Empty seats leave Champions Cup licking its wounds and looking at rejig
(The Guardian Sports News)

European club rugby faces crunch time with CVC sniffing around Pro14 and the only certainty being that change is afootNext month in Newcastle they are promising to host the best weekend that club rugby union has ever known. A convivial city, an iconic stadium, two ding-dong finals and a vibrant late-night social scene: anyone heading to Tyneside is in for a treat. Assuming the weather plays along, it will make Twickenham feel like Madame Tussauds.It might come as a surprise to many, therefore, that the future of Europe´s elite club competition is not yet entirely guaranteed beyond 2022. The entire road map of domestic and international rugby is in the process of being reassessed and no one currently knows where the Champions Cup and its smaller cousin, the Challenge Cup, will fit in. Continue reading...