Listen to the full interview via the podcast.

Earlier today French rugby clubs voted to remain in the Heineken Cup and put an end to the attempted breakaway that was threatening to destroy Europe's premier rugby club competition.

Although it sounds like good news, The Guardian's rugby correspondent Paul Rees believes that there is a real danger of no European rugby taking place next season.

Speaking to Off The Ball tonight about the latest developments from the English clubs' perspective, he said:

"I think all it's done today is increase the prospect of no European club rugby next season. The only definite thing the French have done today is to say no to the Rugby Champions Cup tournament that they and the English were planning to replace the Heineken Cup.

"[The French Top 14 clubs] have agreed now that that tournament will not go ahead. What they've said today is that they are happy to remain in the Heineken Cup but on two conditions. They've given themselves until February to meet those. First is that the English return to the fold and second that the ERC ceases to be. Without those conditions they won't be back in Europe."  

But where does this leave the English Premiership clubs?

"The only one chance of a European club rugby competition taking place is if the Heineken Cup is vastly remodeled. Governance was always going to be a sticking point but there are IRB regulations which say that tournaments have to be run by union unless [the other unions] agree to hand over control.

"What is preventing a new accord is television. The ERC went with Sky and BT have gone with the English clubs. That to me is the sticking point. You can reach compromise on the issue of governance and they've already done the meritocracy thing and the financial division. But if you didn't have a Heineken Cup without the English teams, that would mean half the money would go to the French clubs which I know the Welsh regions and the Irish aren't happy about. And there's already talk of changing the way that the Rabo teams divide up the money with each team getting equal money. Even without the English, there would be complications."    

Main image by ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan