Sunday, June 24, 2012

Heineken Cup Reforms


So as the rugby season draws to a close I have decided to open one last decide, some food for thought if you'd like during the summer break.

The structure of the Heineken Cup is very topical at the moment after the French and English teams threatened to pull out once again, if this was to happen Europe's  premier rugby competition would cease to exist.

Also the recent draw for the Heineken Cup competition highlighted the lopsided  nature of the group phase.

I for one believe the competition needs many reforms and not just how teams qualify for the competition but also how the group phase works. I do believe the best team has won the competition over the past number of the years but their is too much good fortune involved during the competition that makes  the latter stages far more predictable then the group phase.

Current Qualification Format:

Places are awarded by country, with each country deciding how to allocate their allotted places:

England: six teams (selected by performance in Aviva Premiership and Anglo-Welsh Cup)
France: six teams (selected by performance in Top 14 Championship)
Ireland: three teams (selected by performance in Pro 12)
Wales: three teams (selected by performance in Pro 12)
Scotland: two teams (selected by participation in Pro 12)
Italy: two teams (selected by participation in Pro 12)
Starting with the 2009–10 season, the remaining two places in the 24-team tournament for the following season are filled by the winners of the Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup.

Is the group phase ranking system working for the Knock-out stages?

No it does not if you look at the past three years of the competitions knock-out phase. Cardiff who were obliterated by Leinster in the Heineken Cup last season but are still number one seeds yet Clermont who were a whisker away from beating the champions are second seeds this time around. A far better system would be the winners of three leagues and the winners of the previous year’s Heineken Cup would be automatically be the top seeded teams for the following years. This format is clearly unfair and for the competition to reach its full potential it is essential the qualification format is fair for all teams and also the ranking system for the quarter finals needs to change. I think the simplest way is for the competition to move to a twenty  teams with four groups of five.

Some examples of the problems with the current format:

In the 09/10 season Munster played Northampton saints twice in the group phase and again in the quarter finals. The familiarity of the teams with each other made it boring for the neutral. The current seeds means this can happen any season if results fall a certain way.

12/13 draw for the competition was the clearest example of how good fortune plays far too much of an important role in the Heineken Cup. Look at Biarritz and Harlequins group who were drawn alongside Connacht and Zebre. Its Connacht's second year in the competition and Zebres first year in existence. Already these teams have a far better chance of qualify then say the teams in group six who are all evenly matched.

The current seeding system for the quarter final also handicaps the top seeded teams. Take this season’s draw for example. The number top two seeded teams will more than likely play either Leinster or Clermont in the quarter finals as one of them will qualify as the one of the best runners up. That is some reward for the so called top seeded teams.


Reforms Required:

Six teams from each of the RaboProDirect 12, Top 14 and Aviva Premiership qualify along with the Amlin Challenge winners and the Heineken Cup winners from the previous year would qualify.
The top two teams would qualify for the quarter final.

The teams would play each other once with two games away and two games at home.
The top seeded team in each group would play the third and fifth seeded teams away and play the second seeds and fourth seeds away.
The four group winners get a home quarter final. There would be an open draw to decide the pairing for the quarter finals.


Teams that finish third would qualify for the Amlin Challenge Cup

Some might say it’s not a European Cup without all countries being represented but akin to the Champions League it is not feasible for a team from every country to be represented in the group phase of the competition.


Closing notes:

People might think it is unnecessary to tinker with the current system but remember professional rugby is in its infancy and like its soccer counterpart, the champions league will undergo changes throughout the years to ensure it still provides the excitement, drama and most importantly high quality rugby matches to keep the fans in the stands happy.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Ireland's future

A three test tour of New Zealand on the back of what will be a twelve month season by the third test is hardly what the Irish squad needed especially when you consider the difficult six nations they had, where Kidneys squad selection and style of play came underfire but of course if it could be a chance for some of the younger squad members to impress. It is not just on the field where the Irish set up are facing some difficulties, with many of Ireland's younger prospects sitting on the bench or even in the stand as they struggle to get first team rugby, the lack of innovation or even just common sense by the IRFU mean it looks increasingly difficult to see how we are going to cope without the likes O Gara, O Driscoll and O Connell in the near future.

Kidney is under a lot of pressure with his recent squad selections. His loyalty to Donnacha O Callaghan and Gordan Darcy looks bizarre when think Devin Toner, Craig Gilroy and Ian Madigan were all left at home maybe Ferris and O Connell's injuries played apart but it didn't have to stop him from selecting a larger squad. Ireland's management just needed to look across the pond and see Stuart Lancaster is bringing a 42 man squad to South Africa, a mix of youth and experience. Kidney has only picked twenty nine players eight of which are front row forwards. That means to fill seventeen of his match day squad he has the choose from twenty one players. That is slim pickings to say the least and  you would imagine many of the players will be carrying slight injuries going on tour it looks like another another massive chance to breadth some fresh air into the squad missed.

In many ways Kidneys hands are tied by the IRFU policies and the way in which players are distributed across the provinces. Kidney most look at Warren Gatland with envy as he seems to have an never ending supply of young, talented and powerful players that are  seamlessly adopting to international rugby, continually defying  the cliché that you won't win anything with kids. While Warren Gatland and his management team deserve a lot of credit the WRU are playing a blinder and the Welsh clubs seem to be also helping their national squad. Look at the recently crowned Rabro Pro Direct twelve champions the Ospreys. Last season they let the likes of Mike Phillips, Marty Holah, James Hook and Lee Bryne left and  you would think the clubs future is bleak instead those headline players have being replaced by Rhys Webb, Justin Tipuric, Dan Diggar and Ashley Beck all of whom will step up to the international arena into the next twelve months. If you look the Irish provinces where similar younger players like Paul Marshall, Dom Ryan, Ian Madigan and Eoin O Malley are similar ages to their Welsh counterparts but when Ulster and Leinster have their full squad to choose from these players are all on the bench or not even in the match day twenty three. I have no doubt if all these players signed for Connacht  next season they would have twenty games ( six in the Heineken Cup) under their belt by February and would be pushing for inclusion in the Irish six nations squad. Only one of Leinster's starting fifteen in the Heineken Cup final and two of Ulster's have earned their first international caps in the past two years indicating their isn't a whole raft of new players for Kidney to choose from despite Ireland's dominance of the Heineken Cup.

On topic of players going to Connacht it is good to look at the WRU's use Newport Gwent Dragons who are considered the fourth team in Wales. Dan Lydiate and Toby Faletau were stars at the World Cup but it is one of their summer signings that intrigued me, Tom Prydie. I first came across Prydie alongside Andrew Conway of Leinster who were listed as stars of the future in a rugby magazine. Prydie has made twelve senior appearances for the Ospreys and Conway has made sixteen for Leinster and  at the moment both are at a similar standard but by the end of next season it will be no surprise if Prydies development is rapidly accelerated by first team exposure at the Dragons. Conway on the other hand will no doubt make a halve dozen appearances next season while players are on international duty. It is not like sending players to Connacht for a season or two is a major risk as Jerry Flannery, Sean Cronin, Ian Keatley and Fionn Carr all benefited from their spells out west.

Next year three Kiwis will be managing Ulster, Leinster and Munster. I wonder would Mark Anscombe take a risk like Brian Mclaughlin did in selecting Paddy Jackson for a Heineken Cup semi final, I doubt it very much. Anscombe will be under pressure from the very start of the season and is he really going to invest in youth when he is looking to carry on from where Ulster left of last year, unlikely. Another problem is down in Munster where Wian Du Preez and Bj Botha are two very important players to the teams short term success but as they have no international commitments they expect to be starting every game. When will Rob Penny find the games to develop the likes of David Kilcoyne and Stephen Archer? As Keith Wood often mentions on Off the Balls Wednesday night rugby props need to playing week in week out to develop.

Of course Connacht isn't the only option for players to find first team rugby as Tomas O Leary signs for London Irish and also look how Tommy Bowe during his stint at the Ospreys. Indeed Bowes return to Ulster was seen by all as a major boast but when you realise one Craig Gilroy, Andrew Trimble and Darren Cave won't be starting regularly next season you wonder how much it benefits Declan Kidneys national team.  It will be interesting to see if Bernard Jackmans Grenoble take on board some of Ireland's younger players for a couple of season's. Indeed it would be prudent for the IRFU to create a partnership with a ProDivison 2 team in France. It is regarded as the home of scrummaging and offers younger Irish players to learn new training methods and exposes them to first team rugby a season earlier which would benefit the provinces over time. In Austrailia, who have a similar playing pool to Ireland all International standard players are spread across their five Super 15 teams ensuring they are starting every game in their optimum position giving Robbie Deans options in every position of his team. Currently there are at least fifteen International quality players on the subs at Irish provinces, until that changes it is hard to see the fortunes of the national team changing.

Ireland's tour to New Zealand could have been the turning point for Declan Kidney's side but instead a whitewash beckons and the long, drawn out end to some of Ireland's stalwarts stellar careers will continue, painfully. The blame will probably  be put squarely on the Kidneys shoulders but the IRFU need to take long look at their own management of Irish rugby and realise not only is change required on the field but also the way it which they run rugby in the country.

Thanks for your time, you can follow me on twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/AllThingsRugby1 or https://twitter.com/#!/Tommykennedy93