Rugby World Cup 2015 is in England so ......................

[Mersey Tiger]

Rugby World Cup 2015 is in England, so the big question is what is the Premier League going to do, and can/ will the RFU sit idly by?

It will be interesting to see what the Premier League clubs who have benefited from running the league during the World Cup 2011 period will agree to in 2015.

Supporters in England will want to go to the various World Cup matches in 2015, which arguably means that for the Premier League to run in parallel will not be practical/ feasible. Any such matches would be taking place at the same time as the World Cup matches - as opposed to 8 hours later - and there would therefore be direct competition for supporters' hard earned cash.

I cannot believe that the RFU will wear it for one minute! So, it follows that the Premier League will have to start after the World Cup has finished. It also follows that the RFU will have to suitably recompense the clubs for their loss of cash flow revenue at the time.

Is this a fair analysis? Views are welcomed.

[me2]

The last time the RWC was in England (at least partially) in 1999 the Premiership continued to run in parallel.

Then, just as in 2015, WR was used for a pool match. That match took place in midweek.


I expect the same will happen again in 2015

[BJ.]

Welford Road was used once in 1991 and once in 1999. With the increased capacity, I would expect it to be used a lot more in 2015.

In 2007, the French Top 14 season didn't start until 26/27 Oct, i.e. the weekend after the RWC final and it finished with the play-off final on 28 Jun. RWC2015 is currently scheduled to run 4 Sep - 17 Oct which means we could also delay the start of the Premiership until 24/25 Oct and, don't forget, our season is 4 matches shorter than the French.

So, if we got rid of the garbage that is commonly known as the LV Cup, the 2015-16 season would finish only a week or two later than it does now.

[fentiger]

BJ, I fear that suggestion is far too sensible for it to be adopted. We can but hope!

[biffer]

Grounds for 2015 here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Rugby_World_Cup

Is it me or are they being over ambitious? Would we honestly sell out Wleford Road for Romania v Japan, for example?

[kingol22]

Grounds for 2015 here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Rugby_World_Cup

Is it me or are they being over ambitious? Would we honestly sell out Wleford Road for Romania v Japan, for example?

I think we could sell out Welford Road for a world cup game. If the tickets are priced correctly then it should not be too difficult. Saying this i doubt we will sell out as the likely hood is the RFU will set the ticket prices way too high turning away the casual fans.

[Old Hob]

Grounds for 2015 here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Rugby_World_Cup

Is it me or are they being over ambitious? Would we honestly sell out Wleford Road for Romania v Japan, for example?

I think we could sell out Welford Road for a world cup game. If the tickets are priced correctly then it should not be too difficult. Saying this i doubt we will sell out as the likely hood is the RFU will set the ticket prices way too high turning away the casual fans.

It will also be on free-to-air ITV as this one was.

[me2]

I sem to recall that the prices were set very reasonably last time WR was used (in 1999). The midweek attendance for the Italy v Tonga game was just over 10,000.

[BJ.]

It will also be on free-to-air ITV as this one was.

If ITV get it again in 2015, that will provide more incentive to go to the matches. After all, who wants to sit at home and listen to the idiots Mullins and Gillingham telling us every two minutes which club a player is with, how old he is and how many caps he has whilst ignoring what's happening on the pitch?

[mol2]

I presume Welford Road's capacity will be greater this time so perhaps we'll get some of the bigger matches?

[Old Hob]

It will also be on free-to-air ITV as this one was.

If ITV get it again in 2015, that will provide more incentive to go to the matches. After all, who wants to sit at home and listen to the idiots Mullins and Gillingham telling us every two minutes which club a player is with, how old he is and how many caps he has whilst ignoring what's happening on the pitch?

My understanding is that ITV bid for 2011 AND 2015 as a package and so have both. My biggest gripe is they talk over the referee when he is explaining decisions or telling the captains something. Hearing the referee often really adds to the understanding of why the game pattern is as it is. Vickery adds nothing.

[biffer]

I presume Welford Road's capacity will be greater this time so perhaps we'll get some of the bigger matches?

According to wiki it's the second smallest gound being used, so I think that's unlikely.

[BJ.]

May I remind you the twelve stadia listed on Wikipedia are only the proposed ones for RWC2015. It is somewhat bittersweet the two with the smallest capacities are arguably the two that would attract the most knowledgeable crowds, i.e. Welford Road and Kingsholm.

[Artuin]

Out of interest what were the capacities for Rotorua, Napier etc for this year's RWC?

[BJ.]

Out of interest what were the capacities for Rotorua, Napier etc for this year's RWC?

Have you tried Gogling for the stadia?