Celtic indifference may see premature end for Parker Pen

Few people agree about anything in rugby these days: if a terrace spectator ventures to suggest that Keith Wood, of Ireland and the world, is as bald as a coot – an entirely reasonable statement – the bloke standing next to him will invariably reply that the Lions hooker is in fact protected by the finest of fleecy coverings, invisible to the naked eye. All of which makes this season's remodelled Parker Pen Challenge Cup something of a bore, for it is impossible to find anyone with a contrary word to say about it.

According to Michael Foley, one of two former Wallabies heading up the back-room team at Bath, this latest experiment in tournament rugby has been revelatory, both in its demands on coaches and players and in its popularity with Mr Joseph Public Esq.

"We've had carnival atmospheres at the Recreation Ground for these matches," said Foley this week as he prepared for this afternoon's quarter-final first leg against Montauban at Stade Sapiac. "The standard has been high, too. When I looked at the draw at the start of the season, I thought: 'Hang on a minute, this is good'. Stade Français and Castres, Saracens and Wasps, Pontypridd and ourselves? Tell me that isn't a quality crop."

So, by common consent, rugby has found itself a winner. The European Rugby Cup board, which administers both the élite Heineken Cup and the second-tier Parker Pen competition, has its occasional blips, but the decision to abandon the all-in-together format of last year's Shield event, minimise the number of dead matches and channel the no-hopers into a plate tournament of their own was both richly imaginative and shrewdly calculated. This weekend's Challenge Cup matches are beauties: indeed, tomorrow's game between Wasps and Stade Français is every bit as attractive as today's Heineken rumble at Northampton, where Biarritz are the visitors.

How bitterly frustrating, then, to find the Parker Pen knocking loudly at death's door. If it goes ahead at all next year – and as things stand, no one is in a position to guarantee its survival – it will bear little resemblance to the current event. Why? Because the Celtic block, as the Welsh-Irish-Scottish axis is habitually called, has all but abandoned its commitment to the cause. With the Welsh and Irish unions determined to cut back on the number of professional teams in their respective countries, only the Scots will continue to be represented – and the moment they produce a Heineken semi-finalist and earn themselves an extra place in the élite draw, they will scarper too.

This season, four Welsh teams – Bridgend, Caerphilly, Ebbw Vale and Pontypridd – started the Parker Pen campaign, along with Borders from Scotland and Connacht from Ireland. (Ponty and Connacht are still involved in the Challenge Cup, and meet in Athlone this afternoon). There were also six English Premiership teams, nine from France, eight from Italy, two from Spain and one from Romania. It was as rich a cross-border mix as European club rugby has thrown up since the first stirrings in 1995 and, while the cricket scores came thick and fast in the opening round, clever streamlining of the tournament ensured some serious contests from the second round onwards. Saracens believe their victory at Colomiers helped turn their season, while Ponty, runners-up last year, rediscovered the best of themselves in beating Leeds over two legs.

"The new competition was pieced together in a very short space of time and we are delighted with the way it has come through," Derek McGrath, the chief executive of ERC, said. "We wanted a high quality tournament at the top end, while providing a developmental opportunity for the less accomplished teams by giving them something meaningful of their own. We believe we have hit the right spot in most respects. The profile of the tournament is extremely high, and the public imagination has been captured.

"In terms of this weekend's cup quarter-finals, the strength is there for all to see. When we sat down to allocate the referees for all these European matches, for instance, it was clear that the Wasps-Stade Français fixture demanded the very best officials."

Yet, in the next breath, McGrath was forced to accept that the tournament's future is unstable in the extreme. "It is something of which we are fully aware. We are very conscious of what is being discussed in Wales and Ireland in terms of downsizing and if all this goes ahead, there will obviously be an impact on our operation next season. But we do not yet know the nature of the beast. As soon as decisions are made by the respective unions and we know what we are looking at, the ERC board will meet to discuss the way forward. I imagine the subject will be at the top of our agenda next month."

Options will be few and far between. All ERC sponsorship and broadcasting contracts are up for renewal at the end of the season, and a Challenge Cup tournament with no Welsh or Irish presence would be considerably less attractive to potential backers who want to see their name in lights in as many markets as possible. ERC will almost certainly have to cut numbers from 32 to a maximum of 24 unless the Welsh enter semi-professional club sides – a deeply unsatisfactory solution, given the mis-matches that will inevitably occur when they play fully professional teams from England and France.

One way or another, the Welsh are at the centre of most of the problems affecting cross-border rugby. Their astonishing decision to withdraw from the Six Nations A tournament, without so much as a smidgen of regret despite the fact that live television rights had been negotiated and tickets sold, has blown the competition to the four winds and been greeted by wailing and gnashing of teeth from those more far-sighted individuals who understand the value of second-tier international rugby. Now, the Parker Pen is up against the wall, with the Red Dragonhood firing the bullets once again.

If the tournament withers through lack of Celtic interest, the search for a structured season – very much rugby's holy grail as far as the clubs are concerned – will be rendered fruitless. The Heineken Cup, or however the élite tournament is branded next term, will continue to offer its participants a minimum of six outstanding fixtures, and as many as nine. Quite how the rest of the oval-ball continent would fill their time is anyone's guess. The Parker Pen may never have dangled great financial rewards before the noses of its contestants, but it has played its part in keeping clubs in business.

Last season's final, between Sale and Pontypridd, attracted more people to Oxford United FC's Kassam Stadium than any football match. Should Saracens or Bath meet Stade Français in this year's showpiece, the gate would certainly top 20,000 and might even approach the record of 31,986 for the Montferrand-Bourgoin final in 1999. If European rugby can afford to lose this kind of feature event, it must be better off than anyone realises.