NH club rugby
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@sparky said in NH club rugby:
@Dodge I am going to offer a controversial opinion to express on the Fern that I think Toulouse are currently better than any team in Super Rugby.
I am going to offer an even more controversial opinion to express on here that I think this article by Stephen Jones on how to fix the European Champions Cup is pretty much spot on.
My plan to revive the insufferable, diminished Champions Cup
First step to improving Investec Champions Cup is to remove the South African sides, but it also needs to drop to 16 teams, with a new final venue each season
can I be more controversial, when they're up for it, I think they're arguably the best team in the world, club or international. I said as much 12 months ago further up this thread. They're an absolute joy to watch.
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Also, I entirely agree with Stephen Jones' article, which makes me mildly uncomfortable. The English are largely to blame for breaking the HEC, but the rest of rugby has to put its hands up to the abomination that is the structure as it looks today. There should not be 8 English teams in the Champions Cup full stop.
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@MiketheSnow said in NH club rugby:
I can’t wait for Jones’ column if/when the SA teams are involved at the pointy end
By pointy end do you mean bowing out in the QFs again?
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@Dodge said in NH club rugby:
Also, I entirely agree with Stephen Jones' article, which makes me mildly uncomfortable. The English are largely to blame for breaking the HEC, but the rest of rugby has to put its hands up to the abomination that is the structure as it looks today. There should not be 8 English teams in the Champions Cup full stop.
Well, they won’t be there for long.
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I’ve been mulling over that Walrus article and he does make a lot of sense. To me most of it comes down to the overarching problem in rugby administration all over the world in that there is this rush for more rugby cos more rugby = more money. The problem that no-one seems to either see or care about is dilution of the product. There is not the money available within the game to sustain the huge squads necessary for teams to maintain performance across such a crowded schedule. There is not the dedicated fan base to provide enough money on a sustainable basis either.
The rush to chase sponsorship money at the expense of the traditions that hold much loyalty from the longer term fanbase risks watering down that loyalty. Then what happens when the product diminishes? The new fans are likely to melt away and then where are we.
Exeter are a case in point. They have for a long time, been one of the most expensive places to go and watch Prem Rugby. Their view on this “well we’re close to capacity at all home games”. All very well when you are in the mix for trophies but fast forward to today and those impressive gates are declining. The hard core are still there in the main and the poor bloody debenture holders are stuck with it for another year or two, but if they don’t turn it around on the field they may well be fucked.
A day out there for two with a couple of pints and a pasty is well north of £100 and many are looking elsewhere now. I’ve been to watch my old club 5 times this season and haven’t bothered with Exeter at all. Had a good time, seen some very entertaining rugby and saved myself a ton of cash.
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For Exeter read Cardiff
Moved to Cardiff City football stadium chasing the money
Lost the core membership who wanted to watch the match in the heart of the city then go to the club or to town for a few pints after
Moved back to Cardiff Arms Park
Having healthy attendances despite not winning any trophies
Great atmosphere
Finally realised that having double headers makes sense and brings the crowds in
Women match then Cardiff (URC)
Or
Cardiff (Welsh League) then Cardiff (URC)
£24 to stand with a pint in your hand and a Clark’s pie, peas & gravy at half time
The stuff of dreams
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That's some keen pricing. I had a quick look at Exeter's ticket prices and...
For Prem Rugby, adult ticket, it ranges from £30-£50 for standing and £60-£80 for a seat.
Plus of course the beers and the pasties are bloody expensive. Let's not talk about the queues to get either due to the employment of poorly trained temp staff. Without a word of a lie I've been stood at the bar after queuing for 15 minutes to wait to get served while three of these mongtards argue about how to open a bottle of wine.
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Get yourself down to the Arms Park
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Trouble is the rugby related savings are negated by the fuck off rail costs and the price of warm lager on the train. On the plus side I might actually get to have a beer with this hot polish chick I've met online.
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Blaming the Saffers for a failed competition make no sense. Glasgow field a B team on the weekend. Leinster do this all the time as do many French clubs for ages. The Sharks and Stormers have the most Springboks and like Plumtree quoted, they are not robots but athletes. The Stormers are under pressure in the URC with the local derbies coming up. The ruling of no SA teams can host semi finals also dont help. This will change from June 2025 after we paid our debt to become full partners.
However I think they can fix the competition easily by playing it in the end of the season. SA teams can stay and play their 2 matches or chuck the SA teams meaning we can play our CC.earlier and prepare for TRC.
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i don't feel that the blame was being laid on the Saffer teams, notwithstanding the weakened sides argument. More that WITH the inclusion of the Saffer teams allied to extending the number of qualifying teams from Europe, the whole things has just become too bloated.
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Bust trio of English Premiership clubs owed the taxman £30 million in unpaid COVID loans.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/cdx9y1e487yo
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Basically you Kiwi cun*s have to get in line and change your season so we can have a logical progression in the NH
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@sparky said in NH club rugby:
@Dodge I am going to offer a controversial opinion to express on the Fern that I think Toulouse are currently better than any team in Super Rugby.
I am going to offer an even more controversial opinion to express on here that I think this article by Stephen Jones on how to fix the European Champions Cup is pretty much spot on.
My plan to revive the insufferable, diminished Champions Cup
First step to improving Investec Champions Cup is to remove the South African sides, but it also needs to drop to 16 teams, with a new final venue each season
I think you should be permabanned for posting a readable Jones article.
TBF, I guess a Jones clock is going to strike 12 at least once in every 30 years.
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@cgrant Its working well in South Africa. We play our local derbies at the coast over the festive season and draw the best crowds during this time. In Jan /Feb the inland have it summer rains to cool things down. Matches at 19h00 is perfect for rugby.
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@Daffy-Jaffy said in NH club rugby:
Didn't show the Aki incident but Leinster were just better
Barrett is having a ball
