In an attempt to force changes in how the Heineken Cup is run, French and English clubs have threatened to leave the competition.
In a very short space of time the Heineken Cup has become one of the most important, and exciting, sporting competitions in this part of the world. The victories of Munster and Leinster have been wildly celebrated, Ulster’s win in 1999 and resurgence this year has been embraced and Connacht’s entry has brought all of Ireland into the party.
But French and English clubs are not happy and they want changes, big changes. According to The Rugby Paper this morning, the Top 14 and Aviva Premeirship sides want to adjust how teams qualify for Europe’s top competition and if they don’t get their way, they have threatened to pull out of the competition in 2014, when the current agreement runs out.
According to the report, the Anglo-French plan is to reduce the Heineken Cup from 24 to 20 teams and to select those teams in a new way. They want to make the qualifiers the top 6 in the Aviva, Top 14 and Pro12, plus the previous year’s winner of the Heineken and Amlin Cups. The English and French think this is fairer but if the new system was in place next year, Connacht, Edinburgh and two Italian clubs would miss the cut, removing much of the variety and inclusiveness of the current competition.
The seeding system in place now, based on the last four years of each country, would be replaced by giving a nod to the three league winners, plus the two Cup winners, as top seeds in five pools of four.
The Anglo-French proposal also calls for the quarter-finals to be played in January before the Six Nations, not after, with the Pools run off in a shorter block from October to December.
The paper quotes an unnamed French source who says that Celtic clubs get to rest players as they don’t have to worry about qualification thanks to seeding, leaving them better prepared for the biggest games.
So, sour grapes about Irish success or a sensible proposal to make the Heineken a fairer fight?
This sounds very serious so expect a massive row to kick off when the proposal is sent to ERC HQ in Dublin in the next few weeks.
