AMID ONGOING UNCERTAINTY about the competitions’ future, the ERC announced on Monday that the finals of the 2014 Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup will be held in France.
No venues have yet been confirmed for the two showpiece matches which will take place on the weekend of 23-25 May 2014. The 2013 finals take place in Dublin next May.
With a capacity of over 80,000, the Stade de France is the most likely contender for the Heineken Cup final. The Saint-Denis stadium, which is the home of the national rugby team, previously staged the all-French final between Toulouse and Biarritz in 2010.
Bordeaux’s Stade Lescure and the Parc de Princes in Paris also hosted the final in 1998 and 2001 respectively, but with both stadiums holding less than 50,000, they are likely to be now seen as too small to satisfy fan demand for tickets.
The announcement comes as rugby bosses continue to work through disagreements about the tournament’s future, led by dissatisfied English and French clubs.
European rugby stakeholders met in Dublin last week where they had a “productive” meeting to discuss a public spat over TV rights.
