yenisei-STM" will meet the Italian club "Mogliano" and "Krasny Yar" - with the Romanian club "Timișoara Saracens". ---- • On aggregate,
Enisey-STM (Aggregate score: 97–7) and
Krasny Yar (Aggregate score: 39–35) qualify for the
2017–18 European Rugby Challenge Cup.
Continental Shield Final 2017–18 The format of the Qualifying Competition remains similar to the previous season. As before, two places in the next year's Challenge Cup will be available for teams in the Continental Shield. Clubs from six countries will compete in the 2017–18 Continental Shield. Four representatives from the Italian Eccellenza – Pataro Rugby Calvisano, Femi-CZ Rugby Rovigo, Rugby Petrarca and Rugby Viadana – will be joined by Romania's Timișoara Saracens, RC Batumi from Georgia, Heidelberger RK of Germany and Portugal's Centro Desportivo Universitario de Lisboa (CDUL Rugby) competing in two pools of four. Following the pool stage matches, the winners of Pool A will play the runners-up in Pool B, and the winners of Pool B will play the runners-up in Pool A on a home and away basis. The two clubs which advance will then play each other home and away with the winners securing a place in the Continental Shield final in Bilbao next May and also qualifying for the 2018–19 Challenge Cup. The other Continental Shield finalist will be decided by a home and away play-off between Russia's Enisei-STM and Krasny Yar who have both received a bye into the knockout stage of the competition due to their participation in this season's Challenge Cup and to their success in last season's Continental Shield. The winners of the Enisei-STM v Krasny Yar play-offs will go through to the Continental Shield final in Bilbao and will also qualify for the 2018–19 Challenge Cup. The aim of the Continental Shield is to widen the footprint of club rugby across Europe and to give both emerging and established clubs in different territories the opportunity to qualify for the Challenge Cup.
Fixtures Pool play-offs ---- • On aggregate,
Timișoara Saracens (Aggregate score: 32–18) and
Heidelberger RK (Aggregate score: 51–42) qualify for
Qualifying play-offs.
Qualifying play-offs ---- Despite
Heidelberger RK defeating
Timișoara Saracens with the aggregate score of 47-41 and going into the Challenge Cup for the first time,
Heidelberger RK have been disqualified from the Challenge Cup so
Timișoara Saracens will replace them.
Continental Shield Final 2018–19 Clubs from Italy, Georgia and Belgium competed in the 2018/19 Continental Shield with a place in the Challenge Cup up for grabs. Four sides from the Italian Eccellenza – Argos Rugby Petrarca, Pataro Calvisano, Femi-CZ Rugby Rovigo Delta and GS Fiamme Oro Rugby – were joined by Georgia's RC Locomotive Tbilisi and Belgian representatives, Belgium Rugby Barbarians XV, competing in two pools of three. Locomotive Tbilisi, Calvisano and Fiamme Oro from Rome were drawn in Pool A while Pool B was made up of Petrarca, Belgium Rugby Barbarians XV and Rovigo. Clubs in the same pool played one another on a home and away basis and the two pool winners played off over two legs to decide which club qualified for the 2019/20 Challenge Cup. A further place in the 2019/20 Challenge Cup was decided by a home and away play-off between Russia's Enisei-STM and Timișoara Saracens of Romania who are both competing in this season's Challenge Cup. The aim of the Continental Shield is to widen the footprint of club rugby across Europe and to give both emerging and established clubs in different territories the opportunity to qualify for the Challenge Cup. The Continental Shield, which was won for the second time by Enisei-STM in Bilbao in 2017–18, is organised by EPCR in conjunction with Rugby Europe and the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR).
Fixtures Qualifying play-offs ---- • On aggregate,
Enisey-STM (aggregate score: 58–52) and
Calvisano (aggregate score: 57-43) qualify for the
2019–20 European Rugby Challenge Cup. ==See also==