Durban – There is a proposal that United Rugby Championship (URC) teams no longer be able to qualify for the Heineken Champions Cup by virtue of winning their country’s Shield, while better travel arrangements are to be made for South African teams.
The free passage for the winners of the Welsh Shield cost the Sharks a place in the next Heineken Cup. The Durbanites finished eighth this year, but lost out to 10th-placed Cardiff in accordance with current rules.
However, URC chief executive Martin Anayi has said a return to the meritocracy of PRO14 rugby is on the cards.
Anayi said there was a proposal – which needs unanimous approval from all 16 clubs in the tournament – that the eight qualification spots should go back to a meritocracy, rather than the shield system that has been in operation in the first two years of the competition.
"I think that is most likely the clubs will agree,” Anayi said. “The way it works now is we take the four geographical shield winners and the next four highest-placed sides in the league. We did that because we wanted a broad range of teams in the Champions Cup,” he said.
Anayi said the various stakeholders had agreed to the shield system for a two-year period as long as it would then be reviewed.
"But unless it is unanimous to continue as we are, we will revert back to a straight meritocracy."
Anayi also added that the current format of the highest-ranked side hosting the URC final would continue, and the traditional “Destination Final” - which has been used in European competitions, would no longer apply.
“We moved away from the ‘Destination Final’ when the South African teams came in, largely because you could have two South African teams in a European ‘Destination Final’ and that might be tricky. In year one, we obviously had the Stormers versus Bulls. So we’ve moved away to a highest-ranked team route,” Anayi explained.
“That’s why this weekend is really interesting because if Leinster win they’ve got a final in the Aviva Stadium. If Munster win and Stormers win, then they’re down in Cape Town. That’s why we’ve gone that route and that is really tricky for us, but actually this year there is an extra gap of a week between the Champions Cup final in Dublin.”
Travel concerns have dogged South African teams this season. They have made long 40-hour journeys a norm and they have had to do it repeatedly.
Anayi says there are plans to address this, including making the tours longer to ensure less frequent flights.
Anayi did concede that since the plans for South Africa’s inclusion were drawn up, the price of an average ticket had gone up 35 percent.
“That inflation has been quite difficult,” he said.
The cost of the European teams travelling to SA is covered "centrally" by the URC, while the South African Rugby Union covers the cost of the SA teams’ travel.
“There is a hell-of-a-lot more we need to do,” he admitted, adding that there was a move to find better “routes and scheduling” to cut down on travel time. Anayi expected SA Rugby to agree on slightly longer tours to combat this.
“It will result in only two tours, rather than three or four tours,” he said. “To reduce flights, would be to add another match to the tour. When it’s a four-match tour, teams can settle into a location and get integrated into their hotel.”
Charter flights were also an option, but Anayi said URC are “trying to make it more direct and at convenient times, while expanding the number of business class seats available.
“There is a very low number of business class seats available on those routes and there is an over-subscription.”
The URC boss also said the likely start date of the next season would be on the weekend of October 20-22, the same weekend of the Rugby World Cup semifinals.
IOL Sport