Rugby Question

[London Irish]

Of course they should have gone down, they were the worst team in the division but for some reason thought they had a divine right to be there. Funny how they changed their tune on ringfencing the Premiership immediately afterwards....

The "ringfencing" debate is a media myth. The Premiership clubs wants expansion to 14. Quins were lucky, they have rich owners and could suck up a huge year of losses playing in an amateur league (and through gritted teeth I have to say the Quins ST holders raillied brilliantly to minimise the losses) but not all the Premiership clubs are in that fortunate position, relegation could financially kill them.

 

[Easy 10]

And the current Champions of Europe in football last won their League when?

I take it you don't approve of playoffs either, when the team that finishes 5th or 6th can end up third and get promoted?

I knew the Champions League thing would rear its ugly head here . And yes, I think that the format of that competition is RUBBISH as well. I yearn for the days when it was purely the Champions of each country that would go straight into a knockout competition to find out the Champions of Europe - you'll get no argument from me there. But using a Playoff to decide the Premiership Champions of a domestic Rugby compeition, thats just junk of the highest order. Whats the POINT of trying to finish top ? Might as well just settle for a playoff place, from the outset, as the reward is exactly the same.

As for the Football League Playoffs - no problem with their format. Its for the teams not good enough to finish in the top 2, simple as that. No-one seriously calls themselves "playoff champions" do they.

 

[Grendel]

Well they are back for you to hate again Please don't tell me that you also support the Palace of rugby as well, there seem to be far too many London Irish fans on this board

Fortunately, they aren't back for me to hate, assuming they win promotion. I shall be at The Stoop on April 15th, glad to see the back of them and hoping for a London Welsh win!

The "ringfencing" debate is a media myth. The Premiership clubs wants expansion to 14. Quins were lucky, they have rich owners and could suck up a huge year of losses playing in an amateur league (and through gritted teeth I have to say the Quins ST holders raillied brilliantly to minimise the losses) but not all the Premiership clubs are in that fortunate position, relegation could financially kill them.

Which is all fine and dandy, but why shouldn't Quins have gone down?

 

[Brovion]

I knew the Champions League thing would rear its ugly head here . And yes, I think that the format of that competition is RUBBISH as well. I yearn for the days when it was purely the Champions of each country that would go straight into a knockout competition to find out the Champions of Europe - you'll get no argument from me there. But using a Playoff to decide the Premiership Champions of a domestic Rugby compeition, thats just junk of the highest order. Whats the POINT of trying to finish top ? Might as well just settle for a playoff place, from the outset, as the reward is exactly the same.

As for the Football League Playoffs - no problem with their format. Its for the teams not good enough to finish in the top 2, simple as that. No-one seriously calls themselves "playoff champions" do they.

As someone who prefers Rugby Union to football I have to say I agree with you. This whole antipodean 'Grand Final' rubbish is completely artificial. The only sport where it works is American football where there isn't a single 'League table' as such just a selection of nominally-equal regional divisions and the idea of having a series of play-off matches to find the overall champion is valid. (I think the NFL is better than football as well but I'd better let that pass).

I'm probably jaundiced in that, unlike L.I. and some others, I don't follow a specific club team - although I would love to see a combined Brighton and Hove RFC team at Falmer.

 

[Storer68]

It gives people who weigh upwards of 20 stone a chance to play sport.

But you will have achieved 20 stone precisly by not playing sport.


SO WHAT@S THE POINT

 

[Easy 10]

As someone who prefers Rugby Union to football I have to say I agree with you. This whole antipodean 'Grand Final' rubbish is completely artificial. The only sport where it works is American football where there isn't a single 'League table' as such just a selection of nominally-equal regional divisions and the idea of having a series of play-off matches to find the overall champion is valid. (I think the NFL is better than football as well but I'd better let that pass).

It just seems like madness to me.
The equivalent in football would be Chelsea waltzing off with the League, but then having to play a "showcase final" against Man United (who finished 20-odd points behind them), losing that one-off game and then as a result having Man United declared the Champions of England, regardless of the fact that Chelsea finished miles clear of them after 36 games.

Its mad. I don't know HOW rugby fans can live with it. Even if I was a fan who'd won the Final, if my team had finished miles behind the team that had actually finished top, I'd feel it was a VERY hollow victory. I'd be embarrassed to call them Champions, quite honestly.

Its a load of contrived nonsense.

 

[Lammy]

Who is our local side in the Prem then?

If fact who's in the Prem and where do they all play so that I can pick a side!

 

[London Irish]

Which is all fine and dandy, but why shouldn't Quins have gone down?

Because the financial health of the league missed them. For example, the gate on the season opening double header, which has been amazing for the first two seasons, plummeted by 15,000 because they weren't there. In this period where the league is building up its financial strength and health, you can't afford to lose a big club like this. For a while, economics has to take priority over relegation, that is the situation club rugby currently finds itself in. It's still a young professional sport, less than 10 years old.

 

[somerset]

Its amazing how after the world-cup everyone was getting on the rugby bandwagon saying how they were the big rugby fans and their fav player was Jonny Wilkinson. The shirt was a must have. Now suddenly I don't see any of that anymore. Same with the cricket last year. Everyones fav player was Flintoff, people were claiming to be massive cricket fans also and would always watch games live.

Gloryhunting twats.

Whats the matter with you?...... every sport has a resurgence when there is success, as you say curling 4 years ago, footy after the 66 world cup?.............. if there wasn't success then people arn't going to pay good money to see it.

Rugby is one of the only sports that is truly all inclusive, a place for the fat guy, the tall guy, the short guy, the fast guy,......... instead of the stereotypical gelled spikey boy band looking divs on a football pitch, who throw themselves to the groung every time they dislocate a hair follicle...... and to pre-empt the normal drivel trotted out on this board about rugby, no it isnt a snobs sport, try playing it mate, i live in the west country, arguably the home of grass roots rugby, and let me tell you, the vast majority, probably 85% of my fellow players bith for and aginst, are just ordinary working blokes.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

No-one seriously calls themselves "playoff champions" do they.

One of the highlights of our day at Cardiff was when the players were presented with the trophy and immediately bent it in half.

Marvellous.

 

[Lammy]

Who is our local side in the Prem then?

If fact who's in the Prem and where do they all play so that I can pick a side!

I'm assuming it's a choice of

Saracens (Watford?)
Harlequins (Hemel Hempstead?)
Wasps (Wycombe?)


??

 

[Icy Gull]

Who is our local side in the Prem then?

If fact who's in the Prem and where do they all play so that I can pick a side!

I'm assuming it's a choice of

Saracens (Watford?)
Harlequins (Hemel Hempstead?)
Wasps (Wycombe?)


??

Would have to be London Irish if you watch tv in the south. Reading is THE club in this area these days it seems so it follows that the rugby team that play in their stadium must be the Prem rugby team of Sussex even if they don't play in Sussex

Get on the London Irish bandwagon so that i can take the piss out of you all when the Mighty Quins whoop them next season

 

[Grendel]

Because the financial health of the league missed them. For example, the gate on the season opening double header, which has been amazing for the first two seasons, plummeted by 15,000 because they weren't there. In this period where the league is building up its financial strength and health, you can't afford to lose a big club like this. For a while, economics has to take priority over relegation, that is the situation club rugby currently finds itself in. It's still a young professional sport, less than 10 years old.

And what about the financial health of the National League clubs? The Premiership isn't the be all and end all of club rugby. Clubs that need the money a damn sight more than the Premiership clubs have benefitted from having Quins in their division, through increased attendances. The average crowd at London Welsh this season has been around the 750-800 mark, in a ground that can reasonably accomodate about 3,000 spectators. We've moved the match against Harlequins - the final home game of the season - to The Stoop because the interest in the game is so high. Instead of 3,000 fans paying £13, we've now got the potential to have a crowd of 10,000 paying up to £30 for a ticket, money that'll help keep the club alive for another season. We wouldn't get that sort of crowd if we were playing Otley.

 

[Lammy]

Would have to be London Irish if you watch tv in the south. Reading is THE club in this area these days it seems so it follows that the rugby team that play in their stadium must be the Prem rugby team of Sussex even if they don't play in Sussex

Get on the London Irish bandwagon so that i can take the piss out of you all when the Mighty Quins whoop them next season

I have to say I've always liked the Quins even though I've not followed any team or the game as a whole EVER. But I like the name and have a GREAT shirt!

 

[Icy Gull]

I have to say I've always liked the Quins even though I've not followed any team or the game as a whole EVER. But I like the name and have a GREAT shirt!

First time I saw the Quins was way back in the Twickenham 7's when they had their a and b team in the semi finals, the booing and general abuse they got from the majority of the crowd, due I can only assume to their success and being Will Carling's team, made me into an instant Quins fan. Unfortunatley they didn't end up with two teams in the final which would have been fun.

 

[Dr Q]

Be good to see 'Queens' back in the GP, always been some good fans, despite their reputation of being a "City types" team.

Anyone looking for a team to support could always head a little further west to the best located rugby ground in the UK (if the actual ground itself is a bit like the withdean!)

 

[Icy Gull]

Be good to see 'Queens' back in the GP, always been some good fans, despite their reputation of being a "City types" team.

Must be Dwayne's team then

 

[ATFC Seagull]

Should be a doddle. Quins might be running away with Division One, and be virtually assured of promotion, but they've struggled against sides with a tenth of their resources and haven't played fantastic rugby.

Yeah but its all about beating whats in front of you isn't it? At the end of the day they ARE running away with National 1, and have the resources to improve once they go up...Not that I want them to!

 

[Grendel]

Yeah but its all about beating whats in front of you isn't it? At the end of the day they ARE running away with National 1, and have the resources to improve once they go up...Not that I want them to!

Of course it is. The point I was trying to make is that if they're struggling to beat teams such as Plymouth or Exeter, I can't see them competing next season against Wasps, Leicester, Sale etc.

 

[Icy Gull]

Of course it is. The point I was trying to make is that if they're struggling to beat teams such as Plymouth or Exeter, I can't see them competing next season against Wasps, Leicester, Sale etc.

Totally different motivation for a team that will not expect to just turn up and win, which is what they have done this season.

They will also spend to improve. You are underestimating the resolve of a team who have a history, until recently of raising their game