Will a European League ultimately be the cure to best finance clubs who are living hand to mouth?
With the Heineken Champions Cup centerstage for four of these five winter weekends heading into the Christmas period, fans are getting a run of eye-catching inter-league fixtures they are not normally used to seeing so close together.
The European format in non-World Cup seasons has always been two rounds in October followed by two more in early December and another pair mid-January, weekends interrupted by the November Test series and a plethora of Gallagher Premiership, Top 14 and Guinness PRO14 fixtures.
This winter, though, the Champions Cup is taking on a momentum of its own and it is having a positive upswing. Take Racing, the chic Parisians.
Rather than just be embroiled in a domestic struggle near the bottom of their league that is really of interest to only rugby fans In France, they have just hosted and trounced European champions Saracens in front of a 20,275 attendance, a figure that dwarfed their league-best for this season of 12,566.
Next, they are set to play Munster at a bear-pit Thomond Park next Saturday in front of 26,000, a number that will eclipse the Irish province’s league-best of 14,436, before taking on Ospreys twice in early December.
(Continue reading below…)
That’s a cosmopolitan English, Ireland and Welsh dance card in contrast to a local schedule where they are next up against Bordeaux on November 30.
With Racing’s crowds massively increased in games against two of their three European opponents (regional rugby sadly simply doesn’t cut it with most Wales fans, no matter what way it is dressed up), it begs the question could a European League with more of a contrast in playing styles ultimately become the solution to best finance the club game on a weekly basis in the Six Nations territories?
EPCR authorities know damn well they are not getting sufficient bang for their buck at the moment, despite their promises when it replaced the old ERC organisation some years ago.
Effectively, despite years of change under EPCR, European rugby is back where it was under ERC as clubs are again playing for the Heineken Cup https://t.co/Q1TVczJL21
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 15, 2019
Before an opening round weekend where Top 14 clipped the Premiership by four European wins to three in its seven cross-league Champions Cup/Challenge Cup fixtures, PRO14 beat the Premiership three wins to one and PRO14 topped the Top 14 two wins to one, chairman Simon Halliday admitted to RugbyPass: “Commercially, it has been a disappointment.
“Lots of reasons for that. The rebranding takes time,” he said about an administration given birth in 2014 after England and French clubs broke away from the old ERC-run tournaments.
“Secondly, a lot of sponsors have gone from being global into being pan-Europe, even local, so the way they allocate their money has changed, the way people look at traditional sponsorship has changed. Look what happened with Six Nations, for example.”
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Two All Blacks are better than one… Isaia Toeava and George Moala were unstoppable against Harlequins. ?#clermont #top14 #championscup #europeanrugby #harlequins #englandrugby #premrugby
That was quite a jolt for rugby administrators everywhere battling to balance the books. The tournament that casts itself as ‘Rugby’s Greatest Championship’ was left scratching around for a sponsor and eventually bedding in with HSBC for just a single year after it failed to achieve in the market what it felt it was worth.
They eventually needed Guinness to cure that particular hangover. “The world of rugby is changing but that is not just us [Europe], it’s World Rugby, it’s Japan, it’s the financing of the game generally. It is something that is a real topic and we are just part of that discussion,” added Halliday, signing off.
In the current climate, too many clubs are existing hand to mouth and their bottom lines are stuck in the red. However, with private equity firm CVC set to buy into the Six Nations and PRO14 after already investing in the Premiership, rugby is certainly entering a fluid era commercially and it is interesting how one English club owner already believes a European League will ultimately be created to try and cure all financial ills.
'I wouldn’t be surprised to see a European Champions League.' Tony Rowe, Exeter Chiefs.
Read Tony's exclusive column here???? https://t.co/aAzIkmixsk#rugby #exeterchiefs
? Nick Dawe pic.twitter.com/bGMYItvklh
— Rugby (@JournalRugby) November 17, 2019
Its mechanics, of course, would be up for debate. For instance, how can two salary-capped leagues go to work with one that isn’t, and what would become of all the existing broadcast and sponsorship deals? However, in terms of coming up with a workable format, if you excluded the PRO14’s two South African franchises and dropped two of the weakest French clubs, you would then only be amalgamating three leagues of 12 clubs each.
This total of 36 would be easy to divide back into three mixed league divisions of 12, offering each participant a home-and-away schedule of 22 matches before the playoffs. It’s certainly not a short-term runner but with professional club rugby continuing to struggle to financially wash its face, it’s an idea potentially ripe for long-term exploration.
Here’s what Exeter’s Tony Rowe recently claimed in his Rugby Journal column. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see a European Champions League,” he wrote. “The game will evolve to that because, interestingly, whereas we always get big numbers for the Premiership games, with the European Champions Cup, we have to work really hard to sell the tickets so a European Champions League might have more appeal to it.
Professional rugby still isn't organised as best it can be and EPCR boss Simon Halliday fears self-interest will keep holding it back https://t.co/Ki4Gb0BHcR
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 7, 2019
“I just think the commercials around a European Champions League are far greater than a domestic league. The European Champions Cup hasn’t really grasped the commercial support from Europe and as the sport is growing, the French are trying to make inroads into more commercial aspects, as are we. I just think that will drive us to a game with more appeal to more supporters.”
That’s something to chew on ahead of the round two weekend where so many match-ups are must-see fixtures compared to your regular domestic league weekends.
POTENTIAL EUROPEAN LEAGUE (based on last season’s finishing positions)
DIVISION ONE
Premiership – Exeter, Saracens, Gloucester, Northampton
Top 14 – Toulouse, Lyon, Clermont, Racing
PRO14 – Glasgow, Munster, Leinster, Ulster
DIVISION TWO
Premiership – Harlequins, Bath, Sale, Wasps
Top 14 – La Rochelle, Montpellier, Castres, Stade
PRO14 – Connacht, Ospreys, Benetton, Cardiff
DIVISION THREE
Premiership – Bristol, Worcester, Leicester, London Irish (replacing relegated Newcastle)
Top 14 – Toulon, Bordeaux, Pau, Agen
PRO14 – Scarlets, Edinburgh, Dragons, Zebre
*excludes relegated French duo Grenoble and Perpignan, and African PRO14 clubs Cheetahs and Kings
WATCH: The Rugby Pod gives its reaction to Saracens not appealing their 35-point Premiership deduction for breaching the salary cap
Comments on RugbyPass
Bulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
24 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to commentsJason Jenkins has one cap. When Etzebeth was his age he had over 80 caps. Experience matters. He will never amount to what Etzebeth has because he hasn’t been developed as an international player.
1 Go to commentsSays much about the player picking this gig over the easier and bigger rewards offered to him in Japan. Also says a lot about the state sanctioned tax benefits the Irish Revenue offers pro rugby players, with their ten highest earning years subject to an additional 40% tax relief and paid as a lump sum, in cash, at retirement. Certainly helps Leinster line up the financial ducks in a row to fund marquee signings like this!!! No other union anywhere in world rugby benefits from this kind of lucrative financial sponsorship from their government…
5 Go to commentsTrue Jordie could earn a lot more in Japan. But by choosing Leinster he’ll be playing with 1 of the best clubs in the world and can win a champions cup and URC…..
6 Go to commentsThanks for that Marshy, noticed you didn't say who is gonna win it. We know who ain't gonna win it - your Crusaders outfit. They've gone from having arguably the best Super Rugby first five ever, to having a clutch of rookies. Hurricanes all the way!
1 Go to commentsGeez you really have to question the NRLs ability to produce players of quality. Its pathetic. Dont the 25mil in Aus produce enough quality womens players. Sad.
1 Go to commentsBulls fan here, and agree 100% with the conclusion (and little else) of this article. SA sides should absolutely f-off from the champs cup until we get fair scheduling, equal support for travel arrangements and home semis. You know, like all the european teams get.
24 Go to commentsI’m yet to see why Grace would be an ABs contender. He’s pedestrian and lacks the dominance required of a top flight 8.
11 Go to commentsGee my Highlanders were terrible. They have gone backwards since the start of the season. The trouble began when we left Millar behind to prep as the 10 against the Brumbies and he was disconnected from the team that came back from Aussie. We rested Patchell for that game and we blew an avalanche of ball in good attacking positions in the 1st half. Against the Rebels we seem to of gone into a pod system with forwards hanging off from the breakdown leaving Fakatava to secure our ball!
80 Go to commentsPot Kettle, the English and French teams have done it for years.
24 Go to commentsHas virtually played every minute of previous games. Back row of Li Lo Willie , Grace and Blackadder would be the 1. Crusaders issue is a very average 1st 5 who cannot run. Kicking in general play is also below par They need to put Yong Kemara in. He must have so.e talent for them to bring him down from Waikato. Hoehepa would struggle to play in so.e club sided
11 Go to commentsI hope this a good thing making all these changes!
3 Go to commentsThe Hurricanes are good, especially with a decent coach now. However, let’s be real, the Crusaders and Chiefs are clearly a good degree weaker without the players they’ve lost overseas now. The Canes lost one player. It’s also why the aussie teams ‘seem’ to be stronger.
9 Go to commentsOr you could develop your own players instead of constantly taking from the SH competition and weakening it in the process? With all the player and financial resources these unions have compared to SH countries you’d think they could manage that, or is weakening the SH comps and their national sides an added bonus? Probably.
3 Go to commentsNot so fast Aaron, we might need you in black yet lol. God knows he’d be a lot less nerve-racking than hot and (very) cold players like Perofeta. It’s really a shame Reuben Love isn’t playing 10, we’ve got enough 15 options.
4 Go to commentsAnd those from the NH still seem to be puzzled (and delighted) why NZ’s depth isn’t what it once was. Over 600 NZ players overseas, that’s insane. This sort of deal is why Super Rugby coaches have admitted they struggle now to find enough quality to fill out their squads.
6 Go to commentsArticle intéressant ! La question devrait régulièrement se poser pour les jeunes français originaires de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Wallis-et-Futuna et de Polynésie entre la Nouvelle-Zélande et la Métropole… Difficile pour la fédération française de rugby de se positionner : soit le choix est fait de dénicher les jeunes talents et de les faire venir très tôt en Métropole, au risque de les déraciner, soit on prend le risque de se les faire “piller” par les All Blacks qui, telle une araignée, essaye de récupérer tous les talents des îles du Pacifique… À la France de se défendre en développant l’aura du XV de France et des clubs français dans ses collectivités d’Outre-mer !
3 Go to commentsWrong bay. He needs to come to the REAL BAY which is Bay Of Plenty and have a crack at making the Chiefs.
3 Go to commentsIs Barrett going play full back??? They already have all the centers…
16 Go to comments