Champions Cup 2024

Whats the strory with tickets for the final? Can't find any online?

I have no idea how the headshot on DuPont only merited a yellow. Seemed like the kind of foul red cards are invented for.

I don't either,he lowered his head to be on the same level as the defender and there was no mitigation.

I presume Brace viewed DuPont as having pulled back from the ruck as the clearout came in. Warburton was making that point after the game, and I'd have some sympathy for the Northampton player, but definitely think he was massively lucky to only see yellow

A link to the article

https://x.com/willgkelleher/status/1787530982620282998

It's a pretty standard thing for most sports to reward the best performing teams with home knock out games. What sport hosts a playoff game in a tournament like the HC at a neutral venue? College basketball is the only one that comes to mind.

It's perfectly acceptable to do destination semi-finals in a one-country domestic comp like Top 14, the FA Cup or the GAA semi finals where travelling arrangements for supporters are reasonably straightforward.

But doing it in a tournament that covers 7* countries, thousands of miles apart, and with only a few weeks between QF and SF for supporters to make travelling and accommodation arrangements, would seem to me to be a very anti-fan proposal.

* or more, if a Georgian, Spanish or Portuguese team ever makes it to a semi final.

Having the final in different and interesting cities is great, bring on the Italian and Portugal trips please, but semis should reflect the teams competing in them and reward the best performances.

If the HC semis wanted to do destination locations it could work if they did the semis and final back to back weeks, all in one country or city. That way fans could make a trip out of it

Destination semi-finals flat out won't work for rugby and its a mind bogglingly idiotic idea.

Rugby fans just don't travel in the same numbers as football fans do so the idea that EPCR might even partially fill a stadium in a neutral country on short notice where the flights will likely be quite pricey for a game that's not a final is so short sighted. Add to that that if fans planned to attend a destination final, it is more likely than not that those fans wont want to (or have the ability to) travel for a semi-final game three weeks before-hand on short notice.

We can argue the merits of the fairness of semi-finals (and I think the current model of earning your home semi-final through the group stages is fine), partially attended semi-finals will look absolutely rotten for the sport.

Seems bonkers to me to be changing the semi final arrangement. We are just seeing the lessons starting to be learned about how the group stage DOES have jeopardy. If Leinster hadn't pushed for that TBP beyond 80 minutes in Welford Road (or indeed didn't beat LAR in LAR), the Semi Final would have been a "home" one for NH. Teams will see this, and in years to come appreciate these small differences, and give the random group stage its reward.

What's also been lost in this years conversation, is that one of Leinster's games was a away to the reigning champions. So the arbitrary draw that is the group stages didn't exactly work for Leinster this year.

It's not a problem at the moment. If some teams decide not to go for every possible point that is their decision.

I bought last summer sometime......nothing has arrived yet.. I suspect they leave it late to reduce touting..?

Same boat here. Bought a Golden Ticket and nothing yet.

My e-mail receipt says that all tickets will by sent via e-mail nearer the time of the event.

Yeah I got mine by email yesterday.