Loose Pass: Champions Cup format a hit, England’s one that got away and long-range drop goals

This week we will mostly be concerning ourselves with tournament formatting, England’s one that got away, and an occurrence (nearly two) we are surprised has not happened a lot more already…

Discovery of the season

Loose Pass must confess, that since the heady days of the Munster–Leicester–Wasps-Toulouse-Leinster stranglehold on the Heineken Cup (which ended in 2013 after 13 years), the ongoing battle to ‘renew’ the competition (really meaning the ongoing battle for the cash on offer), plus the sudden emergence of a largely-bought team in Toulon, had ensured that our interest in the tournament had waned somewhat.

Then came the new format, then came the dilution of all competition integrity due to the pandemic (nobody’s fault particularly, a trying time, yet it just wasn’t a very satisfactory repair job at the time). Had it not been for SANZAAR making an even worse job of ‘revolutionising’ Super Rugby, loyalties to the Heineken Cup would have been sorely tested.

But this weekend, out of nowhere, the retained format tweak gave a labouring competition a whole new look. And Loose Pass – we suspect many others also – likes!

Harking back to the bygone era of six four-team pools leading to quarter-finals where two of the pool winners could find themselves away in a quarter-final, some of the most memorable clashes were those on the December weekends, the back-to-back home and away epics. Some of the others were those final weekend clashes, with teams needing bonus points in the toughest places, or needing four tries against the most watertight defences. Some of those epic away wins in places like Clermont or Perpignan, some of those amazing Munster finales, showdowns in the Welford Road mud.

The new format, the reduction to only five pools plus the downturn in fortune of some of the tournament’s most historic names and emergence of a couple of rather more commercial brands, diluted this a little. Some teams qualified with games to spare, others were happy not to contest games knowing they could snaffle a quarter-final place by finishing second easily enough. The cut-throat nature of the tournament was blunted – and so, therefore, was the pulling power.

The two-legged format at the business end has breathed a whole new life into the competition, enough to make Loose Pass ask the question: could, even should, this format be retained for the whole thing?

Imagine a European Champions Cup featuring 16 teams: three two-legged rounds and a showpiece final. A straight knockout. Win and you are through, lose and you’re done. Imagine weekends like the one past being the onset of the tournament, one astounding weekend with another five to look forward to. And my goodness, imagine those semi-finals! Imagine a two-legged semi-final between Toulouse and Leicester at the business end of the season?

Soccer’s Champions League has been based around two-legged affairs for yonks – and many are the voices who would love to do away with its current pool system which virtually guarantees that the big names will be in the later stages even if they slip up.

If rugby’s move towards a two-legged play-off system has been shied away from because of the greater challenge posed by its scoring, the weekend past – fewer than seven-point wins in half of the games, an extraordinary six away wins and the fascinating scenario to play out at the Stoop – shows that it can work.

As the tension ratchets up this coming weekend, as Harlequins throw the kitchen sink at Montpellier trying to win by 15 or as Thomond Park fires on Munster to win by six at home to Exeter or as Toulouse try to make a point with 15 men at the Kingspan, consider that this could be what the tournament looks like from start to finish. We hope the organisers have taken note.

How did this one get away?

It probably wasn’t just Harlequins bemoaning the departure from England shores of Zach Mercer this weekend past. There must have been many an England fan looking on uneasily, wondering how such a talent could have been allowed to head off for a contract ensuring he will not be involved in the 2023 World Cup.

Mercer gave an interview last year, in which he said he had not heard from Eddie Jones for ‘a long time’ and mentioned that he had made the decision to forsake the next World Cup in order to create a challenge for himself.

“It would have been nice to have a conversation about where I stood. That helped push my decision to come out here and I took the decision that I won’t play for England,” he said.

“Rugby’s a short career and you can’t wait around. If you’re not playing for England, why sit in the Premiership when you can get out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself?

“I took the decision that I won’t play at the next World Cup, which was massive for me. But I’ve still got time to develop.”

He also said that he had often been marked down as not big or physical enough. Whether that was still the case when he left for France is not clear, but what is clear is that Mercer was up against England’s heir apparent to the number eight shirt on Sunday and was far, far better. He was more skilful, he was quicker and he matched up physically every time.

There is, of course, another leg to go, but given his consistently outstanding performances for Montpellier in a highly physical and competitive league this season, you’d put your shirt on him winning again – and reminding England once again of the holes still in their talent pool.

Will this eventually be outlawed?

When the goal-line drop out was introduced, Loose Pass did wonder at the time whether it might lead to a proliferation of long-range drop-goal attempts.

Stuart Hogg’s banger on Saturday will quickly become a part of Exeter Champions Cup folklore. Anthony Bouthier’s attempt against Harlequins rather less so down south, but as ties get tighter this coming weekend, it’s difficult not to see these becoming more and more of a feature in this situation – not only is the cheap three points fully worth it, but it also runs down the clock in a tight game (assuming the ball goes dead).

It’ll surely be used more as time goes on. So how long before the rule is tweaked to say that there must be at least one ruck or tactical kick before a drop goal attempt from a goal-line drop out? We’re giving it a season at most.

READ MORE: Champions Cup: Five takeaways from Round-of-16 first legs as Ulster beat holders Toulouse