So talks have
broken down again on
the future of the European Cup in rugby. There appears to be deep mistrust between the parties, which is a shame. In essence, there are the English and French teams, who feel that the competition structure is biased in favour of the Irish teams in particular, and against them in general. This appears to be pretty much accurate. To compound that, the English feel that the preponderance of sponsorship is driven by their involvement, and their market - they're right on this also. At the very root of all of this, however, is a fundamental difference in philosophy as to how the game should be developed. And that, perhaps, is the most significant stumbling block of all.
