And yet Ireland and Wales were an absolute mess at the 1999 RWC. 4 years later slightly improving but still nowhere near.
The national team can be turned quickly.
The Scots can easily fund two teams. International rugby easily funds that.
The Welsh canât.
If France had a strong association football league along the lines of La Liga or Serie A in its pomp, that sort of league tends to sweep all before it.
It doesnât have that league, so the way is clear for rugby.
The existence of the Premier League in England is a massive impediment to English club rugby.
Super Rugby has the problem of Australian audiences not giving a shit and the South African teams pulling out. Even New Zealanders seem more emotionally attached to their NPC teams than to the Super Rugby franchises.
I wonder will this mooted UK/URC Super League happen, if not now then some years down the road. It might be the only way to sustain club/provincial rugby outside of France.
The English teams would be a significant draw in Ireland and I think theyâd energise Welsh and Scottish audiences a lot more than the current competition does, likewise the big English teams would benefit in playing and monetary terms by playing Leinster and Munster.
England have so many clubs though that they should be grand. We manage just fine with 4 provincial teams even though weâd probably have scope for a 5th. The paucity of teams in Scotland and Wales and their poor performances in European club competitions is more of an issue.
Thatâs not true though. Leicester, Exeter, Gloucester and others are profitable on and off.
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Yes they can easily afford 10 teams. They need to cut costs still. Theyâve been overpaying no question.
Yup for some bizarre reason the club owners in England think they are at the same level as EPL soccer. No where near nor will ever be. English rubby will implode but there will be a massive fallout that will affect all other 5 nations bar france
NRL attendances are pretty shite outside of matches at the classic shithole venues and the Grand Final. The AFL is booming.
Association football is stealing rugbyâs thunder. It has a passable domestic competition, fanatical interest in English and European football, and national teams which are performing well.
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Untrue.
Gga is the only sports with local pride?
Ireland doesnât have scope for a fifth team because it would be a franchise. A team has got to have a geographical basis for existing.
French clubs rugby booms in large part because that small city/town geographical pride has never been lost.
Nope. They were always up and down pre COVID/CVC distortion.
Theyâll level off again.
Covid completely fucked some English clubs.
No they werenât. They were all losing money pre covid.
Sale Sharks were being subsidised to the tune of 1.5 million a year by Kennedy, and this when the average salary for a player was 60k.
He couldnât wait to be shot of it
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Itâs a fine balance but Ireland look at supporting a fifth team in France or at least supporting a club to further expand the playing base.
On and off pre Covid.
A club like Gloucester will make a profit one year and a loss the next.
Northampton a small profit the year before (16 years of profits before)
Exeter were run the same way pre Covid.
I didnât mention Sale, did I?
The notion of an Irish team playing the Top Quatorze or the Pro De Deux is fantasy for all sorts of reasons.
Nobody would support it anyway.
I think the UK/URC Super League will have to happen at some point because the salaries in French rugby will gallop ahead and players wonât be able to resist. I expect within a decade or so the Top Quatorze will have become a sort of NBA of rugby or at least a Premier League/La Liga. Long term I see Super Rugby folding completely.
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Sorry I mean maybe supporting a club. London Irish would have been ideal.
Bring back the Exiles.
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