Welsh Analyst Gwyn Jones proclaims that the European Champions Cup isn't as good as its predecessor. In an article that will no doubt garner support on these shores, Gwyn claims that the newly re-organised tournament has turned Europe into a two-tiered competition.
Jones casts doubt on whether Welsh region will ever win the tournament, or whether a Pro 12 team can win the tournament. It's clear that the vast majority of Pro 12 teams don't have the finances to battle on two fronts to either attract quality players or develop depth in their squad. This means that extra demands are placed on these players and often result in underperforming when extra demands are placed on them in Europe.
As it stands, only Leinster and Glasgow Warriors are in a position to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions Cup of the 7 Pro 12 teams in the tournament.Both teams need to win away to guarantee their spots in the last eight.
While this may be an anomaly, even when there were two or three teams from the Pro 12 in the quarter finals, they were always Irish provinces. The Welsh, Italians and to a lesser extent the Scottish have all struggled in Europe in the last number of years.
Jones points out that when teams of the calibre of Munster and Ulster are so roundly beaten in Europe, what chance to the rest of the Pro 12 have? The inequality of European rugby has grown from the restructuring, and there are less teams that can win the tournament now.
Read the full article here, and see Gwyn Jones defend Ireland against Stephen Jones here
