Champions Cup and Challenge Cup final group stage-games scrapped
- 2422
Premiership Rugby chief executive Darren Childs has confirmed that the remaining Champions Cup and Challenge Cup pools stage matches have now been abandoned.
This comes after the French government blocked Top 14 clubs from competing in cross-border competition this month due to fears over new strain of coronavirus leading to the remaining two pool rounds being initially postponed but are now scrapped.
Europe's final two rounds of group matches will be cancelled with the Champions and Challenge Cups moving straight into the knockout phase, Premiership Rugby has confirmed.
Tournament organisers EPCR will decide within the fortnight what format the competitions should take, with a knockout phase launched by a round of 16 the likely option.
"The decision was made very quickly by the executive at EPCR that we would not try to reschedule those games," Childs said.
"We have a tough season. There's no space at the end of the season because of the Lions and we have no spare weekends in our season once we resume.
"To play European rounds when the Lions is taking place would have been very damaging to the European tournament. So it was decided very quickly by all three leagues CEOs that we would complete the tournament in the four remaining weekends.
"Everyone is managing their domestic and international calendars to the best of their ability. The exact structure has not been agreed and we've already started those discussions."
