Peter Jackson: Lancaster admission underlines why Champions Cup is so diminished

The competition is only half as great as it used to be, its once magical mechanism long destroyed

Glasgow Warriors’ Alex Samuel during Champions Cup tie with Racing at Scotsoun. Picture: ©INPHO/Tom Maher

The deep freeze in Glasgow had plunged to minus-6 just before the Champions Cup restarted on Friday evening when the organisers tried a bit of blue-sky thinking.

"The greatest club competition in the world," Dominic McKay, chairman of European Professional Club Rugby, reminded viewers of Premier Sports before promptly issuing a further reminder by repeating himself. "The greatest club competition in the world."