Aussie Pro Rugby
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A different take
Optus pounds Foxtel into submission
A few years ago, Foxtel lost the broadcasting rights for the English Premier League to Optus Sports. And now Optus Sports looks set to steal the rights to televise rugby from Foxtel: Optus is favoured to become the new home of rugby… Current broadcast partners Fox Sports have not signed RA’s...
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Yep. Charity Day for 4th April now needs a re-think. Well on our way to hitting $10K for Neuroblastoma...
For our comp, May 2nd is Round 2* but I think that is absolutely best-case scenario because the general populace are deadshits. The amount of LOIG posts out there on SM about "FARKEN BULLSHIT MAYTE GREATEST GAME EVAHHHH FUCKEN BULLSHIT NEED A NORMAL LIFE"
i.e. the same fucking bogans who will complain about the healthcare system when their aged relatives die, or little J'nae can't get into ED for the broken arm they suffered in a DV incident at 45 Winnieblues Avenue, Shitsville.
*April 11 = Easter, Round 1 = 18 April but a bye the next weekend because of Anzac Day. Why not just start after Anzac Day?
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Rugby AU confirm new domestic competition
Australia's four Super Rugby teams and the Western Force are set to be part of a new domestic competition beginning next month. With Super Rugby suspended and travel bans introduced in Australia from 9pm on Friday night, a domestic competition shaped as the most likely option to fill the void of the five-nation Super Rugby tournament. Because of travel restrictions, the Japanese Sunwolves will no longer be part of the competition that will involve Australia's four Super Rugby teams in a home and away round robin series beginning on Friday April 3.Next season is still expected to be played as a 14-team competition, meaning the Force's involvement in this tournament would likely be a one-off. All matches will be played behind closed doors, in the same vein as the NRL and AFL competitions which have kicked off in the last fortnight. Rugby Australia confirmed in a statement on Friday night that the Western Force had also been approached to be part of the competition with the Sunwolves' absence.The national body is yet to confirm a fixture for the competition and said SANZAAR and its member unions were still finalising how the competition would relate to Super Rugby, with hopes still that some kind of finals series could go ahead. It is expected that South Africa and New Zealand will implement similar domestic competitions in coming days.Rugby AU CEO Raelene Castle said in a statement that this model had support from the key players in Australian rugby. “Rugby Australia, the four Australian Super Rugby teams and RUPA are united behind the continuation of Super Rugby in 2020 and have been intensively working towards a competition solution with our SANZAAR partners over the past six days," she said. "There are still some elements to work through as a group, but we are extremely confident that we will deliver a meaningful product for the remainder of the season for fans and broadcasters. “We have agreed on the principles of proceeding down the path of a domestic solution in Australia which will see our teams compete against each other in a round robin format from April through June, followed by a yet to be determined Finals Series format."One of the big question marks hanging over any competition is the risk that one player contracting the disease would put rugby back in limbo, as has been seen in a number of global sports like the NBA. Super Rugby teams are currently the only teams cleared to train or play games, with all club and community rugby halted until the beginning of May. No player has tested positive to the virus but rugby has felt the impact of a positive test after a Sydney Uni first grade player was a confirmed case this week. -
Rugby Australia announces $9.4 million deficit for 2019
Rugby Australia has three months of cash reserves to sustain the game amid the coronavirus pandemic but anything beyond that period remains unknown as the code fights to stave off insolvency.
Rugby Australia [RA] has announced a $9.6 million operating loss for 2019 and admitted the ongoing coronavirus pandemic means there are likely darker days to come for the embattled game.
The governing body met for its Annual General Meeting on Monday, revealing its dire financial position to members. They were, however, not able to publish an annual report as some accounts were still to be audited.
But there was no hiding from the clear financial woes, a position brought about by the reduced revenue that coincides with Rugby World Cup years and the costly legal bills resulting from the Israel Folau saga.
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We will be lucky to get half a season at this point BUT it should at least reduce some of our overheads.
RUPA (Players Association) released a statement saying they'd like to see a whole-of-game review BUT I'll bet "whole" stops right about where player payments do.
The most concerning issue about their statement was that RA hadn't been consulting them, which is probably par for the course.
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To be fair to RA, they're probably a bit busy right now to worry about a "whole of game" review. Right now the only consultation with players would be "do you want to be amateurs again?" and "can we have a roster to turn off the lights".
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@antipodean Don't get me wrong: I am no fan of RUPA. RA were already looking down the barrel of a potential rights cockup, but now they've got THIS to deal with.
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I just read Castle will be sacked this weekend and replaced by Kearns?
So long Australian rugby, at least you will always have the 90s
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@mariner4life said in Aussie Rugby:
I just read Castle will be sacked this weekend and replaced by Kearns?
So long Australian rugby, at least you will always have the 90s
It's April the 4th not the 1st!
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@barbarian said in Aussie Rugby:
Yeah it's all pretty fcked hey. Stopped reading about it frankly. What a cluster.
That applies to the entire world ATM!
