Grandstand finish just what Cup needs

Today's Anglo-French summit at Welford Road may be vital for Leicester's hopes of a comeback in Europe. It is also another stage in the revival of Grandstand, and the chance for the BBC to ram in the gumshield and scrum down in another battle over TV sport.

When Heineken announced their sponsorship of the European Cup this month, the BBC snatched at the chance to cover the competition like a foraging flanker.

Last weekend, at its peak, 3.9m watched another Anglo-French encounter between Bath and Toulouse at the Recreation Ground. That was almost 1,000 times more than the combined gates for all six Heineken Cup ties that day.

Rugby union needs a shop window, never more so than now when there is an tangible air of gloom after the World Cup, and when its small fan base is growing ever more disenchanted at the political rumblings within the professionalised game. If nearly 4m armchair spectators tune in to some exotic Pan-European encounters in the run-up to Christmas, it may bring salvation to a bruised and battered sport.

It may bring salvation to Grandstand, too. Over recent weeks a bitter squabble has raged in the British press over Grandstand, once the proud flagship of the BBC's sports coverage. The Daily Mail has dubbed it "Blandstand" and fired off some savage salvoes. In the Daily Tele- graph its presenter Steve Rider fired a few shots back. "There is no feeling of impending doom," he wrote. "Indeed Greg Dyke's first visit to the Grandstand office last week was greeted more like the arrival of the cavalry than the grim reaper."

When, in June 1996, Twickenham announced a unilateral £87.5m deal with BSkyB for all international, club and representative games in England, the televising of rugby was revolutionised. Sky wrenched the game into the modern, professional era, its voluble presenter Stuart Barnes the epitome of its can-do, brash coverage. That coverage is usually excellent and in programmes such as The Rugby Club it offers a window to the grass-roots game.

But terrestrial television gives the game its shop window. There are many people out there in rugbyland without dishes and cables. Sky does not publish viewing figures, arguing that since many people watch their programmes in pubs and clubs, these are hard to quantify. But what is undisputed is that viewers for its Saturday afternoon Allied Dunbar games are thin on the ground. It could only dream of 3.9m.

Dave Gordon, the executive editor of BBC TV Sport, said: "Rugby is very important for us. It's a major sport that a wide audience enjoys and we can make an impact in this tournament. We are broadcasting, not narrow-casting, and we need to dispel the myth that we've been out of rugby for years."

Peter Wheeler, Leicester's chief executive, said yesterday: "Sky have done some extremely good things in the last few years. They have been very innovative. Four years ago if Rugby Special came here it would be with two cameras. Now they are returning with 10 or 12. We need a partnership between satellite channels and the BBC, but it's obvious that if 3m are watching that is good for all of us."