Is There A Place For A Rugby Union World Club Championship?

by Dugald Skene

Leinster's latest success in the Heineken Cup has thrown up the discussion once again as to whether an international club tournament would be feasible for rugby union?

There's growing opinion that the club game in the northern hemisphere is now on a comparative par with the southern hemisphere (albeit the game is often played with different philosophies) and any fixture set up between, say, the Heineken Cup winners and the Super 15 champions would be a far closer affair than in years gone by.  Has this opinion been inflated by the success of a single team in Leinster and their domination in the Heineken Cup in the last 4 years?  Perhaps, but I feel the discussion still needs to be had. 

There are a lot of speculative opinions about which hemisphere produces the best rugby and best teams but these tend to be based purely on how the national teams compare against each other when they meet.  There is rarely an opportunity for clubs form various leagues or hemispheres to play each other.

Leinster lift their 3rd Heineken Cup in 4 years

I think the performances of the various international teams skews the actual quality of rugby in that country.  Take Ireland.  With the players they have had at their disposal for over 10 years now, it could be argued that they have underachieved.  One RBS 6 Nations title (and grand slam) in 2009 and a handful of triple crowns is scant reward for their talent and their displays in the last 3 rugby world cups have been under par to say the least.  Compare that to the success of their domestic sides, particularly Leinster and Munster and even the latest revival of Ulster.  The former two have dominated European competition in the last 6 or 7 years and are predominantly made up of the same players that make up the Irish national side.  Can the difference really be the extra foreign players and coaches in those squads?

That's what former All Black scrum half Justin Marshall claims, commenting this week that Leinsters success was down to the New Zealand influence of the likes of second row Brad Thorn and coach Joe Schmidt.  Opinions like this may not be swayed regardless of whether a northern hemisphere club takes on a southern hemisphere club.  It seems to me that people like Marshall see the international game as the most accurate barometer of a nation's place in world rugby's pecking order and test series like the upcoming Irish tour to New Zealand will really show how far the Irish have come.

It's a perfectly valid opinion, and one I subscribe to to a point.  Maybe it's less about inidividual nations and more about the north-south divide.  Could a club championship or even a one off fixture at least help settle the age old argument of which hemisphere has supremacy?

There is of course precedent. Both football and rugby league have world club championships, Barcelona and Leeds Rhinos currently holding the respective titles demonstrating that the European game is stronger than anywhere else. Could it work for rugby union?

The most obvious question and potential stumbling block would be when to hold such a tournament.  The year is so congested between league, cup and international schedules and the overlap between hemispheres means there are few opportunities if any for something to happen.

In football, those clubs in Europe taking part are required to postpone 2 or 3 of their regular league fixtures around January in order to accommodate their playing in the world club championship.  I suspect something would have to give, and it would be for the likes of the ERC and Super Rugby to thrash out a timetable.

Another interesting question would be where to host such a tournament.  On neutral ground, like football, or alternating between the grounds belonging to each participating league year to year like rugby league?  There are conflicting ideas on this.  Neutral ground, say Hong Kong, would provide a fantastic setting but would detract many fans from attending given the distances involved to travel.  Hosting it at or near the home of one of the participating teams would clearly lend a bias to that team but could be evened out over the course of a few years as the tournament moves around the globe.

I think all of us would love to see the likes of Leinster take on the Crusaders in a one-off tournament.  I can only see it being a good thing for the promotion of rugby around the world and although it would only be a select number of teams who will likely contest in such a tournament, it would at least raise the profile of 'club' rugby for those many who only tend to follow the international game.

What do you think?  Is there a place for a tournament like this or is it an unnecessary burden on an already packed world rugby schedule?

What Now For Chelsea And Their Playboys?

by Dugald Skene

After 8 years and goodness knows how many hundreds of millions of rubles, Abramovich has finally got what he wants – Champions League glory for his playtoy Chelsea.  Could he ever have expected it to happen this year of all years?

Given the league form and the managerial turmoil at Stamford Bridge over the course of the season, probably not, but that’s football, right? So many have been talking about the so called ‘script’ of the season, plots and sub-plots that have culminated in the greatest victory in the club’s history but the fact is that Chelsea managed to win it with some inspirational performances, if not inspiring football.

Above all these things though, the most surprising thing for me was that they managed to do it less as a team and more as a collective of narcissistic playboys.

I won’t deny any sportsman or woman their time to celebrate the high points of their careers, but the reaction of some of the players following the penalty shootout win over Bayern Munich, in Munich, told us all a lot about the attitude of many of the players in the Chelsea camp and emphasised the reasons why so many can’t warm to them.

Chelsea lift the Champions League trophy. Where's John Terry?

I certainly don’t grudge Chelsea their win, but I cringed at times watching some of the players behave after Didier Drogba’s winning penalty.  You almost forgive the man himself given we are so used to his antics in the past.  He is annoying, but he always has been and we have come to expect it from him over the years.  It was maybe the players we hear less from that seemed to come over as arrogant, petulant, childish and down right rude when either on the podium awaiting the trophy lifting or being interviewed by the press.

Without going into what was actually shaved into the back of his head, Salomon Kalou came across as one of the worst – his bare chested jostling for position in front of Frank Lampard and the trophy itself during the presentation was embarrassing.

There are many more that I could go about – Ashley Cole, John Obi Mikel, Branislav Ivanovich et al – but the out-and-out most shameful display of them all came from captain John Terry.

Having been banned from playing in the final, Terry was consigned to watching from the touchline, although this didn’t stop him wearing his full strip under a training top which was so swiftly removed at the end as he ran on to the pitch in an attempt to at least appease himself that he contributed  in some way to the final win.

Whatever you think of UEFA’s decision to allow Terry to be presented the trophy, despite the ban (as was the case for Essien, Meireles, Ivanovich & Ramires who were all suspended for the showpiece game), there was a quiet satisfaction evident on the social networks when Terry was mostly blocked from view when the trophy was actually lifted.

I may sound bitter, but I’m not wholly against this Chelsea team.  I thought Frank Lampard handled the victory and ensuing celebrations with the manner you would expect from the captain.  He spoke well when interviewed and appeared humble by what had transpired over the previous couple of hours.  Petr Cech, veteran goalkeeper and long term stalwart for Chelsea also came over well.  Gary Cahill clearly acknowledged that he had found himself in a fortunate position.  Having played better than most in the final, you would have forgiven him for going mad at the final but he seemed to retire from the most fervent celebrations, instead realising how fortunate he had been having being playing for a struggling Bolton side only 6 months previously.

So what now for Chelsea? 

I can’t help but get the feeling that major change is about to happen at the Bridge.  Key players like Drogba and Lampard are now very much in the twilight of their careers and in the case of Drogba, may look to cash in elsewhere for a couple of years with interest from China and elsewhere in the Ivorian man’s talent.  Reports are rife at the moment about Fernando Torres’ future and whether he will be there next season.  He says he has been ‘mistreated’ during his time at Chelsea and is saying all the things a player does when he wants out.

And then there is the Abramovich factor.  What next for him? What is left for him to achieve with this team he has bought and paid for for nearly a decade? With 3 league titles, 4 FA cups and now the big one in the bag, what are his realistic aspirations for the club now?  With the kind of money he has, what are the unrealistic aspirations he has for Chelsea?

So much of Chelsea’s future depends on the whim and fancy of one man and if I were a Chelsea fan, I’d be pretty worried now that the dust has started to settle.

I am notoriously bad at predicting anything when I put it black and white on this blog, but I’ll stick my neck out and suggest that Chelsea might find themselves in a spot of bother over the next 2 or 3 years.  It all depends on the aspirations of Abramovich and where he wants to see his team go.  If it’s European domination, a new stadium at Battersea and a dream of further improvement, he’ll stick around.  But let’s not bank on it.