After months of negotiations and bitter dispute, with the future of European rugby looking to be in tatters, the rugby unions and clubs of Europe have come to an agreement and developed a new tournament that will replace the Heineken Cup.
This new competition will feature the top 20 clubs in Europe, taken from the best teams in the English Premiership, the French Top 14 and the PRO12, which involves teams from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy.
The revenue from this new competition will be split evenly between these three tournaments, with television rights due to be split between Sky Sports and BT Sport. A new sponsor will be decided upon to replace Heineken, which has been the sponsor of the competition since its inception in 1996.
A new body will be set up to replace the ERC, which governed the Heineken Cup competition. These criteria settle the points of dispute between the various parties and European rugby looks set to have a very bright future.
The saga began over a year ago when bodies representing the English and French clubs sensationally announced that they were dropping out of the Heineken Cup and setting up their own tournament.
The English and French had been having problems with the the Heineken Cup’s qualification process, as well as the fact that the PRO12 clubs got a higher percentage of the proceeds from the tournament. They also felt that Celtic and Italian clubs benefited as they were granted automatic qualification, while the English and French clubs had to compete for places due to the higher concentration of clubs in those countries.
The English and French clubs also objected to the governance of the Heineken Cup. They wanted to remove control from the ERC and be in control of their own tournament.
The English and French clubs announced that they would set up a new tournament (provisionally called the Rugby Champions Cup) and were courting clubs from the rest of Europe, and even clubs from South Africa at one point.
By contrast, the Celtic and Italian clubs announced that they would remain within the framework of the Heineken Cup competition. These clubs had the backing of the governing bodies in all six competing countries (including England and France) and the IRB.
The IRB announced that any proposed cross-border competition could not go ahead without their approval, and they would not give said approval to any competition that did not meet their criteria.
Both sides made grand statements and looked to have the advantage in the dispute. At one point it looked like the Welsh clubs would join up with the English and French; at another, reigning Heineken Cup champions Toulon had decided to break away from the Top 14 and join with the Celtic and Italian clubs.
Talks were announced to try to settle the dispute, which the English and French clubs promptly boycotted. Movements were made to reformat the competition to bring it more in line with the proposals made by the English and French clubs, but those clubs stood firm on going out on their own.
Finally, the two factions reached an agreement, with this new tournament set to start off in the 2014/15 rugby season. The number of competing clubs has been reduced from 24 to 20, and the tournament will feature the top clubs in each competition.
Looking at the tables of each competition, the top six teams will be taken from each of the English Premiership and the Top 14. The 13th team will be chosen from a playoff between the seventh-ranked side in each table.
The remaining seven places in the new tournament will be taken from the PRO12 competition, with the highest ranked clubs from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy taking part, followed by the next three highest ranked clubs on the table.
The Heineken Cup has been the greatest and most exciting rugby tournament in the whole world over the last few years, helping the sport to grow and flourish in Europe and drawing a huge viewing audience from around the world. The news of an agreement comes as a welcome relief to those who feared that the future of European rugby lay in ruins.
Intotouch
Guest
I think this new deal will be terrible long term for rugby in Wales, Scotland, Italy and in time, Ireland. With attendances already falling for the Scots and Welsh, or struggling in Italy, having less representation in the Euro cup means even fewer really good local players will want to stay with their teams, which means they will leave for England or France where the most money is, which means the standard will fall in the pro 12 and this will cause a downward spiral which will weaken rugby in the four countries involved. Even if Irish provinces keep their players if the standard falls in the pro 12 league again it'll be hard to bring fans in to watch these matches. Irish teams dominate the league already. I am seriously worried about what will happen to pro rugby in these countries. This notion that the Welsh regions in particular have made a good deal because they have more money now is incredibly short sighted. By jumping in with the English (they are responsible for this deal going the way that it did when they decided to have some league with the English or else) they make more money but so do the English and the French! One season from now their wage bill will increase because other clubs will have more money to lure their players away, or they'll keep losing players and the benefit of this extra income will be wiped out. Pro rugby in Europe is at a critical stage and this new deal could mark the rise and simultaneous demise in pro rugby in whole countries. Also setting up the new organization in Switzerland is a really bad sign. The laws there mean that this group will have ample opportunity for corruption.
Den
Guest
How can reducing the teams from 24 to 20 be a good thing? Better to have gone to 32 teams [let the gurning English and French have all 8 new places] - 8 pools of 4 and top 2 qualify for last 16 knockout. This would avoid the 'best runner up' fiasco we currently have with 6 pools.
Derm
Roar Guru
As ever the devil is in detail. The continuing spin that the English and French clubs got less than the Pro 12 clubs is very clever. The split was English 24%, French 24% and the Pro 12 clubs 52%. Except when you divide the Pro 12 amount by the number of countries participating, it worked out around Ireland and Wales 13% each, and the balance split between Scotland and Italy. The qualification question got solved largely by reducing the number of teams. Again, English and French kept the same number (6), and the Pro 12 clubs gave up 3 spots. In addition, the final place going to the previous winner got abandoned in favour of a 7th team coming from either England or France. The notion that the Pro12 will become more competitive as a result is questionable (which was another demand of the English and French clubs) given that there is one automatic qualification per country (as opposed to 6 automatic places each for England and France). Monies will settle the wrangle over bigger squads and rest and rotation - another English club bugbear. With increased monies, salaries will increase, and a lot more poaching of Pro 12 players will eventuate - Pro 12 clubs won't be able to compete. And the canard that English clubs battle week in week out for European qualification is also misleading. The French battle week-in-out to be in the top six to win the Bouclier de Brennus - that's their primary focus. And will remain so. The fact that they also get a European spot is a bauble compared to what they're receiving for their domestic league. Ditto in the English Premiership where the Top 4 playoff qualifiers also get a European spot. Only 5th and 6th spot will now have European qualification attached to their placings.
chris
Guest
Alongside Rugby in the spotlight is doing very well in England, France, Ireland, Wales and Italy.
Matt
Guest
Hopefully this is a good move long term for everyone. The Pro12 should see more interest from players and fans, as each game means more when you need to qualify for the Euro Cup. The game should see a more commercially savvy attitude and that means more exposure, advertising and money. But in essence the major reason for European Rugby success is not the quality of players, the fans base, the tradition or the structure of the competitions. It's that you have a LOT of private money being invested. Without that money clubs like Saracens, Bath, Stade, Toulon, Racing etc would be tiny local sides, with crowds of a few thousand and no media exposure. So regardless of what the Euro Cup setup is, the European game needs safeguard itself from the risk of wealthy individuals pulling out. As an aside, getting this sorted now will mean the game is poised to reap some strong rewards from the exposure of RWC2015. Having games on both BT and SKY will help expand the market and all clubs should be looking to attract new fans and get their brand into the non traditional market.
hulkinator
Guest
The clubs were successful in their bid to change European rugby. The propaganda machine in overdrive too. It could be a disaster for international rugby and hurt super rugby badly. The more money these clubs have the more they can offer international players like Folau.
The Bush
Roar Guru
The far more important question is what is happening with the "second tier" comp and whether or not they are going to give access to the minor nations clubs, such as Romania's, Georgia's and Russia's.
AndyS
Guest
...to the extent that the players in an NRC team would have to earn the same as players in a SR team, otherwise the moment the change was made and the pay cuts announced all the SR players will be out the door for points north.
Bakkies
Guest
The salary cap exists in France but it is double of what the AP enforces. Despite the English and French whinging about qualification it is still going to be the same status quo in regards to the Irish sides. The Irish and French teams will still be the top teams in this tournament. The Welsh have committed suicide signing up to this. Less Heineken Cup representation and if Connacht or Edinburgh overtake the Scarlets on the Pro 12 table only one Welsh team will make the HEC.
Working Class Rugger
Roar Guru
Rebel, Well, now that we have the NRC that could be a possibility in the future. However, for it to happen that means we are all going to have to really get behind it. Watch it on TV, go to games and buy merchandise.
Tane Mahuta
Guest
Mid-tier!? You are naming Wallabies. Folau would probably earn more than Digby now.
hamish
Guest
Its about time the english and french clubs got a level playing field. They battle week in week out for domestic success and european qualication when the irsh, welsh and scottish sides qualify by right! I would also point out the english teams seem to be at even more of a dissadvantage with the salary cap which limits there squad size and/or quality, the french dont dont have these limitations and look at the squads of players they are putting together!
Rebel
Guest
Sounds like a model for SANZAR to adopt, played concurrently with the respective national comps.
FTR
Guest
I think you'll find it's 60%, champ, and most of them can't afford Heineken.
Steve
Guest
What would you consider a huge viewing audience?
Johnno
Guest
This is gonna be awsome. I was watching soem Top 14 on weekend. Digby played for stade francis V Toulouse at stade de france 80,000 fans, super rugby would love that. In England i think saracens and harlequins pulled 80K to wembley or twickenham on the weekend, awsome stuff. This will expand more, and more money will go to NH rugby, and there flexible with foreign imports, so plenty of mid-tier players will be targeted. Dave Dennis,Honey Badger,Kane Douglas,Dan Palmer there now,James Slipper types. Folau would get a fortune as Digby Ioane is on a massive contract.
kunming tiger
Guest
and drawing a huge viewing audience from around the world. ??? HUGE VIEWING AUDIENCE MY ASS 80 % of people live in Asia and the words Heinken Cup and Rugby are rarely put together in the same sentence.