Big two reject idea of playing home ties overseas

LEINSTER and Munster’s top brass have issued a ‘thanks, but no thanks’ response to the possibility of taking their Heineken Cup home matches overseas in the immediate future.

Neither Mick Dawson, chief executive of reigning champions Leinster, nor his Munster counterpart Garrett Fitzgerald ruled out the likelihood of undertaking such a venture, as suggested by the competition’s CEO Derek McGrath in the Irish Examiner on Friday.

Yet the current economic climate, loyalty to existing supporters and season ticket holders in the provinces as well as doubts about the financial viability of such an exercise have combined to at least put the idea on hold for the time being.