Car crash European Cup rules will wreck a great Cup | Nick Cain

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EXETER, ENGLAND - APRIL 10: Tom O'Flaherty of Exeter Chiefs escapes the tackle of Devin Toner of Leinster and Luke McGrath of Leinster during the Heineken Champions Cup Quarter Final match between Exeter Chiefs and Leinster at Sandy Park on April 10, 2021 in Exeter, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

THE European Cup is on a slippery slope. It is rapidly being downgraded from a competition which was about becoming champions of Europe – ‘the best of the best’ – to one that throws in ‘the rest’, and leaves ‘the best’ outnumbered by teams that have not earned their place among the elite.
The competitive edge that has made the European/Heineken Cup such compulsive viewing since its inception in 1995 is being watereddown by a convoluted format which has been padded out with middle-of-the-road clubs, with too many matches likely to become foregone conclusions.
Most of the pressure for ill-co...

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