Super Rugby is not imminent threat, says ERC chief McGrath

European rugby chiefs are confident there will be no southern hemisphere interference to threaten the future of the Heineken Cup.

A report in the New Zealand Herald claimed that the leading English and French clubs are ready to lure South Africa’s provinces out of Super Rugby and form a breakaway competition.

Last night, however, ERC’s Chief Executive Derek McGrath said his organisation were aware of meetings that had taken place earlier this year between English clubs and South African franchises.

However, he said, ERC had reason to believe all of the current stakeholders would extend the current accord for a European tournament and it would involve clubs from the six current participating countries.

Currently the tournament has 24 teams — six from the French Top 14, six from England’s Aviva Premiership, three Irish provinces, three Welsh regions, Edinburgh and Glasgow from Scotland, two teams from Italy, the reigning champions and the winners of the second tier competition, the Amlin Cup.

The criteria has been in place for an age but has started to bother both the English and French, who argue it unfairly penalises them. While the likes of Leinster, Munster, Cardiff and Edinburgh can afford to rotate their players — resting top men in their domestic league and focus on the Heineken Cup because they know qualification the following year is guaranteed — the English and French clubs have to fight on two fronts.

Not only are they trying to do well in the Heineken Cup, they also have to remain in the top six places of their domestic league — a huge task in itself — to ensure Heineken qualification for the following year. Last year, five Celtic teams were in the quarter-finals and Leinster won it for the third time in four years, while Celtic teams have won five of the last seven finals. The English and French want the tournament to be cut to 20 teams: with six from the Aviva Premiership, six from the Top 14, six from the RaboDirectPro12 (former Celtic League) and the reigning champions and Amlin Cup winners.

The Scots and Italians would be the big losers in that scenario but others feel the tournament would suffer as a whole because the key to its success has been the involvement of teams from all six nations.

Sanzar (South African rugby union) chief executive Greg Peters says he’s aware that there has been informal discussion between some English clubs and South African provinces. But he doesn’t have any sense that Super Rugby is in any imminent danger.

“I’m aware some English clubs have been talking to South African franchises,” Peters said. But we have no indication the South Africans want to go down that route. When we speak to the franchises, we get no indication they are unhappy with Super Rugby and revenue streams from that competition are substantial.”