THE LAST WORD

CRACKS are already showing in the revamped Champions Cup edifice, barely a month after the launch of a new era of inter-hemisphere competition. In shock news, it turns out the commute between Europe and south africa isn’t proving to be particularly popular.

Exeter have dragged themselves off to Pretoria for a showdown with the Bulls on the highveld, before returning home and to sea level to host Castres seven days later. It’s hardly an ideal schedule for the Chiefs, or anyone else facing a long-haul, tight turnaround. John Dobson, the head coach of the Cape Town-based stormers has said squad rotation is the only solution. ‘We’re going to have to send B teams — and sending B teams is going to upset organisers. There needs to be some consensus about how we can make this more palatable,’ he said. ‘The travel back and forth is going to have to be discussed.’ Weakened line-ups and gruelling journeys are not the ingredients for an elite event — as should have been obvious from the start.