Extra prize money and improved scheduling of fixtures are among the inducements the European Rugby Cup directors hope will persuade English clubs to remain in next season's competition.

The ERC board will hold a meeting in Dublin today to discuss a salvage operation designed to maintain the credibility of the competition which was badly hit by England's blanket withdrawal two weeks ago.

The sponsors Heineken are willing to step up their financial commitment to win over the Euro sceptics if the ERC takes the view that additional funding will help restore unity.

However it may be harder to satisfy English demands for a revamped format, especially if some clubs insist on spreading the competition through the season and playing games on midweek dates instead of weekends.

ERC will also review the way television rights - currently held by BSkyB - are sold and TV income is distributed among the clubs.

The main reason for the English withdrawal was their lack of control over sources of income from the Heineken Cup: they were also upset by what they regard as the Celtic veto over proposals to increase English representation from four clubs to six or eight.

Bath, who meet Brive in next week's European Cup final in Bordeaux, remain influential advocates of a European tournament, but they have agreed with other English clubs to abide by majority decisions.

Leicester, whose chief executive Peter Wheeler has said there will be no going back on the decision to pull back, are among those clubs who believe an Anglo French Cup is a viable alternative.