On the plus side though the majority out there hold the view that from next season on the final place in the Heineken cup shall go to the winner of playoffs between 7th place in top14 and a viva and the top 2 unqualified teams from pro12. Based on this season that would be 7th and 8th which is an achievable goal for Connacht. If Treviso/ Italians get their act together and finish 7th or 8th it brings 9th into the equation. These will be open draw with first out of hat getting home venue in both rounds so potentially something to look forward to.

Very valid point rogue.

They seem so intent on hindering the Irish that they havent seen this through. During the whole AW league debacle I did a bit of lurking on the prl forums. A lot of the lower end teams were not only against it but feared it. The reason was that they did not have the squad for a 16 team league with relegation. As they put it they could rotate and cherry pick games in amlin and lv but an AW league would be a step too far.
An amlin cup under this system will still have 2 part time teams. With no seeding they can be in the same group.

Any word about how the knockout stages will be handled? With no spot in the following years' HEC going to the winner of the Amlin I could easily see it devolving to an "A" competition like the LV. Will they continue with dropping 3 teams from the HEC into the Amlin q-fs? Wouldn't mind seeing that stopped. I imagine it will take monies going to the finalist to keep the lower competitions interesting.

I could see the Amlin being only marginally easier for Connacht provided everyone takes it seriously.

Give it a season when we have Clermont, Leinster, Leicester and Saracens all in the one group, and Treviso, Montpellier, Ulster and Bath in another. They wont be slow fixing the seeding issue then.

I'm ok with us missing out the HC for a few seasons. A couple of good winning seasons in the Amlin will help breed confidence, and games against weaker teams, will allow us to give some good young players game time.

Definitely making a trip or two away next season, even though we'll probably be drawn against Edinburgh, Scarlets and Zebre

Pro12 guaranteed 7 places and each union 1 every season. The confusion is about the 20th place and how its allocated.
English and French seem intent on making all seeding and qualification about domestic league performance and no recognition of performance in Europe. We've been here before with French teams playing their b teams which is how we ended up with the seeding system we have which of course ignores domestic form.
Without any seeding though it will be a disaster.

Slightly different take on the make-up from GT:

Gerry Thornley wrote: It will feature 20 teams, the top six qualifying from the Premiership, Top 14 and Pro12 (which will include a guaranteed entry from each of the four competing countries), along with another place for the country which provides this season’s Heineken Cup winners. At the end of this season there will be a play-off between the seventh-placed teams in the Top 14 and the Premiership for the remaining place.

Doesn't seem right though. If PRO12 team don't win it, they only get six spots and no playoff.

rossie wrote: Don't the English give a Heineken cup spot to winner of LV cup?

Up til now, yes. Usually one of the top six wins it so rarely changes the representation. No idea what's happening going forward.

Don't the English give a Heineken cup spot to winner of LV cup?

Fourdogs wrote: Personally I would love a Amlin trip to Spain, Southern Italy or even Romania.

same thing im thinking, great minds think alike etc!
the aviva top6 looks a done deal, leaving; London Wasps, Exeter, Gloucester, London Irish, newcastle. Worcester going down. big game in D2 comes in round 21, when bristol (1st) play london welsh (2nd). 19 april.
pity jersey are playing awful, 2nd bottom in D2. wouldnt it be great going there

in top14, 1-10 is very tight. id expect the top14 to beat any english side for the last spot in the playoff. 2 of bayonne, Perpignan and Oyonnax will be in the amlin with 1 of them leaving the top14 with biarritz. lyon will be coming into the top 14. playoff between La Rochelle, Narbonne, Agen, Pau. outside the the playoff is tarbes, but even if the make the semi finals of the playoff, i doubt they would beat a team currently 14 points ahead.

pro12, glasgow top scot team, ospreys top welsh, then 3 irish are safe. interesting fight between treviso and zebre, but if the italians have new teams, how will they pick? pre season playoff? presonally id prefer treviso, (been to parma, dont think id go again.) 7th spot from pro12 is interesting, could go to any 4 teams, and yes im counting connacht.

20 amlin teams

London Wasps,
Exeter,
Gloucester,
London Irish,
newcastle
bristol/london welsh
lyon
bayonne & Perpignan/ Bayonne & Oyonnax/ Perpignan & Oyonnax
La Rochelle / Narbonne / Agen / Pau.
3 more currently Grenoble, Bordeaux-Begles, Brive
treviso/zebre
cardiff
3 more, currently connacht, edinburgh, dragons.
2 teams outside this 3 leagues

connachtexile wrote:

The new competition is not going to be sponsored by Heineken though. I am sure that the sponsorship is up for grabs. My guess is that it will be the "Guinness Rugby Champions Cup" !

good luck to any sponsor trying to wash the Heineken away from the Heineken Cup.

Arthurs day didn't take long... and Celtic League, Magners, Rabo,.. Landsdowne, Aviva..

The new competition is not going to be sponsored by Heineken though. I am sure that the sponsorship is up for grabs. My guess is that it will be the "Guinness Rugby Champions Cup" !

good luck to any sponsor trying to wash the Heineken away from the Heineken Cup.

Craic Head wrote: The new competition is not going to be sponsored by Heineken though. I am sure that the sponsorship is up for grabs. My guess is that it will be the "Guinness Rugby Champions Cup" !

According to David arnaud the competition shall be called the European rugby champions cup or the ERCC for short.
The telegraph are saying that there will be no sponsors name in its title similar to champions league but sponsors associated with the tournament.
The seeding system currently in place ends after this season. Only 3 teams will be seeded for new tournament. The league champions of the 3 domestic leagues. The only other rule for the pools is their can't be anymore than 3 English or French teams in any one pool. That's sure to be a mess and will have to be revisited IMO. Its an effort to break the Irish.
According to the telegraph it will be signed by Friday and run for 6yrs with a 2 yr notice requirement if quitting.

The new competition is not going to be sponsored by Heineken though. I am sure that the sponsorship is up for grabs. My guess is that it will be the "Guinness Rugby Champions Cup" !

The idea for a four way play-off from next season for the final Heineken Cup (or whatever) spot is interesting. I had read every other idea at some point in the last few months.

Connacht are not going to be in the top European club competition next year but with 7 automatic places up for grabs and 2 play-off spots, it is a very realistic ambition for us to qualify on merit from next year onwards. The new format would actually give us the best opportunity to qualify on merit that we have ever had.

Fourdogs wrote: Galway_gas

Interesting news, particularly the bit about who would get the 20th place.

If this statement is true "The last place next season will not go to the Heineken Cup winners but the winners of a play-off between the teams that finish seventh in the Premiership and the Top 14" then our involvement in the HCup is over.

Again if true I really hope this does not have a big impact on our ST sales. Personally I would love a Amlin trip to Spain, Southern Italy or even Romania.

Yes. Gerry Thornleys prediction that 20th place would go to country of HEC winner would appear to have been incorrect. From next season 20th place will come from a playoff involving 7th premiership, 7th Top 14, and 7th/8th Rabo (depending on where top scottish and Italian teams are placed). Hopefully this will involve us. If we're heading for the Amlin then this will be a stronger and potentially more interesting/attractive competition with 18 of the 20 teams coming from the premiership/rabo/top14. Having a new third tier league below the Amlin will also strengthen its profile.

Galway_gas

Interesting news, particularly the bit about who would get the 20th place.

If this statement is true "The last place next season will not go to the Heineken Cup winners but the winners of a play-off between the teams that finish seventh in the Premiership and the Top 14" then our involvement in the HCup is over.

Again if true I really hope this does not have a big impact on our ST sales. Personally I would love a Amlin trip to Spain, Southern Italy or even Romania.