2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup pool stage
The 2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup pool stage was the first stage of competition in the second season of the European Rugby Challenge Cup. It involved 20 teams competing, across 5 pools of 4 teams, for 8 quarter-final places – awarded to the 5 pool winners and the 3 top-ranked pool runners-up. The pool stage began on 12 November 2015 but one game was postponed following the November 2015 Paris attacks. It is due to be completed on the weekend of 21–24 January 2016. Seeding The majority of teams were seeded based on their performance in the Premiership, the Pro12 and the Top 14. However, as the Premiership and Top 14 incorporate promotion and relegation into their competitions, three teams are seeded based on their performance in the Greene King IPA Championship and Pro D2 Leagues, having been promoted this season. Two final teams come from the Qualifying Competition involving emerging rugby nations, and some Italian Excellenza clubs. Teams were then placed into 4 Tiers, each containing 5 teams, based on their seeding. A draw determined which two second seeded teams completed Tier 1, and based on this, the fourth seeded teams were allocated to either Tier 2 and Tier