The new-look Parker Pen Challenge Cup kicks-off on Friday with 1998 Heineken Cup champions Bath Rugby first into the action with their trip to GR.A.N. Rugby Parma on Friday night.

The 32 teams from eight nations taking part will be involved in a knock-out tournament consisting of home and away matches for all rounds up to the finals of the Parker Pen Challenge Cup and the Parker Pen Shield at the end of May.

"We are now in the seventh season of a competition that has grown in stature and pre-eminence with each passing year and the new format for this season's tournament is designed to revitalise the competition," said ERC Chairman, Jean-Pierre Lux. "The new format, of home and away matches, promises to provide some outstanding and highly competitive matches over the months ahead.

"Scotland are represented for the first time by the newly formed Borders team and are one of the 32 teams bidding to match the achievements of Bourgoin, Colomiers, Montferrand, Pau, NEC Harlequins and Sale Sharks in winning one of European club rugby's premier tournaments.

"There is also the added incentive of the Parker Pen Challenge Cup winners automatically qualifying for next season's Heineken Cup tournament when the final is staged on the last weekend of May, 2003."

The 16 unseeded teams are home in the first leg of Round 1 - seeded Bridgend perhaps drawing the shortest short straw by having to travel to Pau.
It all adds up to Bridgend players avoiding black cats like the plague but bad luck continues to haunt them this season.

"We're not having the best of luck," said former Wales wing and Bridgend Chief Executive Adrian Hadley.
"We've been hit by injuries to a couple of key backs, we play Leinster with all their internationals when everyone else gets their B team - and then we're drawn against Pau of all teams!
"But we just have to get on with it. We've all been to France before - we know what to expect."

Bridgend are coming off a poor performance against Cardiff, and Hadley is frustrated by his side's inability to score tries.

"Last season we were scoring tries all over the place, but getting beaten up front," he said. "On Saturday, we hammered the Cardiff scrum and did well in the lineout but we didn't threaten out wide.

"Winning becomes a habit, but so does losing. We've got a lot of quality players out there - it's just a case of putting it all together on the field."
Key Bridgend players Sililo Martens and captain Gareth Thomas suffered knocks against Cardiff but Hadley expects both to be fit for the Pau match.

PARKER PEN CHALLENGE CUP
ROUND 1 - FIRST LEG (All kick-offs LOCAL times)

FRIDAY, 11 OCTOBER
Ebbw Vale v Montauban 1915 Steve Leyshon (E)
GR.A.N. Rugby Parma v Bath Rugby 1900 John Hogg (S)
SATURDAY, 12 OCTOBER
Grenoble v Newcastle Falcons 1930 Simon McDowell (I)
Rugby Treviso v Castres Olympique (Tele +) 1500 Gregg Davies (S)
L'Aquila Rugby v Colomiers 1500 David Tyndall (I)
Dinamo Bucaresti v Saracens 1430 Marco Salera (It)
Madrid 2012 v Borders 1600 J-P Matheu (F)
Pau v Bridgend 1930 Olan Trevor (I)
Rugby Parma v London Wasps 1900 Gareth Simmonds ( W)
La Moraleja Alcobendas v Bordeaux-Begles 1800 Stefano Mancini (It)
Caerphilly v NEC Harlequins 1430 Eric Darriere (F)
Mont de Marsan v Connacht 1930 Giovanni Morandin (It)
Petrarca Padova v Leeds Tykes 1500 Daniel Gillet (F)
Rugby Roma v Pontypridd 1430 Tony Spreadbury (E)
SUNDAY, 13 OCTOBER
Rugby Rovigo v Stade Francais 1500 David R Davies (W)
Rugby Silea v RC Narbonne 1500 Roy Maybank (E)

AND HOW IT WILL ALL WORK...
1. The PARKER PEN CHALLENGE CUP 2002/03 is a knock-out tournament - with 32 teams from eight nations.
2. Round 1 consists of the 16 seeded teams - six from England, six from France, two from Wales and one each from Scotland and Ireland - being drawn against the 16 unseeded teams
3. They will play each other home and away on the weekends of 11/12/13 October (Leg One, unseeded teams at home) and 18/19/20 October (Leg Two, seeded teams at home). No two teams from any one country have been drawn together.
4. The 16 aggregate winners will go forward to Round 2 of the PARKER PEN CHALLENGE CUP and play home and away
5. The 16 unsuccessful teams will combine in a separate competition run on identical lines, the PARKER PEN SHIELD. All these matches will be played on the weekends of 6/7/8 and 13/14/15 December, with a draw taking place to determine the order of home advantage
6. The last eight and then the last four in each competition will continue on the home and away format in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, with a draw taking place to determine the order of home advantage
7. The two finals will be staged on the last weekend in May as straight winner-takes-all contests at neutral venues. The winner of the PARKER PEN CHALLENGE CUP will automatically qualify for the Heineken Cup 2003/04 tournament.