The Heineken Cup, sponsored by Heineken lager, is an annual rugby union competition involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is held annually from October to May, with various stages held in between other competitions.
Launched in the summer of 1995 and organised by the European Rugby Cup, also responsible for the secondary championship - the European Challenge Cup, the competition is one of the most celebrated trophies in the sport and was created to provide a new and challenging cross-border professional rugby competition.
Currently the London Wasps are the champions having been victorious against the Leicester Tigers in the last final held at Twickenham in England. French club Toulouse has also seen the most wins with three under their belt to date.
Clubs in the Celtic League, Guinness Premiership, Super 10 and the Top 14 are all permitted to enter into the competition with places in the Heineken Cup being allocated to the six competing nations based on wins within several other competitions: the Top 14, Guinness Premiership, the Anglo-Welsh Cup the Celtic League and the Super 10.
In all, 24 teams contest the pool stages in six pools of four, though each European nation has a different qualifying system and the number of clubs from each nation can vary depending on their performances. The 2007 Heineken Cup Final will be held in Twickenham for the third time.