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Bernard Jackman conflicted about Rugby World Club Cup
Bernard Jackman conflicted about Rugby World Club Cup

RTÉ News​

time3 days ago

  • Sport
  • RTÉ News​

Bernard Jackman conflicted about Rugby World Club Cup

Bernard Jackman says he has conflicted feelings over the new Rugby World Club Cup, which is set to take place in for the first time 2028. Last week, EPCR confirmed that the respective leagues and unions had voted in favour of the tournament, which will take place once every four years. To accommodate the summer tournament, there will be no Champions Cup quarter-finals, semi-finals or final in the year of each World Club Cup. Instead, the eight 'quarter-finalists' will advance to the World Club Cup, with the rest of the 16-team competition drawn from Super Rugby and Japan. It will mean that once every four years there will be no official Champions Cup final, something Jackman believes is dangerous for the furturre of an already struggling competition. "I actually think it devalues the Champions Cup, because you're not going to have a winner every four years. It's a different competition," he said on the RTÉ Rugby podcast. The current format of the Champions Cup has been much maligned since it was introduced in 2020, with the current pool format eliminating just eight of the 24 teams involved. And Jackman believes the EPCR may be better off putting their efforts into restoring the Champions Cup to its former glory, before looking to expand it globally. "I think the best solution is to try and focus on how you can actually get the Champions Cup back to having more games that are ultra important. "The knockout stage of the Champions Cup, we've seen some brilliant rugby but in the group stages it's been too lenient. You're not getting that jeopardy, that must-win mindset that I think we all loved about the old format. "I would have been happy with the winners of the Champions Cup playing the winners of Super Rugby in a one-off game, or over two legs. For me that would have been a fitting World Cup." The former Ireland international conceded that he sees the logic behind the tournament, which will pit the best of the Top14, Premiership and URC against some of New Zealand and Australia's biggest clubs. And while he has reservations around how it will eventually look, he recognises how the game's current financial situation may have dictated the decision. "I also have to say the game is struggling to bring new fans, to bring revenue, so I don't want to be too critical of people who are trying to do something different. But my gut on this is that we had a very good competition and the tinkering with it has devalued it to a certain extent, and that's where the issue is. "It's going to be nice to see a Munster or an Ulster or Leinster play the Chiefs. I am interested in that. "Then you're going to have the issue of how many of those teams or how many of the Champions Cup teams will believe they can win it, and if it's a competition worth winning and are we going to see half-arsed games. "That's also a worry for me at the moment, without that absolute clarity around what the value of winning it or getting to the final. "Will it make the group stage for the European Cup that year even more farcical, where teams don't want to go and play an away leg in Australia? "They're the questions in my mind, and until I see exact details around what that looks like, post qualification for that, I'm going to hold my opinion."

RTÉ Rugby podcast: Bordeaux pulse check, Club RWC and more Irish in Super Rugby?
RTÉ Rugby podcast: Bordeaux pulse check, Club RWC and more Irish in Super Rugby?

RTÉ News​

time3 days ago

  • Sport
  • RTÉ News​

RTÉ Rugby podcast: Bordeaux pulse check, Club RWC and more Irish in Super Rugby?

Neil Treacy is joined by Bernard Jackman and Johne Murphy to look back on Bordeaux's Champions Cup final win against Northampton Saints. We also discuss the proposed Club World Cup that is due to arrive in 2028 (16:25), as well as Jordie Barrett's comments about the appetite for getting more young Irish players to spend some time in Super Rugby (23:45). And finally we take a look at Leinster and Munster's BKT United Rugby Championship quarter-finals this weekend (32:25). Watch Leinster v Scarlets from 2.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.

Five-star French domination 'scary' for Irish European hopes, say RTÉ Rugby analysts
Five-star French domination 'scary' for Irish European hopes, say RTÉ Rugby analysts

RTÉ News​

time7 days ago

  • Sport
  • RTÉ News​

Five-star French domination 'scary' for Irish European hopes, say RTÉ Rugby analysts

For the fifth year in a row the Champions Cup has been won by a French team and Bernard Jackman believes the "inclusive" pathways in the country have played a big role. Bordeaux Begles beat Northampton Saints in Cardiff yesterday to win the trophy for the first time. In the four previous seasons, Toulouse and La Rochelle each won twice, beating Leinster, who last tasted victory in 2018, three times in the finals. With Les Bleus winning the Six Nations Grand Slam last spring, French rugby remains on the up, and two RTÉ Rugby analysts believe their ability to keep producing players from differing pathways can keep it at the summit. The vast majority of Ireland's professional players came through the schools system before joining provincial academies, with a handful of players, such as Jamison Gibson-Park and Mack Hansen coming from abroad. Jackman, who won the Heineken Cup with Leinster in 2009, used the example of Bordeaux flanker Mahamadou Diaby, who started in yesterday's final to illustrate the difference between the routes to professional rugby in Ireland and France. "It's very inclusive," he told RTÉ Sport. "So the number 6, Mahamadou Diaby. I was lucky enough to coach him for a little while in Grenoble. "He saw the Rugby World Cup 2007 on TV, [he's] from a very tough part of Paris, no rugby club near him. "He was a kickboxer at 15, he said, 'oh, I can play rugby, I'm physical'. "He went to Stade Francais, knocked on the door looking for a trial, they said we don't give trials to people who don't play. "He went to Racing [92], they tested him, gave him a contract and now, 14 years later, having had numerous clubs, he's playing here. "You've got all this talent, all these clubs and yet they create opportunities for people who have a physical ability to stay in the game. "And that's scary. "When you look at our pathways, it's very traditional. "We haven't really opened up the game to different areas as much as we could. "When you look at our pathways, it's very traditional. We haven't really opened up the game to different areas as much as we could" "Obviously, we are competing with soccer, GAA but they are competing with basketball, handball and soccer as well. "But the rugby clubs there are very inclusive, and they want to bring through talent and are willing to spend time trying to develop it." Former Ireland number 8 Jamie Heaslip concurred with Jackman. "They have more players, more clubs, more entry points into the game, and if you don't make it in one club, you can kind of bounce around numerous clubs to find your spot," said Heaslip. "Whereas in Ireland, there's four professional clubs. "If you don't really make it early on, you can't really go to England or France anymore because they want to pick players eligible for the national side so your options are limited and the fall-off happens a whole lot quicker, while guys can try and make a career. Bernard Jackman shares the story of Louis Bielle-Biarrey's rise #InvestecChampionsCup 📱 Updates - 📺 Watch live - — RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) May 24, 2025 "It's kind of scary because the same thing happens in England, they can bounce around a certain amount of clubs. "That's why I would be slightly concerned about the age profile of a lot of these teams that are at the top level coming through, and you are seeing the knock-on effect of England going well, France going particularly well and potentially going to be dangerous sides going forward." While Leinster made it to the semi-finals, Ulster and Munster were knocked out in the round of 16 and quarter-finals, respectively, both beaten by Bordeaux. While Leinster made it to the semi-finals, Ulster and Munster were knocked out in the round of 16 and quarter-finals, respectively, both beaten by Bordeaux. Connacht, meanwhile, lost a home Challenge Cup quarter-final to Racing 92 after topping the pool stages. The last team other than Leinster to win in Europe was Munster in 2008. "It's imperative for Irish rugby that we don't just become reliant on Leinster, we've given them a lot of backing, they've got to try and fix the issues there," said Jackman. "It's great to see the likes of [Australia prop] Angus Bell going to Ulster, Clayton McMillan coming into Munster [as new head coach] – the Chiefs are playing unbelievable rugby. "We just need to boost the other three so we have four teams going into Europe with a fighting chance. "At the moment we have all our eggs in one basket."

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