The International Rugby Board yesterday fired a warning shot in the escalating conflict over the future of the European game with its chief executive, Brett Gosper, suggesting the body would not sanction any new Anglo-French club competition.
Any tournament between clubs from different countries requires the blessing not only ofthe respective home unions, but also of the IRB, and as the 12 Premiership clubs met in London yesterday to discuss options Gosper cautioned against a competition involving only the English and French sides.
"We don't think that's in the best interests of the game, a competition such as that, no," said Gosper.
"We don't believe in an Anglo-French competition. We strongly believe it should be a European competition and that's what we would be ... throwing our weight behind.
"We know there are lots of discussions that are happening but we urge all of those parties to get together and find some common ground because we believe it's in the interests of the game to do so," Gosper said.
"We have to ultimately approve any cross-border competition. First, each union has to approve it. The FFR [French federation] has to approve for their clubs to play ... the RFU [English union] the same thing, and ultimately for a cross-border competition the IRB has to approve."
The IRB want the Welsh, Irish, Scots and Italian sides to be included in any future competition. The English and French clubs will quit the Heineken Cup at the end of this season and seek to set up their own tournament free from European Rugby Cup Ltd (ERC), the body that runs the Heineken Cup.
From the start of the next campaign they have invited the Celtic nations and the Italians to join them. The English and French want structural, qualification and financial changes to the present set-up.
The views expressed by Gosper yesterday indicate the size of the obstacles that still lie ahead of any Anglo-French competition, especially if IRB opposition hardened. If the Premiership and Top 14 clubs decide to go it alone, it could lead the sport straight to the nearest courtroom and the implications of that are severe.
The absolute worst-case scenario would be a split akin to cricket's Kerry Packer affair with a competition in opposition to the game's governing body, the IRB. Players who took part could face the ultimate sanction of a ban from international rugby, although fines - for the union, the RFU or the FFR, and the clubs involved - would be more likely.
The IRB has yet to involve itself in any direct negotiations but Gosper urged the parties to get together. Yet ERC do not have a meeting scheduled until late next month, and it's by no means certain a Premiership representative will attend.
"This is a negotiation where parties are seeking to have more than what they had in the past and it's a normal process," added Gosper. "There's no particular frustration towards any one nation here.
"It's a natural negotiation, be it a particularly aggressive one at the moment, in the growth of a professional sport. I would urge all the parties to come together for the negotiations. They may all have different views but we believe in a European organisation and a European competition and that is our starting point."
