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Sat 04 Apr 2007Kicking the golden goose to deathEuropean Cup crisis: The boycott is a disaster for players and fans, and it's hard to find winners in the present mess, writes Gerry Thornley.How could the shining light of European rugby, the Heineken European Cup, and with it the estimated €28 million the ERC will generate in direct pay-outs for the six founding nations, be jettisoned? To the vast majority of supporters out there it takes some understanding. And as with all the problems in professional rugby over the last 11 years, at its core is the never-ending power struggle between the English and French clubs and their respective union and federation, to which mix one can throw in vanity, egotism, stubbornness, scheming and incompetence.