Wales star Richard Hibbard urges rugby chiefs to sort Heineken Cup row

Wales star Richard Hibbard has told European powerbrokers to sit around the table and ensure top-flight club competition is not wiped off the map.

The Heineken Cup future is in grave doubt after English and French clubs have signalled their intentions to form a breakaway tournament next season.

European Rugby Cup (ERC) have called a meeting for October 23 to resolve the stalemate with Hibbard insisting a solution must be found.

“As players we don’t have any influence whatsoever,” said Hibbard. “But we need people to get their heads together to make sure there is a European competition.

“The fans love it, the players enjoy it and so do the coaches. In Europe you are playing the best teams with their best players. No-one is rested.

“The Heineken Cup is the pinnacle of rugby at club and regional level in Europe. It needs to happen. It’s one step down from the internationals. The games are massive occasions, with big hype, that you want to play in.

“As a player, the competition is a must-have. I want to be playing in the best competitions that I can play in and I’d imagine a lot of the boys feel the same way. If that’s not going to happen it’s not good, particularly for Welsh rugby.”

Following two replacement appearances, Hibbard is set to make his first Ospreys start against Edinburgh tomorrow after helping the Lions win the series in Australia.

“Starting will be good because it’s hard to get into the game if you are coming on for 20 minutes at the end,” said Hibbard.

“I like starting. I can give a good 60, throw myself around and then they can bring me off.

“I want to stay consistent. “People say that after a tour like that you are bound to drop off a bit for a season, but I don’t want that to happen.

“Even though the Lions was an amazing achievement, I’m never going to float off to the clouds. You are only as good as your last game, so if I have a shocker on Saturday people will remember that rather than the summer.

“I want to keep performing and consistently performing. You can’t afford to sit back and rest on what you’ve achieved. The idea is that you set fresh goals for yourself and then see if you can fulfil those.

“I want to play well for the Ospreys, because I have Scott Baldwin coming up behind me, I want to keep starting with Wales. In another year there’s a World Cup so we have to keep building our squad and improving before then.”

The Ospreys play their first match at the Liberty Stadium this season tomorrow evening following a victory against Treviso and draw with Leinster on their travels.

“It’s been a brilliant start,” said Hibbard. “Last year we were all over the place early on, but this time we’ve got our act together.”

Article source: http://www.nswrl.com.au/default.aspx?s=article-display&id=78257&title=vb-nsw-cup-tv-match-postponed---updated

Wales star Richard Hibbard urges rugby chiefs to sort Heineken Cup row