[Rdd]

That Leinster v Leicester was going to be on the Friday night seems to have been widely known within a short period of Leinster v Ulster finishing which was odd.

The format change (or reversion), if it happens (and it has not be confirmed yet, though the mood noises out of EPCR are good) will be welcomed by most people. Six groups of four does necessitate either three or (more likely) six weeks for the group stages though. I’d prefer a wholesale return to the pre-2014 format which had that set up and the return of the self selecting QF draw.

The Challenge Cup TV rights are just plain odd, but it seems likely that it was a sublicense of rights BT just simply hadn’t the time and space to use to Viaplay and Premier in the circumstances. They are committed to showing 12 Heineken Cup games each week of the group stages without trying to add the Challenge Cup to the mix, particularly since BT got rid of the old dedicated Thursday night window it had, likely because of the clashes with the Europa League.