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French to Boycott HEC

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RoyalBlueStuey

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The Heineken is something European rugby got absolutely 100% right....it's a brilliant tournament. It's got that prestige but still with a traditional feel. Surely something can be done to keep it going.

With the French worried about their domestic competition and the World Cup time-constraints plus the usual sabre rattling from the English teams it looks like falling down around our ears.

It'd really be a travesty if it was allowed to fall by the wayside.
 
The Heineken is something European rugby got absolutely 100% right....it's a brilliant tournament. It's got that prestige but still with a traditional feel. Surely something can be done to keep it going.

With the French worried about their domestic competition and the World Cup time-constraints plus the usual sabre rattling from the English teams it looks like falling down around our ears.

It'd really be a travesty if it was allowed to fall by the wayside.
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Sabre rattling?! More like "random bickering by two drunks."

Do you seriously think the RFU and Premier Rugby have the cognative ability to actually know what a sabre actually is let alone rattle it?!
 
Sabre rattling?! More like "random bickering by two drunks."

Do you seriously think the RFU and Premier Rugby have the cognative ability to actually know what a sabre actually is let alone rattle it?!
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They should just shut up and let the game grow. Surely they can see how well recieved the Heineken Cup is and how un-interested we all are in the Anglo Welsh.
 
Holy **** this is actually happening, just thought it was more mouthing off but there's a formal anouncement expected later today.
 
Well presumably we can still have a competition next year, we've had it without the English so there's no reason it can't work without the French. If this is only for one season than the competition can go ahead as it did in 1999, with 6 English teams, 3 Irish, 3 Welsh, 2 Scots and 2 Italians. That way each team still gets the same amount of matches.
 
Holy **** this is actually happening, just thought it was more mouthing off but there's a formal anouncement expected later today.
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Let's wait and see, this is the typical way things progress in Europe. These crisis are useful to advance towards the coordinated agenda. The H-cup can survive to such a boycott for one season. It alreaddy happened in the past with the English clubs as far as I remember. I wonder however what the TV broacaster will think about that, after all they are the main source of revenue for the ERC.
 
yeah I was just thinking about that, especially the French tv stations, would there be much appetite in France for the HEC without the French teams? For ex-pats maybe but generally they'll go to bars for the english commentary.

Reading what Blanco had to say though it does appear quite definite, would require some turnaround for the full tournament to go ahead next season. They should offer Paris the final at the very least :p

It will only be for 1 year, which isn't the end of the world, and I can appreciate that for the French clubs the Top14 is more important than the HEC. There's certainly more history to the league in France than there is to the HEC. There simply isn't enough room in the calendar for the French to compete in the HEC. This should be a one off thing though as I can't imagine there would be a similar delay to the domestic season starting in 2011.

This might also act as a kick in the arse for Premier Rugby and the RFU to sort out their problems as well.
 
Its happened.

I sincerely hope the RFU and the Clubs are happy. Greed and sheer inflexibility has made sure that the effects of the grand *****fight of English Rugby now ripple out across Europe.

Cheers guys!
 
Patrick Wolff, VP LNR, was just on Sky Sports News but the fixture pile was merely a secondary factor for the LNR, they're not happy that the dispute between Premier Rugby and the RFU hasn't been sorted.

He also said it wasn't a question of the French looking for more money, as the French and English get 25% each and the Irish, Italians, Scots and Welsh get the remaining 50% between them. He even went so far as to say that the French and English were looking to increase the money that the Italians from their share.

The LNR don't seem happy about who will be competing in the HEC, the impression they were giving is that it's possible that second rate sides could be in the HEC. He was a bit vague on this point, not quite sure if he meant NL1 sides or what but there does seem to be a doubt over who will participate from England and this seems to be the biggest sticking point for the French.

It also seemed like they were willing to accomodate the HEC which would have meant weakening the Top14, which if all guarantees are in place they seem willing to do.

So there is room to sort this out, there's enough time.
 
But it won't be sorted out though. You know this, I know this, anyone with half a brain knows this.

As long as the interests of Premier Rugby and the RFU remain on opposite courses, then there will never be aggrement. As long as there is no agreement then the rest of Europe is, in effect, f***ed.

Its as simple as that. The only thing that will convince the RFU and the Clubs to get with the program is if all the other nations refuse to have England in the HEC. Simple as that. If you harm the Clubs and the RFUs bottom line, they'll be a little more submissive and more willing to listen to reason for once.
 
So this is the last HEC then... With the French giving up and the English clubs about to breakaway from the RFU, the worlds best club tournament is gone.

:(
 
So this is the last HEC then... With the French giving up and the English clubs about to breakaway from the RFU, the worlds best club tournament is gone.

:(
[/b]

W@nkers...

*calm computerised voice*
Self-destruct activated. Self-destruct activated...This sport will implode. Please proceed to your nearest football club. Self-destruct activated. Self-destruct activated...
 
<div class='quotemain'>
So this is the last HEC then... With the French giving up and the English clubs about to breakaway from the RFU, the worlds best club tournament is gone.

:(
[/b]

W@nkers...

*calm computerised voice*
Self-destruct activated. Self-destruct activated...This sport will implode. Please proceed to your nearest football club. Self-destruct activated. Self-destruct activated...

[/b][/quote]

The RFU man and the Premier Rugby man both glare at each other and shout:

This is all your fault! :ranting:
 
<span style="font-family:Comic Sans Ms">!@#%</span>
This really, really sucks.
 
There's way too many conflicting reports coming out about this, first the LNR vp says that it's not to do with the way the money is redistributed, now the BBC have the LNR as saying that this is exactly the reason.

I don't share the view that the competition will simply just cease to be, the unions might be incompetent gimps but there's other interests involved and if France Télévisions and Sky Sports start to show their muscle then they might be able to knock some heads together and get a deal sorted. I'd imagine that Canal+ might not be as keen considering their coverage of the Top14 could be hit.
 
I don't think Blanco and co. are really serious about this. As I see it, because it's a world cup year and they have the full on Top14 they have decided to sacrifice the HEC for a year, the dispute in England is just a handy excuse for them to manouevre.
 
I don't think Blanco and co. are really serious about this. As I see it, because it's a world cup year and they have the full on Top14 they have decided to sacrifice the HEC for a year, the dispute in England is just a handy excuse for them to manouevre.
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I totally agree with this statement. The current conflict between the RFU and Premiership is the easy excuse. In the backgrounf there's the renegotiation of the Paris agreement which has defined the organization of the Hcup, the control of the ERC and the sharing of the Hcup revenues among the involved Rugby Unions. Another ongoing discussion in the background is the reorganization of the Rugby season, the French clubs want to stress that the IRB and the Rugby Unions will have to take their demand into account.
 
As much as I'd like Rugby going on during the summer, I still find the French model inherently strange.
 
I just think the whole thing is a friggin joke lol

Maybe its exactly what rugby needs though a good kick in the ass. The NHL lockout last year did that in North America and the league has comeback stronger then ever.

The should scrap the stupid anglo welsh cup cut out the november tours and have the June tours alternate hemisphere's each year.

The whole notion of having the national team play at the same for half the domestic league's season is just f***ing stupid. International Ice Hockey does not do this except with the world championship but thats a secondary tournament anyways. With the Olympics and hte World Cup of Hockey internationals are played when the NHL and the other seasons are either not in season or are taking a stoppage for the respective tournaments.

Problem with rugby is yes we want to see internationals but these can't be at the expense of the domestic leagues that help build and foster these great international sides.
 

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