Rugby:Today's meeting of ERC stakeholders in Dublin to discuss a new accord for the structure and format of European rugby for the 2014/15 season and beyond has seen "productive discussions" towards a new agreement according to a statement released this afternoon.

Representatives of all six European rugby unions and the English, French and Welsh clubs met against the backdrop of a new €234 million TV deal signed between English Premiership Rugby and BT Vision, for rights to the Aviva Premiership and, from 2014 onwards, matches involving English clubs in any European competition.

Complicating matters further is that both ERC and the English RFU dispute the legality of Premiership Rugby’s deal with BT, while Premiership Rugby chief executive Mark McCafferty likewise disputes the legality of ERC’s four-year deal with Sky, which is rumoured to be worth around €70 million over four years, from 2014 onwards.

A statement released after today’s five-hour meeting at the Westbury Hotel was short on detail, but did announce that all parties would continue the consultative process at a meeting in Rome on October 8th.