We now know the 8 teams left in the running to be the champions of European rugby. Northampton play Ulster, Leinster take on Leicester and the French square up against each other with Perpignan versus Toulon and Biarritz Vs Toulouse.
While I think the knockout stages will be as tense and compelling as always, it is difficult not to suggest ways of making the tournament better. The fact that two of the four matchups are essentially French domestic league games with a little more money involved is clearly an issue in my mind; what is the point in having a trans-European tournament if half of the teams end up playing the same opposition they meet several times in their respective league anyway? It sort of ruins the point.
Matchups where both teams are from the same country also end up eliminating half of that nations competitors by default, thus making the chances of two teams from the same country meeting each other in the final (where the special sense of local rivalry and pageantry is much more intense and welcome) half as likely.
Also, after a hard home and away 4 team group stage that takes several months to complete, only 8 teams progress and earn the right to play but a single match. Not having two-legged knockout stage games is ridiculous considering the amount of work teams have put in to get to the late stages of the tournament. To go home after one match seems a waste; for TV coverage, for the players but most importantly for the fans. What difference does it make if your team gets to the knockout stages if they only get to play one match hundreds of miles away and lose? If a fan doesn't have Sky Sports or a lot of frequent flier miles, they are not going to get any enjoyment from following one of the best 8 teams in Europe.
Finally, there are simply not enough sides in the knockout part of the competition. There should be a Round of 16 introduced. Let the 1st place sides be joined by every 2nd placed team. Either take the remaining 4 teams needed from the best 3rd placed sides, or better still come up with a way to introduce the Amlin Cup teams into the proceedings. This is currently a frankly pointless tournament that no-one cares about. Lower the number of teams participating and make that competition a four group affair. Let the winners of these Amlin Cup groups be the final 4 teams to make up the new Heineken Round of 16. This would give clubs from smaller provinces and countries more of a chance at the top table, something that is woefully lacking at the moment.
My proposals aren't brilliant, mainly because I am thinking them up as I write. But the point that they are trying to address, the reform of trans-European club rugby, is valid. Maybe I will have started the ball rolling...
GM
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