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EPCR takes steps to Brexit-proof UK players before Champions Cup quarter-finals

13 Feb 2019

EPCR Champions Cup flag (Getty Images)

Champions Cup organisers EPCR have fired a pre-emptive Brexit strike, insisting the British deadline for leaving the European Union won’t cause its tournaments regulatory chaos before their completion this season.

The Friday, March 29, date for Britain to quit Europe coincides with the Champions and Challenge Cup quarter-finals weekend.

However, six weeks before those matches are due to be played, EPCR have finally reassured the clubs which have qualified for the knockout stages that a registered player who is a citizen of the United Kingdom will be considered as a European player for the purposes of the tournaments as far as the remainder of the 2018/19 season is concerned.

EPCR have also stated they are considering a number of minor rule changes which would resolve the issue of the European player status for future seasons and overcome any further potential regulatory issues posed by Brexit and the UK separation from the European Union.

🎙 3️⃣ months to go until 🏆 #ChampionsCup final time 🎙
It's the business end of the tournament and knockout rugby 🥊 is on the horizon 🤩
Which two teams will make it to Newcastle? 🧐 Tag below pic.twitter.com/gJSRE5LU3V
— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) February 11, 2019

Quarter-final weekend in the Champions Cup will also see a quick evaluation of what, if any, implications Brexit has on the UK border.

Ulster are due to bring around 12,500 supporters with them from Northern Ireland to Dublin for their sold-out March 30 clash with defending champions Leinster in Dublin, while Munster are Edinburgh-bound that same day.

In the Challenge Cup, Irish side Connacht are due to play at Sale Sharks on Brexit Day, with French duo La Rochelle and Clermont respectively hosting English pair Bristol and Northampton two days later in France.

Meanwhile, EPCR are looking at Murrayfield as the venue to stage a potential all-Scottish Champions Cup semi-final, while the Paris La Défense Arena, which is the new home of Racing 92, is being viewed as a potential venue if the French club beat Toulouse and secure a last-four match against either Leinster or Ulster.

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JT 1 hour ago

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One big yawn…. Non performers keeps getting rewarded. Those who actually do perform and are exciting prospects get sidelined. Compare this attitude to the French, the springboks, England and even Australia and you get your answer as to why the ABs have stagnated.

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takata 1 hour ago

Can Les Bleus avoid a Black-wash in New Zealand?

Sure a break is better than no break at all - but to use the same analogy as before, it’s like refilling a car with gas but not giving it a good service.

But, here, I’m just answering what it’s so hard for you to see, as you wrote above: “Overall, it is very hard to see what France is gaining in the player welfare equation. It is simply replacing one set of overworked players with another.”

And for me, the gain in the player welfare equation is certainly obvious and I wonder how you could have missed it. Or maybe you’re more a Polemist than a real Analyst?

The third Test is 19 July, round one of Top 14 2025-26 first weekend of September. Probably a month of pre-season in August with three warm-up games. Where is the off-season for players to recover properly?

In the NFL they have 7 months.

Yeah right!

The NFL is also distributing contracts worth $210.000.000+ for 4 years… In Top 14, Dupont was paid a yearly €480.000 (brut) by Toulouse while F. Russell was offered £1.000.000 with Bath. Consequently, I really fail to see how anything NFL is relevant with rugby, but you already know that.

Beside, La Section Paloise already started its pre-season (today) and the number of warm-up games would range from 0 - 2 (mostly 1). For the bulk, after five weeks, the restart is next week as their last game was on 7 June. The break is shorter than 6 weeks for their staff and those players who were not involved in their last game.

Last season ranking. Club -> date restart (break weeks)

08. Pau (SP) -> 9 July (~ 4w)

00. Montauban (USM Sapiac) -> 14 July (> Pro D2)

07. La Rochelle (SR) -> 14 July (~ 5w)

12. Paris (SF) -> 15 July (~ 5w)

11. Lyon (LOU) -> 15 July (~ 5w)

10. Racing 92 -> 15 July (~ 5w)

13. Perpignan (USAP) -> 16 July (~ 5w)

09. Montpellier (MHR) -> 16 July (~ 5w)

06. Clermont (ASM) -> 21 July (~ 5w)

05. Castres (CO) -> 21 July (~ 5w)

04. Bayonne (AB) -> 28 July (~ 5w)

03. Toulon (RCT) -> 28 July (~ 5w)

02. Bordeaux (UBB) -> 6 August (~ 5w)

01. Toulouse (ST) -> 4-11 August (~ 5-6w)

If Attissogbe (from Pau) is also playing the 19 July test (very doubtful), he will be back from holliday on 1 September (6 weeks later). No matter what, he is going to miss several rounds of Top 14.

(…) three-Test series in NZ is not ‘friendly’. It is a serious opportunity to prove you can beat one of the best nations in history in their own backyard.

You can also repeat it a million time but it won’t change the fact that those summer tests are the lowest priority on the FFR agenda. It’s a shame, it’s not going to change - even if they rename the window something else, but it’s for good reasons in my humble opinion.

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Ed the Duck 1 hour ago

Can Les Bleus avoid a Black-wash in New Zealand?

And yet no club affiliation. Tough to think of a more compelling reason to support a club than growing up beside them, being nurtured and coached by them and then being granted the honour of going on to represent them on the pitch, or don’t you think? And yet no, that’s not the case here. I wonder what went wrong…

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Andrew Nichols 2 hours ago

Scott Robertson weighs in on Will Jordan's possible position switch

Sure but it wont happen. DMac is a vital.part of that team. I think Love is a fabulous footy player who will take Barretts place sooner rather than later and take over DMacs bench spot (covering 10/15 while DMac becomes the starting 10 again. That is what WILL happen. They wont drop DMac.

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SadersMan 2 hours ago

Scott Robertson weighs in on Will Jordan's possible position switch

I’m not “proposing” anything. Follow the thread. SC proposed Reiko 11 Love 14 Jordan 15. I said for Love to be considered it's more likely to be on the bench for DMac. Pretty simple to follow??? Or not.