Munster won't be financially derailed by lack of Champions Cup home tie

Having a Champions Cup last-16 home tie would have paid the yearly salary of at least one Munster player. 

Munster CEO Ian Flanagan said his side winning more Champions Cup group stage points than La Rochelle but being the away team in the last-16 is a "quirk of the format of the tournament".

Munster’s season will not be derailed financially by their failure to secure a Champions Cup knockout tie at Thomond Park, chief executive Ian Flanagan said, but admitted it was “a shame” the team could not deliver a showpiece clash to supporters on home soil.

Last Saturday’s 34-32 pool defeat at Northampton Saints, their second away loss in the Pool 3 campaign, consigned Munster to a third-place finish and an away Round of 16 tie which has pitted them against Ronan O’Gara’s French heavyweights La Rochelle.

While Flanagan told the Irish Examiner the knockout meeting with a side guided by a Munster legend was the tie of the round on the weekend of April 4/5/6, he conceded the financial loss at missing out on a home draw in the last 16 amounted to a year’s salary for one, perhaps two players.

Away teams in the Champions Cup collect 35% of the home gate in the Round of 16 under competition rules after match costs have been deducted and Flanagan said that would deliver a net profit on the game to Munster from the Stade Marcel Deflandre gate.

“It's a relatively small stadium, we don't know yet what the ticket prices will be, so we don't know what we're projecting for that game,” Flanagan said on Monday. “It will be a six-figure sum.

“The home team will take 65%. Obviously there's an EPCR cut to come out of that as well. So, look, you make significantly more from a home game, but we don't budget for it in any season, so it's not like it's going to derail our season financially, but we would have preferred it, obviously.

“Look, it's a shame. Very fine margins, we lost the two away games, by two points in Castres and two points in Northampton. A penalty or drop goal in one of those games and we're looking at a home Round of 16.

“We ended up at 12 points in our pool, which is more than La Rochelle got, but they’ll have the home game and we don’t. So that's just a quirk of the format of the tournament but ultimately we didn't get the points we needed in the away games and that's where it's cost us. Probably Castres was the performance we'll look back on and have regrets about.

“More than anything I'm disappointed for our supporters because they deserve to see a home Round of 16 at Thomond Park. The atmosphere in the two EPCR games, the Stade and the Saracens game shows you what a cathedral of European rugby Thomond Park is and the noise, the atmosphere and the passion that our supporters bring those big games, how special they are.

“So it's a really special occasion and I'm disappointed that we haven't been able to deliver that home Round of 16 but hopefully they'll be a home knockout game to come in the URC. That's our aim for the season ahead in the URC, and hopefully a lot of those supporters will make it down to La Rochelle for the game down there.” 

Reacting to the draw itself, Flanagan said: “I think it’s the tie of the round for everyone.

“It certainly got all the media interest on Sunday night and I’m sure there will be an awful lot more written about, spoken about it in the build-up to the game.

“It’s great for the competition. Rog has a huge history with us, he has a huge history with the competition and it will be great to see him. We’ve never been down there (for a competitive game) so it will be new for all of us and it’s a tie we’re really looking forward to.

“It’s a really tough tie. They’ve won it twice in recent years with a really strong team and are one of the favourites again this season so we’ll probably go there as underdogs but that’s the way we like it and we’ll be looking forward to it… The demand for tickets will be huge. We had so many people getting in touch late last night as soon as the opposition was known.

“There'll be an awful lot of people looking to be there and it'll be a special day for us in the competition. And hopefully, it'll be another great day for us and for the travelling Red Army.”