It looks like Toulon will be in the Heineken Cup next season © Getty Images

Enlarge

England's Premiership clubs appear to be left in a competition of their own after France's Top 14 clubs voted in favour of staying in the Heineken Cup, turning their back on the breakaway Rugby Champions Cup for next season at least.

Ligue Nationale de Rugby, the body in charge of the Top 14, and representatives from the teams in France's top flight met on Thursday and confirmed their intention to stay in the Heineken Cup nextin 2014-15. However, it appears not all of the club's stakeholders were pleased with the decision with Rugbyrama reporting Racing boss Jacky Lorenzetti stormed out of the room.

The news of the LNR's decision is a marked change in mindset as the organisation previously stood shoulder to shoulder with its counterparts in England, Premiership Rugby, over plans to push forward with forming a breakaway club-run competition - the Rugby Champions Cup - and leaving the Heineken Cup in the process.

Where do they stand?

• England The RFU has remained almost silent, the Premiership clubs are instrumental in the breakaway and seem tied to that decision by the TV deal with BT Sport
  Ireland, Italy, Scotland are committed to the Heineken Cup
  France Were instrumental in the breakaway but have been persuaded to come back into the Heineken fold by the French board
  Wales The WRU wants to remain in the Heineken Cup but the clubs expressed interest in the breakaway … but that was before the French did a u-turn

But LNR's previous stance was opposed by the sport's governing body in France, the French Rugby Federation (FFR), who has been staunch in their support of European Rugby Cup Ltd, the organisation that oversees the Heineken Cup.

Such was FFR's support for ERC that it reportedly offered the Top 14 clubs €2m each to stay in the Heineken Cup rather than pushing ahead with plans to turn out in the Champions Cup. FFR, along with the Unions from Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Italy, issued a collective statement last week declaring their support for ERC and a revised tournament structure. The Top 14 clubs have agreed to play in next season's Heineken Cup providing the structure is brought in which would see a different qualification process and distribution of wealth.

Premiership Rugby is yet to respond to the latest development is as it has previously been steadfast in its desire to break away from the ERC and form a club-run tournament for next season. For the English clubs, any possible participation in the Heineken Cup may be blocked by their broadcasting deal with BT Sport as Tigers chairman Simon Cohen outlined to the Leicester Mercury.

"We have given notice to exit the ERC-run competition and our BT Sport contract means we cannot go back into an ERC-run competition," Cohen said. "Even if we could, we would have little interest in putting ourselves back in a position which caused so much resentment."

If the English clubs fail to reach a compromise with the other five unions who have signed up to continue in the Heineken Cup then there is a real possibility of there being no Premiership sides playing in the tournament next season in what would be a repeat of the 1998-99 campaign.