Anglo- Welsh cup

banbury tiger · Post by **banbury tiger** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 6:55 pm

Just wondering have the groups for the anglo-welsh cup been announced yet. If not does anyone know when they will be ? :?

cal · Post by **cal** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 9:13 pm

They are the same as last year banbury tiger, but the fixture locations have been reversed, so tigers only have the one home match this year. Harlequins have replaced Leeds in their group.

ulster_jamesie · Post by **ulster_jamesie** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 9:29 pm

banbury tiger wrote:Just wondering have the groups for the anglo-welsh cup been announced yet. If not does anyone know when they will be ? :?

who cares? waste of :censored:' time... :? do any of ya give a monkeys? :roll:

simon redshaw · Post by **simon redshaw** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 10:27 pm

I did in Cardiff when Tigers lost to Wasps! :( :(

I know though that many fans aren't keen on the Anglo Welsh Cup. I personally am not sure about the repeating groups. I also wonder whether a straight knockout wouldn't be better. Maybe you could go one better and have a British Cup rather then an Anglo-Welsh Cup? :roll: :roll:

Iain · Post by **Iain** » Mon Jul 17, 2006 11:00 pm

I'm not that fussed about it, but if it means days out at Cardiff and Twickenham then I'll tag along. I would much rather a straight knock out between all English League sides as it used to be. Less fixture congestion, helps out the smaller sides.

simon redshaw · Post by **simon redshaw** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 8:42 am

I too would rather have had the old straight knockout format between all English sides. So would many. However, the powers that be decided we needed the old Anglo-Welsh games and came up with this closed shop system! :( :( The Heineken Cup at least has some variation each year. With this, the only change is the English team promoted in place of that relegated. The British Cup would also be a closed shop potentially but would have a greater number of teams.

Perhaps the most satisfactory process if you are going to keep the cup Anglo Welsh would be to say have 32 teams. These could consist of 16 English and 16 Welsh sides (including the regional sides) That would give the other sides an exposure to the big matches and would allow the other Welsh sides and the likes of Cornish Pirates, Plymouth Exeter etc a chance to participate. Or you could have more teams like before.

simon redshaw · Post by **simon redshaw** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 9:32 am

I suppose the counter argument to the old system is that very few of the lesser clubs will ever progress past the first few rounds. However, there are a few top Division 1 sides who could do quite well in a bigger Anglo Welsh Cup for instance.

stevetelcom2000 · Post by **stevetelcom2000** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 9:51 am

It seem's the apathy towards the AWC, shown on here seem's to me mirrored by the club. Although there is a a mention in the sales pitch for Club Membership. There is no indication on the fixture list. Surely this is a good opportunity for clubs like Tigers to push for some silverware, with an opportunity to give competitive game time to less experienced members of the squad. 3 group games, a semi, then a final, is hardly a strain on the fixture list. Well it shouldnt be to club the size of Tigers. A change of the pool group's each season, would however benefit the competition IMHO.

Glaws 55 · Post by **Glaws 55** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 12:00 pm

I do miss the knock out system as it produced some great matches knowing that every game counts. It was also good for the lower league clubs when they could play some of the premiership sides and sometimes even cause an upset

banbury tiger · Post by **banbury tiger** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 1:47 pm

I agree glaws 55 some of the great domestic matches have come out of the old knockout cup!

champanzie · Post by **champanzie** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 3:00 pm

i dont like the sound of the same groups. it doesnt give teams the chance to play against other teams. i think the way it is now in the groups is better. it gives teams a better chance to win silver wear. if a team loses there first match it doesnt mean that the chances of winning are over.

banbury tiger · Post by **banbury tiger** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 4:11 pm

Yes but dont you agree that its great to see the lower division teams play some of the big guns. and with this current format its only the top teams involved.
how about keeping the groups but say having 32 teams instead of 16 and having more welsh teams and some division 1 sides too. :idea:

Dave Angel · Post by **Dave Angel** » Tue Jul 18, 2006 6:16 pm

But there aren't any more Welsh teams banbury (without delving into the Welsh League of course)! The WRU want to use this cup as a challenge for their pro regions, to keep their International players competitive.

There isn't the strength in depth within welsh rugby to invite any more then the 4 regions into the competition.

The reason the groups are unchanged this year is so that all teams can end up having played 3 home & 3 away agmes over the 2 year period. I'm sure the pools will be mixed up a bit next season for another 2 year period. (All parties have signed up to a 4 year deal so don't expect the format to change quite yet.)

banbury tiger · Post by **banbury tiger** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 9:53 am

Thats what I mean though invite the welsh teams in out of the celtic leaugue like pontypridd they could compete aginst our division 1 clubs !

Iain · Post by **Iain** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 10:07 am

I don't think you quite understand how the Celtic League regions work. It is like the Super 14, the three regions are designed to cover the whole of Wales, almost like a representative side for all the clubs within that region. Pontypridd for instance, would fall into one of the regions (my knowledge of Wales isn't great but I think they fall into Scarlets).

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Anglo- Welsh cup

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