Crucial decisions to be made shortly

AS THE members of the IRFU contend plate the recommendations of the President's Review Committee on the structure of the game…

AS THE members of the IRFU contend plate the recommendations of the President's Review Committee on the structure of the game in Ireland those recommendations will be discussed in depth at the union meeting next month the indications are that the IRFU and the other rugby unions could also have other issues to discuss that may amount to a challenge to their authority.

With that in mind the outcome of last Friday's meeting in London of club representatives from the countries who compete in the Five Nations Championship and Italy could have major repercussions for the game and the parent unions.

The formation of the European Rugby Clubs Association leaves one wondering what exactly is going to happen next season in relation to European competition and where European Rugby Cup Ltd (ERC) the official body which runs the European Cup, comes into the equation.

ERC was formed through the rugby unions and while England and Scotland did not have representatives in the competition this season, they are represented on ERC and are due to compete ink the European Cup next season. Furthermore the English Union also announced plans for an Anglo Welsh competition to run concurrently with the European Cup.

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The meeting last week was organised on the, initiative of Peter Wheeler and Gareth Davies, the chief executives of the Leicester and Cardiff clubs respectively. There are those who will see this latest development as an attempt to hijack the game for the benefit of a tiny minority of big

The meeting in London was attended by Frank Hogan, the chairman of Garowen. But he was there on personal invitation not as an official representative of the IRFU. From an Irish and Scottish perspective it is also true that there is profound anxiety in the clubs at a lot of the latest developments, not least the grave danger that they are going to lose all their best players.

Hogan intends to send Ken Reid, the European Cup tournament director, a resume of what happened at the meeting in London and he is also sending it to the first division league clubs.

Among the clubs represented at the London meeting were Harlequins, Bath, Leicester, Bristol, Cardiff, Swansea, Toulouse, Toulon, Castres, Watsonians, Mel rose, Milan and Treviso. Apparently there is £10 million on the table and that includes a television deal with Sky who else? But what about the existing sponsorship and television deals that are in place with ERC?

There is now no doubt that this latest development presents the rugby unions with a problem and a challenge but equally unless clubs are prepared to break from their unions, they cannot really do anything without their unions consent.

One of the problems from an Irish perspective is that provinces represent Ireland in the main event and next year it will involve 20 teams and each team will play a minimum of eight matches on a home and away basis. Under the proposal presented last Friday there will also be a subsidiary competition embracing 32 clubs with Ireland having four representatives in that competition.

Presumably it would run concurrently with the main event. Quite simply there are not enough weekends in a season to do otherwise and provide for domestic leagues and representative matches. If there are two competitions running concurrently then would the Irish clubs involved have first call on their players who are also in their provincial teams or would it be clubs representing Ireland in both competitions?

Not that everyone outside Ireland is enthusiastic about provinces representing Ireland's interests in the European Cup, but realistically Irish clubs would not be strong enough to compete on their own. Certainly not in the main event.

That is also the view of the Scottish Rugby Union in relation to their representation but not all Scottish clubs see it that way. Cardiff, for instance, would have a bigger pool of players to draw from than any Irish province under the system that operates in Wales. Then what about those firms who sponsor domestic competitions in each country in each country?

ONE of the most pertinent points made at the meeting of Irish clubs last Saturday week was that clubs are suffering immense hardship under the new structure of the game in Ireland and that with the break ink the All Ireland league, they are effectively without income. There is also a strong feeling that while clubs supply their players to branches and unions and that those players now get paid for their representative commitments, the clubs are not in a position to pay their players or put them under contract. They are therefore vulnerable on several fronts and totally unable to give their best players the inducements and rewards necessary to keep them at the club.

There is a view that the IRFU should help the clubs financially to meet the challenges of the new order. Certainly if we get to a stage where Irish clubs are competing in European competition it is certain to create an elite club situation in this country. Even as things stand the exodus to British clubs continues. The Irish clubs cannot compete financially.

There is no doubt that there is a strong feeling in Irish clubs that they are on the one hand expected to be the supply line for province and country while at the same time being asked under the present structure to endure intolerable hardship.

But it should be stressed that there was widespread acceptance that it was best for Irish rugby this season that the provinces play in the European Cup. The IRFU also stressed that the European Cup was very important in helping to develop players at the level below full international competition giving them invaluable experience.

There is a huge challenge now facing rugby unions and it must be addressed as a matter of urgency. For instance it is imperative that ERC issue a statement quickly and that rugby unions lay out exactly where they stand and who runs the game. The International Board is currently in session and maybe that is as well. Perhaps they can address some of the new issues if only unofficially among union representatives. Ireland is represented on the Board by IRFU president Syd Millar and Tom Kiernan, who is chairman of ERC. Their comments should be interesting on the latest developments. What is certain is that the new European proposals most certainly do not suit Ireland and the set up of the game in this country.

The IRFU Presidents Review Committee, for instance, recommends that there is a strong case for the first division of the AIL to be reduced to eight clubs with a double programme of matches. That the second division consists of 14 clubs each playing each other once that the other clubs compete in provincial leagues to act as qualifying competition for the AIL.

The clubs' meeting last Saturday week also revealed strong support for the concept of an All Ireland Cup. Some very interesting days ahead and crucial decisions to be taken.