Here are some of the stories making the rugby news on Sunday May 29.
Barnes hits out over South African Euro involvement
Top pundit Stuart Barnes has criticised South African involvement in next season's Heineken Champions Cup and warned it is only a matter of time before the Six Nations becomes the 'Seven Nations.'
La Rochelle's stunning last-gasp triumph over Leinster marks the end of an era for the European Cup in its current guise, with the Stormers, Sharks and Bulls entering the tournament next season via their high-placed finishes in the United Rugby Championship.
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By contrast only one Welsh team, the Ospreys, will be involved in a competition traditionally contested by sides from Wales. The same applies to Scotland.
Barnes feels the new format is wrong and also hinders fans who will be expected to fly to South Africa to watch their teams compete in Europe's elite club competition.
In a hard hitting column for the Sunday Times, the former England fly-half and expert TV pundit wrote: "From its earliest origins, when Toulouse beat Cardiff in 1996, it has been a tournament that recognises the victors as champions of Europe. Not any longer.
"While the other nations were scrapping away for the URC’s eight automatic Heineken Cup qualification spots, did we expect the South African sides to twiddle their thumbs, missing out on the European action? Those games are broadcast gold dust, and they wanted a sprinkle of it.
"So into the URC they came. And there will be three South African teams playing in a tournament to decide the best team in Europe. “Distorted” is the word one former France international used to describe the arrival of a whole other continent. As if South Africa’s Kaiser Chiefs were playing in football’s Champions League.
"The European Champions Cup is history. The strength of the Heineken Cup has been the intensity of rivalry between clubs, provinces, nations. The opportunity for supporters to follow their team to other countries. Are vast numbers going to make the trip from Limerick to Pretoria? More pertinently, should they?
"How long until the final is played in Cape Town, or Johannesburg? And what if the finalists happen to be the Lions and the Sharks? A cherished, identifiable tournament becomes a geographically sprawling switch-off."
Barnes went on to say this will be mirrored on the international scene, with South Africa's involvement in the Six Nations an inevitability, he feels. The Springboks are committed to the Rugby Championship for the time being but he writes "You can be certain that the financiers will be pushing for South African participation in the Six Nations.
"The South African presence in the URC was inextricably linked to its best teams becoming a global contingent in what we should stop recognising as the European Cup. International alliances — the Seven Nations — are the next stage of the plan. I've tremendous sympathy for a great rugby nation, but South Africa is going to stretch the idea of a European Cup beyond breaking point."
Van der Flier wins top award
Leinster flanker Josh van der Flier has been named European Player of the Year.
The dynamic forward claimed the prestigious individual accolade after his performances helped the Irish aces reach the Champions Cup final.
He takes the trophy from French sensation Antoine Dupont and follows in the footsteps of Leinster legends legends Sean O’Brien and Rob Kearney who also won it previously.
Van der Flier, 29, shone again in the final against La Rochelle even though Leinster were defeated. He was presented with the Anthony Foley Memorial Trophy at the end of the game in Marseille.
Van der Flier edged out Dupont and Grégory Alldritt, who were also on the five-man shortlist, as well as his Leinster team-mates Caelan Doris and James Lowe.
O'Gara delight at Euro triumph
Ronan O'Gara was delighted to lift the trophy as he became only the third person to win the Heineken Champions Cup as a player and head coach after his La Rochelle side beat Leinster 24-21 at the Stade Velodrome.
O'Gara joined Leinster counterpart Leo Cullen and Toulouse's Ugo Mola as scrum-half Arthur Retiere squirmed his way over from a ruck on the Leinster line to score his side's winner with a mere 17 seconds left on the clock.
"We made a plan and our want was huge. There was nothing in it, but the key was taking away Leinster's space and time," said O'Gara, who won the trophy as a player with Munster in 2006 and 2008.
"There are certain players in football, like Ruud Van Nistlerooy, who you know are going to get goals and Arthur Retiere is a brilliant rugby player, but he is an average number nine and an average winger. He is a brilliant player without a position.
"Leinster are usually out of sight in the first half so at half-time - when we were five points behind - I asked the players 'what's the problem'? The data shows we score 60 per cent of our points in the last quarter.
"Twelve months ago we went to Racing and got beaten 49-0. There was fighting and it was carnage, but it will be carnage in the port of La Rochelle for the next few days after this.
"It was such a tense game and it all feels a little bit surreal that we will wake up in the morning as European champions."
Sexton - 'I'm lost for words'
Leinster captain Johnny Sexton said he was 'lost for words' after his team lost to the final score of a dramatic game.
Sexton had been substituted by the time La Rochelle grabbed their 79th-minute try to snatch the trophy away from Leinster's grasp..
“I’m pretty lost for words to be honest. A few things at the end of the game that I can’t understand," said Sexton.
“Fair play to La Rochelle, they came with a plan. I didn’t see them coming back from the lead we had, but we didn’t clear our lines well enough and we paid the price.
“It’s an incredibly hard competition to win. When you get to the final it’s the hardest game of the season. We had some chances we didn’t take but we kept the scoreboard ticking over and it was just devastating to lose it the way we did at the end.
"They get a glimmer and they get in and score and it’s devastating."
Springboks delay Wales announcement
South Africa have delayed announcing their squad for the summer showdowns with Wales.
Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber was expected to reveal his hand at the end of May following what South Africa call a number of alignment camps with their players to prepare for the coming international season.
Nienaber went through various aspects of the three games with Wales, the Rugby Championship fixtures and the build-up to next year's World Cup as South Africa seek to retain their ranking as the number one team in the world.
Burt he has chosen to wait until the end of South African involvement in the United Rugby Championship before finalising his squad.
South Africa meet Wales on July 2, 9 and 16 and Nienaber said: “We are satisfied with the alignment camps, and we believe these sessions will be beneficial to ensure a smooth return to the training field before the three Tests against Wales.
“I’m very happy with the players’ enthusiasm and their desire to keep learning and finetuning the areas of their game that could make a big difference in the quality of our rugby.
“These three back-to-back Tests will lay an important foundation for our Rugby Championship campaign, so it is vital that we get the minor detail right from the outset.”
