Given that England have come back into rugby's European Union, Ireland's chances of carrying off the European Cup, as Ulster did, appear to be diminished. New structures, however, mean that Ireland are guaranteed a minimum of two teams in the competition for the next eight years following agreement between the European Rugby Cup (ERC) and the relevant unions.
There will be three Irish teams in next season's competition - Ulster as European Cup holders, Munster as interprovincial champions and Leinster as the next highest on the provincial ladder.
In a detailed brief given yesterday at the International Rugby Board offices in Dublin, Tom Kiernan, chairman of the European Cup Ltd, said: "Next year should be a terrific year and the teams will know that there is a permanency now in place. Everyone is more relaxed now that there is an eight-year agreement."
The draw for next season's tournament will probably take place on May 6th at the next ERC meeting in Dublin.
There will be 24 teams in the competition comprised of six pools of four teams and matches will be played on a home-and-away basis. Fixtures will follow a pattern of a domestic competition weekend followed by a European Cup weekend and so on. Both England and France will have six teams each, Wales five, Ireland three and Scotland and Italy two each. Because of this year's World Cup, dates for the quarterfinals, semi-finals and the final will be significantly later than in succeeding seasons. The following year the competition will be reduced to 20 teams and this, importantly, will be the size for the foreseeable future.
The quarter-finals are currently scheduled for April 15th, the semi-finals for May 6th and the final on May 27th. However, in subsequent years the quarter-finals will always take place before the Six Nations Championship begins.
Another important consideration which emerged was that entrance to the European Cup can only be achieved through the unions' domestic competitions. There will be no structure available for teams who win the European Shield to gain entry to the Cup competition.
The financial side of things has also changed in that all travel expenses for teams will come from the unions or the clubs. There will be no subsidy from the ERC. This change comes about because of the restructuring of the way the money pie is sliced.
Eighty five per cent of income will be divided between the unions with England and France receiving the lion's share - 25 per cent each. Wales get 16.5 per cent, Ireland and Scotland 14.25 per cent each and Italy five per cent. There is also prize money at certain stages for teams who advance in the competition.
To avoid the disruption which gutted the competition this season, the major players, England and France, will need to carry 75 per cent of votes to change any matters dealing with the competition. In other words the votes of one of the smaller nations will have to be won over if any substantial change is demanded. The two bigger nations, according to Kiernan, will be unable to do it on their own. That alone may ease some minds.
