24 teams are participating in the current Champions Cup. Photo: Getty Images/Steve Haag
Last weekend's Champions Cup play was overshadowed by the Bulls' decision to send a fringe team to play Northampton Saints in the quarter-finals.
Elsewhere in La. Rochelle had struggled to match the heights of previous campaigns after going from victory in Cape Town to facing Leinster in Dublin. .
Telegraph Sport experts offer a solution to the “South African problem” developing in the Champions Cup.
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Striving for greater meritocracy, allowing an improved format to withstand the pressure of logistical complexities, is a short-term solution.
By setting the bar higher by first qualifying for the Champions Cup and then progressing to the knockout stages, it will raise standards and prevent teams from sending out weak teams.
There is already a plan in place to reduce the number of clubs in the Champions Cup to 18. which was mothballed only due to the lack of agreement on the number of clubs each league would provide.
Premier League Despite reducing the number of clubs to 10, it stands firm in its demand for an equal three-way distribution of six clubs from each league. Top 14 and URC note that with 14 and 16 clubs respectively, the 5-6-7 scheme will be more indicative.
The “coefficient calculation” compromise, according to which the number of representatives from each league will be adjusted every two years depending on collective performances in the Champions Cup, until the deadlock is broken.
The Bulls fielded a significantly weakened team against Northampton in the quarter-finals. Photo: Getty Images/Paul Harding
Issues raised during this season's campaign should bring everyone back to the negotiating table and introduce a new format in which the 18 clubs will be divided into three groups of six, with each club playing each once, with the exception of those clubs that belong to the same national league.
The three group winners and the top runner-up automatically qualify for the quarter-finals, with the next eight ranked clubs facing each other in the knockout round of the knockout round and standing last. eight.
Automatic qualifiers will have the advantage of earning weekends (EPCR will reimburse clubs for missing a home match during a barrage round) and will also have more time to sell tickets, promote home quarterfinals and making the trip easier. burden on South African franchises – if they qualify.
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South African teams boast outstanding athletes and great attacking zeal; more than they are given credit for. But travel issues are predictably tedious and disruptive. Two-legged quarterfinals mitigate the problem but don't completely solve it because the pool stage still involves long flights and short breaks.
Perhaps holding the semi-finals and final in the same venue on consecutive weekends is another way to ease logistics, although this will require negotiations with the Premier League, United Rugby Championship and the top 14 players. dates. If the South African parties are going to stay, a compromise will have to be made.
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