tigerburnie Posted November 8, 2019 Author Share Posted November 8, 2019 I guess re the RFU's control of the game at club level, we will not agree, my old club are in the National leagues as a semi pro outfit and functioning well, not all do that, another close by has sort of gone into free fall after their money man left. The key is sustainability and I am not sure how you can enforce that from a body like the RFU that don't seem that sustainable themselves, their cash cow Autumn Internationals and then summer tours are hardly in keeping with not over playing players and player welfare either. Money has become the ruler, not just in rugby, the haves will thrive, always has been thus. On to matters rugby, looking at the weekends fixtures, hard to be certain who will beat who, seems a much more level playing field until all the internationals get back. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockershovel Posted November 8, 2019 Share Posted November 8, 2019 2 hours ago, tigerburnie said: I guess re the RFU's control of the game at club level, we will not agree, my old club are in the National leagues as a semi pro outfit and functioning well, not all do that, another close by has sort of gone into free fall after their money man left. The key is sustainability and I am not sure how you can enforce that from a body like the RFU that don't seem that sustainable themselves, their cash cow Autumn Internationals and then summer tours are hardly in keeping with not over playing players and player welfare either. Money has become the ruler, not just in rugby, the haves will thrive, always has been thus. On to matters rugby, looking at the weekends fixtures, hard to be certain who will beat who, seems a much more level playing field until all the internationals get back. ... which brings us to the OTHER side of the American coin, the whole tier of (often financially unsound) semi-professional and “minor league” sports which underlie the super-powered top tier. I say “underlie” not “underpin” because once you have missed the entry window into “the pros”, your opportunities are gone, with virtually nil chance of another opportunity. Tens of thousands of high school players play their hearts out, attempting to secure the (very real) financial rewards of a football scholarship. A very small percentage of those who succeed, get a shot at the professional game. The chances are vanishingly small, but it is a real pathway and it consistently produces players of a quite astonishing athleticism and ability. I tend to look at such matters on the basis of “cui bono”, and my considered opinion is that professionalisation of rugby union, on the RFU model, has done more harm than good and cannot progress to sustainability, nor does it benefit the lower tiers of the spirt. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerburnie Posted November 16, 2019 Author Share Posted November 16, 2019 Baa-baas against Fiji, a bit of light relief. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerburnie Posted November 17, 2019 Author Share Posted November 17, 2019 Some surprising results in the euro games, early days yet though Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockershovel Posted November 17, 2019 Share Posted November 17, 2019 On 16/11/2019 at 14:04, tigerburnie said: Baa-baas against Fiji, a bit of light relief. I quite enjoyed it, the South Seas sides are a good fit for the format and Fiji showed well in Japan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Kingzance Posted November 18, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 18, 2019 Sarries and Mr Wray have "accepted" that they were caught doing wrong I see. Currently at -26 points and a long way adrift of Tigers! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerburnie Posted November 18, 2019 Author Share Posted November 18, 2019 49 minutes ago, Kingzance said: Sarries and Mr Wray have "accepted" that they were caught doing wrong I see. Currently at -26 points and a long way adrift of Tigers! We need all the help we can get just now lol 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerburnie Posted November 21, 2019 Author Share Posted November 21, 2019 https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/50487140 I played in a game that ended up 0-0, they were rubbish and we were even worse, I think it was a 4th XV game when I first started playing the adult game. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold BoD Posted November 21, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 21, 2019 On 18/11/2019 at 22:00, Kingzance said: Sarries and Mr Wray have "accepted" that they were caught doing wrong I see. Currently at -26 points and a long way adrift of Tigers! I suspect that if they are in danger of going down the much mooted ‘no relegation’ will be brought in post haste. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium St Enodoc Posted November 21, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted November 21, 2019 6 hours ago, tigerburnie said: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/50487140 If that were professional cricket, the anti-corruption gang would be all over it like a rash. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerburnie Posted November 22, 2019 Author Share Posted November 22, 2019 4 hours ago, St Enodoc said: If that were professional cricket, the anti-corruption gang would be all over it like a rash. Amateurs at that level I think 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerburnie Posted November 22, 2019 Author Share Posted November 22, 2019 8 hours ago, BoD said: I suspect that if they are in danger of going down the much mooted ‘no relegation’ will be brought in post haste. It is under review for the next season, it cannot happen this year, so the bottom side will be relegated, probably not Sarries though, they have already fielded a much weakened side in the European cup last weekend, so keeping the big guns for the league I guess. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerburnie Posted November 23, 2019 Author Share Posted November 23, 2019 Sarries had a confident win against the Ospreys, dominant pack helped 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockershovel Posted November 24, 2019 Share Posted November 24, 2019 Enjoyed Gloucester v Montpellier, brave last-minutes rally by Cherry-and-Whites but not quite enough.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold BoD Posted November 24, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 24, 2019 This weekend seems to confirm a certain fondness for les cartes rouge. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Kingzance Posted December 1, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 1, 2019 Interesting results from this week's return of the Gallagher Premiership and I'm looking forward to Monday's roundup on Channel 5. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerburnie Posted December 14, 2019 Author Share Posted December 14, 2019 Saracens were ruthless, Munster were lucky not to have half their side in the bin, offside pretty much the entire game, but you play the ref, should have been a yellow or two in the last minutes from Munster too, how many penalties did they concede? Leinster superb, the gulf between them and Northampton was huge. Strictly has now interrupted rugby viewing lol. Glad Leicester Tigers managed a win in Italy, not very convincing apparently. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerburnie Posted January 18, 2020 Author Share Posted January 18, 2020 European cups day again, pity Leicester didn't get a win, but playing against 16 men is always difficult, one of the French lads was sent off for 10 minutes and the officials let them send another player on in his place, absolute farce. A losing bonus point gives us a home quarter final match, so all is not lost. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfsup Posted January 19, 2020 Share Posted January 19, 2020 (edited) Well, what a weekend it's been both on and off the pitch. Confirmation that Sarries will be relegated at the end of the season for breaching the Salary Cap, which now raises questions of who will stay with them in the Championship and Who will leave, where will they go and will they still be eligible to play for England etc. One of the issues for a lot of the top players & their agents will be finding new clubs for them - many of the Gallagher Premiership teams will have already budgeted accordingly for signings for the 20-21 season, and will want to keep themselves under the cap. As for Saracens themselves, a lot of questions will still want to be answered - They were offered a chance open their books to Premiership Rugby / The RFU and an Independent Auditor or face relegation, they chose the latter. The main report has also been chosen to not be released into the public domain either, which doesn't help the situation and continues to raise peoples suspicions. The fans I do feel sorry for, some of the younger talented players I do feel sorry for. The management, and players who chose to "partner" with Mr Wray and thus bringing Saracens, and English Rugby, into disrepute, I do not. Moving on and back to the European results. It's been another great weekend for Exeter Chiefs, who ramped things up quite nicely in the second half to despatch La Rochelle for the second time from the Heineken Cup - guaranteeing us a home semi final (to be decided whether we'll play it at Sandy Park, Home Park in Plymouth or Ashton Gate). Not such a good weekend for some of the other premiership teams though with Gloucester, Sale, Harlequins and Bath failing to win their respective games. The next round is as follows: Leinster v Saracens Clermont v Racing 92 Toulouse v Ulster Exeter Chiefs v Northampton Saints. All dates TBC. Edited January 19, 2020 by surfsup Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold grandadbob Posted January 19, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 19, 2020 (edited) I think there is a distinct possibility of some of those England players going abroad which means under the present rules they won't be eligible to play for England. As there are about 11 of them in/have been in the England squad the cynic in me would not be surprised if the rules are now changed and players who move abroad may become eligible for England. I may well be wrong, it wouldn't be the first time! Edited January 19, 2020 by grandadbob 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerburnie Posted January 19, 2020 Author Share Posted January 19, 2020 Quarter-final Bordeaux Bègles v Edinburgh Bristol v Dragons Leicester Tigers v Castres Toulon v Scarlets Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockershovel Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 The RFU completely bungled the transition to professionalism, as I’ve had occasion to remark before. They allowed third parties with no interest in the sport per se, to treat it as a speculative investment aimed at generating media income, and this sort of thing was always likely as a result. I don’t hold any particular opinion either way, regarding the actions of players. Professional athletes have short careers, with numerous and serious attendant risks. If a player decides that their best interest is served by focusing on maximum earnings and duration at club level, rather than the pressures, risks and insecurity of the national squad, that’s an entirely rational decision on their part. However the English national football side, and its supporting structure, has been completely destroyed over time, by such a situation. The England football side haven’t won a major trophy since 1966 and have rarely, if ever, offered any credible prospect of doing so. Quite where rugby goes from here, is a hard question with an obvious likely outcome. To produce a national side capable of playing consistently at the top level, they MUST make it attractive for players to be involved in the national squad, and they MUST provide a clear framework by which the national squad’s interests are prioritised over those of the clubs. This means a centrally contracted structure, along New Zealand lines. Club rugby clearly isn’t financially productive, at the levels it needs to be, and won’t be in any future. The clubs are focussed on demanding an ever increasing slice of the international revenue, without providing and necessary recompense or return. This all points to a situation in which the direct conflict of interest between clubs and RFU dominates the available choices. If the RFU were going to confront the clubs, they would have done so long ago; they haven’t got it in them to do so. However England have a long history of under-performing at great cost, at the top level, supported by their very large support base and the elastic rules governing selection. My best guess us that they will continue to do so. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerburnie Posted February 1, 2020 Author Share Posted February 1, 2020 Wales v Italy was rather unspectacular, but job done, whereas the Ireland v Scotland game is exactly the opposite, 100 mph and end to end, anyone could win this one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted February 1, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 1, 2020 8 minutes ago, tigerburnie said: Wales v Italy was rather unspectacular, but job done, whereas the Ireland v Scotland game is exactly the opposite, 100 mph and end to end, anyone could win this one. Unspectacular? Perhaps. But Wales were exceptionally clinical and I think the scoreline was a bit flattering. I can't see Scotland winning. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold BoD Posted February 1, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 1, 2020 Scottish fans must be tearing their hair out - for many reasons. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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