Bernard Jackman says he has conflicted feelings over the new Rugby World Club Cup, which is set to take place in for the first time 2028.
Last week, EPCR confirmed that the respective leagues and unions had voted in favour of the tournament, which will take place once every four years.
To accommodate the summer tournament, there will be no Champions Cup quarter-finals, semi-finals or final in the year of each World Club Cup. Instead, the eight 'quarter-finalists' will advance to the World Club Cup, with the rest of the 16-team competition drawn from Super Rugby and Japan.
It will mean that once every four years there will be no official Champions Cup final, something Jackman believes is dangerous for the future of an already struggling competition.
"I actually think it devalues the Champions Cup, because you’re not going to have a winner every four years. It’s a different competition," he said on the RTÉ Rugby podcast.
The current format of the Champions Cup has been much maligned since it was introduced in 2020, with the current pool format eliminating just eight of the 24 teams involved.
And Jackman believes the EPCR may be better off putting their efforts into restoring the Champions Cup to its former glory, before looking to expand it globally.
"I think the best solution is to try and focus on how you can actually get the Champions Cup back to having more games that are ultra important.
"The knockout stage of the Champions Cup, we’ve seen some brilliant rugby but in the group stages it’s been too lenient. You’re not getting that jeopardy, that must-win mindset that I think we all loved about the old format.
"I would have been happy with the winners of the Champions Cup playing the winners of Super Rugby in a one-off game, or over two legs. For me that would have been a fitting World Cup."
The former Ireland international conceded that he sees the logic behind the tournament, which will pit the best of the Top14, Premiership and URC against some of New Zealand and Australia's biggest clubs.
And while he has reservations around how it will eventually look, he recognises how the game’s current financial situation may have dictated the decision.
"I also have to say the game is struggling to bring new fans, to bring revenue, so I don't want to be too critical of people who are trying to do something different. But my gut on this is that we had a very good competition and the tinkering with it has devalued it to a certain extent, and that’s where the issue is.
"It's going to be nice to see a Munster or an Ulster or Leinster play the Chiefs. I am interested in that.
"Then you’re going to have the issue of how many of those teams or how many of the Champions Cup teams will believe they can win it, and if it’s a competition worth winning and are we going to see half-arsed games.
"That’s also a worry for me at the moment, without that absolute clarity around what the value of winning it or getting to the final.
"Will it make the group stage for the European Cup that year even more farcical, where teams don't want to go and play an away leg in Australia?
"They’re the questions in my mind, and until I see exact details around what that looks like, post qualification for that, I’m going to hold my opinion."
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