2003–04 European Shield

2003-04 European Shield
Tournament details
Countries	England  France  Italy  Portugal  Spain
Tournament format(s)	Knockout
Date	10 January 2004 - 21 May 2004
Tournament statistics
Teams	16
Matches played	29
Attendance	27,489 (948 per match)
Tries scored	176 (6.07 per match)
Final
Venue	Stadio Luigi Zaffanella, Viadana
Attendance	2,553
Champions	Montpellier (1st title)
Runners-up	Viadana
← 2002–03 (Previous) (Next) 2004–05 →

The 2003–04 European Shield (known as the Parker Pen Shield for sponsorship reasons)^[1] was the 2nd season of the European Shield, Europe's third-tier club rugby union competition below the Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup. A total of 16 teams participated, representing five different countries.

This competition was contested between 12 first round losers from the 2003–04 European Challenge Cup^[2] plus 4 other Clubs entering directly into the 1st Round. The structure of the competition was a purely knockout format; teams played each other on a home and away basis, with the aggregate points winner proceeding to the next round. The final was a single leg.

The competition began on 10 January 2004 and culminated in the final at the Stadio Luigi Zaffanella in Viadana on 21 May 2004. Montpellier secured a victory over Viadana in the final and picked up their first piece of European Club silverware.

This competition was contested between 12 first round losers from the 2003–04 European Challenge Cup, plus 4 other Clubs that joined directly at the 1st Round of the Shield.^[3]

England	France	Italy	Portugal	Spain
Rotherham	Montpellier	Gran Parma L'Aquila Leonessa Overmach Parma Petrarca Padova Rugby Roma Rovigo Viadana		El Salvador Valladolid RAC
			AA Coimbra Clube Rugby Lisboa	UC Madrid UE Santboiana

All kickoff times are local to the match location.^[4]

Proceed to Quarter-final	Match points	Aggregate score	Points margin	Eliminated from competition
Petrarca Padova	4 – 2	128 – 3	125	AA Coimbra
Viadana	4 – 2	103 – 30	73	UC Madrid
Montpellier	4 – 2	68 – 20	48	Rugby Roma
Overmach Parma	4 – 2	42 – 19	23	Valladolid RAC
Rovigo	2 – 2	72 – 53	19	El Salvador
Rotherham	2 – 2	75 – 58	17	Gran Parma
Leonessa	2 – 2	55 – 43	12	Clube Rugby Lisboa
UE Santboiana	2 – 2	48 – 44	4	L'Aquila

All kickoff times are local to the match location.^[5]

All kickoff times are local to the match location.^[6]

Proceed to Semifinal	Match points	Aggregate score	Points margin	Eliminated from competition
Leonessa	4 – 2	55 – 29	26	UE Santboiana
Montpellier	2 – 2	43 – 24	19	Petrarca Padova
Overmach Parma	2 – 2	49 – 34	15	Rovigo
Viadana	2 – 2	53 – 52	1	Rotherham

All kickoff times are local to the match location.^[7]

Proceed to Final	Match points	Aggregate score	Points margin	Eliminated from competition
Montpellier	4 – 2	71 – 35	36	Leonessa
Viadana	4 – 2	75 – 59	16	Overmach Parma

• 2003-04 Heineken Cup
• 2003-04 European Challenge Cup
• European Shield

• BBC Parker Pen Cup & Shield 2003/4 results summary