Quinlan urges rebels to find Euro compromise

Former Ireland and Munster great Alan Quinlan has questioned the motivation of English and French clubs in their bid to derail the Heineken Cup.

Quinlan pointed to a major improvement in northern hemisphere rugby over the last decade and said a lot of it had to do with the success of the European cup.

A frustrated Quinlan admitted: “It is very difficult to know what both sides are thinking. Anyone who has had any involvement with the Heineken Cup over the years knows it is an amazing competition and it would be a shame if it went.

“There are a lot of mixed messages coming out so far, but I am very hopeful there will be a resolution.”

Quinlan added finances were at the root of the issue.

“It’s all about money these days. The clubs in the Premiership are businesses and they are not making enough money to make ends meet. They have a lot of outgoings, money spent on their squads, so it is a tough business but in any conflict there has to be a bit of give and take.”

Yet, he insisted there couldn’t be a proper competition without full integration of the European countries at the forefront of the game.

“Teams across Europe will struggle. Players from the southern hemisphere, they want to play in Europe. Dougie Howlett signed for Munster a few years ago and he wanted to compete in and win a Heineken Cup, so if you don’t have that what’s the incentive for a player from the southern hemisphere?

“It’s just a money scenario. The domestic leagues are important to the teams but without a Heineken Cup you’re going to have less sponsorship and revenue, so that has a huge impact on all the clubs. There is a bit of cat and mouse going on at the moment but it is to everyone’s benefit that it is there, from every point of view.”

Quinlan’s old club will do well to be at the business end of the season, he reckons.

“It’s going to be a tough season for them. It’s asking a lot of the younger players. A lot of the experienced guys have gone. [Ronan] O’Gara has gone from last year and that would be a big voice in the dressing room.

“There is a lot of pressure on them but they have started pretty well. They look energetic, fit, we will just have to wait and see how they go. There are certainly some exciting younger players that have come through and they will have to step it up now and go to the next level.”

Quinlan does, however, have high expectations of Ian Keatley and others to grasp the opportunity to follow through on past heroics.

“It’s such a pivotal position for any team, a huge responsibility goes with it and they have to step up to the mark now.

“Maybe it is a weight off their shoulders now that Ronan is not there and they have been given the responsibility; hopefully they will take it. The transition is over. We are all gone. In the last two or three years these lads have got a lot of experience. They are not 19-year-olds. They are 24, 25, 26-years-old now. If they want success it is there for them.

“It’s a tough environment trying to follow in the footsteps of the success we had and that is a bit unfair; but they have to create their own legacy and I think they are on the right road.”