Mark McCafferty chief executive of premiership rugby has definitely been far too blunt in his approach thus far while many of the Anglo-French clubs especially those south of the English Channel have superior financial muscle to their Rabo colleagues and yet there still is a convincing case for change in European rugby's premier cup. As things stand clubs from the Rabodirect competition are considered to be far fresher in Heineken Cup games given that their primary focus in a season is a maximum of nine games against Europe's elite. Add to the mixture the fact that the European cup provides on average only 20% of a French Top 14 clubs annual revenue compared to the 80% estimate for Irish, Scottish, Italian and Welsh clubs and the reason for the priorities of clubs involved in the competition becomes obvious.
Top 14 and Premiership Rugby's main concerns aside from consistently losing to Irelands provinces revolve around the current qualification format which has 10 of 12 Rabo clubs qualify automatically for Europes premiership competition while prize money from the tournament is weighted heavily in favour of clubs in the Rabodirect due to the fact that most of the prize fund is divided equally amongst the member countries as opposed to competing clubs. Of these issues I believe having clubs from 6 countries is what is most appealing about the Heineken Cup so negotiation on qualification should be limited. The current funding structure deserves to be looked at on the basis that Rabo clubs are heavily subsidised under the current system. Healing the lack of sponsorship and excitement in the Rabodirect League should provide a more balanced European competition which will continue to grow at its current rate if not faster with all clubs happy to be part of the competition and striving to win it.
What I believe needs to be added to the Rabo is relegation something which will ultimately add prestige to winning a competition with 2 divisions of competitors. In order to have a relegation promotion system a minimum of 20 clubs would be required compared to the current 12 many of whom attract paltry home attendances regularly. Climbing to 20 though not easy would also allow for the creation of a meaningful cup competition between teams in 2 divisions who might otherwise not play each other very often.
Given the frequency with which clubs such as Saracens and Biarritz are playing home games outside of their home countries my opinion is that many of these locations could form the basis of the extra teams required with the Welsh and Italian unions having the option of an extra franchise if they so wish. Air travel in Europe today means that there is no reason Bucharest a genuine rugby stronghold should not be invited. Currently Bucaresti Oak's a team comprised of Romania's best domestic players have not disgraced themselves in the Amlin Challenge cup, they would be likely to grow again with a genuine season ahead of them. Other countries who could benefit from a genuine regular season include Spain whose clubs have continuously attracted internationals from second tier nations as well as other seasoned rugby professionals. My view is that a combination of grass roots players and other professionals could produce teams as competitive as the current Italian franchises. Belgium and Germany may also be capable of providing one franchise each given the fact that both countries have produced players capable of competing in the Top 14.
In such a circumstance qualification for the Heineken Cup would be determined by playing in the top division with the 10 other clubs making up a slightly extended Amlin. The advantage to French and English clubs being that they are facing clubs with competing priorities as opposed to the seemingly sole objective of today's system as well as the opportunity to play important games in new countries were their clubs to qualify . The advantage to Rabo clubs would be a more credible season of fixtures for supporters considering purchasing a season tickets as well as the potential of new TV markets were the new structures to be successful. Qualification for the Heineken should still be eminently achievable if like the naysayers might argue that the 2nd level of the competition containing teams utterly lacking in competitiveness. For rugby at large the advantages of the extensions could be incredible. Firstly in narrowing the gap between the tier 2 and 3 nations selected to compete and the 6 nations country but also in providing another avenue to professional rugby for players.
There are plenty of reason's why this might not be a success finance and fear of relegation chief among them . My hope would be that national associations, the IRB and outside investment could sufficiently subsidize the project enough to take it off the ground. TV backing and bums on seats could then dictate the success of the venture. It may be a risk but it might just be worth it.
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