The Rugby Thread

[Buzzo]

Is that your team? Only one Leinster player!!!

5 South African teams also invited into European () next season competition. I wonder if this is leading to South Africa in the 6 (7) Ns? Could be some monumental new fixtures between English/French teams and the South African sides which we have not seen before.

I watched nearly every Edinburgh home match this season as I had a Season ticket. Including some great games against the South African teams.
For a first season I think the URC has been pretty good. The format is somewhat clunky, but I think it will iron itself out. The standard has been high.

[Zapater]

Is that your team? Only one Leinster player!!!

5 South African teams also invited into European () next season competition. I wonder if this is leading to South Africa in the 6 (7) Ns? Could be some monumental new fixtures between English/French teams and the South African sides which we have not seen before.

I watched nearly every Edinburgh home match this season as I had a Season ticket. Including some great games against the South African teams.
For a first season I think the URC has been pretty good. The format is somewhat clunky, but I think it will iron itself out. The standard has been high.

https://www.unitedrugby.com/latest/news/the-united-rugby-championship-dream-team-has-been-named

Nothing to do with me! I'd have maybe got one or two Sharks backs in there too.

I think we're still locked into the rugby championship for the foreseeable future and I don't really want that to change either. I don't think this is a good solution for us in the long term but it probably makes a little more sense with the timezones in the NZ and Australia. So, I suppose it's here to stay. We can already see the effects it's having on NZ teams and the All Blacks, some of their coaches have said they need to play a different rhythm than just constant Aus/NZ teams which are same same.

I guess the Champions Cup will provide the type of challenges which can compare to playing the top NZ sides (probably not quite) and it's great that so many teams are involved.

I'm glad they've found a competition for the Cheetahs to be involved in, they deserve something more than Currie Cup and they kind of got shafted with the shift.

[Buzzo]

https://www.unitedrugby.com/latest/n...has-been-named

Nothing to do with me! I'd have maybe got one or two Sharks backs in there too.

I think we're still locked into the rugby championship for the foreseeable future and I don't really want that to change either. I don't think this is a good solution for us in the long term but it probably makes a little more sense with the timezones in the NZ and Australia. So, I suppose it's here to stay. We can already see the effects it's having on NZ teams and the All Blacks, some of their coaches have said they need to play a different rhythm than just constant Aus/NZ teams which are same same.

I guess the Champions Cup will provide the type of challenges which can compare to playing the top NZ sides (probably not quite) and it's great that so many teams are involved.

I'm glad they've found a competition for the Cheetahs to be involved in, they deserve something more than Currie Cup and they kind of got shafted with the shift.

Yeah I agree with all of that.

I think South Africa in the 6Ns devalues the World Cup. We lose the uniquness of competitive fixtures between N and S hemisphere teams.

I also think the European change creates some potentially really enticing match ups and should increase both interest and revenue. They can just refer to as 'Champions' and 'Challenge' and drop European. It should really push standards and up quality across all divisions.

Cheetahs 100% deserve to be included and it was a complete shafting for them. Would be good to see the South African teams playing in smaller stadia though as the games I have seen have been in predominantly empty arenas. Maybe it will take time for the format to take hold?

[Zapater]

Yeah I agree with all of that.

I think South Africa in the 6Ns devalues the World Cup. We lose the uniquness of competitive fixtures between N and S hemisphere teams.

I also think the European change creates some potentially really enticing match ups and should increase both interest and revenue. They can just refer to as 'Champions' and 'Challenge' and drop European. It should really push standards and up quality across all divisions.

Cheetahs 100% deserve to be included and it was a complete shafting for them. Would be good to see the South African teams playing in smaller stadia though as the games I have seen have been in predominantly empty arenas. Maybe it will take time for the format to take hold?

If it helps keep more players in South Africa, then it works. I'm hoping that is something we can see in the longer term because whilst it's good to develop great players and have them stunting growth of English/French players by taking places in their leagues, it's not sustainable to be supplying the world with players and still looking at developing your own.

I'm not so worried about the "European" semantics. If we look at some of the football teams which are eligible for the Champions League, it's quite baffling - it's a European competition with some African teams but I can see why some people want it dropped.

The attendance has been a problem for the better part of the last decade. I would like to say it's the covid effect but it's not that new. Unless it's a huge game at night time, it's just not going to draw a big crowd. Ellis Park can have a fairly good attendance and it will look empty for example because it's huge. Obviously it's sold out for most tests but that's something else. I don't think games will be played elsewhere because it's necessary to justify the maintenance and several other financial reasons. For international fixtures and big games, watching rugby in SA can be raucous but for Super Rugby/URC, not really anymore. When the Bulls were winning constantly, Loftus was rocking but even when the Lions were amazing and made 3 consecutive SR finals Ellis Park was less than half full at best.

[Buzzo]

If it helps keep more players in South Africa, then it works. I'm hoping that is something we can see in the longer term because whilst it's good to develop great players and have them stunting growth of English/French players by taking places in their leagues, it's not sustainable to be supplying the world with players and still looking at developing your own.

I'm not so worried about the "European" semantics. If we look at some of the football teams which are eligible for the Champions League, it's quite baffling - it's a European competition with some African teams but I can see why some people want it dropped.

The attendance has been a problem for the better part of the last decade. I would like to say it's the covid effect but it's not that new. Unless it's a huge game at night time, it's just not going to draw a big crowd. Ellis Park can have a fairly good attendance and it will look empty for example because it's huge. Obviously it's sold out for most tests but that's something else. I don't think games will be played elsewhere because it's necessary to justify the maintenance and several other financial reasons. For international fixtures and big games, watching rugby in SA can be raucous but for Super Rugby/URC, not really anymore. When the Bulls were winning constantly, Loftus was rocking but even when the Lions were amazing and made 3 consecutive SR finals Ellis Park was less than half full at best.

Again I agree.

I think it will definitely help the drain of South African players to Europe. It may take a while but it feels like a pretty seismic shift in domestic Rugby in Europe has happened over the past few years.

The reality is that most clubs are run on financially unsustainable models, and unless we just want to watch the provinces in Ireland play 1 team in Wales, 1 in Scotland about 6 in the Galagher Prem and the same in France then we have to find viable solutions.

Reports that over 100 players will be out of work and out of contract from the Galgher Prem this summer due to the salary cap, but remove the cap and some of the clubs wont survive.

With Rugby not having the financial pull of football, creative solutions always have to be sought.

[Buzzo]

Leinster lost to Bulls…! Unusually tough couple of weeks for them.

[Irishnev]

Watched the super rugby final - Crusaders again…… Ireland playing a three test series in NZ this summer….. going to get a hammering!

[Irishnev]

Watching the Irish mid week side getting thumped by the Maori……… it’s a different game they play down there

[Irishnev]

The NH sides all lost yesterday - Ireland played “well” in patches but every mistake was punished severely and they were well beaten in the end. England lost to 14 man Australia and only a couple of late tries but any gloss on the score line…….. Wales robbed at the death and just saw Scotland lost also…..

[Irishnev]

Ireland win in NZ!!!!!!

[SB]

Aussies to beat England shortly.

[Sus]

Holy crap there's a rugby thread on this site! How have I just realised this now...

[Sus]

Ireland were as good in the second half as they were **** in the first

Monsters the AB pack in the scrum at times, which doesn't happen too often

[Buzzo]

Not seen a single second of the Ruggers as we are on hols.

But watching a bit of England v Australia whilst laundry getting done at Eurocamp

England pack playing well.

[Sus]

England are demolishing us. Not a second to breathe

Almost like the rugby equivalent of playing a Klopp LFC team