RFU CEO Ian Ritchie In Last-Ditch Effort To Save Next Season's European Cup

Rugby Football Union CEO Ian Ritchie is "making another push to salvage a six-country European Cup for next season," according to Paul Rees of the London GUARDIAN. He fears that "some unions will go into financial meltdown" if the English clubs find a permanent way of occupying the nine weekends taken up by the Heineken Cup. Premiership Rugby "will not be part of European Rugby Cup" next season and is "looking at other ways to fill the vacant weekends." One possibility is an Anglo-Welsh league, with Wales's four regions "ready to fight their union in court for the right to play in tournaments of their choice." An Anglo-Welsh league "would hit the Irish, Scottish and Italian unions hard," and Ritchie, who will outline his plans at a media briefing on Tuesday, "has been in contact with them, calling for renewed talks on Europe as a matter of urgency." The Irish provinces, like the Welsh regions, "are already struggling to hold on to players" (GUARDIAN, 12/7).