NICK CAIN

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THE European Cup’s ‘round of 16’ takes some beating when it comes to fiddling with a successful format and turning the best club tournament in the world into an administrative dog’s dinner.
In the 2024 round of 16 there are five pool stage repeats in the eight matches, starting with Stormers v La Rochelle and Bordeaux v Saracens – which both have identical home advantage – and three more repeats in which home advantage is reversed, in Bulls v Lyon, Leinster v Leicester, and Northampton v Munster.
The...