English club rugby was last night plunged into a European Cup crisis after a French U-turn.
France’s top clubs voted not to join England’s Premiership elite in their proposed breakaway tournament.
Instead, they will remain in the Heineken Cup – leaving their English ‘partners’, who have cut all ties with the existing tournament, high and dry.
The decision follows a reported £2million per club offer from the French Federation to turn their backs on a Rugby Champions Cup, which now appears doomed.
The English are caught between a rock and a hard place, having served notice that they are quitting the Heineken at the end of the season.
Their TV deal with BT Sport prevents them from returning to the competition – even if they chose to.
Article source: http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/nov/04/rugby-league-world-cup-samoa-papua-new-guinea
French clubs vote to stay in Heineken Cup, plunging English rugby into chaos
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