News that the French government will grant special “economic exemptions” to teams and officials travelling between France and the UK for rounds three and four of the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup is obviously positive. There is some detail still to be added but it may yet save a competition which has at times this season looked doomed.

Clubs will now be able to plan their travel, their accommodation, their training and so on with a bit more clarity. But even if the next two weekends go ahead without a hitch – and it remains a big if – there is a huge amount of uncertainty as regards Covid-19 regulations and cross-border travel over the coming weeks and months as countries scramble to slow the spread of the omicron variant.

Rather like the ongoing debate over the Six Nations, and whether to allow other countries to play their home games in England so as to allow fans into the stadiums, I do wonder whether it is worth looking at doing something completely different with the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup this year, something which could add momentum and renew interest in Europe’s premier rugby competitions.

The truth is it has been highly unsatisfactory so far. The Champions Cup started late due to Covid, and was then disrupted almost immediately with cancellations and forfeitures. Some teams have played one match, others two, and the standings all feel rather meaningless.

It has been confusing, chaotic and the format has felt arbitrary from the start. That is not European Professional Club Rugby’s fault – the organisers have tried their best to get the competitions off the ground in very difficult circumstances.

But it feels to me that even if the games are played now, and there is no guarantee of that, the integrity of the competition has already been compromised with Leinster having to forfeit their match against Montpellier through no fault of their own, and all the cancellations.

The result of all the confusion and disruption is that fans have not really invested in Europe this year. It feels less important.

One solution which could work for the domestic leagues and for the EPCR might be to change the entire format at this point and start again, with one-off, standalone competitions running in April and May between Europe’s best.

That would free up some January dates which could be given back to the three domestic leagues with European fixtures built instead around the scheduled April and May dates.

Perhaps it is pointless now with France apparently granting these special exemptions but I still think it would be worth considering as the advantages are so obvious. Delaying European rugby would allow time for the omicron peak to pass (hopefully), giving the Champions Cup the best possible chance of being completed with integrity. And at a stroke make it more attractive.

I think a shortened competition would have much more impact and energy and generate more fan interest.

You would need seven weekends to get a really meaningful tournament in, one which would get fans excited and talking about Europe again. That is no more weekends than we have scheduled.

It would not be especially difficult to organise. You could have the same 24 teams, seeded as they were at the start of this year’s tournament, playing each other in 12 two-leg ties, home and away, on the weekends of the April 9 and 16 which are already set aside for European rugby.

That would leave you with 12 teams. You could then have six two-leg ties on April 23 and 30 (with the Premiership fixtures slated those weekends having been moved to this month).

Add the two best losers from that round to make eight and you have a quarter-final line-up. From then on it would be straight knockout rugby, which you could play on the weekends of May 7, 14 and May 28 which are already slated for Europe.

Obviously it is a big ask at a week’s notice and clearly you would need the agreement of all three domestic leagues involved in Europe to bring forward their fixtures. That would be no mean feat.

It would also impact on fans who have already bought tickets and planned trips to games on the dates they are currently down for, although there would I imagine be far fewer fans travelling to games at the moment.

Regardless, it would not be without obstacles. But the upsides are obvious. You buy yourselves time, removing the uncertainty swirling around the European fixtures, with every country having its own Covid regulations and different levels of risk.

It does not use up any more weekends than are currently scheduled for Europe. In fact, it could be fewer as EPCR still has to find time to play the cancelled second-round matches. And at the same time you get a far more compelling, concentrated spectacle at the end of the season.

Basically, it would be a way of doing something as meaningful as possible, using as many of the allocated dates as possible.

European rugby was always my top priority as a club coach, above the domestic league. You knew that winning it would confer upon you not only the respect of your rivals at home but the rest of Europe, too. These last two seasons, with all the Covid-related chaos and cancellations, have deprived it of that cachet.

Friday’s announcement allows this year’s competition to stagger on towards some sort of conclusion. But it is not too late to redefine and create something which I think would be far more meaningful and would really get fans excited.