ERC aims to tighten up discipline at Heineken Cup
European Rugby Cup bosses are looking to crack down on disciplinary infractions ahead of the Heineken Cup, revealed ERC CEO Derek McGrath on Monday. What also would be re-examined was discipline in the Amlin
Challenge Cup, a less significant rugby tournament.
“We are focused on protecting the integrity of the tournaments and, through that, ensuring consistency of standards, fairness and transparency of our approach," said McGrath.
The Heineken Cup takes place every year as a tournament between the best rugby union clubs in Europe. In total 24 teams compete in the tournament, which lasts from October to May. It begins with a round-robin
group stage, where eight teams make it to quarter-final knockout stage.
And that’s where the controversy began last year, when in the quarters there was a notorious incident in which Harlequins player Tom Williams attempted to use a fake blood pellet crushed in his teeth to simulate
an injury against Leinster. Both Williams and the Harlequins were punished heavily for the action, but McGrath said it wasn’t strictly about that incident, but rather a broader approach.
"This is not a comment on a specific case but a comment that, as the game grows, what is important to us is defending the integrity of the tournaments and all that is involved in it,” he said, and continued:
"Other sports are encountering disciplinary issues on and off the pitch so we need to remind ourselves that we need to learn from other sports and recognise that, if you don't protect this, then your sport and your reputation will be damaged.”
The tournament was won in end by Toulouse last year, and despite the occasional scandal, remains one the rugby world’s most prestigious rugby tournaments. For McGrath and the ERC, the new disciplinary attitude
is a way to preserve that.
"We have seen so much drama and tight games that go right the way down to the wire in recent years and, along the way, we will see fantastic entertainment."
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