Anglo-French breakaway plan from rugby Heineken Cup not ideal: IRB chief Brett Gosper
IRB heavyweight insists Anglo-French competition is not in interests of the code
Brett Gosper, the most powerful man in world rugby, entered the battle for the future of the European club game by saying that the International Rugby Board (IRB) did not want to see an Anglo-French breakaway from the Heineken Cup.
English and French clubs said last week that they planned to set up their own two-tier competitions after running out of patience with stalled talks over the future of the Heineken Cup.
Europe's two most powerful unions are frustrated by what they see as a qualifying system unfairly weighted in favour of Ireland, Wales and Scotland and want a greater share of the income from the tournament.
Since then both sides have used the media to present their respective cases, each saying the other was acting outside of tournament rules. It is the third major civil war to hit the tournament since it began in 1995-96.
Gosper, the IRB chief executive, was in London on Wednesday to promote the World Cup, which begins in England in two years, but instead the Australian found himself answering questions about the Heineken Cup.
"Our clear position is we support a full European competition and our desire is it is a bona fide European competition, so we are urging all of the constituents of that conversation at the moment to get together and find a resolution because we obviously believe it is in the interests of rugby to have a strong European competition, it's good for the clubs, it's good for the [national] unions," he said.