Plans to take the British & Irish Cup to the continent are not so much in their infancy or embryonic, as lacking parents who have actually met.
But the idea to show the sport’s bastard child a little love has nevertheless been floated on a notional cross-Channel ferry and we await further developments.
The initiative is being considered by European Rugby Cup, the organisation that oversees the Heineken Cup, who are trying to find a competition in which to place clubs from emerging nations like Spain and Portugal.
Allegedly Premier Rugby, you just knew they’d have their oars in didn’t you, don’t see the value for their teams in the thrashings handed out to the likes of Banca Monte Crociati or CR La Vila in the Amlin Challenge Cup.
So the prospect of Championship clubs, such as Moseley, playing in places like Georgia, Russia and Romania has been proffered as a potential solution. And, in my opinion, it is not without merit.
Everybody knows the competition needs looking at, particularly now the group fixtures are little more than glorified trials for a random assembly of the local likely lads.
And trips overseas are undoubtedly attractive, if only for the opportunity for a handful of people to travel to somewhere they’ve never been. And there is, of course, the out-reach element to the idea.
However, the issue of part-time players would need to be addressed and more importantly the money has to be right, which at present, even with a far more modest structure, it definitely isn’t.
Moseley actually lost out by reaching the quarter-finals of the B&I Cup last year, the cost of a coach to Worcester was more than they took from their share of the gate of 2,461.
The previous season their midweek trip to Ulster, which did not include an overnight stay, had to be subsidised to the tune of four-figures by the RFU. At a conservative estimate would need to be doubled, perhaps tripled, for a couple of nights in Tbilisi – or else Don Caskie could find himself with 25-plus rugby players on his living room floor.
And I am not sure where the commercial value in that is, unless the Georgian and Russian federations can be persuaded the underwrite the costs.
It is certainly difficult to see their relatively poor Italian counterparts doing likewise and even if they could would they release the purse strings to bring the likes of Moseley, Rotherham and Esher when they are used to Wasps and Sale.
It’d be great if this happened, but don’t book your flights just yet.
