Toulon and former Wales flyhalf Dan Biggar has raised concerns about the toll of a South African leg on European-based players in the Investec Champions Cup.
“Last weekend, along with my Toulon teammates, I spent 32 hours on flights just to get to South Africa for our first game of this season’s Champions Cup,” Biggar wrote in his Daily Mail column.
“It was a savage journey to Port Elizabeth,” added the 35-year-old, who made 112 appearances for Wales between 2008 and 2023. Biggar details Toulon’s travel itinerary which included a long bus trip and three flights.
“We arrived at 5pm on Tuesday, but the players were so knackered we only had one proper training session before the game.”
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The veteran Toulon flyhalf noted that gruelling travel schedules on a short turnaround leaves players utterly drained and unable to perform at their peak, a problem made worse by the Champions Cup’s format that sees European clubs make the journey to the Republic for one match, as opposed to the Vodacom URC’s two-match visit which he believes is a more sustainable approach compared to flying halfway across the world for a single game.
Biggar proposed adopting a similar schedule in the Champions Cup to mitigate the strain on players and avoid situations like last season, where teams fielded weakened sides due to the travel demands.
While acknowledging the benefits South African teams bring to northern hemisphere competitions, Biggar stressed these advantages shouldn’t come at the expense of player welfare or the quality of the tournament.
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