Roar Pro
Joined June 2016
366
Views
1
Published
608
Comments
"I disagree with what you say, but will defend with my life your right to say it." - Voltaire.
Published
Comments
In early 2000 I migrated to Australia determined to give my young family a better life. What struck me about our newly adopted country…
Appointing Kearns as CEO is just handing Rugby to Foxtel on the cheap.
Rugby Australia face Sunday showdown talks
On recent evidence, I’m not wholly convinced the Tah’s can beat anyone.
… dives for cover from incoming fire. 😛
Force to make comeback as Rugby AU announce domestic comp for remainder of Super Rugby season
Simple solution – No Touch Rugby 😛
Play it safe or play on? Tough calls coming up for RA
Given the disruption to the global market, many of those Aussies playing overseas might just find themselves in need of a new club. Who knows. 😛
New Zealand comp in planning to replace Super Rugby
Desalination could be powered by renewables and if we did what European cities do, i.e. overcome the ‘yuk factor’ and reuse waste water once treated there would be less of an issue.
New Zealand comp in planning to replace Super Rugby
Hey Piru, did you forget the act of thuggery and assault on BOD during his BIL tour to NZ in 2005? Apparently according to Short Arm, that’s acceptable level of behaviour in a contact sport.
How to fix another red card ruining rugby
EFF,
I understand what you are saying and the issue arises because the severity of an incident is a continuous spectrum whereas the sanction is one of four options (play on, PK, YC, RC).
Yes the Kwagga incident was unfortunate but I recall Boks supporters leaving in droves at half time when in the amateur era, England were beating them at home back in about 1994. Nothing new there.
I agree with you on the need for referees’ actions to reflect the professionalism of the game and consistency is still something that will plague the game for a long time to come. We also need to reflect that what happens in professional rugby is often copied at junior levels. So kids need to understand that their actions bring consequences.
How to fix another red card ruining rugby
“I also wish there could be a more measured approach to red cards, so that the majority can still enjoy the game.”
You are aware there is a framework in place to determine whether an incident merits a RC, YC or PK right? Bear in mind if you punched someone in the street you’d rightly be charged with assault, so why should such actions be waived away to protect the spectacle in Rugby?
Whilst I agree with the contest being ruined by a RC, the players know what the sanctions are and need to maintain their discipline. Throwing a punch is stupid and deserves a card, a poor tackle like taking the man in the air so he lands on his head could put a player in a wheelchair for life. As such, the sanction needs to act as a deterrent.
How to fix another red card ruining rugby
Gears over Corona virus probably putting people off, plus people don’t go to watch a team lose.
Was there last night and very surprised how sparse the crowd was.
Both the Force and Rebels enjoyed crowds of around 24,000 in the very first matches, but failure leads to falling attendance.
Are any SR rugby matches pulling decent crowds though?
Rebels roll Lions for 37-17 Super win
“If you’re reffing to the letter it’s contact with the head, but I don’t think there was any malice there and there’s nowhere for him to go.”
Surely the answer, given that the high tackle protocol has been in force for fully twelve months now, is simply to tackle lower?
Brumbies call for red card consistency
The talk of RSA joining the 6N post RWC2023 is interesting. I’m waiting for it to dawn on the current 6N boards that the Boks have a better than 60% winning ration against all 6N teams, nearly 90% against Scotland. Surely they are going to come to the conclusion that if they let RSA into the competition it will be the last time some of them, notably Scotland and Italy [who never have been tbh] will ever be in the hunt for the trophy. 😱
The Wrap: The Sunwolves and Super Rugby’s shame file
Why not make use of Mars [Eureka] stadium in Ballarat? They held an NRC game there last year and with a capacity of 11,000 (5,000 seated) its more than big enough to accommodate the Rebels supporter base. 😉
The Wrap: The Sunwolves and Super Rugby’s shame file
Mark,
SR runs at a loss. To pretend otherwise is disingenuous at best. It was a market leading product when it was first launched but the gloss has gone off it. RA stated that the Wallabies is a profitable brand and Tests generals make money, especially BIL, TRC, England and Ireland tours.
Secondly, yes Aussie SR teams are shite, but they won’t get any better under this system. We need to find an effective way to fund Union in Australia that is successful.
Thirdly, Union existed in Australia before SR was conceived and will likely survive SR’s demise.
Finally as a dual citizen UK/AU I object to you pejorative term “convict”.
Fox Sports believe Rugby Australia scuppered TV deal
Time to grab our pitchforks imho. 😛
Fox Sports believe Rugby Australia scuppered TV deal
Paul, maybe, maybe not. The fall out from the Sarries salary cap breach may be the end of the NH gravy train but only time will tell.
The problem is we try to pay top salaries to keep Wallabies in SR, yet no-one turns up to watch. The existence of SR makes NRC a meaningless competition.
So all I’m suggesting as a discussion point is what should be done if there is a lower dollar value to the TV rights deal?
We can’t fund both SR and NRC, we can only afford to keep the Wallabies playing in Australia if there is enough money. So maybe, let those Wallabies that want to play overseas and pick the best 23 for the Wallabies from anywhere in the world.
Take the TV dollars and run a better competition that NRC in place of the SR season and don’t start playing in 40C in late January FFS.
Drive grass roots involvement and grow the game. Hopefully get RWC2027 (or whenever) and drive interest.
Get Twiggy on the RA board and yes, deal with the narrow parochial mismanagement from the states. One thing is for sure, if we keep doing what we are doing we’ll end up like Ireland – perennial RWC QFs at best.
Fox Sports believe Rugby Australia scuppered TV deal
Machooka, Great rant. I agreed with pretty much everything you said. Question is how can we, the grass roots supporters change things?
Fox Sports believe Rugby Australia scuppered TV deal
Maybe its time to accept that SR as a product is dead and that the cash cow is the Test rugby.
TV audiences and attendance at SR is down everywhere. In a crowded market with huge timezone differences, and from 2021, the top 4 teams in the SR ladder will be NZ based, this decline will continue.
Walk away from SR, invest the TV rights deal – have to assume one can be found – in expanded improved NRC competition, maybe two tiers. Roll the SR players into that and put it on FTA TV.
Drive exposure of the code, domestic rivalries etc.
Get Andrew Forrest onto the RA Board and reunite Rugby in Australia. Hopefully if RA’s bid for a future RWC is successful the cash injection will help resurrect the code.
My 2c worth.
Fox Sports believe Rugby Australia scuppered TV deal
True enough, though you might argue that no SR franchise has much tradition in the grand scheme of things.
Given who my local teams are / were, should I support Gloucester, Sale, Preston Grasshoppers, Western Force or Rebels? I try to get behind whoever is my local team at the time, which is why as an Englishman I actually support the Wallabies … they represent my adopted country. But hey, that’s just me. 😱
Will relegation in the north promote rugby in the south?
Just my personal bias but I go along every week to watch community rugby and often end up watching Dewar shield matches. Last year we ended up in Ballarat for Country Barbarians vs Rebels development squad. The game was followed by an NRC game.
Once the BaBa’s game was done we went home. For some reason I just can’t get invested in NRC at the moment. Maybe this year’ll be different.
My 2c worth.
Will relegation in the north promote rugby in the south?
Good point. The Gallagher Prem makes a regular habit of moving big derbies to Twickenham. 60,000 turned up for Bristol vs Bath in 2018 … the problem though is would those numbers turn up for say Tahs vs Reds? Evidence seems to seem to be no unless hey are both in contention for a finals spot.
Tyranny of distance again seems to be the biggest issue, so perhaps the question should be would they turn up to watch a local derby? The Shute shield seems to be the best attended comparison and they certainly get good crowds, but 60,000?
Will relegation in the north promote rugby in the south?
Also an argument that some benefited from the move. Skelton seemed to be reborn fitter, faster and more athletic whilst at Saracens.
Will relegation in the north promote rugby in the south?
Bob, reasonable point IMHO. Of course if we had relegation in SR, who would be relegated and to where and who promoted and from where?
The Gallagher Premiership is of course a tight geographical competition with loads of local derbies, exactly what is missing in SR, which huge timezone differences and a complex conference system that did little to promote home rivalries.
Time to scrap SR and move on to something else.
Will relegation in the north promote rugby in the south?
TMan, I agree with your sentiment and I’m no fan of Sarries, but to an extent their hand was forced to prevent top players heading to France for even more lucrative contracts. To compete in Europe they needed the very best they could attract – to the detriment of Celtic and SH teams. But we only have to look at how poor the French national team has been since about 2000, to see where this has lead.
Can only hope that many of the players currently plying their trade in the NH can bring their skills home, but for that to happen both the Premiership and the Top14 teams’ owners need to be reined in.
English champions Saracens to be relegated for salary cap breach
They’re “sorry” FFS! 😡
Crusaders sorry for NZ lockdown breach