Never mind the Premiership, the club game is set for seismic changes that could have global repercussions
The future course of European club rugby union is being reshaped in front of our eyes. Not only is the established governing body, European Rugby Cup Ltd, staring down the fixed twin barrels of an Anglo-French takeover but a distinct shift in the power game between the unions and the clubs is increasingly apparent. What happens next will define the sport – and not just in the northern hemisphere – for the next decade and more.
Some of the ideas on the coffee table when the English club owners meet on Wednesday to discuss the way forward are fascinating. According to an informed source, there is even a suggestion the Premiership final could be staged before the start of the Six Nations to allow for a new European tournament commencing in March and running until June. If the same bunch of people are running the domestic and European events, dovetailing their fixture lists suddenly becomes more feasible than ever.
The idea of six South African provincial teams joining a Europe-based competition from 2015-16 onwards, when it is understood they would be contractually free to do so, has also not been discounted. Within South Africa there is a desire to remain in the Rugby Championship but the appetite for Super 15 participation is dwindling. The constant travel to Australasia, the energy-sapping time zone changes and a growing sense that Super Rugby is not being played on a level playing field have encouraged an increasing number to believe that overnight flights within the same time zone to a more lucrative marketplace makes more sense and would also arouse more spectator interest. Crucially, though, there is no desire within England or France to cut the Irish, Scots, Welsh and Italians adrift to facilitate such a bold new initiative.
If the English clubs, in particular, have made a public relations misjudgment, it is in being perceived as indifferent to the potentially huge financial ramifications within Wales, Ireland and Scotland, in particular, of their leading sides being excluded from European competition. Belatedly – and the risk of restraint-of-trade complaints may be one cause – there is an acceptance that simply picking up the entire train set and running selfishly away with it is not in anyone's best interests. "There is a feeling that to cut the others out is going to be disastrous for rugby in those countries," admitted one leading Premiership figure. "We're not totally oblivious to that."
It is, therefore, not impossible that a "new" Heineken Cup will look virtually the same as the old one, at least in the short term. Rather than a 26-team tournament simply consisting of the 12 Premiership sides and their Top 14 equivalents, it seems more likely there will still be a two-tiered competition to cater for all those wishing to be involved, possibly with a third-tier event for eight to 12 teams from smaller rugby countries.
In all this the unions appear to have increasingly little say. According to the club owners on both sides of the Channel – the bilingual Bruce Craig of Bath has been a key man in the behind-the-scenes negotiations – the state of play is very different from what it was when the Rugby Football Union and the French Rugby Federation occasionally deigned to drop the odd crumb to the clubs from their lofty dining tables. "The days of the RFU lording it over the game and doing whatever it wants are gone," said another Premiership power-broker.
"I think Ian Ritchie [the RFU chief executive] recognises that. The plates have moved and the balance of control in the game has tilted in favour of the clubs. When people sit back and look at the history of professional rugby in this country, they'll look at the BT Sport deal. It's not a ridiculous, astronomical number but it gave the clubs the confidence to say: 'Listen, we're not going to be pushed around. We're going to run our own competitions in the way we want to.' By next year we'll have moved from a club competition run by the unions to a club competition run by the clubs."
Much of the above will still jar with the Celtic unions, who would clearly be suited by the preservation of the status quo. Nor has anyone yet asked Leinster, Glasgow or the Scarlets whether they fancy flying to Johannesburg or Bloemfontein for their away games. But the sport's horizons are expanding and standing still is not an option if rugby union wishes to maximise the possibilities offered by the sport's acceptance, in sevens form, into the Olympic Games and potentially lucrative upcoming World Cups in England and Japan. Suddenly it is the clubs who possess the requisite financial muscle to make new things happen.
*A good education*
There is an increasing tendency in professional rugby circles for people to bemoan their bad luck. In Bismarck du Plessis's case, admittedly, there was a blatant mistake made by referee Romain Poite in issuing a yellow card for a perfectly legal tackle on Dan Carter which paved the way for his subsequent red and a frustrating Springbok defeat. For a sense of perspective, however, the School of Hard Knocks on Sky Sports is well worth a watch. The efforts of Scott Quinnell and Will Greenwood to foster a sense of achievement and team spirit among a collection of underprivileged young Glaswegians are admirable enough but the remarkable pep talk delivered by an injured marine, Andy Grant, in episode two was spell-binding. Grant, a keen Liverpool FC fan, lost a leg following an explosion in Afghanistan and told the story of how the subsequent reconstructive surgery had forced the amendment of his "You'll Never Walk Alone" tattoo. The word "Alone", he explained quietly, is now missing. The programme – which contains a fair amount of industrial language – should be required viewing in every team-room in the land.
*Prediction of the week*
Never underestimate old lop ears. Bath's win over Leicester has ensured a first success for our wannabe psychic rabbit over your correspondent in this season's weekly prediction competition, levelling things up at 1-1 after two games. Shrewdly, the increasingly smart Thumper 2 had no hesitation in diving for the bowl of food marked Northampton ahead of this weekend's game against a downcast Gloucester. Since the powerful Saints were also my tip, we have our first shared verdict of the campaign. Hmm. Reported by guardian.co.uk 1 day ago.
The future course of European club rugby union is being reshaped in front of our eyes. Not only is the established governing body, European Rugby Cup Ltd, staring down the fixed twin barrels of an Anglo-French takeover but a distinct shift in the power game between the unions and the clubs is increasingly apparent. What happens next will define the sport – and not just in the northern hemisphere – for the next decade and more.
Some of the ideas on the coffee table when the English club owners meet on Wednesday to discuss the way forward are fascinating. According to an informed source, there is even a suggestion the Premiership final could be staged before the start of the Six Nations to allow for a new European tournament commencing in March and running until June. If the same bunch of people are running the domestic and European events, dovetailing their fixture lists suddenly becomes more feasible than ever.
The idea of six South African provincial teams joining a Europe-based competition from 2015-16 onwards, when it is understood they would be contractually free to do so, has also not been discounted. Within South Africa there is a desire to remain in the Rugby Championship but the appetite for Super 15 participation is dwindling. The constant travel to Australasia, the energy-sapping time zone changes and a growing sense that Super Rugby is not being played on a level playing field have encouraged an increasing number to believe that overnight flights within the same time zone to a more lucrative marketplace makes more sense and would also arouse more spectator interest. Crucially, though, there is no desire within England or France to cut the Irish, Scots, Welsh and Italians adrift to facilitate such a bold new initiative.
If the English clubs, in particular, have made a public relations misjudgment, it is in being perceived as indifferent to the potentially huge financial ramifications within Wales, Ireland and Scotland, in particular, of their leading sides being excluded from European competition. Belatedly – and the risk of restraint-of-trade complaints may be one cause – there is an acceptance that simply picking up the entire train set and running selfishly away with it is not in anyone's best interests. "There is a feeling that to cut the others out is going to be disastrous for rugby in those countries," admitted one leading Premiership figure. "We're not totally oblivious to that."
It is, therefore, not impossible that a "new" Heineken Cup will look virtually the same as the old one, at least in the short term. Rather than a 26-team tournament simply consisting of the 12 Premiership sides and their Top 14 equivalents, it seems more likely there will still be a two-tiered competition to cater for all those wishing to be involved, possibly with a third-tier event for eight to 12 teams from smaller rugby countries.
In all this the unions appear to have increasingly little say. According to the club owners on both sides of the Channel – the bilingual Bruce Craig of Bath has been a key man in the behind-the-scenes negotiations – the state of play is very different from what it was when the Rugby Football Union and the French Rugby Federation occasionally deigned to drop the odd crumb to the clubs from their lofty dining tables. "The days of the RFU lording it over the game and doing whatever it wants are gone," said another Premiership power-broker.
"I think Ian Ritchie [the RFU chief executive] recognises that. The plates have moved and the balance of control in the game has tilted in favour of the clubs. When people sit back and look at the history of professional rugby in this country, they'll look at the BT Sport deal. It's not a ridiculous, astronomical number but it gave the clubs the confidence to say: 'Listen, we're not going to be pushed around. We're going to run our own competitions in the way we want to.' By next year we'll have moved from a club competition run by the unions to a club competition run by the clubs."
Much of the above will still jar with the Celtic unions, who would clearly be suited by the preservation of the status quo. Nor has anyone yet asked Leinster, Glasgow or the Scarlets whether they fancy flying to Johannesburg or Bloemfontein for their away games. But the sport's horizons are expanding and standing still is not an option if rugby union wishes to maximise the possibilities offered by the sport's acceptance, in sevens form, into the Olympic Games and potentially lucrative upcoming World Cups in England and Japan. Suddenly it is the clubs who possess the requisite financial muscle to make new things happen.
*A good education*
There is an increasing tendency in professional rugby circles for people to bemoan their bad luck. In Bismarck du Plessis's case, admittedly, there was a blatant mistake made by referee Romain Poite in issuing a yellow card for a perfectly legal tackle on Dan Carter which paved the way for his subsequent red and a frustrating Springbok defeat. For a sense of perspective, however, the School of Hard Knocks on Sky Sports is well worth a watch. The efforts of Scott Quinnell and Will Greenwood to foster a sense of achievement and team spirit among a collection of underprivileged young Glaswegians are admirable enough but the remarkable pep talk delivered by an injured marine, Andy Grant, in episode two was spell-binding. Grant, a keen Liverpool FC fan, lost a leg following an explosion in Afghanistan and told the story of how the subsequent reconstructive surgery had forced the amendment of his "You'll Never Walk Alone" tattoo. The word "Alone", he explained quietly, is now missing. The programme – which contains a fair amount of industrial language – should be required viewing in every team-room in the land.
*Prediction of the week*
Never underestimate old lop ears. Bath's win over Leicester has ensured a first success for our wannabe psychic rabbit over your correspondent in this season's weekly prediction competition, levelling things up at 1-1 after two games. Shrewdly, the increasingly smart Thumper 2 had no hesitation in diving for the bowl of food marked Northampton ahead of this weekend's game against a downcast Gloucester. Since the powerful Saints were also my tip, we have our first shared verdict of the campaign. Hmm. Reported by guardian.co.uk 1 day ago.