NH club rugby
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@sparky said in NH club rugby:
Johnny Sexton goooooooooooonnnnnnneeeeeeee
Not totally gone, just not playing until later in the year, should be back for the cup
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Meanwhile, Stuart Hogg announces his retirement post RWC. He's only 31 but has played 100 times for Scotland, so has some miles on the clock. A shame that he's going just as the Sweaties are playing the sort of game that he revels in.
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Two more Gallagher Premiership clubs in financial peril - reports
England’s Gallagher Premiership woke up to damaging headlines on Wednesday, with reports stoking fears about Newcastle and London Irish.
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So the Welsh salary cap being set at 5.2 then 4.5 million mean that those squads were paying more than that? More than English premiership squads - apart from Saracens ;). There's just be some severely overpriced players as the Welsh regional teams have been pretty average for a long time, unless their stars are much bigger
https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/65149876?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA
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@Machpants said in NH club rugby:
So the Welsh salary cap being set at 5.2 then 4.5 million mean that those squads were paying more than that? More than English premiership squads - apart from Saracens ;). There's just be some severely overpriced players as the Welsh regional teams have been pretty average for a long time, unless their stars are much bigger
https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/65149876?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA
100%
If other countries want to overpay our players, please be our guest
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It’s probably difficult to compare salary caps in Wales and England, I’m not sure Wales have the same anomalies as our lot. Certainly in the past there have been exceptions for players that have come through the club academy where their salaries are discounted. There is also the two (now one I believe) marquee player who’s salary does not count towards the cap.
Then there’s the unsubstantiated rumour about a certain NE club with a large Saffer contingent including 3 brothers, where it has been suggested one brother is the marquee player on a hugely inflated salary while his brothers are paid peanuts yet they’ve all got lovely houses back home.
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@Stargazer It is noted that all the Saffa teams played away from home which makes it a bit more difficult given teams up that way seem to have good records when playing at home despite where they are positioned on the overall table, this is especially so in France where bottom of the table teams regularly tip up the table toppers at home. Presumably the cumulative travel component also affects the Saffas. It's a damn long way from Johannesburg to Edinburgh etc, especially when you have to do it every second week. Still that is the way they wanted it so they have to like it or lump it.
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@Machpants That's not entirely true. They expressed the wish to join the NH competition and leave SR well before Covid. SANZAAR just helped them to achieve it sooner.
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@Stargazer said in NH club rugby:
@Machpants That's not entirely true. They expressed the wish to join the NH competition and leave SR well before Covid. SANZAAR just helped them to achieve it sooner.
They were using it as a bargaining point, whether they wanted it was moot. NZR ham fisted announcement meant they had no choice
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@Stargazer said in NH club rugby:
Not a single South African team has made it to the Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup semi-finals.
Heineken Cup QF results:
It's the first time that Glasgow has reached the Challenge Cup semi-final.Unlike the NZ Super teams not all of SA’s best players play for their provincial teams
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Re the Saffers not making it through, as @Higgins has mentioned, travel has been a factor, particularly regarding this last round. It’s not just the distance but also the uncertainty. For instance the Stormers didn’t know who they would be playing on the following Saturday until late on the Sunday. They couldn’t get one suitable flight for the Exeter trip, so the squad got split into three separate flights and didn’t get together in Exeter until late Wednesday. Not ideal preparation. Similarly, Exeter won’t know until later today who they are playing next Saturday and where until later today. Obviously not the same distance issue, but it illustrates the piss-poor organisation at the crunch end of the competition, which hasn’t been kind to the Saffer sides.
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The traveling factor could be pointed out for the Sharks as well. They were just trailing by 6 points at the 68th minute (26 - 20) but they conceded 28 points (4 converted tries) during the last 12 minutes. They arrived on Wednesday in Toulouse after a flight in economy class that included four stopovers.
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@cgrant said in NH club rugby:
They arrived on Wednesday in Toulouse after a flight in economy class that included four stopovers.
Where were they coming from? They've done extremely well to find that many stopovers when it should only be two from Durban.
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@Bones said in NH club rugby:
@cgrant said in NH club rugby:
They arrived on Wednesday in Toulouse after a flight in economy class that included four stopovers.
Where were they coming from? They've done extremely well to find that many stopovers when it should only be two from Durban.
The Rand doesn’t go very far these days 😀
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@Bones The detailed flight was not revealed by Midi Olympique. Moreover, they had to travel in two different groups of players which did not reach Toulouse at the same time. Yannick Bru, a former Toulouse player and assistant coach who is now within the Sharks staff, said that nobody complained, adding that Saffas are humble people and not overly spoilt stars.
