Champions Cup group stage cancelled with knockout format to be decided

'To play European rounds when the Lions is taking place would have been very damaging to the European tournament'

EPCR on Monday announced that the final two rounds of pool matches, set for this weekend and next, had been postponed. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

England’s Premiership Rugby boss has confirmed the cancellation of the final two rounds of the Heineken Champions Cup but the decision for tournament organisers remains not whether to proceed straight to the knockout stages but how.

Premiership Rugby Limited chief executive Darren Childs, a member of the European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) board, said today that the remaining pool games in this season’s competitions would not be rearranged following the intervention of the French government last week to block Top 14 clubs from competing in cross-border competition due to fears of the new variant of Covid-19 that has led to a spike in cases both in Ireland and the UK.