Antoine Dupont’s Toulouse lead the pack in Champions Cup’s 30th edition

Competition must regain thrill of the past as it copes with declining TV deals, rising costs and tweaked formats

DOMINANT: Toulouse have won two of the last four editions of the Champions Cup. Pic: INPHO/Billy Stickland

Let’s hear it for the 30th edition of the old Heineken Cup, the cross-border club tournament now known officially as the Investec Champions Cup. When the first fixture between Farul Constanta and Toulouse kicked off on the shores of the Black Sea with minimal fanfare in October 1995 few would have predicted the enduring impact it would have on rugby’s consciousness.

But does its same old visceral thrill still endure? The pressure is now on the modern keepers of the flame, with the competition experiencing something of a mid-life crisis. Declining television rights deals, rising costs, tweaked formats and the age-old challenge of trying to squeeze a quart into a pint pot in terms of the global fixture list have all diluted the warm, fuzzy glow that once suffused the entire event.