SA to join a 7 nations set up

[nasher]

If we have SA then we must have Argentina and what about Tonga and Samoa, it will improve domestic rugby not one jot but it may improve the cash flow and hasten centrally contracted players. They will have no time for club rugby but play internationals all the time. Professionalism and cash has not improved the sport at all.

[northerntiger]

If we have SA then we must have Argentina and what about Tonga and Samoa, it will improve domestic rugby not one jot but it may improve the cash flow and hasten centrally contracted players. They will have no time for club rugby but play internationals all the time. Professionalism and cash has not improved the sport at all.

I sort of disagree with the last statement. There are loads of things I dislike about the current state of the game, but it's hard to disagree that its a better game to watch. In the old amateur days players were less fit, less skilled and less organised. It was very much a players game- how many 6-3, 9-6 games were there then. Try watching the whole of the famous Baa baas games- most of it was actually rubbish

[mol2]

There's enough international rugby already.

All this will do would boost the coffers of the other countries whilst harming top level club rugby in England.

Sides would have no incentive to produce top level players knowing that once England got hold of them they would be unavailable for all but a handful of games. So poorer club rugby.
Might as well just have the top players in a handful of regional sides to enter the European competitions and have the clubs feed them?

I suspect all these sides see playing in the 6N as a way of getting their hands on the English TV money. I beleive that the French (historically speaking) have their own separate TV deal but when England mooted doing the same the rest of the home nations threatened to kick England out.

[Chobbsy]

According to the NZ Herald, the South Africans are in talks to join a 7 nation competition after the next world cup - that would lead to even more weeks when our international players are absent - what do people think?

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby/news/a ... d=12306986

I am all for it, it is in the same time zone as Europe, I would also be in favour of lowest of the 7 teams yearly get relegated into a second tier league, with for example, Romania, Georgia, Russia, Spain etc, this way it introduces the possibility of exposing the lower tier nations to a higher standard of competition

[JP14]

That would have happened with the World League they were trying to introduce, but the Scots and the Italians had a hissy fit (surprise, surprise) at the idea of relegation and vetoed.

There’s talk of a player revolt against this.

[Smudge]

Loosing our best players for the 6Ns is bad enough but the 6 weeks or so we loose them for the AIs just adds to the harm done to the clubs. I think the clubs should do more to defend the Premier and Championship before we are totally screwed. Tell them we won't put up with the loss of our elite players for such a big slice of the season. Tell them to stage the 6Ns after the Premiership and European finals in the summer. Look how badly the Cricketing Counties have faired since central contracting.
Develop a player good enough to play for England and never have them playing for you. The same point can be made about the loss of free to air television. There are some great games on SKY but 90% of youngsters never see them.
Yes money is important for wages within the sport but the lack of general exposure does nothing to expand it.
Write in the first instance to Bill Beaumont MBE...…………………..

[Dangerous4]

I hate the idea. It sounds like the beginning of the death knell for club rugby.