Sarries money back guarantee!

[MrPartridge]

Hmmm.... interesting read some of the comments on here.

Personally, I'd be more than happy for Tigers to offer Worcester or Newcastle fans the chance of 'money back' if their team beat us at WR. What is the worst that can happen - a few more away fans to banter with, an attendance a bit nearer but still short of our 24,000 capacity, a few more pies and beers sold to boost Tigers revenue...

We can mock Sarries all we want but IMHO it makes perfect business sense...

[yellow_balaclava_hunter]

Could the Sarries approach not be construed as influencing the outcome of a game? I haven't thought through all the permutations of the Henson 'bet' or what Sarries might come up with next. But consider the following scenario.

Bath are a lot of points down to Sarries, less than a minute on the clock, no chance of a losing bonus point. They are awarded a penalty and Mr Ford steps aside to let Gav have a punt and save their fans some money. It's an awful kick that falls short and Sarries go the length of the field and score a bonus point try.

Yes, unlikely and far fetched but imagine how miffed you'd feel at the end of the season if your team missed out to Sarries on a play off or European qualification by a single point!!

Something that may not have happened without the incentive of the 'bet'.

Even having a money back bet and giving the Gloucester supporters a choice was a bit dodgy. What if more Gloucester fans wanted their money back if Saracens won, would there have been a temptation for Saracens to throw the match in order to avoid a financial loss on the game?

Having a bet on a player scoring is even more dodgy. What if Bath don't want to select Henson. Now they will be under extra pressure to pick him and also to give him a pop at goal at some point. What if points difference is a factor at the end of the season?

[Bill W (2)]

a few more pies and beers sold to boost Tigers revenue...

Er............ No!

It would boost Lindleys revenue but not Tigers

[vin rouge]

What would the offer be for the tigers?

Your money back if.......?

[Nailsworthstiger]

What would the offer be for the tigers?

Your money back if.......?

Tigers score less than 3 points

[Old Hob]

The curious thing is that Sarries finances seem so Alice through the looking glass. After the Wembley game last season, I asked a chap if he was a regular Sarries fan. "Oh no," he said, "I work for Allianz and they offered everyone up to 5 free tickets each. We have 30,000 employees in the UK." This last was said with a wry and knowing smile. In the theatre it is known as "Papering the house" - attempting to convince people to buy because some nights are "sold" out.

I have no idea what the costs were in staging a game at Wembley but to give away free tickets AND hire the venue must have been staggering. Now offering money back in deals that are slightly whiffy...

Where is the endless pot of gold that they have?.. And can I have some?

[kingol22]

They are trying to boost attendance which is good for them and the league but I dont think it is the right way to go about it. I hope a lot of Bath fans take the offer up and he comes on and bath let him have a simple kick from in front of the posts.

[MrPartridge]

I see this as a 'bit of fun' aimed at increasing revenue and spectators watching the game in all honesty. Don't see that it would influence games.

I'd offer Newcastle fans their money back if they come down to WR and Tigers don't win and secure a bonus point. Keeps their fans cheering their team on even if Tigers are winning by three converted tries to nil with 10 minutes left...

Mind you - I agree with Old Hob on the Wembley game last year... all sorts happening there and loads of cheap tickets available right up to KO via re-sale websites for £5... I'd love to meet Saracens accountant

[Norfolk & Goode]

Brilliant ideas from Sarries!! - You'd have to be a special king of dull miserable rugby fan not to want to see more people at any game, so don't knock others for trying to promote the game. Might not be your idea of fun but to others it will be.

My money would be on Henson missing the first tackle though, Ashton second!

[vin rouge]

Brilliant ideas from Sarries!! - You'd have to be a special king of dull miserable rugby fan not to want to see more people at any game, so don't knock others for trying to promote the game. Might not be your idea of fun but to others it will be.

My money would be on Henson missing the first tackle though, Ashton second!

agreed, builds atmosphere and encourages those to come who might not normally-
I havn't like a lot of Sarries ideas but this one is good.

[cidermark]

The Sorries aren't trying to increase attendances for the good of the game, league or rugby at all. The whole point about getting people to attend a match is to try and influence their advertisers and TV coverage, which, in turn, will also influences advertisers.

The entity known as Saracens - I don't mean the club, players, supporters, etc - are in the business of making money. They certainly seem to have little regard for their supporters judging by their efforts to secure big payoff, foreign hosted, domestic games.

I'm all for increasing attendances but not through cheap gimmickry.

[vin rouge]

The Sorries aren't trying to increase attendances for the good of the game, league or rugby at all. The whole point about getting people to attend a match is to try and influence their advertisers and TV coverage, which, in turn, will also influences advertisers.

The entity known as Saracens - I don't mean the club, players, supporters, etc - are in the business of making money. They certainly seem to have little regard for their supporters judging by their efforts to secure big payoff, foreign hosted, domestic games.

I'm all for increasing attendances but not through cheap gimmickry.

To some whatever they do will be wrong- because of course no other clubs do anything for financial gain, to be profitable is merely a nice coincidence of being entertaining for all other clubs. Is there no such thing as a win- win here or does everything have to result in Sarries being the villains?

if this backfires it's on sarries, they do it knowing the risks. I still think it's a good idea that will encourage people to watch rugby that wouldnt have done before.

What solutions do you have to boost their home attendances to make them part of the community, which i happen to know they do a lot for.

Now look what you've gone and done, I'm blinkin defending sarries!!!

[cidermark]

vin rouge - I think (hope) you misinterpreted my comments as, entirely, having a pop at the Saracens. I wasn't singling them out, however, I can't think of another PRL club that have introduced this idea (yet?).

Some people here have contended that this kind of promotional activity will be good for the sport of rugby. My contention is that gimmicks, by whoever, only demean the game.

And I won't even begin to comment on how condescending I think this idea is!

[vin rouge]

Surely the bottom line is they now have a permanent base, they need to attract and grow their support there. They will do this by being successful and creating an atmosphere that people want to be part of.

To do the latter they need bums on seats and they need a catalyst for this- such as these gimmicks. i don't think you will see other clubs doing this as no-one else needs to 'discover' their fan base, they are already established in their communities.

I think this is a fun idea, and this would encourage me to go to Allianz park (if being at watford for Geordie's drop goal wasnt enough encouragement!) if i wasn't sure about it previously. they are doing this in conjunction with a number of other things in the community as part of their strategy.

There are a lot of things i don't like about Sarries and a lot of their ideas I think are rubbish- this is not one of them and i wish them luck (but not too much!)

[tommill]

Surely the bottom line is they now have a permanent base, they need to attract and grow their support there.

I agree but this offer is for away fans, not home fans so surely all it is going to achieve is a higher number of away fans. It isn't an incentive for home fans.