Club/International fixture clashes

[Hot_Charlie]

Let's be realistic

Good point, well made.

[GB72]

Let's be realistic - World rugby and the various national organisations will not stop until they get a rejig of the calendar which suits them and their dreams. It does not take anyone with an ounce of sense to aim to avoid Prem fixtures during the various windows which need to be shortened to start with. No arguments from me regarding the prep week or the post-comp rest period but why they have to have rest weeks during the comp is beyond me. I know they will say their main concern is for player welfare and the need for proper rest but they could ask for more players to be in the competition squads and use rotation during the internationals just like the clubs do and the clubs would be happy to release more players and play the Prem cup with their development squads during those periods. A more radical suggestion would be to play an expanded Prem cup including either the championship sides or sides from other countries in the UK but that is just my own slant on that cup comp which might attract larger crowds.

Agree, World Rugby will not be happy until our season ties in with the Southern Hemisphere and we are playing Summer rugby. Now, I can see a benefit to that in that club rugby stands more chance of growing when you remove the massive shadow of premier league football that we play in. it would also seem possible to then fit in international fixtures pre and post season. Even then, i am not sure how it would work overall as out top teams play far more matches including league and Europe, than the super rugby teams play.

All I know is that we were building up to the start of the season and the biggest question was when we may have out top players available. It is simply lagughable that a professional sport can think it OK both for fans and a PR point of view, to have a big season launch with clubs having none of their international players on the pitch. That just reeks of being amateur. Can imagine Man City starting the season without their big signing Haaland because he had to play for Denmark or Harry Kane not playing the opening match for Spurs because he was on England duty. The clubs would withdraw all players from participation in 2 seconds flat.

[Scott1]

I can see us creeping towards a global competition at some stage if this world club championship is a success. I wouldn’t mind either tbh

[Not a jock]

If you can't hear the money talking, you must be deaf.

It's pointless drawing comparisons between Premiership Rugby / RFU and Premier League / FA. In English soccer, the clubs have far more money than the FA. In rugby, the RFU probably has as much income, if not more than, the clubs. The clubs receive handouts from the RFU .

Twickers charges much more for tickets and has 80,000 "fans" perhaps 6-8 times per year. Although clubs have more games and there are 5-6 home games each weekend, the average attendence is probably less than a fifth of Twickers'.

Has anyone asked the players at various levels of the sport what they want? My guess is that the internationals are quite happy with things the way they are. Those at the next level are probably envious of the riches bestowed on the internationals - but relatively few leave the sport early to persue other careers so it can't be that bad. Grass roots probably feel they play a different sport.

If I were a management consultant, I'd be advising DoRs to calculate the "bang per buck" for various levels/standards of players. As we've seen, having Hanro available all the time is much better use of the salary cap than , say a Manu, injured or not. Perhaps the ideal squad would be a load of one-cap wonders and some academy/development players with potential?!

[Scott1]

If you can't hear the money talking, you must be deaf.

It's pointless drawing comparisons between Premiership Rugby / RFU and Premier League / FA. In English soccer, the clubs have far more money than the FA. In rugby, the RFU probably has as much income, if not more than, the clubs. The clubs receive handouts from the RFU .

Twickers charges much more for tickets and has 80,000 "fans" perhaps 6-8 times per year. Although clubs have more games and there are 5-6 home games each weekend, the average attendence is probably less than a fifth of Twickers'.

Has anyone asked the players at various levels of the sport what they want? My guess is that the internationals are quite happy with things the way they are. Those at the next level are probably envious of the riches bestowed on the internationals - but relatively few leave the sport early to persue other careers so it can't be that bad. Grass roots probably feel they play a different sport.

If I were a management consultant, I'd be advising DoRs to calculate the "bang per buck" for various levels/standards of players. As we've seen, having Hanro available all the time is much better use of the salary cap than , say a Manu, injured or not. Perhaps the ideal squad would be a load of one-cap wonders and some academy/development players with potential?!

Exeter Chiefs had the squad blueprint right

[johnthegriff]

A ten team.leaguemeans a reduction in the number of games therefore a reduction in income for the clubs and less value for the season ticket holder. Premier Rugby Cup in mid week means that clubs are more inclined to field a squad team for those fixtures rather than a first teamish team. There should be no problem with a club/international clash if Autumn is limited to 3 internationals, better still if 6 Nations is move to end of European season to get our international teams together before touring the Southern Hemisphere.

[tigerburnie]

This will upset the apple cart for some
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/63646086

[Scott1]

This will upset the apple cart for some
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/63646086

I like it but it does have its drawbacks. Will a coach risk leaving a player on for 80 minutes knowing that if he brings a player on that's a game involvement that players lost. (Am I getting it right?)

[trendylfj]

We are all in agreement regarding player welfare, it has to be number one. They are right in saying that restrictions have to be put in place but if we have 4 games in the AI, 5 games in the 6N and 3/4 games in the summer tours, That means that an international player will be available for a max of 18 club games per season but how do you manage that when you don't know who will be selected for an end of year tour, how far you will go in the HC, or if you will be involved in prem semis and finals. Will a player not be selected for the summer tours if they have reached the 30-game limit already? Of course not and will they follow their own rules???????

[Old Hob]

We are all in agreement regarding player welfare, it has to be number one. They are right in saying that restrictions have to be put in place but if we have 4 games in the AI, 5 games in the 6N and 3/4 games in the summer tours, That means that an international player will be available for a max of 18 club games per season but how do you manage that when you don't know who will be selected for an end of year tour, how far you will go in the HC, or if you will be involved in prem semis and finals. Will a player not be selected for the summer tours if they have reached the 30-game limit already? Of course not and will they follow their own rules???????

Well, we know that Freddie Steward exceeded the 35 game "limit" last season.

[LittleBigG]

This will upset the apple cart for some
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/63646086

So the RFU are gonna help by reducing the number of games or reducing player involvement? ...thought not

Wasps and Worcester going bust is the worst thing to happen in English rugby. To move forwards, in terms of true player welfare, the clubs (who are paying the players wages) need to be able to tell the RFU to sod off, which means they need to be self-sufficient. There are far too many international games to have a sensible sized club league + European cup

The autumn and summer series should be a max of 3 games per team, and (although I hate this one) the Six Nations should not be played on a World Cup year

It's almost as if they are looking at the cricket and thinking "what a great model" as opposed to recognising the omnishambles that it is...

[tigerburnie]

There are some huge decisions to be made, sadly most of them revolving around money, if the RFU don't come up with more, then I can see the clubs having to sell more of the league to the likes of CVC, who knows what the outcome of that will be.

[GB72]

Does anyone know when the next players/clubs/rfu contract is due to be negotiated. I can see that getting pretty heated with the clubs taking a stand and, potentially, the RFU countering by relaxing their stance on England internationals playing abroad. Got a feeling it is not going to be pleasant unless the RFU come armed with some concessions.

[Tigerbeat]

The whole game of rugby is in a mess. The Club games cannot survive in the current format and international teams need to be accommodated. This is not a local union issue but is one that all International Unions and World Rugby need to resolve. The issue of player safety affects every club from grass roots to international level so they need to look at how leagues are structured and what the calendar should look like.
This is not football and there are not the finances available to the same level.
This is a difficult to resolve and a fine balancing act whilst maintaining a healthy financial platform for all to operate.

[KiwiTig]

Good points
We should be addressing the grass roots game as part of the process
Every participation pyramid needs a firm and solid foundation and participation base to allow safe and successful progression into the performance and elite or excellence stage-I strongly believe that these levels are not mutually exclusive
Each stage of development of the game relies on the other with equal importance