English Clubs To Boycott European Cup

Rugby union’s European Cup competitions are heading for a crisis after England’s
top clubs confirmed they would boycott next season’s tournaments if their French
counterparts made real their threat to pull out.

Premier Rugby, the governing body which represents England’s top flight
clubs, took a vote of its members and the unanimous consensus was that if French
teams would not compete then they would follow suit.

The clubs are in dispute with the organisers about having a greater say in
the running of the Heineken Cup and the European Challenge Cup.

‘A European Cup without leading French clubs is not a genuine competition,’ a
Premier Rugby statement said. ‘Premier Rugby is seeking that their clubs have
equal shares and votes with the RFU in a new five-year commitment to European
competitions.
‘Premier Rugby has been negotiating for the last 16 months with
its other European partners to establish a new agreement once the current one
comes to an end after this season.

‘It is a point of frustration that an agreement in principle reached in
October 2006 with our European partners has so far been rejected by the RFU.’

In response the RFU has said that it will sue any English club that withdraws
from next season’s European Cup competitions.

The French clubs have made their feelings on the matter known for the past 10
weeks, but Premier Rugby’s decision has been greeted with incredulation by
French Federation chief Bernard Lapasset.

‘I find the English clubs decision extraordinarily courageous,’ Lapasset said
sarcastically. ‘I do not find this very courageous. All it does is send the ball
back into the French court.’

English and French clubs have won nine of the 11 Heineken Cup finals between
them with only Ulster (1999) and Munster (2006) disrupting the monopoly.

If the two countries were to go ahead with their boycott, European Rugby Cup
Ltd would be left with only teams from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy
competing next season.