Champions Cup in limbo as leagues attempt to solve fixtures furore

Officials from three leagues will return to negotiations today with Champions Cup organisers to thrash out a viable date to play the five tournament fixtures postponed in the wake of last weekend’s terrorist attacks in Paris.

Sources close to the discussions say progress in rescheduling the games, including Munster’s visit to Stade Francais, was made during a two-and-a-half-hour conference call yesterday between European Professional Cup Rugby (EPCR) and representatives from France’s Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR), England’s Premiership Rugby and the Pro12 on behalf of the clubs.

Against the backdrop of an already crowded rugby calendar further congested by this year’s World Cup, which means there are no free weekends between now and the conclusion of round six of the Champions Cup pool phase, officials were hopeful of further progress during today’s conference call, although there was little likelihood of agreement on a workable solution before tomorrow.

It is understood rescheduling the round one match between defending champions Toulon and Bath is a sticking point, with the English club’s chairman Bruce Craig, an EPCR board member, telling the UK media on Monday he believed the game would never be played.

“It is very clear to me that the Toulon match cannot happen,” Craig said. “The midweek option is not an option to my mind. That would be to the detriment of player welfare and the integrity of two competitions.

“There is no way we should be letting that happen. You can’t play three high-profile games in a week.”

Yet EPCR issued a statement yesterday morning that said there was general agreement that all the postponed fixtures on French soil, which also include Oyonnax v Ulster, Bordeaux Begles v Clermont and Racing Metro v Glasgow Warriors as well as a Challenge Cup game between Pau and Castres, will be played and that was a commitment to playing them before January’s Champions Cup round six in order to preserve the integrity of the competition.

Following yesterday’s conference call, LNR are believed to have gone back to their member clubs with a proposal for approval and that a resolution was “much closer” to achievement than it was on Tuesday, although organisers will be sensitive to the possibility of developments on the security front that could force further postponements and render the current talks obsolete.

The reality is that something is going to have to give if the Champions Cup is able to eke out another date in addition to its seasonal allowance of nine match weekends. Munster lock Mark Chisholm was yesterday at a loss to think where that might be found. Munster’s round two game in Paris, scheduled for Sunday at the home of French champions Stade Francais, was postponed Tuesday night following advice from police authorities in the city.

Speaking at a Life Style Sports announcement of a new international delivery service, former Australian Test second row Chisholm, a summer signing from Bayonne, said: “If you look at the games that didn’t go on last week and possibly if the games don’t go on this week as well, then where are they going to fit them in? The schedule is tight as it is, so everyone is at a disadvantage I guess, no-one is getting out of it scot-free.”

Chisholm said preparations in the Munster camp had been going well following a bonus-point home victory last Saturday against Treviso and there was still some uncertainty about the situation.

“We only found out late (Tuesday) night and it was only officially confirmed (Wednesday) morning. Today is our day off so I haven’t managed to speak to the blokes but we prepared yesterday, as we trained as if we were playing on the weekend and preparation was going great.

“So I’ll have to find out tomorrow when we get back together. I received an email just this morning so we’re training (today) as normal and Friday it’s the same.”