Organizers of the European Rugby Champions Cup have "been forced to subcontract the running of the inaugural tournament to the very organisation it is killing off," according to Ben Rumsby of the London TELEGRAPH. European Rugby Cup employees are "poised to administer the competition for the whole of next season in what is an ironic outcome from the civil war to engulf the club game in the northern hemisphere." European Professional Club Rugby, the "new umbrella body based in Neuchatel, Switzerland," has entered into a "service agreement" with ERC, providing a "stay of execution for the Dublin-based company which operated the Heineken Cup from its inception until the end of last season." The ERC will "continue to be wound up," but despite CEO Derek McGrath leaving in October, its remaining staff "face an uncertain future." They "are expected to be given first refusal on any job at the new body which mirrors their present role but around 16 staff are in limbo about whether they will be offered the opportunity to move to Neuchatel" (TELEGRAPH, 7/9).
