sport news Premiership without Champions Cup or Challenge Cup final representative for ... trends now
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On one side of the wall at the Stade Felix Mayol, Toulon's players were singing away to celebrate their return to the big time. On the other side, separated by a few inches of concrete, Mark McCall was being peppered with questions about the English collapse in Europe.
The microphones could barely pick up his softly spoken answers as he was pressed about the decline in fortunes. Tries from Gabin Villiere and Jiuta Wainiqolo secured a famous French victory, 25-16, and eliminated the last English challenger.
Premiership clubs won the Champions Cup four times between 2016 and 2020 but this time around, for the first time since 2013, there will be no Premiership representative in either the Champions or Challenge Cup final.
Saracens' loss to Toulon ended Premiership involvement in Champions and Challenge cups
Asked if reducing the salary cap to £5million had knocked the competitiveness of English clubs, McCall admitted: 'Logically, that could be right.' Cash is king in rugby and, over the last two years, there has been a gradual drip-feed of players from the Premiership to the Top 14.
Hooker Christian Tolofua was once a squad player for Saracens, but on Saturday night he was at the heart of Toulon's dominant lineout. Earlier in the day, Saracens academy graduate Joel Kpoku was named man of the match in Lyon's 20-18 victory over Wasps.
Further afield, Will Skelton, Thibaud Flament and Zach Mercer have all moved across the Channel to seek their fortune. More A-listers are heading for the exit this summer — fuelled by a dispute over agent fees and attempts to balance the books.
Money talks in rugby and plenty of players have switched from the Premiership to the Top 14
Premiership squads have become thinner, but there is more to the equation than a seven-figure shortfall in playing budgets. In England, the second division is suffering a worrying decline. There is
