Glasgow Head coach Franco Smith believes the proposed ‘elitist’ revamp of the European Champions Cup would adversely affect the ability of lower-budget URC clubs to compete with France’s top teams.
England’s proposal to freshen up a tournament that has drawn criticism for some one-sided group games in recent seasons gained momentum this week when the body representing France Top 14 the clubs publicly supported the reduction in the number of teams.
Yann Roubert, president of the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR), said officials were looking at ways to make the tournament “perhaps a bit more selective, more elite”, with reports suggesting a move from 24 teams to 16 – potentially five each from England’s PREM, Top 14 and URC, plus last year’s winner.
While acknowledging that fewer teams can bring a higher level of competition at an earlier stage, Smith – whose side have reached the quarter-finals in each of the past two seasons – said he found it “strange” that officials were considering a change.
“The structure of the competition has to be profitable and it has to deliver the best product – that’s why it’s the Champions Cup,” he said. “The product will obviously be challenged to become even better.
“I think it will be a challenge for clubs with smaller budgets to maintain the quality of the groups (squads) they have if they want to compete in that competition. There is a lot of additional income if you are part of the Champions Cup which allows you to carry a different squad during the season.
“It could affect that, but I think it could improve the product. You’ll get an early competition that’s even more elevated than it is now. But I think the Champions Cup as it is now – and for that matter, the European Challenge Cup – has such a good sense of competition that it will be strange to me if they want to bother with the current product.
“I guess for me it’s all a matter of chance. I think the stronger teams, the financially strongest teams in the competition, whether it’s the French or whoever, will benefit if there are fewer teams – first of all the commercial value.
“Obviously you’re filling stadiums if you are Toulouse etc come and play at Scotstoun. URC clubs will be at risk in the long term of having smaller budgets due to the quality of European Cup matches, or the lack of financial ability to compete in the European Cup may result in fewer URC teams playing in it and may lead to smaller budgets being retained.”
Glasgow open their Champions Cup campaign in two weeks’ time with a trip to the face-off Sale The Sharks, the same opener as last season when a 26-21 away win sparked a 100 per cent pool record with subsequent bonus-point wins over Toulouse, Clermont and the Saracens.
That opened up a potential home route to the final, but after he won Bulls in the last 16, the Warriors fell apart against the French side Toulon at Scotstoun in the quarter-finals.
If they are to progress further in the competition this season, Sione Tuipulotu is likely to be at the heart of it. The Scotland the captain plays his first game of the season in Saturday’s URC game against Ulster, the start of what could be a big 12 months for the player who is likely to lead his country to the 2027 World Cup in his native Australia.
Smith told Tuipulot, who played 31 games for club and country last season at the end of 2025. Lions tour, he had a “real break” of six weeks after Scotland Nations Championship game against South Africa in July and a further “six-week rugby preparation period” before resuming frontline duties.
“I think he had a decent recovery like everybody else,” Smith said. “There’s a lot of expectation around everything this year. I want him to succeed by concentrating on the way he plays, what he wants to improve and how we’re going to make him the best version of himself.”
“He’s still on the road and he knows it. There’s no added pressure. I just want him to shake off his rust tomorrow and start adding value again.”
Smith believes Tuipulotu, 29, deserves recognition as one of the world’s best centers but still has room for improvement in his game.
“I agree, I think he’s great,” he added. “He’s grown a lot in the four years we’ve been here together. I got to know him really well and he’s a good club man and a team man and obviously a good leader. And he’s grown that in his game. Slowly but surely he’s proven that he deserves the accolades that are coming his way.”
“But there’s still work for him and still consistency in his decision-making and a lot of little things that can contribute to his growth and development to become the best he can be.
“If he’s in the international team or with us, it’s just letting him be himself. He shouldn’t be under any more pressure than he is at the moment. He has to contribute here at the club and become the best version of himself at the moment. That’s our challenge at the moment – how can we improve his decision-making and make his regular playing ability even more consistent?”
While one of Glasgow’s summer signings, versatile Australian full-back Bayley Kuenzle, made his debut off the bench in last week’s opening win against Munster, Smith said it could be a while before South African No.8 Ruwald van der Merwe recently arrived after helping Cougars get to Currie Cup final, is included.
“Physically, he’s in great shape,” Smith reported. “All our S&C guys are really excited for him. But we play a little bit of a different brand than what he’s used to. I manage expectations as much as the players here, so to make sure he comes in and fires on all cylinders and contributes the way we know he can, he’s got to understand the way we play in our systems at the moment.
“The process we use has to become second nature to him. So he’s still working on the ‘what’, so then he can bring his ‘how’ to that component. I think it’s going to take time, but we’ll introduce it when the time is right.”