Top 14 Rugby Club Toulon’s president Mourad Boudjellal has revealed that he is trying to set up a clash between the winners of the Heineken Cup and Super Rugby tournaments.
rugbyweek
Boudjellal revealed in an interview this week that he plans to make a statement on Thursday about the potential clash between the North and South Hemisphere’s best provincial or club teams.
The Toulon president has poured money into the Top14 Rugby Club and finally saw a significant return on his investment this year as Toulon won the Heineken Cup.
It now appears that Boudjellal wants to back a match between his Heineken Cup winners and the team that wins this year’s Super Rugby tournament.
The Super Rugby Semi-finals will be contested this weekend by the Brumbies, Bulls, Chiefs and Crusaders.
Boudjellal has told French newspaper Sud Ouest that he hopes to make an announcement this week about the “World Cup of Clubs”.
The Frenchmen said that he had,” put the name of “World Cup of Rugby Clubs” to INPI (French Nation Industrial Property Institute)…as you imagine it does not exist .. ”
“We will try create this match on an economical model that will benefit both clubs – especially the players.”
While this match has been much talked about in the past the timing of the match remains the problem as between the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere there is a first class rugby match played every weekend in the year.
Ideally the winner should also be decided on a home and away basis over two weekends.
However… response to Mourad Boudjellal’s idea has been crisp and clear…
European Rugby Cup president Jean-Pierre Lux says that Mourad Boudjellal’s Heineken Cup vs Super Rugby Champions match is an impossble project.
Lux was responding to Toulon President Mourad Boudjellal who says that he plans to make an announcement on a “Rugby World Club Cup” on Thursday.
Lux says that teams who contest the Heineken Cup are forbidden to play a match against other teams outside of ERC organised events using their title as European Champions.
The ERC president said that if Boudjellal tried to “force” the game into being played Toulon will not be permitted to play a game as a champion of Europe.
“Under the agreement for participation in the European Rugby Cup (which) they signed before the competition, as part of their participation in the European Cup the clubs do not have the right to play such a game with title of European Champion. ”
“Especially against the winner of the Super 15, it is stated in the agreement,” Dax told Sud Ouest.
Lux said he understands the reason why Boudjellal wants to organise the match but he says that does not have the authority to arrange such a match.
“I totally understand that he wanted to do something, but Mr. Boudjellal does not have the latitude to organize such a game.”
Lux revealed that a match between the winners of the Heineken Cup and Super Rugby could not be played without the approval of both organisations.
The ERC President said that they had been in talks with SANZAR over such a match for a long time but finding a gap in the calendar remains the stumbling block.
“It’s a good idea” said Lux. “The Four Nations (Rugby Championship) begins two weeks after the final of the Super 15 and I do not see the New Zealand Federation, for example, allowing a third of their players to go play a game in Europe on the eve of the Four Nations. ”
IRB President Bernard Lapasset said in his personal capacity that he had received more than a hundred proposals of a match such as this but for it to happen you need a year with 60 weeks.
Rugby fans across the globe should not give up hope for this match just yet as there has been much talk in recent months of a move – possibly from 2016 – to align the Northern and Southern Hemisphere Rugby calendar which could free up space for this match.
Good idea… where / when to fit it in though?
The Rugby Championship starts shortly after the Super Rugby Final, there is simply not enough time to fit it in AND prepare with all the Super Rugby stars for International duty.
This Mourad Boudjellal oke, owner of Toulon, is a funny guy… pun intended.
He apparently made his money as a Comic Publisher…
He’s a bit of an odd fella though, a rebel, a nutcase, controvertial, non-conformist… and thinks he can buy everything. His mouth is also bigger and he blabbers more than Jake White and Snorrie de Villiers!
grootblousmile wrote:
i miss the oke, i hear him every wek on Jakaranda with his reports and predictions , but he kept us all talking. For the right reasons? Not for some here.
3 @ superBul:
I do not miss Snorrie, not one bit.
Was always embarrassed about what he would say next.
Don’t miss Jake White either, glad he is in Aussie…. sy arrogante bek het ookie einde nie.
@ grootblousmile:
Ek weet jy smaak Heynecke KWAAI.
Hy is nou maar eenmaal ons man.
And even HM has his detractors.
a relatively good Super Rugby team
vs
Super financial powerhouses…
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