The long march towards peace in European rugby continued on Wednesday with the unions and clubs meeting in Paris getting a warning from Jonny Wilkinson that the lack of Heineken Cup rugby next season would damage English chances in the World Cup.

With representatives of all six unions, along with the English and French clubs and the Welsh regions, meeting to discuss who might run whatever European competition there might be, Wilkinson suggested that the Heineken Cup was vital to England preparations for 2015 when the World Cup is based in England.

"It's a great competition and it brings so much to the game … I think it's very important for England," said Wilkinson, before an announcement from the Six Nations, increasingly likely to be the organisers of any new European competition rather than ERC which controls the Heineken and Amlin competitions.

Wednesday's meeting suggested Six Nations control was supported by all parties. Sources hinted that television rights and the dispute between BTSport, who has signed up the English clubs, and Sky, partners with ERC, was not insolvable. The WRU was particularly upbeat, although it has troubles of its own with the Welsh regions, describing the meeting as "positive and constructive".

Wales' Six Nations ambitions were further hit on Wednesday when Scott Williams was ruled out for the rest of the tournament. The Scarlets centre came off worst in a collision with Brian O'Driscoll during Saturday's defeat in Dublin and Williams will have surgery on Thursday on his damaged shoulder.

Were Wilkinson's team, Toulon to get to this season's Heineken Cup final, they will do it without their coach, Bernard Laporte, who has been banned for 13 weeks for calling a referee "hopeless" and "completely incompetent" after an upset in the French league.

Laporte will miss the defending champion's quarter-final against Leinster at the start of April and the semi-final, should they get that far, but can be back on the touchline 10 days before the final at Cardiff on 24 May.