PETER JACKSON

Cardiff lost 50 per cent of their matches in the URC and duly failed to finish in the Champions Cup qualifying zone. That they have somehow sneaked onto the starting grid next season makes a mockery of Europe’s elite tournament.
No wonder, then, that the organisers are doing something about it. A proposal from Ireland and South Africa to limit qualification to the top eight of the URC will close the back door used by Cardiff.

Their emphatic defeat of Ospreys last week allowed them to qualify as winners of the Welsh Shield based on results between the four regions. Barring an...