EPCR BOARD MEMBER Martin Anayi says the format of the Heineken Champions Cup needs to be addressed, amid complaints from fans, media, players, and coaches again this season.
Anayi, who is also the CEO of the BKT United Rugby Championship, admits that it’s generally agreed that the current format of the Champions Cup is “too complicated.”
In its current guise, the competition involves 24 teams being split into two pools of 12 teams, with all clubs playing four pool-stage games against two of the other sides in their pool. Eight clubs qualify from each pool for the Round of 16, with quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final following.
Before the 2020/21 season, the Heineken Cup involved only 20 clubs who were split into five pools of four clubs, meaning they each had six pool games as they played each other home and away. The five clubs who topped each pool advanced straight into quarter-finals, along with the three highest-ranked runners-up.
Before the 2014/15 season, the Heineken Cup featured 24 clubs who were split into six pools of four, with everyone playing six pool games each. The six pool winners qualified for the quarter-finals along with the two highest-ranked runners-up.
While there have been calls for a return to that pre-2014/15 format, the issue now is that the Champions Cup is played out over eight match weekends rather than nine. It’s thought that the English and French clubs are particularly against adding another match weekend given their focus on their domestic leagues.
Whatever the solution, the calls for change have been growing recently and Anayi, who is part of the EPCR board, indicated that tournament organisers are considering the format.
“It’s generally accepted that the format is too complicated,” Anayi told the official BKT URC website.
“There is a desire from a lot of fans and media to go back to an easily understandable group stage, moving away from the two conference structure. People want simplicity with a group format that makes sense and is a lot clearer.
“At the heart of it, we have still got a very compelling competition, with some great rugby, we just need to focus on the format a bit more.”
Meanwhile, Anayi admitted that the URC still has lots of work to do to improve, despite the obvious growth since the introduction of the four leading South African sides.
Anayi pointed out that there remain clubs who struggle to be competitive.
He also indicated that qualification from the URC for the Champions Cup will return to meritocracy next season, moving away from the current model where each participating nation in the URC is guaranteed one qualifier into the Champions Cup regardless of their finishing position in the URC.
“We have still got a bit of a job to do with teams 16 to 14, potentially up to 13, in terms of are they as competitive as they can be,” said Anayi.
“There’s a lot to do commercially to make the game bigger and a lot to do to bring new fans into the grounds.
“By no means are we done. It’s not a finished article. It’s definitely a work in progress, but the building blocks are there more so than when it was the Pro12 or the Pro14.
“Next season, most likely we will go back to straight meritocracy, with the top eight going through to the Champions Cup.”
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