Wales want more cash to join new European Cup

The Anglo-French promoters of the Champions’ Cup will have to guarantee the Welsh regions a better deal if they join the new Europe.
An equal three-way split of the tournament’s projected £70m-plus annual revenue would leave the four Welsh teams without much more than a £100,000 increase on the estimated £1.3 they receive for competing in the Heineken Cup.
As employers of the majority of the Six Nations‘ champion squad and the Lions‘ victorious Test team, they have a strong case for justifying their belief they are worth far more.
The issue will be the subject of further talks this week when English Premiership officials resume their bid to woo the Welsh on board.
English and French clubs stand to make £1.7m each from the new competition. Their Welsh counterparts will expect to be offered the same, not merely to persuade their out-of-contract Lions like Leigh Halfpenny to stay but for their own survival.
Europe topped the agenda at a Millennium Stadium meeting yesterday of the Welsh Rugby Union and Regional Rugby Wales under the guise of the Professional Regional Game Board.
It ended without a statement from either party but came amid growing indications that the embattled Celtic Unions are prepared to make concessions in a last-ditch attempt to avert the crisis over Europe.
Another week of political wrangling has hardened Anglo-French resolve that their vision of the new Europe, the Champions’ Cup, will get off the ground next season with all six nations involved.
At the same time some of the Celtic Unions vehemently opposed to relinquishing control of Europe to the clubs have been forced to confront the reality that without some initiative they will have no tournament to save as from the end of the season.
“Conversations have taken place with various Unions which lead us to believe that there is a reluctant acceptance of what we are doing,” an English source told The Rugby Paper.
“There was initially a perception that this was all about greed, about rich English and French clubs stealing the gold.  We have moved on from that towards a realisation that what we are proposing is not as revolutionary as it sounds.
“The Unions might now recognise that this new competition is beneficial to everyone. There will be significantly more for all the competing teams.
“Anything which brings in more cash and enables teams to hang onto their best players, especially those in Wales, has to be good news.”
Welsh teams will be surprised at the claim of ‘significant’ increases.
With a potentially decisive role to play over the future of Europe, they stand to lose up to £1.5m each from the disintegration of the Heineken Cup.
The new deal, as outlined by the Anglo-French alliance, offers them only a marginal difference. They are still agonising over decisions of massive significance – whether to defy their own Union and join the Champions’ Cup or accede to WRU demands to renew an agreement which outlaws cross-border tournaments without Union approval.
In the end money will talk.   The Scarlets‘ blockbuster at the Stoop yesterday will have been a timely reminder to the English and French power-brokers that the Welsh command a price worth paying.
If the regions are to put their heads on the block, they will want to ensure that it is worth their while.
PETER JACKSON