He’s a remarkable man, is Serge Blanco, a one-off, someone who has become part of the fabric of French life in his 56 years, and who today is charged with helping transform the national rugby team into credible World Cup contenders.

I’ve been a bold boy. Or so I’ve been told. I’ve had to explain myself, which is fine. You’re not always losing when you’re explaining, writes Ronan O'Gara.

There was a genuine fear not so long ago that European rugby, despite the magnificence of the Heineken Cup and the manner in which it transformed the club game over 15 years, could well have been consigned to history.

Fasten the seat-belt and take a firm grip of something solid, suggests Donal Lenihan.

Heineken Cup bosses hope shareholder power can force the release of overdue tournament appearance fees after a second board meeting in three weeks failed to break the impasse.

Munster chief executive Garrett Fitzgerald is confident his province will have two meaningful competitions to play in next season, despite the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the futures of both the Heineken Cup and Celtic League.

English rugby chief Ian Ritchie was embroiled in a last-ditch attempt to solve the European rugby crisis on Thursday as he met union bosses in Dublin.

IRFU chiefs fear any boycott of the Heineken Cup or a similar European competition by English and/or French clubs could result in a €12m hit and place the union and the four provinces in a perilous financial position.

A decision on English clubs playing in Europe next season is expected to be made at a meeting of Premiership Rugby’s shareholders in London today.

A decision on English clubs playing in Europe next season is expected to be made at a meeting of Premiership Rugby’s shareholders in London tomorrow.

THE end is in sight, even if we are not quite there yet.

Premiership Rugby’s major shareholders are set to meet this week following latest developments in a crisis that has gripped the European club game.

England’s clubs could yet be involved in a tournament run by European Rugby Cup next season if they secure the assurances that it will be replaced for 2015-16.

England’s clubs have edged back from the brink of exclusion from European competition next season following a dramatic day in a dispute destined to continue for another year.

England’s clubs have edged back from the brink of exclusion from European competition next season following a dramatic day in a dispute destined to continue for another year.

The latest twists in the already serpentine bid to reach agreement over the future of European club rugby’s flagship competitions came last night with what was, ultimately, a hardening of resolve on both sides of the barricades.

The battle for control of the European game took a worrying twist last week. Entering the City Hall for Ronan O’Gara’s testimonial on Thursday night, I was made aware of the statement issued on behalf of independent mediators, Graeme Mew and Stephen Drymer, after two days of deliberations in Dublin.

Two days of talks ended yesterday in Dublin with the ERC and its six member unions moving halfway towards the rebellious English and French clubs and their demands for a radically altered European club structure.

Progress has been made “on a number of issues” in the ongoing tussle surrounding European club competitions, independent mediators Graeme Mew and Stephen Drymer said on Thursday.

Summit talks to try and reach a new agreement on the future of the Heineken Cup were set to continue in Dublin today as stakeholders in the European competition digested the implications of the Welsh regions backing the proposed breakaway Rugby Champions Cup.

Wales’ four regional teams have pledged “full support” for the proposed Rugby Champions Cup mooted by England and France next season.

European champions Toulon will not take part in the proposed Anglo-French tournament and will remain in the Heineken Cup as a protest against the French league’s plan to limit the number of foreign players, club president Mourad Boudjellal said.

THE more I read the protestations of the Anglo-French protagonists from Premier Rugby Limited (PRL) and the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR), the more my blood boils.

European Rugby Cup (ERC) chief executive Derek McGrath has urged rebellious English and French clubs to return to the negotiating table in an effort to save the Heineken Cup, insisting there is still time to thrash out a new accord to continue the prestigious European club competition.

To have a negotiating position you must have something to concede.

It took a bit of time, but the Irish, Welsh, Scottish and Italians have come out fighting in a bid to cut renegade English and French clubs off at the pass.

Ireland, Wales, and Scotland have all made clear statements that they will not take part in the new European rugby competition planned by English and French clubs.

Premiership Rugby and its French counterparts have been accused of showing a lack of respect during an increasingly bitter row over the Heineken Cup’s future.

The IRB have said they ‘do not believe’ in an Anglo-French tournament to replace the Heineken Cup and will veto the proposal if it is put to them.

RFU chief executive Ian Ritchie has demanded an ‘urgent’ resolution to the argument over the Heineken Cup as ERC chiefs called a meeting between all parties for October 23 in Dublin.

The prospect of an agreement to save the Heineken Cup looks bleak after the two warring sides fired public broadsides at each other over their behaviour during the past four days.

The chief executive of the IRFU, Philip Browne, has blasted the sabre-rattling of English and French club rugby chiefs while the future of the Heineken Cup continues to be discussed, describing their contradictory actions as “deplorable”.

The future of the Heineken Cup, as it’s presently constituted, appears doomed after England’s Premiership clubs yesterday directed their representative body to take “immediate action” to put in place a new European competition for the 2014/15 season.

A top French rugby official insists he has no concerns about the future of the Heineken Cup.

1. Help the cause:

IT doesn’t feel all that long ago that we began a Heineken Cup with the prospect of the sword of Damocles dangling ominously over the world’s greatest club rugby competition. That’s because it wasn’t long ago at all — in 2007, to be precise — that the French and English clubs last decided that they were picking up the ball and walking off the pitch.

The Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR), the governing body for domestic rugby in France, has clarified that unless there is a “catastrophic failure in negotiations” it will not consider abandoning the Heineken Cup for a breakaway tournament.

After weeks of posturing over the future of the Heineken Cup, European Rugby stakeholders will all meet face to face for the first time in a Dublin hotel today to begin thrashing out a way forward for the continent’s premier club competition.

Toulouse president Rene Bouscatel has waded into the row over the re-scheduled Six Nations game between France and Ireland with a withering attack on rugby union’s organising bodies, the IRB and the Six Nations organising committee.

Ireland’s hopes of a swift resolution to finding a new date for the postponed RBS 6 Nations clash in Paris were stymied last night by a club versus country conflict in France.

IRISH rugby referee Peter Fitzgibbon found himself officiating a bizarre encounter on Tuesday night when the father of Biarritz and French star Imanol Harinordoquy raced onto the pitch and attempted to punch players in a stormy Basque derby.

IRISH rugby referee Peter Fitzgibbon found himself officiating a bizarre encounter on Tuesday night when the father of Biarritz and French star Imanol Harinordoquy raced onto the pitch and attempted to punch players in a stormy Basque derby.