The 1995-1996 Heineken Cup (the rugby club championship of Europe) was the first of the series. Competing teams, from France, Ireland, Italy, Wales and for the only time so far Romania (teams from England and Scotland were not permitted to enter the competition by the RFU and SRU respectively), were divided into four pools of three, in which teams played each other only once, meaning one home and one away games per team. The winners of the pools qualified for the knock-out stages.
Pool Stages
In the pool matches teams received
- 2 points for a win
- 1 points for a draw
Pool 1
| Team |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Points |
| Toulouse |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
4 Q |
| Benetton Treviso |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
| Farul Constanta |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
Pool 2
| Team |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Points |
| Cardiff |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
3 Q |
| Bègles-Bordeaux |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
| Ulster |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
Pool 3
| Team |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Points |
| Leinster |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
4 Q |
| Pontypridd |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
| Milan |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
Pool 4
| Team |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Points |
| Dax |
4 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
6 Q |
| Swansea |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 Q |
| Munster |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
Semi Finals
Home teams listed first.
- Toulouse 30 - 3 Swansea
- Leinster 14 - 23 Cardiff
Final
Played on 6 January 1998 at Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff, Wales
- Cardiff 18 - 21 Toulouse (aet, 18-18 at full time)
