
Bulls ward off EPCR investigation
The Vodacom Bulls have avoided a formal investigation by the EPCR for fielding a second-string team in their Champions Cup playoff against Northampton Saints.
The Vodacom Bulls have avoided a formal investigation by the EPCR for fielding a second-string team in their Champions Cup playoff against Northampton Saints.
Jake White has expressed his delight with the EPCR’s decision to introduce an extra break in the Champions Cup playoffs, after the Vodacom Bulls were decisively beaten in the quarter-finals.
European rugby chiefs are reportedly encouraging a change to the Champions Cup format to avoid a repeat of the fiasco surrounding the Vodacom Bulls in the quarter-finals.
European bosses are believed to have signed an agreement for the Club Rugby World Cup in June 2028, with domestic leagues reportedly agreeing to accommodate it.
Rugby could hold a Club World Cup starting from 2028, Dominic McKay, chairman of the EPCR, the organising body for the European cups, has suggested.
The EPCR has announced an overhaul of the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup, with a return to a multi-pool format for the 2023-24 season.
EPCR chairman Dominic McKay has confirmed that Cape Town is among the cities competing to stage either of the Champions and Challenge Cup finals in 2025 or 2026.
The format of the Champions Cup is reportedly set for a radical overhaul as the tournament’s current two, 12-team conference system has come under pressure from key stakeholders.