United Rugby Championship will change European landscape

Stage is now set or South African teams to compete in the Heineken Champions Cup from 2022

Leinster have reigned supreme for the last four seasons in the PRO14 but the arrival of the South African quartet is set to rejuvenate the competition

Fewer games with stronger teams and more money from the pot to go around, there is plenty to like about the next incarnation of what was once the humble old Celtic League.

Yet perhaps the most striking development when the United Rugby Championship was unveiled Tuesday was buried deep in the announcement that heralded the arrival of South Africa’s four blue-chip “Super” franchises to compete with the 12 survivors of the PRO14 for next season.