NH club rugby
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@catogrande said in NH club rugby:
@paekakboyz said in NH club rugby:
Conway is bloody rapid! Great hands, pretty much saw the try line as soon as he caught it
He took his chance bloody well but where was the kick chase? Where was the defence?
No no you’re doing this all wrong. Weak defence only exists in Super Rugby.
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@billy-tell said in NH club rugby:
@catogrande said in NH club rugby:
@paekakboyz said in NH club rugby:
Conway is bloody rapid! Great hands, pretty much saw the try line as soon as he caught it
He took his chance bloody well but where was the kick chase? Where was the defence?
No no you’re doing this all wrong. Weak defence only exists in Super Rugby.
Oh man, sorry. Schoolboy error.
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Brilliant game at a packed Lansdowne Road for the Leinster v Saracens QF. Raucous atmosphere for an Easter Sunday game with both sides giving it their all. It finished 30-19 to the Boys in Blue - Dan Leavy got himself a try and my Motm - he’s having a superb season. Ringrose scores early on and looks have made the 13 shirt his own.
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So it's
Champions Cup semi-finals - 21/22 April
SF1: Leinster v Scarlets - Aviva Stadium, Dublin
SF2: Racing 92 v Munster - Stade Chaban-Delmas, BordeauxNo English side for quite some time
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Leinster v Munster in Bilbao....
A tempting prospect for Irish fans.
Although as ardent Catholics, we all know temptation leads to a sin so I’ll be cheering on Scarlets and Racing.
Well nearly kinda cheering.
A little bit, in anyway. -
@pot-hale said in NH club rugby:
Leinster v Munster in Bilbao....
A tempting prospect for Irish fans.
Although as ardent Catholics, we all know temptation leads to a sin so I’ll be cheering on Scarlets and Racing.
Well nearly kinda cheering.
A little bit, in anyway.I hope it’s not an Irish derby. Great for Irish fans a bit of a yawn fest for everyone else not least because Leinster would wipe the floor with munster.
Leinster or scarlets vs racing would be my wish.
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@mikethesnow said in NH club rugby:
So it's
Champions Cup semi-finals - 21/22 April
SF1: Leinster v Scarlets - Aviva Stadium, Dublin
SF2: Racing 92 v Munster - Stade Chaban-Delmas, BordeauxNo English side for quite some time
Que?
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@catogrande said in NH club rugby:
@mikethesnow said in NH club rugby:
So it's
Champions Cup semi-finals - 21/22 April
SF1: Leinster v Scarlets - Aviva Stadium, Dublin
SF2: Racing 92 v Munster - Stade Chaban-Delmas, BordeauxNo English side for quite some time
Que?
Just pointing out that after Saracens dominance the past two seasons and losing finalist 4 seasons ago not to have an English team in the last 4 is a big change
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@mikethesnow said in NH club rugby:
@catogrande said in NH club rugby:
@mikethesnow said in NH club rugby:
So it's
Champions Cup semi-finals - 21/22 April
SF1: Leinster v Scarlets - Aviva Stadium, Dublin
SF2: Racing 92 v Munster - Stade Chaban-Delmas, BordeauxNo English side for quite some time
Que?
Just pointing out that after Saracens dominance the past two seasons and losing finalist 4 seasons ago not to have an English team in the last 4 is a big change
Ah, I read it that you thought that there hadn't been an English team for some time.
Nope, we've underachieved by a long way this season both domestically and internationally.
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Report from English Times today:
The future stability of the leading club in English rugby has been thrown into question after the South Africans who own 50 per cent of Saracens told The Times that they want to sell their stake in the club.
Saracens have been England’s top club in recent seasons. In a poor year for English teams in Europe, they were the last side left in the Champions Cup until they were knocked out by Leinster in the quarter-finals on Sunday. The success of the English club model will come under further scrutiny as Saracens join a number of others either up for sale or seeking investment.
Eleven of the 12 Premiership clubs operated at a loss last year, with Exeter Chiefs the exception. Saracens recorded losses of ÂŁ2.74 million, which was a considerable improvement on previous years. Other clubs for sale, such as London Irish and Worcester Warriors, have struggled to find buyers.
Nigel Wray, the chairman and owner of the other 50 per cent of Saracens, said that his co-owners’ decision to sell will have no immediate effect as he can step in to buy them out. However, Wray is looking to the longer term and wants to persuade other investors to come forward because he cannot indefinitely be the club’s sole financial foundation.
The South Africans’ arrival at Saracens ten years ago triggered the most successful period in the club’s history. The north London side have won the Premiership three times since 2010-11 and were European champions for the past two seasons.
The investment was led by Johann Rupert, a businessman rated by Forbes, the business magazine, as the third wealthiest man in Africa with a net worth of $6.9 billion (about ÂŁ4.9 billion).
The investment caused controversy due to the large number of South Africans who joined the club. Rupert wanted the ownership to provide a home for South Africans wishing to play abroad and yet maintain their links with the Springboks. However, the players who came tended, instead, to be cut off from the Springbok system. Therefore, for two reasons, the original justification for the investment no longer holds: because the number of South Africans has dwindled and because of the continuing operating losses.
When Rupert walks away, he will be writing off debts of about ÂŁ25 million. However, it was not personal debts that have persuaded him to sell. The 50 per cent share is not owned by him but by a public company, Remgro, of which he is chairman and a 7 per cent shareholder.
“Remgro is a public company,” Rupert said. “Is it therefore right to support a rugby club? One should not be using public shareholders’ money for your own loves.”
The club management has always been more closely operated by Wray. “The club is really Nigel’s baby and everyone knows that,” Rupert said.
It therefore seems to make sense for Wray to buy back the 50 per cent that he sold to Remgro ten years ago. The South Africans may retain a smaller stake, though Wray has indicated that he could go back up to a short-term holding of 100 per cent.
The club are looking for two backers. One would be a property investor to help to finance the rebuilding of the west stand at Allianz Park, the club’s ground in north London. The intention is that the new west stand will generate its own income, some of which would offset the club’s losses.
That would make it a more attractive investment for a second (or more) investor(s). The Saracens ownership comes under the name of a holding company, Premier Team Holdings, whose losses in the past four financial years were ÂŁ5.31 million, ÂŁ3.99 million, ÂŁ3.27 million and ÂŁ2.74 million. The intention, with money generated by the new west stand, is that the losses will shrink to the point where the club will start to break even.
The question for Saracens is therefore twofold: will they be able to find a new buyer? And, until they do, is Wray happy to continue covering the losses required to keep a squad that can compete at the top of the game together? For now at least, Wray insists that he will stand by the club that he has done so much to build.
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And this one from the Guardian about ring fencing Premiership and "downsizing" the European Cup. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/apr/02/champions-cup-rugby-premiership-wrangle
Downsizing the European Champions Cup has been proposed as a way to protect player welfare if the Premiership is ring-fenced with more than 12 teams. Twenty clubs – including up to seven from England – currently take part in Europe’s elite competition but streamlining is among the suggestions made by powerbrokers of the English game in the event of an expanded Premiership.
Both the Premiership and the Rugby Football Union are in favour of removing promotion and relegation to and from England’s top flight but the major sticking point is how big it will be. There are 13 Premiership shareholders – the current 12 teams plus Bristol – and a handful of Championship clubs who have the ambition to join the elite.
It is understood the Premiership clubs do not want to expand beyond a 12-team ring-fenced league and as a result suggested a play-off between the bottom club and the winners of the Championship – to take place as early as next May – but the Guardian understands it has been rejected out of hand. The Championship’s heads of agreement with the RFU runs until the summer of 2020 so any structural changes before then would have required unanimous approval from the 12 second-tier clubs.
Nonetheless, there is an expectation that ring-fencing will be pushed through to start from the 2020-21 season when that agreement has ended. At present the Championship clubs receive in the region of ÂŁ550,000 and that is likely to increase in the event of ring-fencing. As the current deal will have ended, only a majority vote will be required and it is hard to imagine that not happening considering most Championship clubs are so reliant on the funding that comes from the RFU and Premiership Rugby Ltd.
But while ring-fencing seems increasingly inevitable, the issue of how to fit at least 13 clubs into a 12-team league remains. With relegation looming for London Irish, some clubs have looked into buying their shares from them but the Exiles have no intention of selling. Ealing Trailfinders, second in the Championship behind Bristol, have demonstrated the ambition – and significantly possess the requisite finances – to join the top flight and it is understood the RFU has not ruled out a 14-team league, even if PRL is digging its heels in. Yorkshire Carnegie, who had their own Premiership shares until the end of last year, and Cornish Pirates have also demonstrated their ambitions with new stadiums planned, while Doncaster Knights have expressed an interest in joining the Premiership. Coventry, who will join the Championship next season, are also thinking big.
And if a 13- or 14-team Premiership were to materialise, it may be the European competitions that feel the pinch. There is a feeling that the Champions Cup has lost its aura with more than half of the Premiership taking part this season and fewer European matches would allow for an expanded top flight in England without adding to player workload.
While truncated European competitions could help solve the problem of determining how many teams occupy a ring-fenced top flight, there remain fears over how accessible it will be in the long term. Rather, access to the Premiership after either a four- or five- year hiatus would depend on certain criteria, including things such as supporter base and playing budget, exceeding that of one of the existing Premiership teams.
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I've just watched a recording of SF1 between Leinster and Scarlets. Leinster were too good winning 38-16 but my interest was to see James Lowe in action. Unfortunately due to an injury to halfback Luke McGrath, Lowe couldn't play due to the two non-EU players rule. Gibson-Park started at halfback as the second non-EU player, and looked a much better player than when he was in NZ. He did have an armchair ride behind the Leinster pack. Fardy was MOTM.
Racing 92 v Munster tomorrow morning NZT.
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@bovidae said in NH club rugby:
I've just watched a recording of SF1 between Leinster and Scarlets. Leinster were too good winning 38-16 but my interest was to see James Lowe in action. Unfortunately due to an injury to halfback Luke McGrath, Lowe couldn't play due to the two non-EU players rule. Gibson-Park started at halfback as the second non-EU player, and looked a much better player than when he was in NZ. He did have an armchair ride behind the Leinster pack. Fardy was MOTM.
Racing 92 v Munster tomorrow morning NZT.
Both semi-finals were pretty one-sided. Leinster gave close a masterclass IMHO, they would do very well in Super Rugby. International class pack, and their 10, 12, 13 are also excellent. They basically dominated from start to finish.
Munster were awful, especially in the first 40, and Racing were all over them too.
Kiwis on display
Leinster - Gibson-Park, Nacewa, (Carbery)
Scarlets - Parkes
Racing - Carter, Rococoko
Munster - Marshall -
@billy-tell
Sigh - Carbery is hardly a Kiwi developed player.
Was at the Leinster match watching end on. Scarlets didn’t know which day was Sunday at various stages in the match with the never ending waves coming at them. Lancaster, Dempsey and Fogarty have them singing and humming in triple-part harmony with Cullen’s selections during the season proving fit for purpose most of the time. Relentless was the most used word amongst commentators and media reporters.They missed McGrath at the base of the scrum and his ability to snipe but Gibson Park had one of his better days. As did McFadden despite a howler of a dropped catch from a high ball. He made up for it with his well taken try.
Munster were abysmal and Racing well worth their victory. Should be a brilliant weekend in Bilbao for the two finals - looking forward to it.
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@pot-hale said in NH club rugby:
Sigh - Carbery is hardly a Kiwi developed player.
Imagine how good he could have been if he went to high school here...
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@pot-hale said in NH club rugby:
@billy-tell
Sigh - Carbery is hardly a Kiwi developed player.I think he knows that, hence the brackets. Brackets are the international symbols for that.
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As went the 6 Nations so went the 1st semi.
Leinster just too good, and smart, and accurate.
Fancy them to win it all.
Again.
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@rapido said in NH club rugby:
@pot-hale said in NH club rugby:
@billy-tell
Sigh - Carbery is hardly a Kiwi developed player.I think he knows that, hence the brackets. Brackets are the international symbols for that.
I see what you mean. (Not)
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Isa Nacewa is having his second retirement with an announcement from Leinster that he and Richardt Strauss are retiring from the club at end of May.
Nacewa will hoping to add a fourth gold star to his club jersey in two weeks. Each star represents European Cup wins he and some other players at the club have won since 2009.
Top, top player and one of the all-time best club men. The archetypal glue player. A great captain and a modest grounded guy.
Thanks for the memories Isa.
