URC - PREMIERSHIP MERGER | THE RUMOUR IS BACK!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ต.ค. 2024
- What is the truth in the rumour that a Premiership/URC merger could be back on the table? What would a merger even look like? Could it actually work? Would it do more harm than good?
Lots of questions...I don't have many answers, but I can put forward my thoughts...and tell me yours!
If they change the URC after people were just getting to enjoy it they risk losing a crap load of fans…
If it isn't broke don't fix it.
100%
The URC is great, really hope they just stick with it. These things take time to build popularity and prestige. Constant tinkering kills interest
Saffas in, Italians in.
English out. Welcome to apply to join though, if they'll refrain from trying to dictate terms, which is always hard for them.
So salty ....
So true.....
Not hard, impossible
@@IverKnackerov It's still the truth
Yeah, after the way the Premiership clubs behaved with the champions cup qualifying it would be hard not to think that.
If there were two divisions, it is highly likely the majority if not all of the Welsh regions right now would be in the lower division. Maybe the Ospreys could squeeze in, but this would be awful for Welsh rugby. We've suffered enough as it is and we need to focus on the URC.
Agree 100%
Is it better to get a few wins for ye at this stage
on the plus side, you then get to join in the fun of battering the Falcons
Put Newcastle and sale in urc for the 4 Welsh teams
Totally agree Sir, get your house in order and the rest will follow.
We don’t need the Premiership teams to join the URC, the URC is doing well enough as it is thanks to the Saffas joining. The URC I think has now been fully expanded and doesn’t need a further expansion. The competition itself is doing so well and is so competitive and it would be a shame to change it, also it would defeat the purpose of what the Champions Cup has to offer as a competition.
Except for the meaningless match-ups and the lack of TV revenue....doing well enough? Really?
@@IverKnackerov Well yeah I obviously agree that they need to sort out the financial situation but I just don’t think they need to do that by messing up the URC
@@IverKnackerovKeep in mind that TV rights deals are negotiated on a 3-5 year term. But judging by viewership, the URC is doing very well, breaking its own records year on year. Chances are that the next time they go for a rights renewal, the URC would be getting a boost.
When one looks at social media engagement, the URC currently blows both the Top 14 and the Premiership out of the water. Now sure, the old head in rugby do not understand how to turn social media engagement into money, but it is a clear indication of what people want to watch going forward AND broadcasters will be aware of this.
Tv revenue sucks because who tf is buying premier sports, paying too much a month for just 1 competition. Rugby needs to be on 1 or 2 TV channels then viewership woukd increase
@@randomlyfactual1943 hey. Mate! Where did you see the social media engagement statistics? Looks interesting
No merger please.
The URC is quickly becoming one of the best if not the best comp in rugby. It would be a sin to change it now
If it were possible to have some combination of URC and English teams, then ok. But not at the cost of losing the SA teams. They've brought so much to the URC and tasty rivalries have built up.
they hate european teams tough. they still support nz let them back to nz
@tvpc3194 no we do not new Zealand didn't want us why would we want to go back
@@tvpc3194rubbish.
@@tvpc3194what are you smoking? That makes no sense at all. Why would we love NZ teams? 😂😂😂
Think before regurgitating nonsense you heard at your local pub by some guy who sense he went to SA. 😂😂😂😂.
What rubbish
Agree
100% correct on Super Rugby. Not since Super 12 have I been as excited as I am for this seasons URC. My reluctance to merge with the Prem is 100% to do with my fear of another great comp dying from a thousand cuts.
The promotion/ Relegation idea wounds interesting but I think this needs thinking long and hard about.
Na, don't want this as a leinster fan. I much prefer the international element. If the Welsh teams want to leave, let them and get teams from elsewhere in Europe.
I think if it had promotion and relegation we could have our cake and eat it to
Have a merger with england and we could give georgia, portugal and others teams in devision 2 and then maybe 3 or 4 teams get relegated/promoted yearly
Salary cap would end Leinster 😂
@@Forest9528 How missguided are you, not a hope in hell will the smaller english clubs stand for that.
@kevindevane6175 you mean the same clubs that are swimming in debt and nobody gives a fuck about
More English arrogance thinking their opinion has any weight. Just like the whole "we've decided to kick out Italy and SA from the URC so you can join us. Your welcome now sign here"
Could not agree more... get rid of the whinging bottom feeder Welsh and get in a Georgian team a Argentinian team and portugese team and the Chretahs ... the Georgians and Portugese teams could play test teams
The URC already put out a very clear statement and NO was very clear. The vast majority of fans in the URC are extremely happy. And the statement was very clear about its growth Tim, again all positive. Putting fuel on the British news rumour mill is not going to do anything but gain you extra likes
Allow the Italian teams to grow in the URC. Keep them in i say, they have some promising young lads and you can see they really game for the challenge. Forza. #NoMerger.
Italy in👌🇿🇦
@@sachinbangaru737 Agree.Forsa Italy!Bast wishes from🇿🇦
Respect to you for not only talking but trying to figure it out....Rugby first.
12:30 I was literally about to bring this up. Youre spot on. The conference model murdered Superrugby. We, the fans, had no idea what was happening and it was marketed extremely poorly.
Yeah, the great appeal of Super Rugby was to see the Stormers/Bulls/Sharks/Lions vs all the NZ and Oz clubs. Not to watch Stormers vs Bulls vs Sharks vs Lions every other weekend. We had Currie Cup for that.
This is going the same way as Super Rugby.......... Will end up with conferences again, playing endless derbies against the same teams, and will be the end of it.
Absolutely hate the “American model” … we do not want extra local derbies…. We want to play against teams from other countries.
No. God no. Please just go away. This rumour is so regressive.
No merger.
No to any merger. Time for the game to be put first, and the money grabbers told to go boil "eggs". Pun intended.
The biggest issue I see, regardless of the model, is that bringing in 10 English clubs would disproportionately favour them compared to the other nations with four teams (two for Scotland and Italy).
1. They would take almost half of the tv monies
2. Their opportunities to make the play-off are about 2.5x that of the other nations, especially in the American model
They got 25 percent of the money of the heineken cup, the french 25 percent. 50% was split between the 4 other 6 nations unions involved in the pro12. This wasn't enough for the English. RFU involvement as an equal partner to the other 5 nations in the URC? Fine. Premiership influence based on all their teams entering? absolutely not.
Exactly. The second any joint league is formed they would be looking for bigger percentages / more control / individual tv deals / structural changes etc
NO! NOPE! NADA! This potential merger should go to hell!
Irish teams don't get money from the government! The Irish government is not involved in rugby at all! Where on earth did you get that from? Trump?
They do get huge tax breaks among other things... not so much paying the players though.
@@RhysWilliams-u3o tax breaks specific to rugby? I don't think so! That sounds like sour grapes!
@@RhysWilliams-u3outter horsehit typical from a welsh mongo
If Wales leave, we could add Black Lion, maybe another Italian Club, and find two more? Maybe from Portugal and Spain...
or Romania
I don't think we need to follow the same route as Superugby where more means good. It could be that it dilutes the comp and Italy definitely do not have enough depth to add another Italian team. Welsh team leaving could just show a lot more even showdowns between teams. Zebre would just be struggling for a win.
@@michaelmuller993 yeah, doesn't necessarily need to be an Italian team. I think Wales will come around in time, all nations have ebbs and flows. The URC isn't the problem, the Welsh Union is the problem. Them joining England wouldn't be sure to help, considering that the Prem has also really struggled of late. I really hope they stay and that their management makes the right choices for them to thrive again.
@@kon23uk yeah, Romania makes sense!
@@michaelmuller993good call explanation just to make up numbers is a bad idea, a few less teams wouldn’t hurt anyone if that’s how it goes
Going to be at croker for Leinster Munster this weekend. Genuinely cannot wait
Yeah, me too. Can't wait. Hopefully there'll be a bit of niggle😅
Same here.
Fan numbers are nuts. Top of my priority list to watch and I'm a Bulls fan.
@@greenplasticgun Glad you appreciate our local derbies, this is the big one and hopefully a good watch for neutrals!
@@Camcolito common Munster!
As a Prem viewer no I don't want this. URC seem to be onto a good thing atm, let them carry on with it.
The English pro game is in serious trouble. Dragging everyone else down isnt really an option
French fan here! Thanks for the nice content ! You have an interesting point of view and what you say is generally (in my opinion) correct except for certain aspects relating to the Top 14. If the calendar were less full (more Champions Cups):
1. would the French clubs agree to some Top 14 matches being played at the same time as international matches (in November and during the VI Nations tournament)?
2. It seems very difficult to have a Champions Cup after the end of the domestic leagues and manage to find free dates (we'd have to go back to the old format).
3. Would French clubs be willing to rest their international players if dates were freed up to send them to the southern hemisphere, or would they want them to play more Top 14 matches (and thus force the federation to rest players for the summer tour)?
You already know this, but it's very important to remember that in France the federation has few resources (it doesn't own a stadium like the English federation) and that it's the only rugby country in the world where contracts are paid for entirely by the clubs, which gives them a great deal of decision-making power over many aspects.
Oh by the way, I almost forgot, but I really don't see the Italians teams playing in France. French club would not agree to give them any money they receive and also they would not accept any competitor to access top 14 (I mean ProD2's clubs)
Tim its a real insult to say Irish provinces are state owned and paid by the Irish government, the fact you are involved in rugby and would say something so ridiculous is beyond me. Irish provinces are paid by their own clubs in part and the balance is paid by the IRFU , “NOT THE GOVERNMENT “ this is not communist Russia 😂😂
What are you talking about, government grants were 18 million euros, sport Ireland with another 1 mill, 1.8 fro Irish tourism board lol.
The IRFU is in bed with the government 100%, not to mention the huge financial incentives to players who play and retire in Ireland, tax breaks, support and scholarship schemes, all government funded lol
@@leeofdoom4452 welsh ? 😂😂😂 hopefully you guys will get Anglo league where 🏴🏉 batter you like 🇿🇦+☘️ do Huw 👌
Stopped watching the moment I heard WalesOnline. Kings of hearsay they are.
Wales needs to join the English everyone knows that. They just can't get it done
Oh my the jealousy coming from the Premiership is just shameful. The UK rugby " club" wanted lots off money and they behaved like spoilt children to get what they wanted and NOW they don't want it ...... well you made the clear decision you pay the price and sort it yourselves
Let's not forget that the RFU turned down the offer to join the original URC back in the day, and not to put too fine a point on it, did it in quite a snobbish look-down-their-noses kind of way. Having said that I detest seeing great rugby clubs with fine histories like Wasps and London Irish disintegrate due to bad management in their league. I like tuning into Premiership games and they have improved greatly in quality over the last 3-4 years in particular. As for the merger....i'm not sure it would work.
I honestly hope the URC and more particularly the IRFU, Scottish Rugby, and Welsh rugby union remembers this if the time comes to decide whether to boot South African and Italian sides out.
That table cracks me up :D South Africa - 4 teams, Ireland - 4, Wales - 4, Scotland - 2 :( , England - *10* o.O
URC doesn't need to change. If we have to change I would rather Wales leaves to join the premiership. Super rugby was destroyed when they expanded
WRU & Regions have taken some tough financial decisions to ensure stability. It may be tough atm but things will get better. To put into context the entire debt in Welsh rugby (WRU & Regions) is less than the Wasps' debt debacle. In fact Wasps owed more to the tax payer (us) than the Regions combined. And what is the response? The GPL is raising the salary cap despite many of the surviving English clubs currently drowning in debt. There are some Welsh fans harking back to the amateur days of games with the west country sides (and they were great) but it's misty eyed nostalgia - which WoL specialises in! Comments I've seen, and I agree, is we're better off sticking with the URC than jumping into the financial basket case which is English rugby - good luck though. Always sad to see old clubs go under
Tim, the 'Second String Bulls' at Northampton was a direct result of the number of fixtures and that needs fixing.
Thanks!
*South Africans are entering the chat*
Haha...I have NO doubt what they will say! (And I agree)
I wouldvprfer a model where the current URC is played as a single round robin where everyone plays everyone
Tim, ☘️🏉☘️, ain’t paid by government, they are paid by IRFU
Absolutely spot on. Thats how they ruined Super rugby!!
English Prem is in trouble because of the deal they did years ago which signed away 20-25% of annual rev for 200 million pounds up front. The only way to offset this lost rev every year is to expand their tv audience which they can't do as it is maxed out already within Britain. The URC on the other hand signed a similar deal and then landed the SA teams expanding their possible tv audience by 40 million!! We don't need nor want this merger.
Who is reporting this? Is this the Telegraph trying to rescue the Premiership again? Oh, it's WalesOnLine trying to relive ancient glories. Perhaps they should have an AngloWelsh league and see how they fare.
Some great points, Tim, messing around with them hasn't worked!
Nothing will end the smaller clubs in Ireland, Scotland and Wales like playing in a '2nd division'
No one wants to think of there club as 2nd rate, numbers would drop off.
Do not want a merger. Leave URC alone
NO. Just no. No getting rid of the Saffas/Italians, no messing with the format.. The URC is briliant as it is. The fact that it's Wales Online as you say Tim, makes this a bit suss to say the least. But if the Welsh really want to play the English teams so badly, let them pop off to the Premiership and be treated like 2nd class citizens. The Cheetahs, Pumas etc. could fill their slots, and we could even see if Georgia wanted to field a couple of teams. But I have a suspicion the English have no interest in the Welsh by themselves, which is why this rumour is surfacing again.
It would make sense for the Welsh only; they would have more players for internationals surely, they could say as long as you play in the anglo-welsh league you can play. Suddenly all those young low cap players can play it a lot more teams
Although if we did end up with the English in the URC and it being multiple tiers could our players then play anywhere in the URC and still be internationals?
Agree - makes most sense for Wales, which is why I wonder about this story as it came from Walesonline. Are Wales trying to kickstart this conversation?
@EggchasersRugby Walesonline comes up with this nonsense or the mythical Anglo-Welsh merger every few months. Pay no heed lol
@EggchasersRugby the scarlets coach wad the only one talking merge
@EggchasersRugby It's fair to point out that walesonline regularly post nonsense.
The Irish clubs are not state-owned; the IRFU Independent of the Irish and UK governments. The IRFU subsidises the clubs and in return gets access to players for the national team and has a strong influence on the governance of the provincial clubs, which has not prevented those clubs using their independence to make financially foolish decisions. I suspect the Welsh would be interested in joining the Premiership, but the other Unions don't seem all that interested and in some respects might be expected to be hostile, remembering Premiership manipulation of European competition qualification just a few years ago.
No merge pls not without SA and itlay, Anglo Welsh league more likely to happen.
Money has ruined the Champions Cup. Nowhere near as good as it was. Leave the URC alone please.
Why can’t we just leave things as they are! Constant tinkering kills any interest, history and prestige.
DON’T DO IT! Learn from Super Rugby’s mistakes. Speaking from experience it takes 5 years for a new tournament to mature. No merger.
Before I even listen to this video. It's not going to happen. Nobody in Ireland wants this. You Tim, my friend, are the only one I hear talking about it. It's not even a topic in Ireland.
Now, I'll listen to your video 😊
It's bizarre isn't it. These rumours are not even a whisper in Ireland. It's an English/Welsh thing for sure.
Agreed, quite literally Tim is the only one , he already knows the URC have said absolutely no and they are very happy with the growth, but he is smart and he knows this topic will enrage everyone and gets tons of comments, ie, better for Tims channel, he knows well, this isn't happening
Thanks for the updates on this - super interesting and you’ve got great sight of it
Not knowing the exact financial positions of every club, it's hard to make a call with regards to what is the best. But these are just my observations:
- I get the idea that the Welsh would like to join the Prem.
- I get the idea that the English would like to join with the Irish
- I don't think the Irish want to lose the South Africans.
- URC + Premiership clubs might be a bit too big a competition.
- Wales joining the Prem would mean the URC, Prem and Top 14 would be fourteen clubs so it makes sense from a balance POV
Tim, honest question, what would your ideal modern rugby landscape look like from club games all the way to internationals. Would genuinely really enjoy a video talking about that dream scenario as I'm totally lost on how rugby can stop eating itself with, what appears to be, mismanagement and people at the top making short term decisions.
Rugby has a marketing problem, as everybody involved is quite bad at it. Scratch that, they are terrible at it.
@@randomlyfactual1943 Yep, agree 100%
Why not merge them, add value to a full UK-SA tournament, 6 nations of clubs, cool. It's not going away!
Tim, wasn't there a recent news article about the financial status of the Premiership with just 3 Teams deemed financially viable? The rest (7) are all carrying major debt. In addition, the situation with regard to the Championship Teams in England is another unresolved mess. Hardly surprising that broadcast media companies are not interested in competing for rights at present. How many of these teams could afford the travel expenses associated with playing URC teams? Just these issues alone should raise a Red Flag for both leagues.
The Welsh Regions are already under serious financial constraint from the WRU. There has been demonstrably decreasing support from the Welsh public for their regional teams over the last decade plus. As you said in the introduction, it's hardly surprising that some of this 'chat' about uniting the leagues is originating in Wales - aahhh, the Good Old Days shtick of an Anglo-Welsh League. Am I putting the cart in front of the horse in saying that the priorities here (for both the RU & WRU) are to stabilize their own teams & leagues before any prospect of a combined league is considered?
The issue of a Salary Cap is a non-starter for teams that are in the EU (to the best of my knowledge) - restraints in employment & wages/salaries are illegal. The IRFU are not about to sabotage their Golden Goose (the National Team) by acceding to a salary cap demand in any event - not unless there is a sizeable 'quid pro quo' (possible ownership of a Premiership franchise like London Irish, as an example).
Ultimately these difficulties are indicative of the problems that rugby has not been dealing with in either hemisphere. France has shown the way in which the game needs to be organized, structured and, supported. Other nations have attempted 'short cuts' to tempt investments and increase revenues from broadcast contracts - the results speak for themselves. The game needs to grow in other countries to make it more appealing to broadcasters but, there doesn't appear to be any sort of long term plan to ensure that outcome. A joint Premiership-URC League should have promotion/relegation which means establishing a lower division incorporating the Championship Teams from England, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Georgia, Romania, etc.
We've seen this movie before in the Super Rugby expansions. Quality over quantity. This talk of seperate conferences and promotion/relegation 🤮
Hi Tim another good video and important points covered, I'd like to to see some sort of merger ,maybe something along the lines of an Anglo-Welsh Conference that as you've stated would bring back historic rivalries and reduce travel costs etc , the South African, Irish , Italian and Scottish teams could continue this wonderful competition in an Atlantic Conference, maybe including a return of the Cheetahs so cruelly cut from the old Pro 14 and maybe eventually a South American pool with a couple of teams from Argentina and one each from Chile and Uruguay .
I'd also like to see a Pacific Conference for the Super Rugby teams as this would let the best teams from each Conference meet up in a play-offs in the month of June that could be hosted alternatively between South Africa, co-hosted between Australia/New Zealand and in Europe, this could also let us play the competition as continuously as possible without jumping from one tournament to another and back again, have a continuous flow like the NFL does and capturing the attention of new and old fans alike, and as for the Champions Cup
We need to get the once great tournament back to a sensible format, I'd like to see something like start the competition in mid September and have the teams play their six matches through to the end of October, Autumn internationals in November, this could see us have a Champions Cup quarter final in December , Semi-finals in January and the Final played in the first weekend of February ( 6 Nations start pushed back a couple weeks ) this would obviously mean different starting dates for the URC and Top 14 , the French could start their campaign in early November and play their marathon season through to late June and this could let the European URC teams start in December , the South African teams and the Australian and New Zealand teams of the Pacific Conference could start in early February and play through the same time as the 6 Nations is taking place , a 16 game regular season giving each team 8 home and away games could be completed by late May with play-offs during the month of June as previously stated hosted in either South Africa, Australia/New Zealand and Europe, maybe even having the semi-finals as a double header at one of our great rugby stadiums with the Grand Final at the same venue the following weekend, great for both tourism and the host city and helping grow this great sprt of ours, summer internationals would naturally follow on in July with the Rugby Championship in August and September , a British and Irish Cup tournament could also take place during the weekends of both the Autumn Internationals and 6 Nations, maybe even try out playing some games on Monday or Thursday evenings like the French do with hopefully a few games on council TV to to help capture new fans
Yours in Rugby
Overkill in greed will kill Rugby as a sport.
why don't premiership clubs ask their supporters to pay a small monthly subscription to help their clubs in exchange get some inside footage/ interviews etc from the players. For example a £5.99/ month.
Say a club has 20,000 supporters willing to help their club: £5.99 x 20,000 x 12 (months) = £1,437,600/ year
This could help keep clubs afloat...
Would love to see the Celtic teams build a good rivalry with the South. Keep it!!
The rumour that is over a year old and refuses to die. As a Munster fan I have loved the matches against South African teams.
RFU need to fix their own mess and maybe have regional union branches own the professional teams like here in Ireland.
The Saffas have made what was a Mickey mouse competition into a serious rugby cup. As for competitions dying look at the GAA railway cup.
Wales online Tim, hears another rumour They are eating 🐕 and 🐈 in Springfield
BTW Tim, 82,300 attending bog standard URC game in Croker next Saturday
The problem is the conflict between the absolute reliance on TV money, and the need to grow the game, which requires 'free to air'. You need to reach a critical mass of size on 'free to air' before you put things behind a paywall or you are always going to be fighting your own success. If things go well for a few years, the TV deal goes up but that then gets passed on to the TV subscriber, meaning ultimately less people watch and any success you had gets eroded. But going completely 'free to air' now is not possible.
There is no such thing as free to air.
Demographically speaking, the group who watch the least traditional TV is 18-24, so allowing networks like BBC rights eliminates a clubs/leagues future.
Prime and Netflix are watched at a much higher rate by people under 40, like much much higher!
Rugby isn't an attractive package right now, because it's not gladiators anymore. UFC have taken rugby's global stature, as rugby gets more technical and less physical it loses market share, statistically speaking.
@@leeofdoom4452 You need the world of the Internet to be able to promote the game to its max though. If people like egg chasers were allowed to use clips from the games to make a highlights show or to chat about the game or big hit reels of the week and stuff you would get more engagement I think. But so long as people are paying for exclusive rights to the footage that will never be allowed. You just don't see enough current rugby on TH-cam to capture the TH-cam generation.
@Doofus369 now this point I fully agree with, rugby is too insular!
Look at Mr Beast, Jo Rogan etc, they believe people using their content only promotes them, and it is hard to argue against
Don’t fix what is not broken. The URC is great, England should find their own way to spice things up maybe have a mid season all star game…
NO NO NO
URC doesn't need the Prem
Tim love your posts but not sure if I am on the same page as you with you American model where the Italian sides are not included. If the game is to be grown in that region they need to play in a meaningful league. Just look how Argentina have progressed when given the opportunity to play against better sides. Thanks for the posts.
Well if the bomb us suffers out they will instantly lose around 5 million viewers . I have never watched a Premiership match and would definitely not take a subscription out to watch the English and Irish teams play. . The only reason we now know who teams like munster and lienster are is because of the urc ... things are building nicely between the saffa and Irish clubs .. why try fix what ain't broke. Sometimes I have no idea if these so called administrators ever know what the fans want
Things are building between the SA and Irish clubs? How?
How many times have tou travelled to SA to watch your province? Me neither.
How many Munster fans were in a 56k crowd for the 2023 final? Less than 100.
What is the point winning trophies if you can't travel to watch your team compete in the final?
How many Stormer or Sgarks fans have you seen following their team up north? In 2 seasons I've met 2, a couple who lived in Bristol, lovely couple, but they are probably 50% of SA support in south Wales last season lol
Lol this doos thinks I'm irish .. talking about munster and provinces .
@bosvarkd8403 Why do South Africans speak like trash to other people? You were the one spoke about Irish teams. I'm not sure why the name calling, he disagreed with you. Are you mature enough to have a conversation without name calling like a child?
The URC is doing fine. Some In English rugby want to join it at the expense of the Italian and South African team. No thanks!
The URC is doing fine. They need the Premiership. The Premiership needs the URC.
Premiership can have the Welsh!! Good luck
It sounds like it is mainly the Welsh teams who want to aligned with England. So why not just have the Welsh teams leave. Have the URC add four new teams. The Cheetahs, maybe another Italian or Scottish team. Maybe a the Black Lions or a Spanish or Portuguese team.
Scotland hasn't the money for another pro team, neither do Italy. Adding Romanian, Spanish or a Portuguese teams would require the league funding them for the first few years, and they would add no competition.
It would also mean more travel, the URC is already a TV league as it is, with away fan travel being the lowest on the planet.
I’m not against a merge, however I do think rugby needs to be more accessible, to pay over £30 a month to have tnt sports to be able to watch a prem game is absolutely ridiculous, most people can’t afford that
If Wales Online told me the sea was salty,I’d go and check it
You would need a salt mine to cover the pinches you’d need to deal with their rubbish stories
watched the Rugby Pod last week. Shocking how English Rugby is only surviving due to the Largesse of Club owners. No idea what the fix is but leave the URC alone.
Its strange because all we hear about is the salary cap that hinders the English teams yet almost all lose alot of money . The salary cap would only hinder them it they ran a huge surplus every year and had more to invest.
While Wales are my '6 Nations' side, they really need to hang on a bit to see how things develop with the URC. The SA teams have already (IMHO and others) had a very positive effect and it just seems to be getting better and better. But maybe the English sides can take part in a broadened European League and let things develop from there. But I doubt that the Posh Boys still running the (E)RFU into the ground - and WR? - would want that.
Remember Super Rugby with its conference system. 😂😂😂 just as I type this, you mention it.
As a Welshman I’d love the Regions to join with the English clubs, it’s the best atmosphere when we welcomed Harelquins and Bath to Cardiff last season, all games were sellouts.
I’d like to see Black Lion get added into the URC and another European team.
Also relegation from both leagues the URC with Europe and SA teams then the Anglo-Welsh league, if Welsh teams aren’t good enough they go into the Championship, it’s the only way to keep it all exciting in my eyes but it’s risky for Welsh Rugby but we should be where we are at due to our performances
Be careful what you wish for my friend 😮
But Welsh always say people don't support the regions because they are loyal to their original clubs ?
Really really hope it doesn't happen. The only way I'd like to see the English involved would be max 4 RFU owned English franchises. The Premiership brass destroyed the Heineken cup, I'd have no time whatsoever for them having a say in the running of another competition.
This merger BS is nothing but short term thinking really😠
Why would the IRFU change it's whole central contracts model just to appease the Premiership clubs? It's not going to happen. The Irish model works, for Ireland. It could work for Wales and Scotland. It has potential for England. The English model doesn't even work for English clubs, otherwise we wouldn't be seeing this drivel about them joining the URC, and at the expense of S.A. and Italian teams as was initially reported weeks ago.
Promotion / Relegation? The Premiership / Championship can't even get that right.
It's literally just the Welsh clubs being so bad that they think a change will somehow make that different... No interest from Ireland or SA that I can see, and minimal at best from Scotland and Italy.
It's called the Wail Online. That should pretty much put a frame around the source.
Doubt the IRFU are as keen as Wales are, they've seen the value added from SA teams. It's grown yearly and gotten a huge rugby audience added to the prior Pro14 league, if Wales unions want to bail then let them go join the Prem, there's plenty of other unions that can benefit from joining the URC
It's for CVC to decide. They own rugby.
No please
Kiwi fans would take south africa in a heart beat. Same with the super players and coaches. Its the administration that stuffed up.
I think one of the things we can look at is, that every team does not NEED to play every other team. How that is drawn is something we can look at deeper. Maybe based on previous year's log standings?
No merger prefer it separate otherwise european cup has no merit
I, sadly, think the European Cup may be cooked. I hope I'm wrong
@EggchasersRugby I also hope you're wrong, but it is looking that way
@@EggchasersRugby Not sure that South African Teams do not understand or appreciate the history of the European Cup. I think it is more a case of lack of squad depth due to lower salary caps in SA (also over 200 pro's being contracted overseas) and the existing schedules. I also think that South African Teams not being allowed to secure a home semi-final is also problematic and swaying SA club coaches to focus rather on URC. On a positive note, the squad depth at the Bulls and Sharks looks much better this year, so we may see a better showing f and interest from the South African Teams in 2024.
The world rugby club cup? that must be the stupidest idea we've had so far. Completely unworkable.
The only way the NFL model works is by having a draft of the new players entering the league. The worst-performing teams get a preferential order in the draft to help in leveling the quality of the teams. The only reason they can do this is because they have a junior league to draft from, (college football).
Thank you Tim loved your view and agree,
Why 10 English teams .... that means already the English teams will get twice the money any of the other countries get ... this is honestly pissing me off .. when the urc started I remember English journalists and players saying the urc is inferior the premiership is the best ...now all of a sudden they want in it's a joke
An A league and B league would be a disaster. Who’s gonna watch the B league?
Exactly, and importantly, what players would want to play in the B league? No stars for sure
If you were going to do those American style divisions to decide who to play twice, you could do what the URC does, and just display it as one 24 team table, with the top 8 making the playoffs. Easier to understand one table, but still get the benefit of playing teams near you twice, but travelling further away less.
I'd potentially be open to do it, but as long as it doesn't wipe out club legacy. I support Harlequins, and love to support Harlequins, but if joining the URC meant that say there's now a London franchise, ala THE HUNDRED in cricket, that Quins and Sarries have to merge into I don't think it will go down well. Same with the West Country, same with the West Midlands etc; club supporters in England are proud to support their clubs. If franchising HAS to happen as a condition, I don't think thats good for the sport from a historical point of view; and Rugby is a sport thats proud of its history and rightly so. Yes it's still an infant as a professional sport but the clubs involved with it certainly are not.
If it just meant that they just merge into one league structure, where no one gets their history erased, I'd be open to it. Theres a lot of fragility with the proposal and they need to make sure they get everyone on the same page. If no one is on the same page it's not worth the trouble.
I agree with you it's been meddled with far too much.
The promotion relegation setup will not work for rugby. I saw a video once that mentioned that if there is a risk of being relegated, you will lose players by the drobes.