Premiership clubs 'can't compete' in Champions Cup
Saracens led 35-27 at half-time at Toulon on Saturday before being beaten 72-42
- Published
There is a "gulf in quality" between Premiership clubs and Europe's elite that may only be solved by boosted salary caps or a changed season format, former England internationals have suggested.
A disappointing weekend in the Champions Cup saw four more English teams - Saracens, Harlequins, Leicester and Sale - eliminated from the marquee continental competition after heavy losses.
It leaves Northampton Saints as the sole remaining Premiership representative in this weekend's quarter-finals alongside four French clubs, two Irish sides and Scotland's Glasgow Warriors.
In the wake of the last-16 results, former England and Harlequins back Ugo Monye said English clubs' comparatively lower salary caps - increased from £5m to £6.4m at the start of this season but still below the £9m cap for Top 14 clubs in France - make it "hard to compete".
"The first-half scores are an illustration of the gulf in quality, and the second halfs really showed the depth of the opposition - especially the French sides," the 41-year-old told BBC Radio 5 live's Rugby Union Weekly podcast.
He added that the English league was "too competitive" across the division, meaning Premiership clubs "don't have the strength in depth within their squads to be able to match these (European) teams for 80 minutes" and lack sufficient quality to "fight across two fronts".
Harlequins were one of four Premiership sides handily beaten in the Champions Cup last-16
Leinster 'better than Ireland'
Former England scrum-half Danny Care said he had not played against many better teams than Leinster, who thrashed his Quins side 62-0 at Croke Park on Saturday.
"I think they're better than Ireland; the skill level, the power, the pace," he said.
"Their ball skills and movement, and they play smart. I've never known rucks like it.
"We were poor but they were next level. If they don't win it all now, it's a travesty."
The 38-year-old added: "You look at their squad and it's incredible, there's no way English teams can compete with that.
"About 10 of those Leinster lads would probably start for the [British and Irish] Lions or be in the Test squad. We can't compete."
Could format change help Premiership clubs?
Monye suggested a "greater sense of equity" that might enable English clubs to perform better could be achieved by condensing the Champions Cup format to limit the frequency of in-season jumps between domestic, European and international competitions.
"In three or four weeks between October and November you can have Gallagher Premiership into Champions Cup into Autumn Nations series," he said of the calendar format.
"Then you have a couple weekends of Premiership, back to Europe, Six Nations, back to the Premiership, then Europe (again). It makes it really hard to follow."
He continued: "If you could condense all of those weekends into one block in the season, it's easier to follow and actually makes the tournament more valuable for broadcasters.
"And to close the gap financially, I would allow the Premiership teams to recruit a marquee player - or just say you have a marquee spend for Europe, say £1m. That's one way to match with the very best, to close that gap in quality."
Saints England's last Champions Cup hope
Northampton's European form comes in stark contrast to their stuttering domestic campaign, with the defending Premiership champions currently sitting eighth in the English top flight.
Having cruised past Clermont Auvergne and into the last eight on Friday, Saints take on Castres in the Champions Cup this Saturday, with Bordeaux facing Munster the same day.
That follows Leinster against Glasgow on Friday, with Toulon versus Toulouse concluding the quarter-final ties on Sunday. The semi-finals are then slated for the beginning of May.
Saints - whose only previous Champions Cup victory came 25 years ago - have not progressed past the semis since 2011, but are looking to become the Premiership's first winners since Exeter in 2020.
Quarter-finals (ties to be played 11/12/13 April):
Friday: Leinster v Glasgow Warriors (20:00 BST)
Saturday: Bordeaux v Munster (15:00 BST)
Saturday: Northampton Saints v Castres (17:30 BST)
Sunday: Toulon v Toulouse (15:00 BST)
Semi-finals (ties to be played 2/3/4 May):
Bordeaux/Munster v Toulon/Toulouse
Leinster/Glasgow v Northampton/Castres