World Rugby Board elections
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@MiketheSnow said in World Rugby Board elections:
@Crucial said in World Rugby Board elections:
Depending on where the lines are drawn we could be heading for a period ripe for a split, or one where the SH Unions take control of their own destiny (and ignore aspects of WR to do so).
We have a strong group of countries with entirely different needs to the rest of the world. They are close geographically and by timezone and based in areas of high population.. The rest of the world is spread out and either don't have large economic populations or are still in an infancy stage with regard to rugby.
One group (despite money worries) will stick to the current formula because it suits them best and try and force their model onto those it doesn't suit.
COVID has created a hiatus in which many businesses have been able to pause and have a clear look at the future. There is an opportunity to change the wheels of the bus while it isn't moving.
This is a situation ripe for disruptive change.Good luck
I guess my point is that if there is a time where there is a danger of upheaval for WR then that time is now, while unions that think that they aren't being heard are sitting back and having a close look at the future.
We can all see that post COVID things aren't going to be 'normal'. What the new normal looks like is up to the various parties. -
@Tim yep, that was the article I saw in passing.
this is interesting
51 votes available at the table. The 6N look like they control 16 directly (5x3+Italy), while 28 unions in Asia (population over 4 Billion people) have 2 votes. SO should be a lock for Beaumont.
as @Crucial said, it's challenging times for the global nature of the sport. Democracy struggles when there are minority voices that don't feel like they get decent representation.
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Brent Impey:
“While we have great respect for Bill Beaumont as an individual, this has become an issue where there has been a lot of self-protection from existing players (northern unions) versus those of us, particularly the Sanzaar nations, who want to see the game grow. “That is why have supported him (Pichot).’’
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@booboo said in World Rugby Board elections:
Love this from Impey.
Didn't see the Reason whinge piece but reckon you can get the gist from this response.
(Will change the thread title slightly.)
Actually, I think Reason made a decent point - he was asking how Bart Campbell hasn't got a conflict of interest.
He's just finished 7 years as Chair of the Melbourne Storm, apparently he's still the largest shareholder and a board member.
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World Rugby could reveal its next chairman as early as Sunday (NZ time) after incumbent Bill Beaumont and rival Agustin Pichot reportedly asked to bring the announcement forward. Voting closed on Friday and the announcement was originally to be made on May 12.
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@Chris-B said in World Rugby Board elections:
@booboo said in World Rugby Board elections:
Love this from Impey.
Didn't see the Reason whinge piece but reckon you can get the gist from this response.
(Will change the thread title slightly.)
Actually, I think Reason made a decent point - he was asking how Bart Campbell hasn't got a conflict of interest.
He's just finished 7 years as Chair of the Melbourne Storm, apparently he's still the largest shareholder and a board member.
He is shit stirring because instead of simply asking NZR if that potential conflict was declared he forged ahead with his crayons and wrote a load of piffle, in effect hinting that they were either hiding something or too stupid to realise.
He is a fucktard click baiter and it astounds me that the papers can cry that we may lose journalism under Covid but still 'print' this type of tripe. -
Beaumount 28 -23. Some hard decisions need to be made by the NZRU, the average NH punter would rub their hands with glee if we let them get their way and the downstream effect is that Rugby in this country is overtaken by League, soccer and basketball due to declining interest.
Would rather we really bit the bullet and did something drastic. Given the option between a slow death or fusing rugby codes in this country and Aus, I would take the latter. I know I'm going to take shit for this but things have and will always evolve. At least the money in the NRL rivals any NH League.
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@mofitzy_ said in World Rugby Board elections:
Beaumount 28 -23. Some hard decisions need to be made by the NZRU, the average NH punter would rub their hands with glee if we let them get their way and the downstream effect is that Rugby in this country is overtaken by League, soccer and basketball due to declining interest.
Would rather we really bit the bullet and did something drastic. Given the option between a slow death or fusing rugby codes in this country and Aus, I would take the latter. I know I'm going to take shit for this but things have and will always evolve. At least the money in the NRL rivals any NH League.
League's on its last legs in the UK. Very little interest from sponsors.
The Rugby Football League avoided folding yesterday beacuse of a £16 million government bailout. Probably still isn't enough.
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@sparky
Never mentioned UK League, they are the poor cousin.Too many question marks about Pichot's other interests.
The sustainability of SH rugby and the growth of the game?
Bill and Bernard will continue the slow death of the game outside the home nations and France.
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@mofitzy_ said in World Rugby Board elections:
@sparky
Never mentioned UK League, they are the poor cousin.Too many question marks about Pichot's other interests.
The sustainability of SH rugby and the growth of the game?
Bill and Bernard will continue the slow death of the game outside the home nations and France.
Whilst I share your desire for growth of the game and certainly for the sustainability of SH rugby, I do wonder if some lessons that should have been learned have not been.
Rugby is the No 1 sport in NZ and maybe Wales and that's about it. Everywhere else it is playing second fiddle to another sport (usually soccer). What this means is that there is not an infinite market for rugby and managing a Union's expectations is a difficult thing. Up here in Europe we have a thriving domestic game, pan European game and International game - BTW I am not saying that it is all individually financially sound but that is another issue - and the constant here is the fight between the factions of less is more or more is more. With the limited market, protecting your product is extremely important, as is protecting your assets. In both cases there is a strong argument for the less is more POV. In the SH we have seen the downgrading of the domestic competitions in favour of Super Rugby with the swelling of same over the years from 10 to, at one time 18. At the same time the Tri Nations has expanded greatly and yet it is the SH, in particular NZ and Aus that are really feeling the pinch.
And the call is now for more "elite" rugby. I would ask if this is sustainable let alone a growth path. I see the reluctance to embrace the fairly radical change as not wishing to kill off what is there rather than any form of protectionism. For sure we need to nurture the game in areas that are disadvantaged in one way or another and the viability rugby in Aus and NZ MUST be ensured but to my mind a much more measured approach is the more sustainable way forward.
Where I do see an issue of the NH causing world-wide problems is the club game hoovering up imported players and this is to the detriment of both the NH and SH. The additional fact that this is financially unsustainable is mind boggling.
Solution? Fuck knows.
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@Catogrande said in World Rugby Board elections:
In both cases there is a strong argument for the less is more POV. In the SH we have seen the downgrading of the domestic competitions in favour of Super Rugby with the swelling of same over the years from 10 to, at one time 18. At the same time the Tri Nations has expanded greatly and yet it is the SH, in particular NZ and Aus that are really feeling the pinch.
Just a couple of comments.
In the NH you 'had' a thriving domestic comp. Who knows what that will look like in the recession, and how many overseas players will be attracted to it if the money dries up. Your point about Rugby being second sport in most of the world was a good one - administrators don't seem to think they are really competing with anyone else but each other. Grow the game, and grow the pie. Growth comes from decent laws, marketable product and a culture around the game people want to be part of (yes, I'm idealistic and optimistic).
Secondly, couldn't agree more on 'less is more'. dragged out some info from 1997;
Super started on 28 Feb. 11 games, semis, final. Finished on 31 May.
ABs started on 14 June, and played 12 games, finishing 6 December (with a decent break from Aug-Nov).
Can't find anything on NPC, but from memory it only ran outside the international window. Personally, that's a schedule I can get behind - an offseason of a couple of months for international players (Dec/Jan), cricket in it's proper place, and meaningful high quality games of footy.
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The result was as expected. I hope WR releases who voted for Beaumont and Pichot because there is clearly dissatisfaction from the SANZAAR nations with Beaumont's inability to achieve anything during his last term, particularly the Nations Championship tournament. If he doesn't deliver on some of the "promises" listed in his manifesto I expect the NH-SH divide will only get wider and WR will become irrelevant outside of the RWC. This could get messy.
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@Catogrande
Rugby may be #1 in NZ but it's no longer the dominant force it was, and I can easily see it being just one of many sports codes as they have in Aus if things keep going the way they do. Fair dues to the European game but it is population and geography that are the key factors in it's financial dominance, things that can't be changed. So either they realise they can look inwards except for once every 4 years or keep the status quo (and who knows, in 10 years or so the NH might even win another world cup) and slowly kill the game outside the 6N, or set up a system that means the sport doesn't die outside of the 6N. I'm not convinced the average punter in Twickenham cares too much if th ANZAC nations never play Ingerlund again as long as he can pretend walloping Italy means something.If the laws were formulated in Aus and NZ, then endless scrum resets and walls of offside players waiting to flop all over a breakdown wouldn't be the issue they are now. We wouldn't let dodgy frog refs say "we have a deal" then go on to make one of the biggest ref errors in modern rugby, meanwhile Beaumont was no doubt cheering this decision. At least Pichot would have been objective.
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@nzzp Yup, you’re right we had a thriving comp prior to the current crisis and maybe that will change but that applies worldwide. The longer this shitshow goes on, the less anyone’s future is clear. Though in truth I feel that the thriving comps we have ought to continue as they are based on a strong and invested fan base. The financials may well be a different story and as I thought I’d pointed out , the financials are not quite so thriving and certainly not sustainable in their current form. So yeah, expect some changes and perhaps those changes will be accelerated by the mess we’re all in at present. If those changes mean less SH imports then good for us, longer term and good for you. Our domestic game has benefited tremendously by many of the SH guys but in truth we have too many for the good of our own game.
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@Bovidae
If it doesn't get messy then SH/non-6N rugby will be digging our own grave by our complicity. This is a perfect opportunity to change things for the better, everyone knows rugby in Aus is on it's deathbed and NZ isn't far off if nothing changes. -
@mofitzy_ said in World Rugby Board elections:
@Bovidae
If it doesn't get messy then SH/non-6N rugby will be digging our own grave by our complicity. This is a perfect opportunity to change things for the better, everyone knows rugby in Aus is on it's deathbed and NZ isn't far off if nothing changes.Genuine, non-trolling question. If rugby in Aus and NZ is on or near its deathbed, what do you think has caused it?
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@Catogrande
Many things, obviously the administration in both countries is to partially to blame. For me and many spectators, the way the game has evolved followed by the exodus of players and coaches are 1 and 2.i.e., is the game more attractive to watch now than 20 years ago?