Former Leinster head coach Matt Williams has bemoaned the current Investec Champions Cup format and claims it is directly as a result of the actions of the English and French clubs.
Europe’s top-tier competition was initially formed in 1995 as the Heineken Cup and lasted for two decades before it was altered following a dispute.
Clubs from the Top 14 and Premiership were unhappy with how many teams were able to qualify from the PRO12 (now the United Rugby Championship) and how the revenue was shared.
They would ultimately get their way and the Champions Cup was set up to replace the old Heineken Cup, with a different body, European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR), running the competition.
Using a similar format
The schedule broadly remained the same, however, with each pool containing four teams, where the sides would face each other home and away.
After six group matches, the top outfit plus the three second best placed qualifiers would move onto the quarter-finals.
It changed once Covid struck, though, and the organisers have since tinkered with the structure, leading to its current format.
“In the early days of the Heineken Cup, it was a magnificent competition. It was six pool games, home and away, and they felt like they were battles,” A frustrated Williams told Off The Ball.
“They were so difficult and you had to be a really good team, a really worthy team to walk into a quarter-final. To make a semi-final you had to be verging on one of the best teams of the year.
“Now, the semi-finals have still got it but the competition is only starting in April. Before, the competition was absolutely red hot in round one in October and it’s just such a shame the short-sightedness of the administrators.”
English and French clubs criticised
Williams then went on to criticise the Premiership and Top 14 clubs, who were integral to the Heineken Cup changing to the Champions Cup in 2015.
“I’ve got to say, this is the English and French clubs trying to get some parity because their domestic competitions are so tough. They don’t want this to be such a long drawn out battle,” he said.
“That’s why we’ve got this farcical situation with the pool stages, which mean almost nothing, because you’ve got the round of 16.
“One win in the pool stages has got Ulster into a knockout stage. It’s not a meritocracy.”
👀 READ MORE: Jack Nowell hails Ronan O’Gara as La Rochelle aim to swing season’s ‘momentum’ against Munster
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/matt-williams-blames-english-and-french-clubs-for-farcical-champions-cup-as-ex-leinster-boss-hits-out-at-short-sighted-epcr
