A Letter from Bristol.
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Re: A Letter from Bristol.
imho, as a rule, william blessings posts take a bit more effort to read, but are usually a bit rewarding for exactly the same reason.
if you are happy and you know it, you are unusual.
Re: A Letter from Bristol.
If I ever get to the end of one, which I very much doubt, I'll let you know.
Nowadays referees decide matches, players by how much.
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William Blessing
- Top Cat
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:20 pm
- Location: Bristol
Re: A Letter from Bristol.
Somme Battle at the Recreational Drug Ground.
If ecstasy was first used by the German Army in 1917 to alleviate the discomfort of their poor suffering troops in the rain, mud and bombs of the front lines, I'm not sure what was firing a belligerent crowd eventually celebrating an attritional draw, at their newly developed arena this sunday afternoon. Someone had, overnight, without a by as your leave from the planning department, built a swimming pool in front of the club house and the touch line was being simultaneously used for the minority sport of bog snorkling.
I watched this from the comfort of my next doors front room on his spendid new large screen, having earlier first dozed through a strangely distant game from Castres where the locals, one man and his dog, had clearly not read the script and neither had Danny Cipriani a text book on how to tackle.
Meanwhile, as 3pm approached, outside on the street, a small stream of faithful Bristol supporters went down the hill to a poorly attended Sunday afternoon prayer meeting at the Memorial Ground to watch the "dead rubber" against Montpelier. I guiltily missed out on this, as I confess to sinning and instead chose to watch the Bath Toulouse game on TV, which was played appropriately amid a torrent of biblical sunday school proportions, even though ten miles away here in Bristol the sun shone on us, the not so righteous.
Looking back on a weekend of wall to wall rugby on TV with the odd dozen or so FA cup ties thrown in what are my recollections? You know, I think I'm begining to forget it already. As the crowd walked back up the hill after the Bristol game I asked one of them the score. " 24-14 to Bristol" a family man said, as he passed by with his brood. "Any good?" I ventured hopefully. "No it was as poor as ever". Food for thought indeed.
If ecstasy was first used by the German Army in 1917 to alleviate the discomfort of their poor suffering troops in the rain, mud and bombs of the front lines, I'm not sure what was firing a belligerent crowd eventually celebrating an attritional draw, at their newly developed arena this sunday afternoon. Someone had, overnight, without a by as your leave from the planning department, built a swimming pool in front of the club house and the touch line was being simultaneously used for the minority sport of bog snorkling.
I watched this from the comfort of my next doors front room on his spendid new large screen, having earlier first dozed through a strangely distant game from Castres where the locals, one man and his dog, had clearly not read the script and neither had Danny Cipriani a text book on how to tackle.
Meanwhile, as 3pm approached, outside on the street, a small stream of faithful Bristol supporters went down the hill to a poorly attended Sunday afternoon prayer meeting at the Memorial Ground to watch the "dead rubber" against Montpelier. I guiltily missed out on this, as I confess to sinning and instead chose to watch the Bath Toulouse game on TV, which was played appropriately amid a torrent of biblical sunday school proportions, even though ten miles away here in Bristol the sun shone on us, the not so righteous.
Looking back on a weekend of wall to wall rugby on TV with the odd dozen or so FA cup ties thrown in what are my recollections? You know, I think I'm begining to forget it already. As the crowd walked back up the hill after the Bristol game I asked one of them the score. " 24-14 to Bristol" a family man said, as he passed by with his brood. "Any good?" I ventured hopefully. "No it was as poor as ever". Food for thought indeed.
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William Blessing
- Top Cat
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:20 pm
- Location: Bristol
Re: A Letter from Bristol.
Snow, snow, quick quick snow.
"Come snowing", the latest TV reality dance snowing competition has swept the nation like an errr.... blizzard, and here in Bristol, the locals can talk of nothing else. For example I heard one conversation go as follows. "Snow what? Snow snow round yer!".
Indeed, there's snow business like snow business. Especially when it's not snowing....or is it? I'm marooned in my house today, Wednesday morning, waiting for a man from the electricity board who is supposed to be fitting, at their behest, an "onstream meter". I have booked the visit, on my day off, between the hours of 8 am and 1 pm , and as it's now 11 am and nothing has happened, I'm beginning to wonder.
Meanwhile, on the rugby front, Bristol have given their team a week off and several have taken a well earned break, visiting picturesque places they've always wanted to see, like the world renowned Tesco carpark in Northampton, the busy naval dockyards of Toulon or the polished mahogany pews of Bath Abbey, just praying that someone, in dark glasses, accidentally drops a shoebox full of unmarked used fivers in front of them, whilst negotiations about next year's contract continue with the understandably cautious Consortium at the Memorial Stadium.
One can imagine the dialogue. "Well we can't offer you anything at the moment until we know whether we avoid relegation, but if we do, we are still a bit short of the filthy lucre, so how about a nice big pay cut? How does that grab you? Let me know how you feel about it. Take a winter holiday somewhere cheap, there are some great bargains going at the moment, I hear the snow is fine for toboganing downhill on upturned dustbin lids in Totterdown at the moment. You can borrow my bus pass for the day if you wish. Don't worry, they never look at the photograph as long as you can pass for being around the 50 years old mark. See you soon."
Yes, things have never looked so rosy at the moment as the phrase "revenue protection" bursts onto the scene as Premier Rugby seek to squeeze a few more bob out of the empty and holed pockets of the unwitting supporter. "Do you think they will notice?" quizzed one PRL executive to another. "Got to give it a try have't we?"
"Whaddabout the RFU? Won't they spot somethin' changin' in the fixture list?"
"Wassit gotta do wiv them? After all anyone who arranges an Anglian Windows Saxon game against the might of Portugal on a freezin' night in Stockport minus Ronaldo has got to be off his trolley". What was that all about?
Oh yes, the future of the game is safe in the hands of the great thinkers controlling our game. The comforting thought that for the next 8 years we are guaranteed consensus, cooperation and certainty in how the "professional" game is run. After all it's all been signed sealed and delivered hasn't it?
I wonder if the man from the electricity board will turn up? Still no sign of snow..... Hello, a ring on the bell. He's here. And so the old meter, full of wheels, springs, clocks and dials is summarrily replaced by an anonymous little white plastic box with a small digital read out. In about four years time, so the young chap tells me, it will be upgraded to a smart on line facility, doing away with guesses and readings. Something to look forward to.
So, it's down the road to the Centre and a wander through the old part of town, the Corn Exchange. I notice a camera crew videoing something and the director signals to someone to walk through the crowd. Who can it be? Shock horror... it's dear old Austen Healey. I resist the temptation to ask him "WassitallaboutdenAusin?"
Adoring ladies of a certain age with their daughters giggle and look back. "Issiminnit? IssAussininnit from Comesnowinorwassitcalledinnit?
Hurtling home on the bus up the Gloucester Road back to Horfield for a sandwich, the bus spends 20 minutes picking up passengers at the Haymarket, I look on the Bristol Official Forum and a thread invites one to attend a coaching session with the Barbarians tonight, lead by one Austen Healey of "Come Snowin'" fame. That is the Bristol Barbarians, I hasten to add. A local team in Stockwood to next door neighbours British Gas RFC.
It's all beginning to make sense, at last.
"Come snowing", the latest TV reality dance snowing competition has swept the nation like an errr.... blizzard, and here in Bristol, the locals can talk of nothing else. For example I heard one conversation go as follows. "Snow what? Snow snow round yer!".
Indeed, there's snow business like snow business. Especially when it's not snowing....or is it? I'm marooned in my house today, Wednesday morning, waiting for a man from the electricity board who is supposed to be fitting, at their behest, an "onstream meter". I have booked the visit, on my day off, between the hours of 8 am and 1 pm , and as it's now 11 am and nothing has happened, I'm beginning to wonder.
Meanwhile, on the rugby front, Bristol have given their team a week off and several have taken a well earned break, visiting picturesque places they've always wanted to see, like the world renowned Tesco carpark in Northampton, the busy naval dockyards of Toulon or the polished mahogany pews of Bath Abbey, just praying that someone, in dark glasses, accidentally drops a shoebox full of unmarked used fivers in front of them, whilst negotiations about next year's contract continue with the understandably cautious Consortium at the Memorial Stadium.
One can imagine the dialogue. "Well we can't offer you anything at the moment until we know whether we avoid relegation, but if we do, we are still a bit short of the filthy lucre, so how about a nice big pay cut? How does that grab you? Let me know how you feel about it. Take a winter holiday somewhere cheap, there are some great bargains going at the moment, I hear the snow is fine for toboganing downhill on upturned dustbin lids in Totterdown at the moment. You can borrow my bus pass for the day if you wish. Don't worry, they never look at the photograph as long as you can pass for being around the 50 years old mark. See you soon."
Yes, things have never looked so rosy at the moment as the phrase "revenue protection" bursts onto the scene as Premier Rugby seek to squeeze a few more bob out of the empty and holed pockets of the unwitting supporter. "Do you think they will notice?" quizzed one PRL executive to another. "Got to give it a try have't we?"
"Whaddabout the RFU? Won't they spot somethin' changin' in the fixture list?"
"Wassit gotta do wiv them? After all anyone who arranges an Anglian Windows Saxon game against the might of Portugal on a freezin' night in Stockport minus Ronaldo has got to be off his trolley". What was that all about?
Oh yes, the future of the game is safe in the hands of the great thinkers controlling our game. The comforting thought that for the next 8 years we are guaranteed consensus, cooperation and certainty in how the "professional" game is run. After all it's all been signed sealed and delivered hasn't it?
I wonder if the man from the electricity board will turn up? Still no sign of snow..... Hello, a ring on the bell. He's here. And so the old meter, full of wheels, springs, clocks and dials is summarrily replaced by an anonymous little white plastic box with a small digital read out. In about four years time, so the young chap tells me, it will be upgraded to a smart on line facility, doing away with guesses and readings. Something to look forward to.
So, it's down the road to the Centre and a wander through the old part of town, the Corn Exchange. I notice a camera crew videoing something and the director signals to someone to walk through the crowd. Who can it be? Shock horror... it's dear old Austen Healey. I resist the temptation to ask him "WassitallaboutdenAusin?"
Adoring ladies of a certain age with their daughters giggle and look back. "Issiminnit? IssAussininnit from Comesnowinorwassitcalledinnit?
Hurtling home on the bus up the Gloucester Road back to Horfield for a sandwich, the bus spends 20 minutes picking up passengers at the Haymarket, I look on the Bristol Official Forum and a thread invites one to attend a coaching session with the Barbarians tonight, lead by one Austen Healey of "Come Snowin'" fame. That is the Bristol Barbarians, I hasten to add. A local team in Stockwood to next door neighbours British Gas RFC.
It's all beginning to make sense, at last.
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William Blessing
- Top Cat
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:20 pm
- Location: Bristol
Re: A Letter from Bristol.
University of Bath vs Bristol University, Wed. 18th Feb. k.o. 2pm main campus pitch
WilliamBlessing
Date: 18 February, 2009 09:48
Marvels never cease! A phone call to the Bath University contact number, answered in 3 seconds by a bright bubbly young lady, confirmed that "Yes the game is on, and no, it wasn't on the Sulis pitch, but on the "Elite pitch next to the sports hall".
So it's off to the train station, bus pass in hand to watch the game. This is the penultimate game before the top six sides in the Premier southern Division go into the mix with their Northern Division counterparts and somehow a knock out is arranged with 14 teams competing, the other two being the top teams in the second division being promoted... I believe...however as the top team in the second divison is Hartpury Seconds......and the next is Oxford University Greyhounds.....err....I'll try and find out.
Bristol have played on through the bad weather, achieving a notable victory over Exeter University and they play Hartpurty away on Sunday, rearranged due to the cold snap we had.
So any of you gentlemen of a retired disposition I hope to see you on the touchline as the natural order is restored and a rugby team from Bristol give a team from Bath a solid good hiding for sure.
On the senior front, least said soonest mended. I have to say that some of the criticism has been a bit over the top. Newcastle Falcons played some splendid rugby, and it isn't the first time that a team such as Bristol have found themselves to be outplayed. Without failure success means nothing. The plant that can survive the cold of the winter and the heat of the summer, blooms in the spring and bears fruit in the Autumn. For better or for worse, Mr Hill and his squad have given us some good times. It's sad it will end with the bad times, but let's remember what was achieved.
Messrs Booy and Laycock now take up the challenge and their ambition is heartening. The most important thing is to balance the books, and then let the playing side take care of itself.
Lets start planting a few seeds for next season and see what pops up!
WilliamBlessing
Date: 18 February, 2009 09:48
Marvels never cease! A phone call to the Bath University contact number, answered in 3 seconds by a bright bubbly young lady, confirmed that "Yes the game is on, and no, it wasn't on the Sulis pitch, but on the "Elite pitch next to the sports hall".
So it's off to the train station, bus pass in hand to watch the game. This is the penultimate game before the top six sides in the Premier southern Division go into the mix with their Northern Division counterparts and somehow a knock out is arranged with 14 teams competing, the other two being the top teams in the second division being promoted... I believe...however as the top team in the second divison is Hartpury Seconds......and the next is Oxford University Greyhounds.....err....I'll try and find out.
Bristol have played on through the bad weather, achieving a notable victory over Exeter University and they play Hartpurty away on Sunday, rearranged due to the cold snap we had.
So any of you gentlemen of a retired disposition I hope to see you on the touchline as the natural order is restored and a rugby team from Bristol give a team from Bath a solid good hiding for sure.
On the senior front, least said soonest mended. I have to say that some of the criticism has been a bit over the top. Newcastle Falcons played some splendid rugby, and it isn't the first time that a team such as Bristol have found themselves to be outplayed. Without failure success means nothing. The plant that can survive the cold of the winter and the heat of the summer, blooms in the spring and bears fruit in the Autumn. For better or for worse, Mr Hill and his squad have given us some good times. It's sad it will end with the bad times, but let's remember what was achieved.
Messrs Booy and Laycock now take up the challenge and their ambition is heartening. The most important thing is to balance the books, and then let the playing side take care of itself.
Lets start planting a few seeds for next season and see what pops up!
-
William Blessing
- Top Cat
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:20 pm
- Location: Bristol
Re: A Letter from Bristol.
Arind the grinds
The Quarter Finals of the British Universities and Colleges (BUCS) Championship are to be played tomorrow, Wed 18th March 2009.
The results of the final 16, played last Wednesday, 11th March, the winners going forward to this Wednesday's Quarter finals, were as follows.
Loughborough v Stirling....walkover to Loughborough
Newcastle University 14 Northumbria University 29
Hartpury v Aberdeen....walkover to Hartpury
Swansea 7 Leeds Carnegie 20
University of Wales Cardiff (UWIC) 43 Nottingham 0
Bristol 22 Trent University Nottingham 18
Durham 25 Exeter 26
Bath 43 St. Marys College Strawberry Hill London 18
The draw for the quarter finals to be played
Wed 18th..
Loughborough v Northumbria
Hartpury v Leeds carnegie
UWIC v Bristol
Exeter v Bath
Last Wednesday threw up some closely fought games as the battle for the 2009 Championship final at Twickeham hotted up. Notable wins for Exeter away to Durham and Northumbria away to Newcastle caught the eye, whilst Trent University Nottingham pushed Bristol all the way at Coombe Dingle.
Bath trounced their eternal rivals from St Marys and look strong at this stage and go on to a tough away fixture at Exeter this coming Wednesday.
Favourites UWIC Cardiff cruised through powerfully, overcoming plucky Nottingham, whilst bitter rivals Hartpury benefited from a walkover against Scottish conference runner ups Aberdeen's cry off, as did Loughborough against number one Scottish University team, Stirling. Presumably travel costs prohibited their travelling, a pity as it defeats the point of their taking a place from English teams prepared to travel lesser distances.
The last eight play this Wednesday and it looks likely there will be wins for all four home sides if games go to form.
The semi finals will be played a week later on Wednesday 25th. on neutral grounds equi distant between the two sets of teams and the venue is therefore often only known to the well informed few. I will attempt to post the venues by gleaning the BUCS website daily.
What is certain is that the final at Twickenham is Wednesday 22nd April, a fitting stage on which the cream of English and Wales University talent can decide who is the best. My money is on Hartpury, but as ever, UWIC and Loughborough will have other ideas.
Meanwhile one has spent the odd Sunday afternoon visiting the dearly beloved family member at the suitably named Memorial Ground Bristol, hopefully clutching a bunch of flowers and grapes, not expecting the patient to have much hope of an early recovery. But there were signs of life. By playing the favourite peace of music of "Bristol.... Bristol.....", the nurses and doctors seemed to detect a flickering of eyelids. "He can hear you" said the doctor, "but his grip is very weak. He's been starved of funds you know. He needs a very big injection of...cash?"
Friday night against Tigs, the patient actually got up out of bed and ran around the ward, but then collapsed, exhausted after 40 minutes. The crowd of well wishers seemed to blame the ref, but as most of us, including myself, have no clear idea of what exactly the Laws are, so why should the ref? Be reasonable.
Anyway, as a result of a boardroom struggle, a few directors got bruised shoulders as they rushed to escape the room with a few bob still in their pockets, leaving Mr Booy and Mr Lacock nursing the Baby Jesus. Bless them!
We shall spend a few years praying for that miracle recovery. It will happen, we only have to have a dream and a belief, and a few zillion dollars from somewhere. Let's all look under the mattress shall we?
The Quarter Finals of the British Universities and Colleges (BUCS) Championship are to be played tomorrow, Wed 18th March 2009.
The results of the final 16, played last Wednesday, 11th March, the winners going forward to this Wednesday's Quarter finals, were as follows.
Loughborough v Stirling....walkover to Loughborough
Newcastle University 14 Northumbria University 29
Hartpury v Aberdeen....walkover to Hartpury
Swansea 7 Leeds Carnegie 20
University of Wales Cardiff (UWIC) 43 Nottingham 0
Bristol 22 Trent University Nottingham 18
Durham 25 Exeter 26
Bath 43 St. Marys College Strawberry Hill London 18
The draw for the quarter finals to be played
Wed 18th..
Loughborough v Northumbria
Hartpury v Leeds carnegie
UWIC v Bristol
Exeter v Bath
Last Wednesday threw up some closely fought games as the battle for the 2009 Championship final at Twickeham hotted up. Notable wins for Exeter away to Durham and Northumbria away to Newcastle caught the eye, whilst Trent University Nottingham pushed Bristol all the way at Coombe Dingle.
Bath trounced their eternal rivals from St Marys and look strong at this stage and go on to a tough away fixture at Exeter this coming Wednesday.
Favourites UWIC Cardiff cruised through powerfully, overcoming plucky Nottingham, whilst bitter rivals Hartpury benefited from a walkover against Scottish conference runner ups Aberdeen's cry off, as did Loughborough against number one Scottish University team, Stirling. Presumably travel costs prohibited their travelling, a pity as it defeats the point of their taking a place from English teams prepared to travel lesser distances.
The last eight play this Wednesday and it looks likely there will be wins for all four home sides if games go to form.
The semi finals will be played a week later on Wednesday 25th. on neutral grounds equi distant between the two sets of teams and the venue is therefore often only known to the well informed few. I will attempt to post the venues by gleaning the BUCS website daily.
What is certain is that the final at Twickenham is Wednesday 22nd April, a fitting stage on which the cream of English and Wales University talent can decide who is the best. My money is on Hartpury, but as ever, UWIC and Loughborough will have other ideas.
Meanwhile one has spent the odd Sunday afternoon visiting the dearly beloved family member at the suitably named Memorial Ground Bristol, hopefully clutching a bunch of flowers and grapes, not expecting the patient to have much hope of an early recovery. But there were signs of life. By playing the favourite peace of music of "Bristol.... Bristol.....", the nurses and doctors seemed to detect a flickering of eyelids. "He can hear you" said the doctor, "but his grip is very weak. He's been starved of funds you know. He needs a very big injection of...cash?"
Friday night against Tigs, the patient actually got up out of bed and ran around the ward, but then collapsed, exhausted after 40 minutes. The crowd of well wishers seemed to blame the ref, but as most of us, including myself, have no clear idea of what exactly the Laws are, so why should the ref? Be reasonable.
Anyway, as a result of a boardroom struggle, a few directors got bruised shoulders as they rushed to escape the room with a few bob still in their pockets, leaving Mr Booy and Mr Lacock nursing the Baby Jesus. Bless them!
We shall spend a few years praying for that miracle recovery. It will happen, we only have to have a dream and a belief, and a few zillion dollars from somewhere. Let's all look under the mattress shall we?
-
William Blessing
- Top Cat
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:20 pm
- Location: Bristol
Re: A Letter from Bristol.
I know that what will be going on beneath the Premiership will be of limited interest to Tigers supporters, but assuming that the Premiership clubs will boycott any Anglo Welsh competition, the RFU and Nat Div One clubs are making alternative arrangements. But where will that leave the Premiership with only 11 home games and the HC pool matches?
But at least we know what is happening next season.....NOT.
The meeting between the RFU and the National Division One sides, held on Monday 6th August, resulted in an adjournment for two weeks whilst the ND1 representatives considered proposals contained in a 50 page presentation by the RFU outlining a British Irish Cup competition for second tier teams.
With the ND1 reduced to 12 full time teams, funded by the RFU and televised by SKY, the need to produce 34 games per season, and the apparent refusal of the Premiership to participate in an extended Anglo Welsh cup and trophy, augmented by Nat Div One sides, the RFU are putting forward a revolutionary British and Irish competition.
The full details are contained in an article by Neale Harvey of the Rugby Times, reproduced below, with his permission. This was originally on the Exeter Chiefs Unofficial website, where it has generated a mixed reaction.
Neale Harvey
Re: RFU Meeting 6/4/09
Hi Guys, hope you don't mind me making a contribution.
Don't usually do this, but as we don't put our stuff online I thought you might be interested in seeing our centre page spread from last Friday's Rugby Times on proposals for the Championship and the British & Irish Cup.
We also ran a seperate piece on the Premiership clubs who are currently in negotiations with the four Welsh regions over continuing the Anglo-Welsh Cup. As far as we are aware, the 14-team Premiership idea is dead.
Anyway, it's quite long so get a cup of tea first. Feel free share it with other boards.
Regards, Neale Harvey
Chief feature writer, Rugby Times
Championship on Celtic Crusade
By NEALE HARVEY
“A quantum leap forward” is how one First Division Rugby chairman has described the Rugby Football Union’s proposals for a ‘British and Irish Cup’ to sit alongside a new second-tier Championship from next season onwards.
Following nearly 18 months of debate and no little rancour, the RFU has finally decided on how it plans to satisfy the demands of clubs immediately below the Premiership, many of whom have campaigned long and hard for a more meaningful, fully competitive fixture list.
Rugby Times can now reveal that a new 12-team professional league to be called ‘The Championship’ will be established with effect from the 2009/10 season.
The regular season will involve each of the 12 teams playing each other on a home and away basis giving a total of 22 regular season matches. At the end of the regular season there will be promotion play-offs involving the top eight teams and relegation play-offs involving the bottom four teams.
The promotion play-offs would involve two pools of four teams each, with sides finishing in the odd numbered positions competing in Pool One, while those ending the season in even numbered positions would make up Pool Two. Each team would play the others in its pool on a home and away basis resulting in a further six matches for each of the promotion play off teams.
The top two teams from each Pool would then qualify for the Championship semi-final round, from which the winners would meet, possibly over two legs but most likely in a one-off final at Twickenham, to decide who will be promoted to the Guinness Premiership.
The relegation play-offs would involve the bottom four teams from the regular season playing each other on a home and away basis resulting in a further six matches for those clubs. The team coming bottom of the play-off Pool would be relegated to level three.
Whilst some of the RFU’s proposals have been known for a while – in fact, Rugby Times first revealed plans for the new Championship as far back as February 2008 – it is the RFU’s proposal for a brand new ‘British and Irish Cup’ that will really set the pulses racing amongst the 12 prospective Championship clubs.
With the Premiership clubs having effectively sidelined themselves from negotiations following their refusal to countenance a new look Anglo-Welsh Cup involving the Championship clubs, the RFU has been working on an alternative 24-team cross border competition which will involve the four Irish provinces, both Scottish pro teams and six Welsh Premiership clubs.
The new British and Irish Cup will be played in four pools of six teams each. Each pool will comprise of three Championship teams, one Welsh Premiership team, one Irish team and either a Welsh Premiership team or Scottish team.
The Irish and Scottish teams will NOT be second teams of the Magners League sides but will be drawn from their professional squads without their international players.
Each team will play the other teams once so that each team will have either two home and three away matches or three home and two away matches, providing an additional five games for those clubs.
The winners of each pool will qualify for the semi-finals, with the winners playing in the British and Irish Cup Final. A total of seven weekends will be required for this competition, which is intended to be played predominantly during international windows.
RFU officials are due to discuss details of both new competitions with the National League One clubs on Monday and Terry Burwell, the RFU’s tournaments and competitions director, hopes that now months of uncertainty has ended, the clubs will get fully behind the new set-up.
Burwell told Rugby Times: “We are now in a position where we’ve decided we need to protect the integrity of the Championship clubs and ensure we deliver to them a strong,
meaningful season.
“We’re all aware of the difficulties of finalising an agreement with the Premiership clubs, so therefore we agreed at our management board meeting last week that we would separate the issues and ensure that we deliver the right sort of competitions for the Championship clubs.
“We’re proposing a new British and Irish Cup and we’re very positive that that competition is going to create some real interest and significant features. And we’re also introducing a play-off structure in the Championship and a relegation pool to decide who goes down.
“We believe that we’re delivering what we promised to do, which is a minimum of 32 meaningful games per season. This proposal actually delivers a minimum of 33 games, with potentially an extra four games if you add in the knockout stages of the two competitions.”
But not everybody in National One is enamoured by the RFU’s proposals.
Exeter Chiefs, for example, are known to have opposed the play-off concept, believing that a season’s work should not boil down to a one-off game to decide promotion. Bedford are also understood to be unhappy with the proposals.
The Premiership clubs are equally concerned that the ability of their ‘13th’ club to make a swift return to the top-flight might be compromised, although that argument holds less water given that the Premiership title itself is decided via a play-off system.
In addition, there are legitimate concerns amongst prospective Championship clubs over issues such as the length of season and travelling costs, particularly amongst those who are likely to find it hard to fund squads large enough to cope with more games.
“I find it incredible that a team that does well in both competitions could end up playing 37 games,” said Esher secretary Dave Page. “If we get bad weather next year we could end up playing until June.
“We’re certainly not a great believer that you need that many games. We’re not going to get any more money for this British and Irish Cup and we have to think about the cost of this.
“Not every team will be fully pro in the first year of the Championship and with the play-off situation they’ve proposed, it’s ludicrous to expect sides to play this many games.
“I’m not a great believer in the play-offs either. How would you feel if you finished first after 22 games and a team that finished eighth got promoted to the Premiership? I don’t think the Premiership would accept that either.”
There are undoubtedly some anomalies. For instance, what would be the point of a team competing in the Championship play-offs knowing full well that its ground will not, and cannot, meet the Premiership’s criteria?
Also, will points won in the regular season be carried forward into the play-offs? If so, then it is perfectly feasible that the seventh and eighth placed clubs might start the play-offs so far behind that it would hardly be worth them competing at all.
Those and other issues are still to be thrashed out, but Burwell insists that play-offs at both ends of the table are vital to the success of the Championship.
“First and foremost, we’ve been to our broadcast partners and Sky are very excited by what we’re proposing,” Burwell explained. “They’re buying the product as part of an overall package for English rugby supporting both the Championship and the cross border competition.
“This has always been about how we deliver a meaningful climax to the season and whilst I understand there will always be mixed views, as there were when the Premiership introduced their play-offs, we believe this will create an exciting and vibrant end to the season.
“There’s also a new commerciality to our league structure below the Premiership which we haven’t had previously and if the French can run a 30-team professional structure successfully, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to operate a 24-team structure here.
“There’s no doubt that everyone’s going to go through a particularly challenging time in establishing these competitions, but we firmly believe that the product we’re going to create, and the interest it will generate, will be a significant improvement on what we’ve got at the moment.”
Under the terms of the RFU’s deal with the prospective Championship sides, each club will receive just under £300,000 from central revenues.
The league will be administered from Twickenham and Burwell insists that everything possible will be done to improve the commercial prospects of the Championship clubs.
For example, First Division Rugby currently has no title sponsor, which is something Burwell insists he and his RFU colleagues are very keen to address.
“That hasn’t been helped by the uncertainty over the Anglo-Welsh Cup and other issues associated with setting up the Championship, but Paul Vaughan (the RFU’s business operations director) has got a number of options he’s looking at for all our competitions,” Burwell said.
“It’s particularly difficult to convince people to put money on board, especially when you’ve got so much negativity around what you’re proposing to do, but I’m quite certain that once we get everything agreed on Monday things will start to happen.
“We as an organisation, both departmentally and across the other departments, are absolutely committed to making this work. It will have the necessary resources and time spent on it to try and make sure the sceptics are proved wrong.
“We want to improve the spectator base in the Championship and we feel we can get gates up to an average of 2,500-3,000 within a relatively short period of time. To do that there has to be a commercial attractiveness to the fixture list and that’s what we’re trying to deliver.”
--------------------------------------------------------
Bosses welcome British and Irish Cup
Doncaster director of rugby Lynn Howells believes the RFU’s proposals for both the Championship and the British and Irish Cup will be “good for English rugby”
Welshman Howells has vast experience of cross border competitions from his time coaching Pontypridd, Cardiff, Celtic Warriors and Edinburgh and believes the proposed new structure can be a winner with players, coaches and fans alike.
“I think these new competitions will be good for English rugby and that’s the most important thing,” Howells told Rugby Times.
“Once you start doing cross border competitions it just gives you a break from playing the same teams all the time.
“Different cultures bring different things to the table and I think it’s good to go and play against teams with different qualities.
“What you find with the first division is that it’s the same teams year in, year out and there’s only so much you can change during the season.
“The way you play is pretty much the same, but when you go away to play against teams in other leagues they bring something different to the table and we can all learn from that.”
Whilst the length of the proposed new season will be of concern to Championship clubs who traditionally operate smaller squads than Premiership teams, Howells is hopeful that it will not be too much of an issue.
He added: “We have to be mindful of player welfare and it means that coaches will have to manage their squads more. The only way to rest guys will be to rotate.
“It’s going to be demanding but it’s about managing your squad, and then you have to keep your fingers crossed that you don’t pick up too many injuries.
“At the end of the day, though, I think these proposals are good. People can talk about politics and money, but as far as rugby is concerned it’s good.
“I think it’ll be good for players to play in this type of competitive environment, and it’s certainly good for coaches because it asks different questions of you.
“When you think that next season we could be going to Dublin, Edinburgh or Cardiff, there’s no comparison with what we have now.
“The Championship and the British and Irish Cup will certainly promote the game and if the English clubs get it right and eventually go fully professional across the board, it can only be good for the English game.”
Nottingham chairman Geoff Huckstep is another who welcomes the RFU’s proposals.
Along with Doncaster, Plymouth, Cornish Pirates, London Welsh and Coventry, hard-up Nottingham have been major players in driving through plans for the new set-up and Huckstep hopes it will lead to a brighter future for all concerned.
He told Rugby Times: “I think it’s a quantum leap from where we are. The cross border competition looks really exciting – even better than we thought it would be.
“We need to get our crowds up to 2,500 and that’s not beyond the bounds of possibility when you’ve got a fixture list that’s as attractive as this one.
“There’s a lot more meat to be put on the bones but it’s all moving in the right direction. All the 12 clubs in the Championship next season should grasp this and be positive about it.
“There’s been a lot of negativity, and understandably so when you’re losing five teams out of National One, but let’s be positive now and let’s make it work.”
-------------------------------------------------------------
How the British Cup will work
The new tournament will consist of 24 clubs (12 Championship, 4 Irish provinces, 2 Scottish pro teams and 6 Welsh Premiership sides)
Based on current league positions and the desire of the RFU to aid clubs by grouping Championship clubs locally, the four Pools of six COULD look like this:
Pool A – Exeter Chiefs, Cornish Pirates, Plymouth, Ulster, Llanelli, Edinburgh
Pool B – Bedford, London Welsh, Esher, Munster, Cardiff, Aberavon
Pool C – Doncaster, Nottingham, Rotherham, Connacht, Pontypridd, Glasgow
Pool D – Bristol, Coventry, Birmingham & Solihull, Leinster, Newport, Neath.
Each side will play five pool matches – three home, two away or vice-versa – during the international windows with the four winners contesting semi-finals and then a final at a venue to be decided.
-----------------------------
Season structure
The Championship season will run from the first weekend in September until the Final rounds of both new competitions on May 8th and May 15th 2010.
Each Championship club will play a minimum of 33 games and a maximum of 37.
A draft fixture list will be circulated to all clubs by the end of April for comment and possible amendment.
But at least we know what is happening next season.....NOT.
The meeting between the RFU and the National Division One sides, held on Monday 6th August, resulted in an adjournment for two weeks whilst the ND1 representatives considered proposals contained in a 50 page presentation by the RFU outlining a British Irish Cup competition for second tier teams.
With the ND1 reduced to 12 full time teams, funded by the RFU and televised by SKY, the need to produce 34 games per season, and the apparent refusal of the Premiership to participate in an extended Anglo Welsh cup and trophy, augmented by Nat Div One sides, the RFU are putting forward a revolutionary British and Irish competition.
The full details are contained in an article by Neale Harvey of the Rugby Times, reproduced below, with his permission. This was originally on the Exeter Chiefs Unofficial website, where it has generated a mixed reaction.
Neale Harvey
Re: RFU Meeting 6/4/09
Hi Guys, hope you don't mind me making a contribution.
Don't usually do this, but as we don't put our stuff online I thought you might be interested in seeing our centre page spread from last Friday's Rugby Times on proposals for the Championship and the British & Irish Cup.
We also ran a seperate piece on the Premiership clubs who are currently in negotiations with the four Welsh regions over continuing the Anglo-Welsh Cup. As far as we are aware, the 14-team Premiership idea is dead.
Anyway, it's quite long so get a cup of tea first. Feel free share it with other boards.
Regards, Neale Harvey
Chief feature writer, Rugby Times
Championship on Celtic Crusade
By NEALE HARVEY
“A quantum leap forward” is how one First Division Rugby chairman has described the Rugby Football Union’s proposals for a ‘British and Irish Cup’ to sit alongside a new second-tier Championship from next season onwards.
Following nearly 18 months of debate and no little rancour, the RFU has finally decided on how it plans to satisfy the demands of clubs immediately below the Premiership, many of whom have campaigned long and hard for a more meaningful, fully competitive fixture list.
Rugby Times can now reveal that a new 12-team professional league to be called ‘The Championship’ will be established with effect from the 2009/10 season.
The regular season will involve each of the 12 teams playing each other on a home and away basis giving a total of 22 regular season matches. At the end of the regular season there will be promotion play-offs involving the top eight teams and relegation play-offs involving the bottom four teams.
The promotion play-offs would involve two pools of four teams each, with sides finishing in the odd numbered positions competing in Pool One, while those ending the season in even numbered positions would make up Pool Two. Each team would play the others in its pool on a home and away basis resulting in a further six matches for each of the promotion play off teams.
The top two teams from each Pool would then qualify for the Championship semi-final round, from which the winners would meet, possibly over two legs but most likely in a one-off final at Twickenham, to decide who will be promoted to the Guinness Premiership.
The relegation play-offs would involve the bottom four teams from the regular season playing each other on a home and away basis resulting in a further six matches for those clubs. The team coming bottom of the play-off Pool would be relegated to level three.
Whilst some of the RFU’s proposals have been known for a while – in fact, Rugby Times first revealed plans for the new Championship as far back as February 2008 – it is the RFU’s proposal for a brand new ‘British and Irish Cup’ that will really set the pulses racing amongst the 12 prospective Championship clubs.
With the Premiership clubs having effectively sidelined themselves from negotiations following their refusal to countenance a new look Anglo-Welsh Cup involving the Championship clubs, the RFU has been working on an alternative 24-team cross border competition which will involve the four Irish provinces, both Scottish pro teams and six Welsh Premiership clubs.
The new British and Irish Cup will be played in four pools of six teams each. Each pool will comprise of three Championship teams, one Welsh Premiership team, one Irish team and either a Welsh Premiership team or Scottish team.
The Irish and Scottish teams will NOT be second teams of the Magners League sides but will be drawn from their professional squads without their international players.
Each team will play the other teams once so that each team will have either two home and three away matches or three home and two away matches, providing an additional five games for those clubs.
The winners of each pool will qualify for the semi-finals, with the winners playing in the British and Irish Cup Final. A total of seven weekends will be required for this competition, which is intended to be played predominantly during international windows.
RFU officials are due to discuss details of both new competitions with the National League One clubs on Monday and Terry Burwell, the RFU’s tournaments and competitions director, hopes that now months of uncertainty has ended, the clubs will get fully behind the new set-up.
Burwell told Rugby Times: “We are now in a position where we’ve decided we need to protect the integrity of the Championship clubs and ensure we deliver to them a strong,
meaningful season.
“We’re all aware of the difficulties of finalising an agreement with the Premiership clubs, so therefore we agreed at our management board meeting last week that we would separate the issues and ensure that we deliver the right sort of competitions for the Championship clubs.
“We’re proposing a new British and Irish Cup and we’re very positive that that competition is going to create some real interest and significant features. And we’re also introducing a play-off structure in the Championship and a relegation pool to decide who goes down.
“We believe that we’re delivering what we promised to do, which is a minimum of 32 meaningful games per season. This proposal actually delivers a minimum of 33 games, with potentially an extra four games if you add in the knockout stages of the two competitions.”
But not everybody in National One is enamoured by the RFU’s proposals.
Exeter Chiefs, for example, are known to have opposed the play-off concept, believing that a season’s work should not boil down to a one-off game to decide promotion. Bedford are also understood to be unhappy with the proposals.
The Premiership clubs are equally concerned that the ability of their ‘13th’ club to make a swift return to the top-flight might be compromised, although that argument holds less water given that the Premiership title itself is decided via a play-off system.
In addition, there are legitimate concerns amongst prospective Championship clubs over issues such as the length of season and travelling costs, particularly amongst those who are likely to find it hard to fund squads large enough to cope with more games.
“I find it incredible that a team that does well in both competitions could end up playing 37 games,” said Esher secretary Dave Page. “If we get bad weather next year we could end up playing until June.
“We’re certainly not a great believer that you need that many games. We’re not going to get any more money for this British and Irish Cup and we have to think about the cost of this.
“Not every team will be fully pro in the first year of the Championship and with the play-off situation they’ve proposed, it’s ludicrous to expect sides to play this many games.
“I’m not a great believer in the play-offs either. How would you feel if you finished first after 22 games and a team that finished eighth got promoted to the Premiership? I don’t think the Premiership would accept that either.”
There are undoubtedly some anomalies. For instance, what would be the point of a team competing in the Championship play-offs knowing full well that its ground will not, and cannot, meet the Premiership’s criteria?
Also, will points won in the regular season be carried forward into the play-offs? If so, then it is perfectly feasible that the seventh and eighth placed clubs might start the play-offs so far behind that it would hardly be worth them competing at all.
Those and other issues are still to be thrashed out, but Burwell insists that play-offs at both ends of the table are vital to the success of the Championship.
“First and foremost, we’ve been to our broadcast partners and Sky are very excited by what we’re proposing,” Burwell explained. “They’re buying the product as part of an overall package for English rugby supporting both the Championship and the cross border competition.
“This has always been about how we deliver a meaningful climax to the season and whilst I understand there will always be mixed views, as there were when the Premiership introduced their play-offs, we believe this will create an exciting and vibrant end to the season.
“There’s also a new commerciality to our league structure below the Premiership which we haven’t had previously and if the French can run a 30-team professional structure successfully, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to operate a 24-team structure here.
“There’s no doubt that everyone’s going to go through a particularly challenging time in establishing these competitions, but we firmly believe that the product we’re going to create, and the interest it will generate, will be a significant improvement on what we’ve got at the moment.”
Under the terms of the RFU’s deal with the prospective Championship sides, each club will receive just under £300,000 from central revenues.
The league will be administered from Twickenham and Burwell insists that everything possible will be done to improve the commercial prospects of the Championship clubs.
For example, First Division Rugby currently has no title sponsor, which is something Burwell insists he and his RFU colleagues are very keen to address.
“That hasn’t been helped by the uncertainty over the Anglo-Welsh Cup and other issues associated with setting up the Championship, but Paul Vaughan (the RFU’s business operations director) has got a number of options he’s looking at for all our competitions,” Burwell said.
“It’s particularly difficult to convince people to put money on board, especially when you’ve got so much negativity around what you’re proposing to do, but I’m quite certain that once we get everything agreed on Monday things will start to happen.
“We as an organisation, both departmentally and across the other departments, are absolutely committed to making this work. It will have the necessary resources and time spent on it to try and make sure the sceptics are proved wrong.
“We want to improve the spectator base in the Championship and we feel we can get gates up to an average of 2,500-3,000 within a relatively short period of time. To do that there has to be a commercial attractiveness to the fixture list and that’s what we’re trying to deliver.”
--------------------------------------------------------
Bosses welcome British and Irish Cup
Doncaster director of rugby Lynn Howells believes the RFU’s proposals for both the Championship and the British and Irish Cup will be “good for English rugby”
Welshman Howells has vast experience of cross border competitions from his time coaching Pontypridd, Cardiff, Celtic Warriors and Edinburgh and believes the proposed new structure can be a winner with players, coaches and fans alike.
“I think these new competitions will be good for English rugby and that’s the most important thing,” Howells told Rugby Times.
“Once you start doing cross border competitions it just gives you a break from playing the same teams all the time.
“Different cultures bring different things to the table and I think it’s good to go and play against teams with different qualities.
“What you find with the first division is that it’s the same teams year in, year out and there’s only so much you can change during the season.
“The way you play is pretty much the same, but when you go away to play against teams in other leagues they bring something different to the table and we can all learn from that.”
Whilst the length of the proposed new season will be of concern to Championship clubs who traditionally operate smaller squads than Premiership teams, Howells is hopeful that it will not be too much of an issue.
He added: “We have to be mindful of player welfare and it means that coaches will have to manage their squads more. The only way to rest guys will be to rotate.
“It’s going to be demanding but it’s about managing your squad, and then you have to keep your fingers crossed that you don’t pick up too many injuries.
“At the end of the day, though, I think these proposals are good. People can talk about politics and money, but as far as rugby is concerned it’s good.
“I think it’ll be good for players to play in this type of competitive environment, and it’s certainly good for coaches because it asks different questions of you.
“When you think that next season we could be going to Dublin, Edinburgh or Cardiff, there’s no comparison with what we have now.
“The Championship and the British and Irish Cup will certainly promote the game and if the English clubs get it right and eventually go fully professional across the board, it can only be good for the English game.”
Nottingham chairman Geoff Huckstep is another who welcomes the RFU’s proposals.
Along with Doncaster, Plymouth, Cornish Pirates, London Welsh and Coventry, hard-up Nottingham have been major players in driving through plans for the new set-up and Huckstep hopes it will lead to a brighter future for all concerned.
He told Rugby Times: “I think it’s a quantum leap from where we are. The cross border competition looks really exciting – even better than we thought it would be.
“We need to get our crowds up to 2,500 and that’s not beyond the bounds of possibility when you’ve got a fixture list that’s as attractive as this one.
“There’s a lot more meat to be put on the bones but it’s all moving in the right direction. All the 12 clubs in the Championship next season should grasp this and be positive about it.
“There’s been a lot of negativity, and understandably so when you’re losing five teams out of National One, but let’s be positive now and let’s make it work.”
-------------------------------------------------------------
How the British Cup will work
The new tournament will consist of 24 clubs (12 Championship, 4 Irish provinces, 2 Scottish pro teams and 6 Welsh Premiership sides)
Based on current league positions and the desire of the RFU to aid clubs by grouping Championship clubs locally, the four Pools of six COULD look like this:
Pool A – Exeter Chiefs, Cornish Pirates, Plymouth, Ulster, Llanelli, Edinburgh
Pool B – Bedford, London Welsh, Esher, Munster, Cardiff, Aberavon
Pool C – Doncaster, Nottingham, Rotherham, Connacht, Pontypridd, Glasgow
Pool D – Bristol, Coventry, Birmingham & Solihull, Leinster, Newport, Neath.
Each side will play five pool matches – three home, two away or vice-versa – during the international windows with the four winners contesting semi-finals and then a final at a venue to be decided.
-----------------------------
Season structure
The Championship season will run from the first weekend in September until the Final rounds of both new competitions on May 8th and May 15th 2010.
Each Championship club will play a minimum of 33 games and a maximum of 37.
A draft fixture list will be circulated to all clubs by the end of April for comment and possible amendment.
-
William Blessing
- Top Cat
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:20 pm
- Location: Bristol
Re: A Letter from Bristol.
OH NO....IT'S ME AGAIN
The Chumpionship.......?
Some of us on the Bristol forum have wondered whether two pre-season friendlies against lower league opposition, Clifton and Newbury, has been sufficent preparation for the start of the new season.
However, considering that there will be 22 more friendlies before the top eight in the league of twelve are sorted into the sheep and goats, that should be long enough for us to decide, by about March 2010, our strongest side, if, that is, anyone is still awake by then.
The cynics, of which I might be unfairly said by some, to be one, argue that this lunatic league structure is determined by one motive, and that is, of course, money. In the business world in which all professional clubs operate, there is nothing wrong with that. Far from it.
But what are the economic gains to be had from the culling of Nat Div One from 16 to 12 teams? A subsidy from the RFU of 192,000 pounds per team, up from 156, 000 pounds, is hardly big bucks. However,the substitution of games against the likes of Esher with games against Munster and other Celtic teams could be attractive both at the gate and for those of us who enjoy "foreign travel".
As the Board and major shareholders quite rightly and delicately point out, without their support, both financial and administrative, Bristol would probably be playing Dings and Clifton this season and that would clearly not do, would it?
Bristol is their club, I'm little more than a customer who can make my choice and pay at the gate if I want to, and their job is to try and encourage as many of us to do likewise with the product they offer.
Of course the players, coaches, employees and shareholders have to put a positive spin on things, but I can afford to speak my mind and state the obvious.
And that is this that, the last time when we were relegated and the time before when we almost got relegated again, in consecutive years, our fight back, first to survive, then to win promotion that ultimately lead to a triumphant third place in the Premiership, was a thrilling experience from the very first day of the season right up to the end, notably our superb demolition of Exeter Chiefs at the Memorial Ground in the spring. But that had been preceded by a fantastic battle a few weeks earlier down at Plymouth. What excitement we had.
So, if the earlier 16 team league provided such undeniable thrills, who in their right mind would replace it with this Chumpionship? Were not the Board of Bristol consulted on this? Or was it "a fait a complis", imposed from above by the RFU? Was there any debate? If only Bristol and Exeter qualify in meeting Premiership ground criteria, why not just have them play each other 30 times home and away and the top two teams, that is Bristol and Exeter could have a play off at Twickers. Even if Bristol won 20 of the 30 games, of course, whoever wins at Twickers goes up. Crazy? Not really, because at least we would know that the top team would actually be promoted.
So the board own the club, they make the decisions. I decide whether to attend. I've paid my measly 100 quid for a season ticket, so I shall probably turn up, whilst really wanting to watch a proper competitive Premiership game, red in tooth and claw on Sky, this Sunday 3.30 pm from Kingsholm between Gloucester and Bath. Can you blame me? Or can you blame whoever dreamed up "The Chumpionship"?
At the end of the season we shall see, in the bottom line of profit and loss,attendance figures and the like, whether this format deserves to be retained. Will it serve to select the best team in the Division to be promoted? I doubt it. And that is the folly that ultimately devalues any short term financial gain, if any.
The Chumpionship.......?
Some of us on the Bristol forum have wondered whether two pre-season friendlies against lower league opposition, Clifton and Newbury, has been sufficent preparation for the start of the new season.
However, considering that there will be 22 more friendlies before the top eight in the league of twelve are sorted into the sheep and goats, that should be long enough for us to decide, by about March 2010, our strongest side, if, that is, anyone is still awake by then.
The cynics, of which I might be unfairly said by some, to be one, argue that this lunatic league structure is determined by one motive, and that is, of course, money. In the business world in which all professional clubs operate, there is nothing wrong with that. Far from it.
But what are the economic gains to be had from the culling of Nat Div One from 16 to 12 teams? A subsidy from the RFU of 192,000 pounds per team, up from 156, 000 pounds, is hardly big bucks. However,the substitution of games against the likes of Esher with games against Munster and other Celtic teams could be attractive both at the gate and for those of us who enjoy "foreign travel".
As the Board and major shareholders quite rightly and delicately point out, without their support, both financial and administrative, Bristol would probably be playing Dings and Clifton this season and that would clearly not do, would it?
Bristol is their club, I'm little more than a customer who can make my choice and pay at the gate if I want to, and their job is to try and encourage as many of us to do likewise with the product they offer.
Of course the players, coaches, employees and shareholders have to put a positive spin on things, but I can afford to speak my mind and state the obvious.
And that is this that, the last time when we were relegated and the time before when we almost got relegated again, in consecutive years, our fight back, first to survive, then to win promotion that ultimately lead to a triumphant third place in the Premiership, was a thrilling experience from the very first day of the season right up to the end, notably our superb demolition of Exeter Chiefs at the Memorial Ground in the spring. But that had been preceded by a fantastic battle a few weeks earlier down at Plymouth. What excitement we had.
So, if the earlier 16 team league provided such undeniable thrills, who in their right mind would replace it with this Chumpionship? Were not the Board of Bristol consulted on this? Or was it "a fait a complis", imposed from above by the RFU? Was there any debate? If only Bristol and Exeter qualify in meeting Premiership ground criteria, why not just have them play each other 30 times home and away and the top two teams, that is Bristol and Exeter could have a play off at Twickers. Even if Bristol won 20 of the 30 games, of course, whoever wins at Twickers goes up. Crazy? Not really, because at least we would know that the top team would actually be promoted.
So the board own the club, they make the decisions. I decide whether to attend. I've paid my measly 100 quid for a season ticket, so I shall probably turn up, whilst really wanting to watch a proper competitive Premiership game, red in tooth and claw on Sky, this Sunday 3.30 pm from Kingsholm between Gloucester and Bath. Can you blame me? Or can you blame whoever dreamed up "The Chumpionship"?
At the end of the season we shall see, in the bottom line of profit and loss,attendance figures and the like, whether this format deserves to be retained. Will it serve to select the best team in the Division to be promoted? I doubt it. And that is the folly that ultimately devalues any short term financial gain, if any.
-
William Blessing
- Top Cat
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:20 pm
- Location: Bristol
Re: A Letter from Bristol.
Clifton 30 Henley 21 Posted by: WilliamBlessing
17 September, 2009
On a perfect late summer day, I cycled over to Clifton, by way of the hidden, deep wooded gorge of Coombe Dingle, past huge ancient pine trees and craggy heights up to the lawns and monkey trees of Blaise castle estate.
In the old Georgian Manor House, now a museum, an exhibition of butter making was being held in the dairy. Not to be delayed I pedalled on past a sumptuous new leisure and sports centre built on the grounds of Henbury School and on into the semi rural playing fields of Clifton RFC.
As always the welcoming party at the gate was headed by ever green finance director Mr Anderton, who with honeyed words invited me to become a member for only 25 pounds a year. This was so cheap I couldn't bring myself to rob him so I paid my 7 pound entrance fee, and chatting away asked where was the groundman who normally helps collect the entrance money.
"In hospital with emphysemia....alas."
His stand-in was a bright, youngish chap who was a freelance IT consultant who had been trying to fix Bristol RFC crashing website and online booking service.
The CEO Steve Gorvett was up a ladder all week replacing the dodgy wireless connection with a cable. Hopefully it will fix it...."
Out the back, Clifton were warming up under the leadership of Matt Salter. Mark Regan the new forwards coach was absent attending the SKY sports box as pundit analyst.
And then onto the field the home team trotted out in modish skin tight stretchy black and lilac hoops looking quite fetching, no doubt to the ladies eyes. Henley looked like they meant business and things went pear shaped big time when Clifton lost the ball on the half way line and the visitor's no 8 ran away down the hill and scored a try. 13 -5 .
Mr Salter, drawing his men under the posts as the conversion sailed over, went completely mental with more F words than Gordon Ramsay after hitting his own thumb with a hammer. The air was deep blue, if not lilac.
In the second half things got even grimmer as a bustling Henley camped on Clifton's line. But fierce resistance held out and at last a Henley knock on gave Clifton a scrum, wherefrom skilful solid play from Salter at the base shipped the ball to the scrum half to his fly half who cleared the lines to halfway.Classic piece of play.
And then Clifton clicked. Salter tore into the rucks, caught everything going, passed to the backs where old England and Bristol hero David Rees, aided by the young bucks, scored three tries on the bounce whilst young prop Marco Vainopolo showed enormous strength in the mauls. The tide had turned and Clifton had secured their first win at this new National League two South level to the delight of the appreciative home crowd.
After the game in the club house the match on the TV from Wembley between Saras and Saints was on in the background as reports of Bristol winning at Birmingham and Dings away to Lydney cheered the gathering. Only Bath losing to Wasps tempered the mood , even more so the next day when Glos got thumped at London Irish.
So what a splendid day, for Clifton in particular, and the game of rugby in general. My thanks to all those who entertained us so royally and thoughts to those who had to be on the losing side. Their day should come, but not this time.
17 September, 2009
On a perfect late summer day, I cycled over to Clifton, by way of the hidden, deep wooded gorge of Coombe Dingle, past huge ancient pine trees and craggy heights up to the lawns and monkey trees of Blaise castle estate.
In the old Georgian Manor House, now a museum, an exhibition of butter making was being held in the dairy. Not to be delayed I pedalled on past a sumptuous new leisure and sports centre built on the grounds of Henbury School and on into the semi rural playing fields of Clifton RFC.
As always the welcoming party at the gate was headed by ever green finance director Mr Anderton, who with honeyed words invited me to become a member for only 25 pounds a year. This was so cheap I couldn't bring myself to rob him so I paid my 7 pound entrance fee, and chatting away asked where was the groundman who normally helps collect the entrance money.
"In hospital with emphysemia....alas."
His stand-in was a bright, youngish chap who was a freelance IT consultant who had been trying to fix Bristol RFC crashing website and online booking service.
The CEO Steve Gorvett was up a ladder all week replacing the dodgy wireless connection with a cable. Hopefully it will fix it...."
Out the back, Clifton were warming up under the leadership of Matt Salter. Mark Regan the new forwards coach was absent attending the SKY sports box as pundit analyst.
And then onto the field the home team trotted out in modish skin tight stretchy black and lilac hoops looking quite fetching, no doubt to the ladies eyes. Henley looked like they meant business and things went pear shaped big time when Clifton lost the ball on the half way line and the visitor's no 8 ran away down the hill and scored a try. 13 -5 .
Mr Salter, drawing his men under the posts as the conversion sailed over, went completely mental with more F words than Gordon Ramsay after hitting his own thumb with a hammer. The air was deep blue, if not lilac.
In the second half things got even grimmer as a bustling Henley camped on Clifton's line. But fierce resistance held out and at last a Henley knock on gave Clifton a scrum, wherefrom skilful solid play from Salter at the base shipped the ball to the scrum half to his fly half who cleared the lines to halfway.Classic piece of play.
And then Clifton clicked. Salter tore into the rucks, caught everything going, passed to the backs where old England and Bristol hero David Rees, aided by the young bucks, scored three tries on the bounce whilst young prop Marco Vainopolo showed enormous strength in the mauls. The tide had turned and Clifton had secured their first win at this new National League two South level to the delight of the appreciative home crowd.
After the game in the club house the match on the TV from Wembley between Saras and Saints was on in the background as reports of Bristol winning at Birmingham and Dings away to Lydney cheered the gathering. Only Bath losing to Wasps tempered the mood , even more so the next day when Glos got thumped at London Irish.
So what a splendid day, for Clifton in particular, and the game of rugby in general. My thanks to all those who entertained us so royally and thoughts to those who had to be on the losing side. Their day should come, but not this time.
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Bill W (2)
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William Blessing
- Top Cat
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- Location: Bristol
Re: A Letter from Bristol.
Dings Crusaders 9 Barking 18 by William Blessing 19 September, 2009
Once again Saturday came, a perfect late summers day for rugby at all levels throughout the land. Earlier that morning, in the local Tesco supermarket at Golden Hill, a Dings fan, of the more literate kind, gazing at his texts on his mobile, merrily informed me that.. "that chap from Bath who got banned, what's his name....Crocket....Adam Crockett....he's gonna be playin for Dings after Christmas....so they say....he's a friend of Stean Williams (the Dings captain) and he's signed for Gloucester for next season, so he just wants to get fit at Dings......"
"Alex Crockett?" I replied. "Yes.. Alex Crockett..." he said dashing away..."see you at the game!"
Later that day at the ground, the rumour was backed up by the very highest of authorities, on the crowded touchline, by the bustling bar where the great and the good gather, so that probably means it's just another wind up, but I can only report what I'm told with a straight face.
They gather there at the crucial corner, where, due to the slope of the ground, the fieriest of battles ensue, usually in Dings favour, and this game was no disappointment. If there are phases such as "ruck", "maul", "scrum" and "line out", we need to add another phase...and one that was unending from start to finish and that is, I suggest a "braul". This is to describe a "maul" that includes all 30 players, even the referee and touch judges by accident at times, not a "brawl" for that would mean the referee blowing his whistle to end it.
The "braul" is just one filthy great big scrap for the ball, a bit like the 100 years war, with intermittent schoolboy pleading to "sir" "the fugging dirty animal has just bit my shirt off" much to the amusement and jeering of the bear baiting crowd who, clutching their pints, pitch in with a volley of abuse at all come sundry.. Great fun...
The determination to win was shared equally by both sides, but Barking had a slight advantage in that their pack was frightenly huge, had Dings stuffed in all phases.... except for the "braul", a no hold barred arm wrestling match which reached it's highpoint as Dings defended their special corner with real pride and passion, the young scrum half, Ricky Jones, throwing himself fearlessy into a lethal combine harvester of thrashing arms and legs to win the ball for Dings and save the day.
And then the seas parted and Dings were away, free, in precious open space and powering for the line to score a try that could have won the game, but they too were cut down by a last gasp flying tackle, and so the moment passed. 12-9 to the visitors became 15-9, and with the last gasp of the game a drop kick denied Dings even a losing bonus point.
Scurrying away on my bike through the slumbering council housing estate of Lockleaze, I eagerly took up residence back in "posh" Horfield, in front of next doors TV to watch Leicester vs Newcastle. A nice new stand but I wondered who had enjoyed themselves the more at which game. The Premiership match involved strange things like "passing" and attempts at "running" with the ball, though the end result was the same...no tries.., so you pays your money and takes your choice..(4 pounds at the gate for over 60's, sort of, at Dings ....or 8 pounds if you really insist....money isnt the be all and end all it would appear)
An so to the next day, Sunday, the sun still shone and after pounding around the common in a good time of 23 minutes and 10 seconds, straining my groin slightly in the process, I once again settled down in front of next doors TV to watch Man United vs Man city....and it was just getting interesting at 2-2 when, like a reluctant child having to go to afternoon Sunday school, I tore myself a way to watch Bristol vs Rotherham at the Memorial Ground, just a hundred yards down the hill.
It was still a nice day, but I became confused as to whom Bristol were playing. Apparently the "sat nav" on the Rotherham coach took them to the Westbury on Trym Womens Institute where a party of ladies from Rotherhams Knitting Club were due to share secrets in crocheting and the like.
At the same time, the Knitting Club went to the rugby ground by mistake, and by half time had created a multi coloured scarf long enough for Tom Baker's Dr Who to wear. Bristol meanwhile, had thought they were at a screening of "Come Dancing" and had merrily waltzed, cha cha chaad and tangoed unopposed to a 29 -3 lead.."Very strange" I mused as I lolled lazily against a barrier, chatting to my mate Pete who seems to enjoy the odd coach trip himself here and there in his old age to various religious sites such as "Lindisfarne oopp north.." "very pleasant" he said. Although his next door neighbour Mr Sedgley had taken a fall and was in hospital. (As a result Pete couldnt watch his SKY TV. "He likes golf and tennis mostly, but I get to watch the odd game of rugby and cricket..."
After half time the Rugby side from Rotherham arrived and trotted out and gave Bristol a thorough deep rectal examination which gave us pause for further thought. But looking at the argy bargy of the Premiership I'm not sure where the most fun is to be had, but once again perhaps rugby in all it's forms was the winner, especially "braul" and all.
And so as Autumn truly arrives and Gloucestershire CCC prepare for the very last game of the season against Kent with a very faintest chance of winning promotion, the rugby season gathers apace with the commencement of the University games to end next spring at Twickenham. Last season Hartpury College (Gloucestershire) narrowly defeated Loughborough College in the final. Hartpury also beat Clifton in the intermediate cup and continue to burn up the oposition in the South West One West Division they have won promotion to.
Bath University take on Bristol University at the Recreation Ground, Bath Wednesday 6th October 7.15 pm, entrance 3 pounds only...
Once again Saturday came, a perfect late summers day for rugby at all levels throughout the land. Earlier that morning, in the local Tesco supermarket at Golden Hill, a Dings fan, of the more literate kind, gazing at his texts on his mobile, merrily informed me that.. "that chap from Bath who got banned, what's his name....Crocket....Adam Crockett....he's gonna be playin for Dings after Christmas....so they say....he's a friend of Stean Williams (the Dings captain) and he's signed for Gloucester for next season, so he just wants to get fit at Dings......"
"Alex Crockett?" I replied. "Yes.. Alex Crockett..." he said dashing away..."see you at the game!"
Later that day at the ground, the rumour was backed up by the very highest of authorities, on the crowded touchline, by the bustling bar where the great and the good gather, so that probably means it's just another wind up, but I can only report what I'm told with a straight face.
They gather there at the crucial corner, where, due to the slope of the ground, the fieriest of battles ensue, usually in Dings favour, and this game was no disappointment. If there are phases such as "ruck", "maul", "scrum" and "line out", we need to add another phase...and one that was unending from start to finish and that is, I suggest a "braul". This is to describe a "maul" that includes all 30 players, even the referee and touch judges by accident at times, not a "brawl" for that would mean the referee blowing his whistle to end it.
The "braul" is just one filthy great big scrap for the ball, a bit like the 100 years war, with intermittent schoolboy pleading to "sir" "the fugging dirty animal has just bit my shirt off" much to the amusement and jeering of the bear baiting crowd who, clutching their pints, pitch in with a volley of abuse at all come sundry.. Great fun...
The determination to win was shared equally by both sides, but Barking had a slight advantage in that their pack was frightenly huge, had Dings stuffed in all phases.... except for the "braul", a no hold barred arm wrestling match which reached it's highpoint as Dings defended their special corner with real pride and passion, the young scrum half, Ricky Jones, throwing himself fearlessy into a lethal combine harvester of thrashing arms and legs to win the ball for Dings and save the day.
And then the seas parted and Dings were away, free, in precious open space and powering for the line to score a try that could have won the game, but they too were cut down by a last gasp flying tackle, and so the moment passed. 12-9 to the visitors became 15-9, and with the last gasp of the game a drop kick denied Dings even a losing bonus point.
Scurrying away on my bike through the slumbering council housing estate of Lockleaze, I eagerly took up residence back in "posh" Horfield, in front of next doors TV to watch Leicester vs Newcastle. A nice new stand but I wondered who had enjoyed themselves the more at which game. The Premiership match involved strange things like "passing" and attempts at "running" with the ball, though the end result was the same...no tries.., so you pays your money and takes your choice..(4 pounds at the gate for over 60's, sort of, at Dings ....or 8 pounds if you really insist....money isnt the be all and end all it would appear)
An so to the next day, Sunday, the sun still shone and after pounding around the common in a good time of 23 minutes and 10 seconds, straining my groin slightly in the process, I once again settled down in front of next doors TV to watch Man United vs Man city....and it was just getting interesting at 2-2 when, like a reluctant child having to go to afternoon Sunday school, I tore myself a way to watch Bristol vs Rotherham at the Memorial Ground, just a hundred yards down the hill.
It was still a nice day, but I became confused as to whom Bristol were playing. Apparently the "sat nav" on the Rotherham coach took them to the Westbury on Trym Womens Institute where a party of ladies from Rotherhams Knitting Club were due to share secrets in crocheting and the like.
At the same time, the Knitting Club went to the rugby ground by mistake, and by half time had created a multi coloured scarf long enough for Tom Baker's Dr Who to wear. Bristol meanwhile, had thought they were at a screening of "Come Dancing" and had merrily waltzed, cha cha chaad and tangoed unopposed to a 29 -3 lead.."Very strange" I mused as I lolled lazily against a barrier, chatting to my mate Pete who seems to enjoy the odd coach trip himself here and there in his old age to various religious sites such as "Lindisfarne oopp north.." "very pleasant" he said. Although his next door neighbour Mr Sedgley had taken a fall and was in hospital. (As a result Pete couldnt watch his SKY TV. "He likes golf and tennis mostly, but I get to watch the odd game of rugby and cricket..."
After half time the Rugby side from Rotherham arrived and trotted out and gave Bristol a thorough deep rectal examination which gave us pause for further thought. But looking at the argy bargy of the Premiership I'm not sure where the most fun is to be had, but once again perhaps rugby in all it's forms was the winner, especially "braul" and all.
And so as Autumn truly arrives and Gloucestershire CCC prepare for the very last game of the season against Kent with a very faintest chance of winning promotion, the rugby season gathers apace with the commencement of the University games to end next spring at Twickenham. Last season Hartpury College (Gloucestershire) narrowly defeated Loughborough College in the final. Hartpury also beat Clifton in the intermediate cup and continue to burn up the oposition in the South West One West Division they have won promotion to.
Bath University take on Bristol University at the Recreation Ground, Bath Wednesday 6th October 7.15 pm, entrance 3 pounds only...
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William Blessing
- Top Cat
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:20 pm
- Location: Bristol
Re: A Letter from Bristol.
A trip back in time. Posted by: WilliamBlessing (IP Logged)
Date: 05 October, 2009 08:31
I was on a train to London many years ago, so long ago it might even have been a steam engine but I remember it had corridors and as I walked along, looking for a compartment, I noticed a spare seat, and sliding the door squeezed in next to a group of chaps wearing smart black blazers with badges and ties, white shirts, short haircuts. I asked the elderly gentleman opposite me, similarly attired if they were a rugby club travelling away and who they were?
A few players looked up from their card game, cautiously wondering who this long haired wierdo was, ( I've lost the long hair, as to whether I'm still a weirdo, I'll let you draw your own obvious conclusions), and the old chap said "We're Exeter Rugby Club".
"Who're you playing", I asked. "Saracens" I think he said. I honestly can't remember who I was going to watch. It could have been Bristol at Blackheath for all I know. But I was indelibly impressed by their sober good manners, combined with a hint of James Bond like potential violence if I stepped out of line.
And so 40 years on what has changed?
Bristol 25 Exeter 36 October 4th 2009......
Yes it was an enjoyable game, a bit like the old amateur days when the result was important until the final whistle and then was forgotten as players shook hands and everyone merrily went their way to the bar and beyond. I half expected to see an advert for the Beatles at the Colston Hall, although the mountains of uncollected rubbish littering the streets hark back to the bin strikes of the 70's.
Yes it was a pre season friendly of sorts but the next question is whether there is much advantage to be playing in the Premiership for Bristol? Both these sides would have lost by about 40 points to most Premiership teams. The best they could have hoped for was a win once a season against perhaps Leeds.
To Exeter such a fate would be a novelty worth trying but for myself the attendant grief, team chopping and coach persecution worthy of Montezuma at his most boodthirstiest is of doubtful pleasure.
As Exeter are the only other team in the Championship that fulfil Premiership criteria, how about establishing a pact that ensures they win the play off finals?
For real drama I have particularly enjoyed two Premiership games played at 6.05pm on Saturday nights. This new kick off time has permitted me to watch either Clifton or Dings Crusaders at National Division Two South level in the afternoon. A week ago I became a season ticket holder at Clifton for 25 pounds and the standard of rugby is high and the ability to watch the play close up and in the corners really permits one to appreciate the skill and courage of these players.
So this simple rescheduling by SKY and the Premiership is bound to increase gate takings throughout the country especially at the lower levels and, I would imagine, increase TV viewer figures at the same time.
The only people it might not suit is the supporter of the teams being televised, but what's new? As an impartial observer of the Bath Vs Leicester game a week or so ago it I thought it was a tremendous match. Imagine my surprise to read Stephen Jones in next days Sunday Times comprehensively rubbishing the match. These critics should take a break sometime to rediscover their appetite. Being an "expert" can blind one to the simple facts of a thrilling game.
And if the Bath Tigers game was a cliff hanger, the Quins Bath game this weekend topped the lot. But thats what you get when there is something to play for. The designers of the "Championship" in contrast take us back in time to a gentler age. As it is, Bristol supporters can enjoy both eras at the same time.....perhaps.
Date: 05 October, 2009 08:31
I was on a train to London many years ago, so long ago it might even have been a steam engine but I remember it had corridors and as I walked along, looking for a compartment, I noticed a spare seat, and sliding the door squeezed in next to a group of chaps wearing smart black blazers with badges and ties, white shirts, short haircuts. I asked the elderly gentleman opposite me, similarly attired if they were a rugby club travelling away and who they were?
A few players looked up from their card game, cautiously wondering who this long haired wierdo was, ( I've lost the long hair, as to whether I'm still a weirdo, I'll let you draw your own obvious conclusions), and the old chap said "We're Exeter Rugby Club".
"Who're you playing", I asked. "Saracens" I think he said. I honestly can't remember who I was going to watch. It could have been Bristol at Blackheath for all I know. But I was indelibly impressed by their sober good manners, combined with a hint of James Bond like potential violence if I stepped out of line.
And so 40 years on what has changed?
Bristol 25 Exeter 36 October 4th 2009......
Yes it was an enjoyable game, a bit like the old amateur days when the result was important until the final whistle and then was forgotten as players shook hands and everyone merrily went their way to the bar and beyond. I half expected to see an advert for the Beatles at the Colston Hall, although the mountains of uncollected rubbish littering the streets hark back to the bin strikes of the 70's.
Yes it was a pre season friendly of sorts but the next question is whether there is much advantage to be playing in the Premiership for Bristol? Both these sides would have lost by about 40 points to most Premiership teams. The best they could have hoped for was a win once a season against perhaps Leeds.
To Exeter such a fate would be a novelty worth trying but for myself the attendant grief, team chopping and coach persecution worthy of Montezuma at his most boodthirstiest is of doubtful pleasure.
As Exeter are the only other team in the Championship that fulfil Premiership criteria, how about establishing a pact that ensures they win the play off finals?
For real drama I have particularly enjoyed two Premiership games played at 6.05pm on Saturday nights. This new kick off time has permitted me to watch either Clifton or Dings Crusaders at National Division Two South level in the afternoon. A week ago I became a season ticket holder at Clifton for 25 pounds and the standard of rugby is high and the ability to watch the play close up and in the corners really permits one to appreciate the skill and courage of these players.
So this simple rescheduling by SKY and the Premiership is bound to increase gate takings throughout the country especially at the lower levels and, I would imagine, increase TV viewer figures at the same time.
The only people it might not suit is the supporter of the teams being televised, but what's new? As an impartial observer of the Bath Vs Leicester game a week or so ago it I thought it was a tremendous match. Imagine my surprise to read Stephen Jones in next days Sunday Times comprehensively rubbishing the match. These critics should take a break sometime to rediscover their appetite. Being an "expert" can blind one to the simple facts of a thrilling game.
And if the Bath Tigers game was a cliff hanger, the Quins Bath game this weekend topped the lot. But thats what you get when there is something to play for. The designers of the "Championship" in contrast take us back in time to a gentler age. As it is, Bristol supporters can enjoy both eras at the same time.....perhaps.
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salcombe bob
- Super User
- Posts: 2077
- Joined: Wed Mar 03, 2004 12:14 pm
- Location: salcombe
Re: A Letter from Bristol.
well this site attracts some odd people occasionally!! Come on Exeter, I'll get to see Tigers close to home in 2010/11 then! 
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William Blessing
- Top Cat
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:20 pm
- Location: Bristol
Re: A Letter from Bristol.
There has been a debate recently on whether the Bristol coaches should be pitch side urging our team on and shouting instructions. One poster on the Unoffical site, Yorkie Boy enlightens us
Memo to Paul Hull...
..makes me laugh with all the folks on here who say the coaches should be on the touch line but the championship regulations state only the team manager or who is acting as team manager is allowed in the technical area so, before sprouting off, know the rules people.
I responded ...
Yorkie boy,
I take your point, but, alas if we all knew what we were talking about we wouldn't be on these boards, myself included. None the less I thank you for your shining light on the problem. I'm always irritated by football managers such as Fergie and Wenger standing on the touchline, like nerdy trainspotters with their every ranting grimace and spittle flecked raving on show to the viewing public, followed up by their one eyed mind bending distortion of the obvious truth about whether it was a foul or a goal or whether the ref was too fat.
I prefer our rugby coaches to remain in dignified silence with our own very dear to our hearts Mr Brain in his usual position, high up in the "Centenary" stand, hanging upside down as it were, in the belfry with his batman suit on, blood dripping from his fangs, closely accompanied by "Robin" Mr Hull, as they looked on at the truly Halloween Horror Show put on by the lads last Friday night against "Sir Oswald" Moseley RFC.
Watching him closely in his towering erie I realised that, what I thought was blood dripping from his jaws, was in fact splurges of an over generous appication of tomato sauce on his mid game jumbo burger, which came as relief considering recent past events at other equally famous rugby clubs .
Once again I came away with a mild sense of happiness, a win is a win, and I shall refrain from tearing the few remaining threads of hair and shooting myself in the head for the play offs in Spring, as like lemmings, we all once again run head long for the oblivion of promotion and a trip over the side of the cliff.
Next stop Doncaster!
P.S...
Last Friday night I found myself standing, at one stage in the Blackthorne End right next to a jolly bunch of Moseley supporters, clad in their famous red and black scarves resembling Dennis the menace of the Beano, and one merry old Brummy chap, holding his pint of beer seemed to be an inexhaustible dynamo of energetic cheering, and chanting at the top of his voice, "Moseley....Moseley.....Moseley" and I really wanted to get a refrain intoned, just before the Moseley bit, of "Oswald...Oswald....Oswald...." but thought the better not to in the current political climate...what with Nick Griffin of the BNP going on "Kwvestion Time and Vee Have vays of Making you Talk Jah?" and anyway it probably wouldn't have been understood at the time.
Anyway Graham has enlightened us further on whether Mr Brain should come swing down from the belfry on a rope like the Lunchpack of Notre Dame......
Re: Memo to Paul Hull...
Posted by: Graham
Date: 21 October, 2009 13:19
Quote:
Champ Regulations
Personnel permitted in the Technical Area
a. No more than two medically trained persons (certified doctors or physiotherapists only) and two water carriers (who may not be coaching personnel) per team are permitted to operate from the technical areas.
b. One Team Manager (who may be coaching personnel) is permitted within the Technical Area and will identify himself as the Team Manager to the officials.
c. No other person (including other team officials) is permitted in the technical area.
d. One other medically trained person (in addition to those identified in a. above) may be positioned on the far side of the playing area on the touch line opposite the technical area.
e. Where practically possible any medical person operating on the far side of the field from the technical area must stay outside the advertising hoardings. The medical personnel may keep up with play, but must pay due regard to the needs and rights of players, match officials, spectators, broadcasters and commercial partners.
f. All medical personnel may enter the field of play in accordance with Law at any time a player is injured. They must not obstruct, interfere or aim comments at match officials.
Whilst the number of people is restricted, I'd still expect one of the coaches to be acting as team manager in this respect. Last week I noticed the fitness guy had replaced chalky.
I think Two Sheds of the Gloucester Board who I bore to tears must really be soundly dozing off now so it's safe for everyone to come out to play!
Memo to Paul Hull...
..makes me laugh with all the folks on here who say the coaches should be on the touch line but the championship regulations state only the team manager or who is acting as team manager is allowed in the technical area so, before sprouting off, know the rules people.
I responded ...
Yorkie boy,
I take your point, but, alas if we all knew what we were talking about we wouldn't be on these boards, myself included. None the less I thank you for your shining light on the problem. I'm always irritated by football managers such as Fergie and Wenger standing on the touchline, like nerdy trainspotters with their every ranting grimace and spittle flecked raving on show to the viewing public, followed up by their one eyed mind bending distortion of the obvious truth about whether it was a foul or a goal or whether the ref was too fat.
I prefer our rugby coaches to remain in dignified silence with our own very dear to our hearts Mr Brain in his usual position, high up in the "Centenary" stand, hanging upside down as it were, in the belfry with his batman suit on, blood dripping from his fangs, closely accompanied by "Robin" Mr Hull, as they looked on at the truly Halloween Horror Show put on by the lads last Friday night against "Sir Oswald" Moseley RFC.
Watching him closely in his towering erie I realised that, what I thought was blood dripping from his jaws, was in fact splurges of an over generous appication of tomato sauce on his mid game jumbo burger, which came as relief considering recent past events at other equally famous rugby clubs .
Once again I came away with a mild sense of happiness, a win is a win, and I shall refrain from tearing the few remaining threads of hair and shooting myself in the head for the play offs in Spring, as like lemmings, we all once again run head long for the oblivion of promotion and a trip over the side of the cliff.
Next stop Doncaster!
P.S...
Last Friday night I found myself standing, at one stage in the Blackthorne End right next to a jolly bunch of Moseley supporters, clad in their famous red and black scarves resembling Dennis the menace of the Beano, and one merry old Brummy chap, holding his pint of beer seemed to be an inexhaustible dynamo of energetic cheering, and chanting at the top of his voice, "Moseley....Moseley.....Moseley" and I really wanted to get a refrain intoned, just before the Moseley bit, of "Oswald...Oswald....Oswald...." but thought the better not to in the current political climate...what with Nick Griffin of the BNP going on "Kwvestion Time and Vee Have vays of Making you Talk Jah?" and anyway it probably wouldn't have been understood at the time.
Anyway Graham has enlightened us further on whether Mr Brain should come swing down from the belfry on a rope like the Lunchpack of Notre Dame......
Re: Memo to Paul Hull...
Posted by: Graham
Date: 21 October, 2009 13:19
Quote:
Champ Regulations
Personnel permitted in the Technical Area
a. No more than two medically trained persons (certified doctors or physiotherapists only) and two water carriers (who may not be coaching personnel) per team are permitted to operate from the technical areas.
b. One Team Manager (who may be coaching personnel) is permitted within the Technical Area and will identify himself as the Team Manager to the officials.
c. No other person (including other team officials) is permitted in the technical area.
d. One other medically trained person (in addition to those identified in a. above) may be positioned on the far side of the playing area on the touch line opposite the technical area.
e. Where practically possible any medical person operating on the far side of the field from the technical area must stay outside the advertising hoardings. The medical personnel may keep up with play, but must pay due regard to the needs and rights of players, match officials, spectators, broadcasters and commercial partners.
f. All medical personnel may enter the field of play in accordance with Law at any time a player is injured. They must not obstruct, interfere or aim comments at match officials.
Whilst the number of people is restricted, I'd still expect one of the coaches to be acting as team manager in this respect. Last week I noticed the fitness guy had replaced chalky.
I think Two Sheds of the Gloucester Board who I bore to tears must really be soundly dozing off now so it's safe for everyone to come out to play!