Reports that English and French clubs are set to break away from one of the most elite club rugby competitions and establish a new one of their own looks as if it will spell the end of the Heineken Cup as we know it.
Clubs from the Aviva Premiership and the Top 14 have been threatening to withdraw from the Heineken Cup for some time over the structure of the competition and the distribution of revenue to participating teams.
English and French representatives in the competition, for example, were dissatisfied by the criteria governing qualification for the competition, in which Italian and Scottish sides were guaranteed a place regardless of league position and places were guaranteed to three out of four sides in Ireland and Wales.
Talks between representatives of the various parties involved regarding the future of European club rugby competitions have been ongoing for some time, but it now appears as if the English and French sides have decided to establish their own competition, which will also be open to the Irish, Welsh, Scottish and Italian clubs that take part in the Heineken and Amlin Challenge Cups in their current guise.
Although nothing has been set in stone as yet, there are plans for two 20-team competitions as opposed to 24-team competitions for the Heineken and Amlin Challenge Cups and it remains to be seen what the response is from clubs and provinces in the countries outside of England and France that currently compete in European competition.
A statement released on the official Aviva Premiership Rugby site this evening read: “The current European Rugby Cup (ERC) competitions terminate at the end of this season after notice was served by the English and French clubs in June 2012.
“Despite numerous meetings between the stakeholders over the last year, the last of which was in May, discussions have been unsuccessful and the clubs can only conclude that negotiations on any new European agreement have now ended.
“The English and French clubs have proposed the formation of two new, stronger competitions of 20 teams each, based on the principles of qualification on merit from each league, the inclusion of teams from all six existing countries and the expansion into new markets. These proposals could form the basis of future competitions.
“However, given the importance and urgency of the current position, and the reconfirmation that the French clubs will not participate in any competition unless it includes the English clubs, the clubs have now asked Premiership Rugby to take immediate action to put in place a competition for 2014/15 to include the French and English clubs but which will also be open to teams from other countries.”
Whatever comes of these latest developments, it certainly appears as if the European rugby landscape will undergo big changes from next season and that we have seen the last of the Heineken Cup as we know it.
