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Following an exciting opening to the inaugural
European Rugby Champions Cup and the
European Rugby Challenge Cup, the pool
stages of both tournaments are set to gain
further momentum with the key Round 3 and 4
back-to-back fixtures.
On behalf of tournament organiser, EPCR, I
am delighted to welcome you to this evening’s
match and I would like to thank all clubs,
coaches, players and supporters who have
embraced the new competitions.
Together, we can look forward with confidence
to a bright future for European professional club
rugby and I particularly want to acknowledge
the commitment of fans across Europe - your
continued support is greatly appreciated.
The new Champions Cup and Challenge Cup
tournaments are built on the rich heritage of 19
years of outstanding competition generated by
the Heineken Cup and the old Challenge Cup.
The enhanced and streamlined formats mean
that the clubs in both tournaments qualify for the
first time solely on merit from their respective
domestic leagues - the Aviva Premiership, the
Top 14 and the Guinness PRO12 - or through a
play-off series.
With 20 clubs competing in five pools, the
Champions Cup is truly elite and the back-to-
back fixtures promise to deliver a unique cutting
edge to the pool stage, while the Challenge
Cup, with 18 clubs qualifying directly from
Europe’s three main leagues, is now more
competitive than ever.
The Challenge Cup will also provide
opportunities for emerging clubs to compete
alongside some of Europe’s best through a
play-off series which will expand in the seasons
ahead.
On the commercial front, EPCR’s tournaments
have already established a solid foundation on
which to build.
The TV platform is providing even more
exposure for the tournaments as well as
increased revenues for the professional club
game. All 10 Champions Cup games are now
broadcast each weekend in the UK, France and
Ireland by our partners, BT Sport, Sky Sports,
beIN Sports and France Televisions, while Sky
Italia are covering games in Italy.
Fans outside of Europe also have the
opportunity to enjoy the tournaments with IMG
distributing the rights through a network of
partners in established and emerging rugby
markets.
Our thanks to Heineken, a long-standing
supporter of European club rugby, who are a
founding partner of the new tournaments, and
also to GILBERT, our official ball supplier, and
to Canterbury who provide apparel for match
officials.
This season, as we celebrate 20 years of
European club rugby, we hope fans from across
Europe will engage with the EPCRugby.com
digital platforms which include YouTube and
Google+ as new tournament digital partners.
Finally, I would like to wish this evening’s teams
every success for these vital back-to-back
fixtures and for the remainder of the season
which will culminate in the London 2015 finals
weekend next May.
Jacques Pineau
//
EPCR Director General
EPCR WELCOME