French domination, South African inconsistency, lack of passion… Is the Champions Cup still of interest?

Since its creation in 1995-1996, just after the transition to professionalism, the European Rugby Cup – which became the Champions Cup with the integration of the South African franchises in 2022 – has always been the subject of debate. A competition whose sporting and economic interest is regularly called into question. Supposed to be a level between the national championships and international rugby, the Champions Cup is in fact the target of regular criticism. And sometimes justified.

This season, the impression of witnessing a competition at two, or even three, speeds is significant. The scores follow one another, the heavy defeats follow one another. Like the English of Exeter, crowned in 2020 against Racing 92, who have suffered in recent weeks the law (at home!) from the two best current French clubs: Toulouse (21-64) then Bordeaux-Bègles ( 17-69). Routs that challenge. Affected by a serious financial crisis following the Covid-19 health crisis (massive widespread debt, club bankruptcies, elite reduced to 10 clubs), the Premiership teams are going through a (very) bad patch and are far from competing on the continental scene, after having managed to glean 10 titles (compared to 12 against France and 7 for Ireland). Last year, six English clubs competed in the final stages, this year it's a rout…

Boudjellal: “The Champions Cup is the Top 14 with Leinster invited”

Opposite, Toulouse and La Rochelle have won the last four editions of the Champions Cup. An almost total control which made Mourad Boudjellal, former president of Toulon, the only club to have achieved a treble between 2013 and 2015, say: “The Champions Cup is the Top 14 with Leinster invited.” Scathing, but ultimately fair. Today, apart from the Irish province, titled four times – which has played in five finals in seven editions since 2018 and won at Stade Rochelais on the last day -, not many people are capable of stopping the teams French.

The arrival of the South African provinces – if we put aside the obvious aberration in terms of ecology and logistics for transfers to the other side of the globe – was supposed to bring a new sporting breath. New confrontations, facing much more robust opponents than the Welsh and the Italians, who traditionally struggle to exist in this competition. La Rochelle president Vincent Merlining was categorical: “Let me be clear, I am not at all, at all, in favor of the arrival of South Africa in the European championship.” A widely shared position. Still, since 2022-2023, southern teams have managed to climb into the final table, but they have never progressed beyond the quarter-final stage (Sharks and Stormers in 2022, Bulls in 2023).

If the South Africans are to continue to exist in this competition, we really need to think about the pace of the calendar

Ugo Mola, manager of Toulouse

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In these difficult conditions, winning in South Africa has long seemed impossible, but this is no longer the case: La Rochelle in the eighth last year against the Stormers, then Toulon (against this same team) and Toulouse against the Sharks, in the pools during this edition, returned victorious from the country of the Springboks. After his team's success against the Durban Sharks, Toulouse manager Ugo Mola said: “I think if the South Africans are to continue to exist in this competition, we really need to think about the pace of the calendar. It is not necessarily appropriate… Or distorts the competition.” This season, South African rugby – forced to play extended seasons with the Rugby Championship every summer in the southern hemisphere – is clearly marking time, witnessing the heavy setbacks of the Stormers against Harlequins (53-16) and the Sharks at Leicester (56-17). The Champions Cup already no longer seems to be a goal…

To make matters worse, this competition has lost consistency and visibility by changing its formula almost every season since the Covid-19 crisis. With even the establishment of a two-way round of 16 system in 2021-2022, before returning to a one-match confrontation. Difficult to navigate with a short-lived format of two pools of 12 teams then a return to four pools of four.

The financial aspect of the Champions Cup is, however, not negligible for the French clubs involved. In 2022, the teams participating in the “big” European Cup received 900,000 euros, with a bonus of 300,000 euros in the event of victory in the final, which was the case of La Rochelle. Finances which, from now on, can be weighed down by the organization of trips to South Africa. We come back to it. But we are far from football and Real Madrid which received, the same year, a bonus of 20 million euros for its 14th coronation in the Champions League, plus participation bonuses and those accumulated for each match.

The competition has lost its magic in recent years. It's very sad because it was something special

Nigel Owen, former international referee

What remains of the notoriety of the Champions Cup? Toulouse has certainly built part of its glory thanks to its six continental crowns. La Rochelle made a name for itself by triumphing twice. Clermont (2013, 2015, 2017) and Racing 92 (2016, 2018, 2020) came very close to registering theirs on the list. But the magic of this competition, which was initially called the “H Cup” (or “Heineken Cup” in Anglo-Saxon countries) has been lost over the years. What the famous former international referee Nigel Owens admitted on X: “The Heineken Cup was the competition that everyone wanted to play and referee, as well as the one that everyone wanted to attend. Unfortunately, it has lost its magic in recent years. It's very sad because it was something special. Really special.”

And the Welshman added: “It's not a question of saying 'it was better before' because I felt that the competition was losing its intensity long before I retired. Yes, there are still very good matches and the final stages are interesting, but it's not quite the same as before…” We obviously remember the last three epic finals, but we obviously have to rack our brains a little to find other good memories.