ExclusiveEuropean Rugby Cups: "Finishing the 2019-20 season was already a huge challenge" (V. Gaillard, EPCR)

"Given the situation in which rugby - and the world in general - finds itself, one of the main objectives was finishing the Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup in 2019-20, which was already a huge challenge. Audiences grew by over 53%, with a total of over 38 million people watching the matches live throughout the season in France, the UK and Ireland," said Vincent Gaillard, CEO of EPCR to News Tank Football on 11/12/2020.

"The move to 24 clubs for the 2020-21 Champions Cup may have been conceived in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis and its impact on rugby, but there are a lot of positive points in the organisation of this new season," continued Gaillard. The format of the European Rugby Cups, played only by Top 14, Gallagher Premiership Rugby and Guinness Pro14 clubs, has been changed for the 2020-21 season, with two-legged matches for the quarterfinals of the Champions Cup (see details below).

"The situation regarding spectators is constantly changing. During the Champions Cup group stage and the Challenge Cup preliminary phase, it is managed by the clubs in collaboration with…