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The_Dange says...

Classic throwing the toys out of the pram. English and French clubs willing to do damage to Italian and Scottish rugby by essentially throwing them out of the competition just to line their own pockets with more cash, even though they have all the tools to be the best and win the competition. More players and bigger contracts for the big stars. Pathetic.

Posted 14:07 23rd August 2012

DaveJ says...

blueriver - it will help develop the Italian game, the exact reason the Italians were allowed enter the Pro 12, teams like this need to compete at the highest level in order to develop themselves towards that same level and let's be honest, the HCup is the highest club level in the Northern Hemisphere.

As a Scot you should be worried about proposed 6 team qualification from the Rabo as you will be lucky to have 1 Scottish team in the HCup each year. Again if Scotland did not have representation that would be detrimental to Scottish rugby and the international setup. International players don't lick their form off a stone - they earn it by playing against other international level players in the HCup.

Posted 13:40 23rd August 2012

sextons_on_fire says...

Whinge whinge moan moan - typical English/French LOL

Posted 12:51 23rd August 2012

sergeblanco says...

They should increase competition for HC places in the Rabbo, but ensure that all nations are guaranteed one spot to help grow the game. As a Scot I would welcome this as it would add extra spice to the inter-city matches.

However, I would point out that only Aironi have weakened the HC as the other sides in the bottom half of the rabbo all more than hold their own. Edinburgh didn't chuck games in the Rabbo last year they were just better than the mid table French and English sides in their pool. They beat a moody Toulose at home then lost to a more powerful Rabbo side in the semi reflecting their ability. Munster and Leinster would continue to qualify for the HC while playing weakened sides (still packed full of internationals) in the Rabbo. Therefore this boils down to financial greed. More English and French sides would dilute the quality of the HC and once more demonstrate to developing nations that the established nations have no interest in growing the game.

Posted 12:14 23rd August 2012

Tombomb says...

An Anglo French comp how exciting when clearmont and Toulouse (larger budgets) win it every year what will the English do then? Claim they cant compete because of smaller budgets than the french clubs? the pro 12 teams rest there players Wow that must be why there better well maybe it's because there just better teams. Anyway no more than six rabo teams so that means that either each country loses one team each or it goes of league position. What the English should do is try make there teams stronger for example look at Exeter if they were in the pro 12 they would likely not make higher that 8th

Posted 11:40 23rd August 2012

fozza says...

I don't agree with the actions, but I think they have enough of a gripe to be listened too. The Pro Rabo has no relegation and there are teams who finished 10th and 11th in the division playing in the premier european division.

Now I actually think this is the way it should be, we need to make sure Scottish and italian teams get their place. you only need to look into Edinburgh's amazing victory over Toulouse last year to see the benefits.

So, having said that, I still think the premiership and french teams have a valid gripe, it is different rules for different countries... Don't know how you'd fix it to be honest. How about a qualifying tier as the Champions League does? I don't know, but I guess that's what the meetings are for!

Posted 11:33 23rd August 2012

spike19 says...

Typical bitter Anglo/French behaviour and utter jealousy at the success of the Irish provinces over the last few years. How many teams are there in the premiership, 12 plus another professional league below that. You would think that with a player base that size England could get there act together at club level and internationally!

The Top 14 teams are suffering because they have too many foreign players just looking for a nice retirement bonus. There is a similar situation in England but not to the same extent.

Leinster deservedly have held the Heineken cup for two years because they are the best team in Europe who play a brand of rugby that clubs in England and most clubs in France can't live with and don't have the ability to execute. Simple as that.

By Mr Mc Cafferty's logic of having a "level playing field" the Celtic teams would be well within there right to highlight the fact that England and France have over twice as many teams as there are in the Rabo and therefore have a huge advantage. But that would stooping to his level!

Posted 11:10 23rd August 2012

AdamReesy says...

I'm a Blues fan and personally I think there should be qualification from the ProDirect, as it would make the season more interesting ¿ a lot of the games are played with second-string teams and can be so dull, it's like watching the Aviva! But at the same time that's no excuse for the English and French clubs throwing their toys out of the pram just because they haven't had a team good enough to win the HC for so long. Saying that I think Toulon have out-spent everyone else to such an extent that they could win it this year. If the French clubs realise they can buy HC success it might just leave the Aviva teams departing, which I wouldn't mind personally.

Posted 11:06 23rd August 2012

kid_diablo says...

I'm irish and i would agree that it should be the top six teams from each league plus two more teams from the countries that win the heineken and amlin. this for me would not only improve the h cup but the pro 12 as well giving lower ranked teams something to play for.

It does however sound like sour grapes the way premier rugby and the lnr are going about this but they are right. The erc should be the ones pushing for this not fighting it.

Posted 10:52 23rd August 2012

DaveJ says...

The French and English just can't take the fact that the Irish have been dominant over them. There was no complaints from the Celtic nations about inequality of qualification when Toulouse, Leicester, Wasps and any other English or French clubs were dominating Europe. Irish teams still need to qualify for the HC (only 3 qualify through Pro12 placing and a 4th will qualify if the previous years winner is Irish), England and France get 6 qualifiers....TWICE AS MANY! The problem for other teams is that because there are only 4 Irish provinces there is less dilution of international talent unlike the English and French who have higher numbers of teams in their domestic leagues, thus weakening their teams. These are internal problems for the FFR & RFU, not those of the ERC or the European rugby community. The problem is clearly not the qualification process as teams want to win the pro12 and do their best to balance their squad across the Pro12 & HC seasons, it's just that Leinster have the best (mostly young) squad and coach in Europe at the moment along with the best coach and are running rampant. Rugby has massively increased in popularity in recent years in Ireland and now the provinces have the financial support to compete for the best players to further strengthen squads and also the money to develop better in house training and talent development facilities.Overall it is just a peak for Irish provincial rugby, these things eb and flow, I reckon the French will be the next to peak in a few years time with Claremont looking so strong and Toulouse an ever present threat and well it's hard to predict with the English peaking any time soon as the Premiership is such poor rugby. Both the French and English need to pipe down and be gracious when they aren't at the top of Europe and focus their energies on turning that around on the pitch, not throwing tantrums.

Posted 10:40 23rd August 2012