Ryan relishing Heineken Cup return
The former England player expressed disappointment his side finished third in Pool 2 of this year’s competition behind Leinster and Agen, and is eagerly awaiting an opportunity to make amends.
In the light of this week’s negotiations to protect the future of the tournament, Ryan said “there are very healthy signs that a solution to the impasse will be reached.”
He continued: “This is a fantastic competition and it wouldn’t have been right if there was any change in the concept. The Heineken Cup is part of the fabric of European rugby and it’s not just about English and French clubs. Everyone has been caught up in a range of issues and nobody should be in denial that we have had problems in working out a solution. At least, this latest series of meetings has given us all a platform to go forward and try to ensure that a great tournament continues to be a great tournament. As a coach, with the best interests of the players and the clubs from all countries in mind, I’m hoping that there will be proper and meaningful agreement reached in the next couple of weeks.”
Ryan, in charge of a team that finished top of the Guinness Premiership (on points difference) and who this week compete in the grand final at Twickenham against Leicester Tigers, admitted that Gloucester were caught cold with the intensity of the Heineken Cup after a year competing in the secondary competition, the Challenge Cup.
“It’s important to be in this competition year in year out because the quality is of a higher level. We were caught a bit shy, I feel, but we also only have ourselves to blame.”
Sponsors Heineken continue to keep a dignified silence on the rows that threatened to wreck the future of the tournament.
Now, with the future of the competition almost assured — subject to agreement between the English RFU and Premier Rugby Limited — the company is more determined than ever to steer clear from any of the controversy.
Heineken is content to allow the parties work out problems before having to make any decisions of its own in relation to a huge sponsorship.
Meanwhile, a delighted Leinster CEO Mick Dawson always believed that sanity would prevail and that the warring factions in England and France would put the greater good of the game before anything else.
Dawson also felt, like Gloucester’s Ryan, that in the absence of top tier clubs in England and France it would have been better for the Heineken Cup to be shelved for a season. That’s not now likely to happen.
For now, his interest is in the quest for success in the Magners League and in his hope that a galling late defeat to Ospreys recently won’t cost Leinster the title.
Leinster find themselves fighting for overall victory, second or third places in the league this weekend.
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