Aviva Premiership: something exciting happens

[5starfan]

Watching Bath v Leicester this evening only reminds me of the privilege we enjoy supporting a club like Leinster. Given Leicester in particular were missing a number of Internationals the obvious lack of squad depth resulted in them losing the game to a last minute try against a very poor Bath Team.

The game itself (on a perfect evening for rugby) was strewn with errors, poor decision making and just general poor play. Bring back the URC please.

[blockhead]

Watching Bath v Leicester this evening only reminds me of the privilege we enjoy supporting a club like Leinster. Given Leicester in particular were missing a number of Internationals the obvious lack of squad depth resulted in them losing the game to a last minute try against a very poor Bath Team.

The game itself (on a perfect evening for rugby) was strewn with errors, poor decision making and just general poor play. Bring back the URC please.

Has JVG hit his 80% yet, or is his metric at Bath less ambitious.

[ronk]

3 in a row for them, which gives them 3 wins for the season.

[blockhead]

Watching Bath v Leicester this evening only reminds me of the privilege we enjoy supporting a club like Leinster. Given Leicester in particular were missing a number of Internationals the obvious lack of squad depth resulted in them losing the game to a last minute try against a very poor Bath Team.

The game itself (on a perfect evening for rugby) was strewn with errors, poor decision making and just general poor play. Bring back the URC please.

2 weeks today the URC is back.
Following day, Leinster v Glasgow in the RDS at 3:15pm. Then off to the pub to watch Munster v Connacht at 7:35pm.
#Best League In the world

[IanD]

BBC News - Worcester Warriors: Relegated Premiership club's debts amount to more than £30m
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/63690352

From the above article

As well as owing the government £16.1m from their Covid Sports Survival loan, Begbies Traynor says the club owe £2.1m in unpaid taxes to HM Revenue and Customs.

Hundreds of suppliers, businesses, banks and ticket holders are also together owed more than £5.8m.

The club's payroll arm, WRFC Players Ltd, also owed £6.8m at the time of being wound up.

Joint administrator Palmer has now concluded that, even if Warriors' entire assets were sold off, the funds raised would be unable to pay off the club's debts.

The club's assets were diminished greatly in 2018, prior to Goldring and Whittingham becoming directors, when the freehold of both the stadium at Sixways and a large portion of the surrounding land was sold by WRFC Trading Ltd to another of the Warriors owners' companies before being leased back to the club.



But remember this is in the greatest league in the world.

[ronk]

That adds up to more than £30m. Most of that debt is recent.

[riocard911]

c/o Tim O'Connor on Twitter:

CEO of the Gallagher Premiership Simon Massie Taylor at the Commons DCMS hearing: “The Anglo-Welsh is not a current serious proposal. It’s not something we’re going to see in the next decade.”

And there you have it.

https://twitter.com/timoconnorbl/status ... iqoKUsAAAA

***

The exchange here.

To put this in context: this means an Anglo Welsh is not happening in the playing lifetime of those born at the end of the rebel season.

https://twitter.com/timoconnorbl/status ... 2347286528

[paddyor]

c/o Tim O'Connor on Twitter:

CEO of the Gallagher Premiership Simon Massie Taylor at the Commons DCMS hearing: “The Anglo-Welsh is not a current serious proposal. It’s not something we’re going to see in the next decade.”

And there you have it.

https://twitter.com/timoconnorbl/status ... iqoKUsAAAA

***

The exchange here.

To put this in context: this means an Anglo Welsh is not happening in the playing lifetime of those born at the end of the rebel season.

https://twitter.com/timoconnorbl/status ... 2347286528

I appear to be blocked.........

[neill_m]

Bath being heavily linked with Finn Russell in the media etc.

[wixfjord]

Bath being heavily linked with Finn Russell in the media etc.

JVG & Finn, a match made in rugby heaven.

[dropkick]

Bath being heavily linked with Finn Russell in the media etc.

JVG & Finn, a match made in rugby heaven.

Strange one. JVG likes the SA style of play and that doesn't play to Russell's strengths.

[blockhead]

c/o Tim O'Connor on Twitter:

CEO of the Gallagher Premiership Simon Massie Taylor at the Commons DCMS hearing: “The Anglo-Welsh is not a current serious proposal. It’s not something we’re going to see in the next decade.”

And there you have it.

https://twitter.com/timoconnorbl/status ... iqoKUsAAAA

***

The exchange here.

To put this in context: this means an Anglo Welsh is not happening in the playing lifetime of those born at the end of the rebel season.

https://twitter.com/timoconnorbl/status ... 2347286528

Unrequited love is a bitch.
Remember "hands across the Severn"?

[Ruckedtobits]

The RFU & Premier Rugby head men both got very heavily criticised yesterday by a key British Parliamentary Committee over the collapses of Wasps & Worcester:

https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/63742093

(There was also extracts on "What it says in Parliament" on Radio 4 last night)

It has finally dawned on the RFU that their processes of governance and regulation of professional rugby are not fit for purpose. Premier Rugby has never had any interest in either concept and it shows.

These Boards have been highlighted this fact for about five years. The French and Irish Unions oversight makes no assumption of "good intentions" and constantly says "show me the evidence".

For such reasons, both Ulster & Connacht were sanctioned in the past seven years and the outcomes were beneficial.

[hugonaut]

Lots of Premiership news to digest over the last week.

Finn Russell's proposed move to Bath will end in tears. Sure, I could be wrong, but I probably won't be. Signing one of the biggest flakes in rugby as a marquee player is really silly. Bath don't need to get people through the gates, they have a loyal and healthy following despite their poor results.

A coach who has shown for half a decade that he can only coach the most basic brand of meat-and-potatoes rugby signing one of the biggest showboaters in rugby? Chef's kiss. A marriage made in divorce court.

[ronk]

Exeter selling part of the hotel to a director.


https://www.exeterchiefs.co.uk/news/clu ... december-1

[FLIP]

Wasps has debts of £95m when they went under:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/63874443

[riocard911]

With the reluctance of the Nigels to admit, that they've seriously diminished the Heino, and the ongoing tribulations in the Prem, I predict the RFU and the English clubs eventually suggesting a merger with the URC - "for the good of Northern Hemisphere rugby" or shite to that effect. If and when said approach is made, my bottom line would be the following:

"Grand. Can do. Structure is two professional leagues à la France. URC becomes URC Division One (with relegation). All English clubs, Sarries incl., can join the Georgians, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Heidelberg, Uncle Tom Cobbly and all, in URC Division Two and fight for promotion. Take it or leave it."

[fourthirtythree]

Not bitter at all are you?

I'd just be more concerned about making sure they could never form a voting bloc to undermine it/take it over. So non-voting shares for the Welsh would be my suggestion. Being serious I don't see how we could get into bed with them, TV money/commercial sponsors would always end up giving them control and shooting the league in the foot while doing it.

[riocard911]

Not bitter at all are you?

I'd just be more concerned about making sure they could never form a voting bloc to undermine it/take it over. So non-voting shares for the Welsh would be my suggestion. Being serious I don't see how we could get into bed with them, TV money/commercial sponsors would always end up giving them control and shooting the league in the foot while doing it.

Bitter? Moi? What gave you that crazy idea?

[ronk]

https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/63987707

Baxter moaning about travel costs to South Africa. It's one game for 2 or 3 English clubs per year. And the Heineken Cup are paying a big chunk of their expenses anyway.

14th Jan is pretty much the cheapest time of the year to fly.

Would it kill them to say they were excited about a massive opportunity for them, rather than try to kill it.