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.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Sometimes it’s best to start at the finish. The Waratahs winning the Super W final 50-14 against the Drua was the cap to a…
After watching both NRL and Super Rugby over the weekend, it's clear there is significant talent coming through from both. But only one of…
The Tahs won 50-14 after going through the 2024 season undefeated and avenging the semi-final loss last year to Fijian Drua.
Jeniffer Ravutia lashed out with her foot while a Waratahs opponent was lying on the ground, and picked up her second yellow of the…
NSW was expecting the driving maul, but Karalaini Naisewa wrapped around the back and over to cut the lead to three points.
It was the Drua's first points of the game at the half-hour mark - but Miller more than made up for the infringement with…
