Twickenham to host Heineken Cup final in May
European Rugby Cup chief executive Derek McGrath said: “From today all roads lead to Twickenham.
“Announcing the venue now is in the best interests of the Heineken Cup as it adds focus, value and incentive to the tournament and all its stake holders and partners.”
Meanwhile, Anthony Horgan has failed to recover from yet another unfortunate hamstring strain suffered in training last week and has been ruled out of contention for Saturday’s competition opener in Bourgoin.
The good news from Munster’s perspective ahead of today’s team announcement in Cork, is that winger John Kelly will be back in the frame after recovering from an Achilles tendon strain. Kelly will surely be an automatic selection, but both Shaun Payne and Mossie Lawlor will be fighting it out for a place on the other wing.
Australian signing David Pusey, who has been out of action with an ankle injury, could be back in contention for a place in the squad but coach Gaffney will have to make his mind up between him, Trevor Hogan and Eddie Halvey (just back after injury) for a place in the squad of 22.
Meantime, Mac McCallion has resigned as coach of Fiji in frustration at the unhelpful attitude of the governing IRB towards the poorer nations involved in the sport. The New Zealander has tendered his resignation a month after his team were knocked out of the World Cup by a narrow loss to Scotland in their final group match.
McCallion, a former New Zealand Maori who took over as Fiji coach in March 2002, has long been critical of the lack of assistance the Pacific islanders receive from regional rugby superpowers Australia and New Zealand both in terms of resources and regular competition.
“It’s really frustrating, the lack of help we get from the IRB and some major countries, and I can’t see it improving,” he said. McCallion had repeatedly called for more opportunities for his players, and those of Samoa and Tonga, to play the All Blacks and Wallabies on a regular basis.
But the latest proposal by the major rugby-playing nations is a tournament involving Europe’s Six Nations and the Tri-Nations of southern hemisphere.
“Now there’s talk of a Super Nine, and that means instead of getting more games we’re going to get less and I’m not going to wait around for another four years and see that happen,” said McCallion. “What we need is more competition and that’s not going to happen.
“The Super Nine is all about the mighty dollar.
“I’ve thought long and hard about this. The rich countries are going to get richer, we have a lack of money and a lack of help from Australia and New Zealand.
“It would be a lot different if we got assistance from outside, but that’s not happening.
“There’s a lot of talk from the IRB but that's all it is, talk, and there is no action.”
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