SA to join a 7 nations set up

[wellstiger]

No thanks - Italy was bought into the then 5N and made it 6N.
If we want to develop a team then drop Italy who have stagnated and bring in Georgia or Germany.
SA only want to be in a tournament they have a chance of winning.
It would not develop Northern Hemisphere Rugby.

[kk20gb30]

Six Nations must stay on terrestrial, that is paramount.

If it brings more money into the game I'm happy with it to be on Sky or BT.

as always money does talk but I think our game needs terrestrial exposure. Irrespective of how rich a particular union is or becomes sustainability comes from a production line of participants and/or supporters.The cable giants have the wealth but their lack of real exposure can marginalise any sport.

[Cagey Tiger]

Whilst in general I would agree, however The Daily Mail has a record of being extraordinarily accurate in rugby related stories.

As they say "money talks"

I would not be surprised if SA replace Italy

The game in Italy has moved on considerably on the back of Italy joining the 6 nations and I doubt that European Rugby will be prepare to put this at risk for the sake of SA joining the 6N competition.

Italy's results in the last 5 seasons compared to their first 5 seasons in the 6N suggest otherwise.

Regardless the reports do suggest that the thinking is to expand to 7N and not exclude Italy.

A large chunk of that can be put down to one thing, Diego Dominguez's kicking. In many other respects of the game they have moved on considerably. For example, IIRC England don't tend to put 50 points past them as often now.

[fleabane]

I can see the argument for centrally contracted players raising its ugly head again if this goes through!

And fast on its tail, franchising.

[Not a jock]

CVC Capital Partners already has a stake in the English Premiership and the PRO14, and is negotiating to buy a stake in the Six Nations. I doubt they're doing this to get a discount on a corporate box - more likely to make a profit. Will they eventually just double tickets prices? - probably not - but want to increase revenue from TV. That means selling broadcasting rights to the likes of Sky, BT, Virgin etc. That'll be a real shame as rugby will revert to being a sport being watched by a very small minority of the population, both live and on TV.

[mol2]

To be honest the loss of rugby from the BBC would be no great shame.

I for one have become utterly sick of the Celtic bias in both coverage and commentry by the BBC.

[Tiglon]

Rugby is a niche sport prominent in only a handful of nations.

Being on terrestrial TV hasn't changed that. A poor team being in the 6N hasn't changed that.

Stop trying to make the sport something it will never be and just enjoy it for what it is.

[Noggs]

SA may well be exploring the idea but look there the report originated, the Daily Mail.

This paper, and I use the term loosely, has a reputation for 'making it up' on a bad news day in order to get a headline so I would take anything they say with a very large pinch of salt.

Yup, they got the salary cap scandal completely wrong, didn't they.....

I didn't say everything the Mail print is rubbish but they have got form having been found out in this respect many times in the past.

In terms of the thread I thought Italy played some very good rugby in parts yesterday and I would not like to see them go for many different reasons so if SA are to join I would go for a 7 Nations competition. We'll see where it goes in due course.

[JP14]

To be honest the loss of rugby from the BBC would be no great shame.

I for one have become utterly sick of the Celtic bias in both coverage and commentry by the BBC.

I disagree, with ITV championing the “I won a World cup so I’m right” brigade they’re no better. The only bias Cotter suffers from is his accent and I much prefer him to Mullins and Ekyn, and tends to get the names right whereas Butler struggles.

As for Irish bias? Thinking you are making a mountain out of a molehill in my view.

[kk20gb30]

Rugby is a niche sport prominent in only a handful of nations.

Being on terrestrial TV hasn't changed that. A poor team being in the 6N hasn't changed that.

Stop trying to make the sport something it will never be and just enjoy it for what it is.

Sorry, would have to disagree in part.We cannot say with any degree of certainty that terrestrial TV has not helped sustain the sport, but yes our game remains a minority sport.So , would moving it (or it being moved) to satellite or cable actually help it further ?
This I doubt.Test cricket took the shilling and has not exactly prospered.Sky and BT guard their viewing figures religiously - and with good reason.They are lucky (very lucky) to get anywhere close to 1 million viewers for any sporting event.The recent Rugby World Cup final on ITV hit close to 13 milliion viewers.Still, I agree ,Rugby is a minority sport.This being so, however, we surely need all of the exposure that we can get and it wont come by locking out any potential viewers behind a paywall.Let those that want to watch it and enjoy it for what it is do so.

[Tiglon]

That depends on whether you're happy with it being a niche sport or not.

It makes no difference to me whether a billion people watch the world cup final or just a million.

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BBC article mentioning Fiji also joining and 'home' games in France.

[BengalTiger]

I like having the 6 nations on the BBC but losing the comedy duo of Brainfart More and Buttermouth Butler would be a welcome bonus, we might actually get some commentators that explain the action not just bicker constantly.

[chewbacca]

We may be at the foot of the league but our England representatives had a good day at the weekend. Well done lads.

[Robespierre]

If six becomes seven then the season will be even longer and clubs will be without their internationals even more.
No thank you. Leave the Saffers to play in the Southern Hemisphere.
However, we shouldn't forget that the Pro14 has already been infiltrated by two Saffer sides!