Representatives of the 12 Aviva Premiership clubs and from Leeds and Bristol will meet today to discuss the future of English teams in European competition from next season onwards.
The Premiership clubs have consistently signalled their intent to breakaway from ERC competitions after this season and gave the necessary two-year notice period in order to withdraw from the existing competitions at the end of this season.
It had originally appeared as though the English and French clubs would combine to establish new European competitions next season, but a recent about turn by the French clubs has changed matters significantly.
As a result, representatives from the 12 Aviva Premiership clubs and delegates from shareholders Leeds and Bristol were due to meet this morning to discuss potential participation in European competition next season, as well as to outline plans for the domestic game for the immediate future.
"This is a critical meeting precipitated by the events of the past week, a source told Press Association.
"I can't remember a more important meeting for the clubs in the past decade. It is effectively an emergency meeting and after last week's events the size and critical nature of the discussions to take place have been underlined by how quickly it was agreed that all clubs needed to meet.
"I expect that a plan will be made at some point on Thursday. The people that will be in that room are the type of people who will want to move this forward and have a plan in place."
A potential megabucks deal with BT Sport and the deal that Sky have in place with the existing European competitions further complicates matters and there are fears that there could be a split between the wealthier Premiership clubs and the others reluctant to drop out of the Heineken Cup because of the potential loss of revenue.
However the meeting pans out, we should have a clearer idea of the intention of the English clubs a little later on today.
Hat-tip: ESPN Scrum
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