I say meaningful because each of those finals had a purpose with the four teams competing for something tangible.
Although the Challenge Cup can be a bit of a waste of time until it reaches the final stages, simply because many teams choose to rest players and blood youngsters in the early rounds making results perhaps doubtful, but it’s still a fun competition.
However, when the clubs reach the final stages and there is a place in the elite Champions Cup next season to play for (depending on your club’s league position) winning the Cup could be the only way to qualify, making the final a must-win game.
The Champions Cup final is the ultimate club competition in Europe and includes teams from the two best club leagues in the world. Sadly for the Premiership, they were unable to make the final this season with La Rochelle and Toulouse making it an all-French finish.
With a crowd of up to 10,000 at Twickenham for each match and no travel from France without quarantine, it was Friday’s Challenge Cup that set up the weekend for Premiership fans by almost making it feel and sound like a Leicester home game with the Twickenham PA system roaring them on.
Leicester are currently sixth in the Premiership table, inside the qualifying positions for next season’s extended Champions Cup, while Montpellier are sitting at tenth in the Top 14 outside next season’s qualifying zone.
This story is from the May 23, 2021 edition of The Rugby Paper.
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This story is from the May 23, 2021 edition of The Rugby Paper.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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