There are 23 bids from 10 countries to host future Champions Cup and Challenge Cup finals, with Croke Park a preferred venue in Ireland. However, given the s hosted the 2023 final, that may be a few years down the line.
The GAA would have to give its blessing but there isn’t an obvious clash with Leinster football and hurling finals based on this year’s dates. Leinster beat Northampton Saints at Croke Park in a Champions Cup semi-final in 2024 in front of a record crowd of 82,300.
Reports suggest Lisbon, Barcelona, Madrid, Munich, Amsterdam, New York and Hong Kong are just some of the cities that are in the mix, while the Stadio Olimpico in Rome should be an obvious choice; however, with Serie A still going in late May, Roma and Lazio would have first call on the venue.
Historic opening weekend ends in defeat for all Irish provinces
The 2027 European finals will be held in Lyon next May, but European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) is keen to announce the final venues for 2028, 2029 and 2030.
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There are reports that the French Top 14 clubs would like to see the number of teams in the Champions Cup cut from 24 to 16 going forward, with no pool stages, just two-leg knockout matches in the Round of 16 followed by straight knockout from there to the final.
It’s not unfeasible that this format might gather a wider appeal as there is a desire to make the Champions Cup a more premium tournament, while also directly strengthening the quality and appeal of the Challenge Cup.
Premier Sports are on the last of a three-year cycle as a primary broadcaster. The calendar, number of teams and format are all up for discussion with stakeholders but the current format is guaranteed until the 2029-2030 season.
The European tournaments have adopted a rule that’s already prevalent in the French Top 14 and Super Rugby and this season the English Championship – the second tier in England – whereby a try-scoring bonus point will only be available to teams who win a match and score three or more tries more than their opponents.
EPCR studied data over a three-season sample period before deciding on the changes. The findings suggested that the try bonus point, for scoring four, was an unjust reward for a team that was hammered on the scoreboard.
What was revealed by the data was that teams that were winning easily switched off a little towards the end of matches and as a result offered up a cheap four-try bonus point. The premise is that no team should get a reward of that nature when they are appreciably dominated on the field and on the scoreboard.
The tournament organisers have retained the losing bonus point, for sides that finish seven points or less behind their opponents, thereby retaining an in-match incentive for a team that is losing to chase all the way to the final whistle.
Another alteration will see three teams from each of the four six-team pools automatically qualify for the Round of 16, to give a total of 12, with the remaining four progressing by virtue of a cross-pool ranking.
Those clubs who are ranked 13th-16th will qualify for the Round of 16 and then the next four (17th-20th place) will drop down into the Challenge Cup Round of 16. The bottom four clubs will drop out of European competition for that season.
