Martyn Thomas has been stirring the pots on this subject
again as the various interested people discuss and decide how any cross border
competitions will look in the future.
His rather foolish view that the Celts can simply say “Shan’t!” and stop
all progress or change is far too stupid to waste any more breath on. If the French and English clubs decide the
current set up of ERC is not in their interest then they won’t play in it, just
as the Irish and Scots are free to not play in a new proposed competition. The Franglais alliance is sure that the
current 6 way financial split is inequitable as they provide half the teams but
only get 1/3rd of the rewards; this means an English club gets 1.4%
of the total compared to 8.3% for a Scottish or Italian team. With the French clubs having 14 mouths to
feed their individual take is more like 1.2%.
The idea that this split is fair, before we consider where this money
comes from, is perverse. The English and
French TV markets are overwhelmingly larger than the other 4 countries. A change to an equal split per club seems a
far fairer way to distribute the centrally generated income. It is only greed and spite that makes the
Celtic masses oppose this move. The
times of the English and French subsidising the rest of the club game is
over. If the RFU continue to do so
through the 6 Nations that is their business.
The next question is who should qualify? One camp contends that fair entrance means
that the three leagues have equal representation; the other camp maintains that
the 4 nations in the Celtic league are still separate entities. This might be a popular view within those
countries but is frankly pathetic. They
made their bed and now they must lie in it, Munster and Cardiff are as
intertwined as Leicester and Exeter. They
are one league and do not deserve 10 qualification places, 4 of which are automatic,
leaving 8 sides to fight over the remaining 6 spots. People might cite Edinburgh but London Irish
and Saracens both failed to appear in the Heineken Cup the season after
reaching the semi finals due to their poor league form. Rugby Matters doesn’t remember the rivers of
Scottish tears for their plight.
The idea to cut the top tier of European rugby to 20 teams
is not only motivated by the desire to balance out qualification from the three
leagues but also as a way to toughen up the Amlin Challenge Cup, the second
tier of European Rugby. Currently there
are too many uncompetitive matches where amateur or semi-pro sides from
Romania, Spain and Italies Super 10 get thrashed by the fully pro sides from
England and France, plus occasionally Newport or Connacht. A big consequence of the Scottish and Welsh
decisions to murder their club games in the fruitless quest for Heineken Cup
success is the drop in numbers and standard in the Amlin Challenge Cup. These thrashing do nothing to grow the game
in Spain or Romania nor do they help the clubs handing out the thrashings. Strengthening the Amlin Challenge Cup would
help cushion the blow when a side misses out on the Heineken Cup, games against
Perpignan and Llanelli are far more attractive than games against Rovigo and
Gernika. It is also hoped that a
stronger Amlin Cup would be reflected in its commercial value to broadcasters
and sponsors, you would think opening up the possibility of Munster, Leinster
or any of the Welsh sides would make the broadcasting contract more
valuable.
But what of the likes of Spain or Romania? Would they just be cut adrift and forgotten
about? Not under the current plan to
introduce a third tier aimed at the developing semi pro leagues around
Europe. Limited cross border
competitions already exist between clubs in Eastern Europe and Northern Europe
such as the Regional Rugby Championship and the North Sea Cup, the plan would
see these competitions effectively merge and new nations join the fray too. The two finalists would then qualify for the
next year’s Amlin Challenge Cup. The
exact form of that competition is up for discussion, involving as many
countries as possible has to be the prime goal.
Economic snobbery has to be avoided at all costs; the likes of Romania,
Georgia, Ukraine and the Baltics are just as important as Portugal, Spain,
Germany and Belgium.
Refereeing in the big Heineken Cup games are also a source
of controversy. It is frankly offensive
that referees from Wales are considered neutral when they officiate in matches
involving Irish or Scottish sides. They
referee these sides regularly and with the vagaries in the laws regular contact
with referees is a significant advantage.
Neutral refereeing is about far more than what country a person was born
in, nobody would suggest Northumbrian Dave Pearson would favour Exeter just
because he was English any more than they would suggest he would favour Sale
just because they are northern. It is
about the referees becoming more accustomed to one side than the other, so that
that side knew where the referee’s blind spots are. See Leinster’s ruthless exploitation of Nigel
Owens’s weakness at penalising interference with a line out jumper. This is another issue that should have been
sorted out when the Celtic league was formed, rather than be left to fester as
a source of resentment.
The timings of the tournament have also come in for criticism;
taking out the prime attendance weekend of Easter from the domestic schedule is
a long time compliant, as are the semis and final taking prime weekends at the
end of the season. A move for the
Heineken Cup or a successor to September should free up the end of the season
for domestic matters as well as the prime Easter weekend.
But these aren’t the only cross border competitions we also
have the British & Irish Cup competed for by second tier sides in England,
Wales, Scotland and Ireland as well as the Anglo-Welsh Cup, which is pretty
self explanatory. The B&I Cup has
had a strange existence so far with the Irish using it as a proving ground for
young talent and fringes players whilst the English primarily wanted it for the
extra games. With the Championship being
shrunk to 12 teams there is a definite need for more games amongst the English
second tier clubs, and the B&I Cup has stepped into the breach. The Anglo-Welsh Cup was also initially
brought about as a revenue generator, it apparently still fulfils this function
even in it’s somewhat emasculated recent format.
So what is the future of cross border competitions? The 2015 season could become a watershed for
cross border competitions, it is hard to work out how the Aviva Premiership can
be fit in after the World Cup, thanks to the IRBs cowardly compromise over the
final date, without playing the Anglo-Welsh mid week, playing all through the 6
Nations and shortening the proposed Australia tour to one or two test matches,
let alone the how Orange Top 14 in France will be organised. There is a significant chance of no European
competition that season. Beyond that all
Rugby Matters is sure about is that the Heineken Cup under its current format
will not last. Too much propping up of
the Celtic fringe and too much interference with the domestic calendar.
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