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Lawrence Dallaglio wades into the debate over Champions Cup status
By Liam Heagney
Lawrence Dallaglio has taken to task the critics who believe the Investec Champions Cup isn’t as good as it once was. The format of the 30-year-old tournament has changed in recent seasons, while teams from South Africa have also been permitted to take part.
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“This has led to claims that the competition doesn’t grab the imagination and inspire as it did before. Dallaglio, though, has begged to differ and ahead of this weekend’s round two, he has suggested that critics taking pot-shots at the credibility of the Champions Cup “need their head examined”.
The former England and British and Irish Lions forward twice won the trophy with Wasps, defeating Toulouse in the 2004 final at Twickenham and then getting the better of Leicester at the same stadium in 2007. Now working as a Premier Sports pundit, Dallaglio has launched a passionate defence of the much-tweaked tournament.
“Anyone who says the competition does not hold its value and status in the game needs their head examined, as they are not following the same game as the rest of us,” he insisted.
“Look at La Rochelle last weekend. They can’t put in a decent performance domestically for three weeks and they come over to Bath and beat the team that is top of our table. That’s a team that cares about this.
“Toulon, who notoriously don’t travel very well, were able to go out to South Africa and pull off a sensational victory. The big super powers like Leinster and Toulouse – they couldn’t have put out stronger teams for round one of the Investec Champions Cup.
“It’s the greatest club competition in the world, it’s international rugby in a club jersey,” he added. “It’s playing with your mates that you are with week-in-week out.
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“Quite a few of the guys don’t necessarily get to play international rugby and this competition elevates, in terms of performance, but also the fans, the venues, the atmospheres. It’s incredibly exciting.
“You see world-class players, world-class stadiums and world-class performances. I have been lucky enough to play for some good teams with Lions and England, and I can safely say my two Heineken Cup medals rank right up there as some of the best moments of my career and in our lives as rugby players.
“We will see some pretty epic games this season and the away experiences you get are so memorable. My friends and family all say that following their club and watching their team pull off famous victories away from home in this competition, are the best rugby memories they have.”
There were just two wins in last weekend’s round one by the eight English teams taking part in Champions Cup 2024/25, Saracens defeating the Bulls in London and Northampton dismissing Castres in the East Midlands.
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Dallaglio, though, has refused to write off the chances of Premiership teams competing to win in the latter stages of a tournament in which Exeter in 2020 were the last English winners.
“We have sides in the English Premiership that will challenge, that’s for sure. All the English teams were in the fight last week and scrapping, picking up points and some losing bonus points. It’s early days. La Rochelle lost two games in the opening rounds last season and qualified for the knock-out stages.
“We also saw three away wins out of 12 fixtures, so we all know winning away from home in this competition is at a premium. It’s going to be fascinating this weekend. Toulouse, who looked very strong, are the team to beat – but that doesn’t mean they are unbeatable.
“Leinster are flexing their muscles and have added some overseas talent and flair to their already very impressive squad, I would not discount them either.
“Bordeaux must have had some pretty strong coffee at half-time because they came out in the second half having realised they were playing at home and certainly showed what they are capable of. Also, we saw a very impressive away win for Toulon.
“If the Sharks decide to point their resources to this competition they may well challenge as well. They have players who play all year round, and who are able to play their trade anywhere in the world – have boots will travel and they deliver wherever they are based.
“With the squad they have got, they will be strong, I expect to see them qualify for the latter stages and then anything can happen.”
- Rugby on another level – Premier Sports is the new home of Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup with 80 games live throughout the competition. Premier Sports is available in the UK from £10.99 a month and is available on Sky, Virgin and Amazon Prime. Premier Sports also streams online via dedicated apps on a wide range of devices and platforms. Visit:premiersports.tv to sign-up.
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Judging by the very obvious lack of supporter numbers in the SA stadiums, it's very clear that the South African rugby public are not at all convinced by the validity of this tournament.
Add to that the media coverage, and it's patently clear that there are serious issues.