Twickenham will play host to its fifth European final.
The final of the inaugural 2014-15 European Rugby Champions Cup will be played at Twickenham.
Had the Heineken Cup still been in existence, that final would have taken place in Milan but the new tournament organisers European Professional Club Rugby, who replace European Rugby Cup Ltd, have opted to take the match to Twickenham on 2 May.
The European Rugby Challenge Cup final will be at the Twickenham Stoop the day before.
The Rugby Football Union was awarded the final after a six-way tender process between the nations that make up the Aviva Premiership, the Guinness PRO12 and the Top 14 with the EPCR saying the “RFU’s successful bid will guarantee the best possible financial return to the clubs”.
EPCR director and executive committee member Bruce Craig welcomed the decision, saying: “In the inaugural season of the tournaments, the board of EPCR took the view that fairest and the most commercially-sound approach was to award the finals based on a competitive tender process.”
The RFU’s bid was extremely strong and the fact that we are going to London for the 2015 finals is hugely positive for European club rugby.
“Twickenham Stadium and the Twickenham Stoop tick every box for fans wishing to attend both the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup finals next May and with both venues steeped in rugby history, we are certain that the weekend will be an unforgettable experience.”
RFU CEO, Ian Ritchie, added: “We are delighted to have been chosen as host for EPCR’s inaugural finals. This is a particularly exciting time for European club rugby as we move into a new era, and we see both games as constituting one marvellous event which will bring tens of thousands of supporters from across Europe into London and Twickenham.”
As soon as saw the headline the thought ‘it’s all about the money’ that came into my mind. Reading the content further down this was surprise surprise confirmed to be the case! That said it could be a big weekend for rugby fans in one place with the two finals on and with all the teething problems the new competition is facing I guess they are trying to do all they can to maximise revenue to get themselves on a solid footing, as it is there still seems to be ‘broadcasting issues’ around the French part of the competition which need to be solved soon.
A pity though for Milan who would have had the final of Europe’s premier rugby competition, so much for spreading the game around. I also wonder about the financial details of this deal, how the earnings from the stadiums will be split, would guess RFU stand to make a lot of money from this unless they had to pay over the odds to host the finals at Twickenham which I doubt. The rich just keep getting richer…