Rugby / European Cups: EPCR's integration of South African teams is being criticized

"When I hear 'European Cup' and 'integration of South African provinces', I have a problem with that. The European Cup is about European teams. This is inconsistent. The financial aspect has taken precedence over everything else. We are trying to multiply everything, to do more and more, while we are reaching the limit of the planet's resources. When we ask households to reduce their energy consumption, while at the same time we send rugby teams to play a match on the other side of the planet, it doesn't make sense," declared Julien Pierre, founder of the Fair Play For Planet label, to the French regional daily Ouest-France, on 10/12/2022.

The former rugby player reacted to the new formats of the two European competitions organised by the EPCR, the Heineken Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup, which will host five South African franchises for the first time this season. On the occasion of Round 1 of the 2022-23 Champions Cup, LOU Rugby (Top 14, 2021-22 Challenge Cup winners) travelled to the Vodacom Bulls (42-36 defeat) in Pretoria (RSA) on 10/12/2022.

"The carbon footprint is…