England's leading clubs are calling on the Rugby Football Union to support their bid for a major revamp of top-level European competition.
Premiership Rugby and their French counterparts, the Ligue Nationale de Rugby, have threatened to quit both the Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup unless their formats are changed.
Both bodies are pushing ahead with alternative proposals and yesterday PR met with senior RFU officials following their announcement of plans for a new tournament next season.
Following the meeting, Leicester chairman Peter Tom said: “I would hope that from that they would support us because I do think this is in the best interests of English rugby. We have made our case to our own union very strongly.
“This is not the English and French clubs trying to run off with a gold pot or anything. It’s genuine.
“We would like them [Celtic countries and Italy] to join us in the European Cup mark two. We would be very, very happy for them to join us.”
Any new competition would need RFU and French Rugby Federation approval as the respective governing bodies.
European Rugby Cup, the organising body of the Heineken Cup and the Amlin Challenge Cup, claimed yesterday that all parties — including Premiership Rugby and the LNR — had “reaffirmed” their commitment towards negotiations regarding a new tournament deal when the current ones end next summer.
The announcement followed a meeting of ERC directors in Dublin but the English and French clubs say their stance is unchanged.
LNR president Paul Goze, meanwhile, reiterated the French clubs’ position in emphatic fashion.
“We are not threatening not to participate in the European Cup — we are saying we will not participate,” said Goze.
“We are taking a decision not to play in this competition in its current format. We think that there is no alternative.”
A meeting involving all of the 12 Aviva Premiership club chairmen is scheduled for early next week.
Read More
MORE ABOUT