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Exeter highlight major flaw in debate that Premiership rugby should become a summer sport
Coldwater has been poured by Exeter boss Rob Baxter on the suggestion that rugby in England should become a summer sport due to the recent high scores in the Gallagher Premiership amid better weather conditions. Statistics have shown that the average points per game in the league before March was sometimes in the low 30s but the past five rounds have delivered points averages of 51, 42, 62, 57 and 57 again as firmer pitches and warmer weather produce speedier contests, better handling and more ambition to create.
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With winter matches often having to compete with sodden turf, high winds and driving rain, producing more limited spectacles, the optics suggest rugby would make for a better spectacle in the better-weather summer months. However, Baxter has highlighted one mighty flaw in the debate – that some of Exeter’s busiest days commercially are in the depths of winter when scores are low and the weather is terrible.
Until the pandemic hit, Exeter had been the one rugby club in the Premiership to consistently turn a profit and asked by RugbyPass if he would like to see the season moved to summer or to continue over the winter months, Baxter stated that the current timing of the Premiership best suits the Chiefs’ business on and off the field.
“The bigger picture stuff, I understand exactly what you are saying, but for us as a rugby club within the current TV deals to make a profit we rely on supporters coming in good numbers, sell-out crowds, corporate hospitality – would there be the appetite for it through the summer?
“The actual current season as it lies would say probably not because often our least supported games are not mid-winter, games around Christmas or games when the worst weather occurs. They are actually early-season when the weather is still good and people are still taking holidays and still focusing on other sports. My answer (to change) would be yes and no. You may see a different type of rugby played for longer but would it make it a more watchable game? Not necessarily.
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Plenty of stars to get excited about as the league leaders host the defending champions#BRIvEXE
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“It’s the summer and you might pick up an enhanced TV crowd potentially if they think the product is better, but would it be more watched live? I don’t think there is any proof that might happen at the moment. With all of these things, my view is you need to sit back and take a bigger view. As I said we tend to get our bigger crowds and some of our best bar takes etc in winter and even around Six Nations games when we have an early or late kickoff.
“There is a Six Nations game live and the crowd is here for five, six, seven hours – they are some of our most successful commercial days when there is nothing you should say about the weather conditions at that time that make it sensible to play.
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“Six Nations games are played in some of the worst weather of the year and yet they tend to be complete sell-out crowds with massive TV audiences. I do get what you are saying and it is an interesting concept of a season, but I don’t know if a shift to summer rugby is necessarily a positive answer as regards the bigger picture stuff.”
Those advocating that the Premiership switches to summer rugby suggest that low scoring winter matches are not attractive but Exeter boss Baxter begged to differ. “I don’t appreciate us scoring 13 points at Gloucester and we lose and I wouldn’t mind us scoring 13 points at Gloucester if we win because that is the difference,” he said.
“The difference is you can have all types of performances and enthralling games in different conditions and in different challenges. What you have to try and do is be the team that comes out on top and that is what thrills me the most. If you’re involved with a club for a long time, some of the most memorable games I can remember both as a player and a coach have been when we played above the level of expectation for us and won or lost tight games.
“Interestingly enough I said here before the Leinster game in the quarter-finals, our first Heineken Cup game was away at Leinster (in 2012) and there was no prouder person than me that day and we lost 9-6. We played in a way that we could have drawn or won and it was at a level above what anyone was expecting us to perform in the Heineken Cup in our first appearance. I appreciated that game as well. Rugby is a broader supporter base than people who just want to watch tries.”
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"I can remember maybe hearing rumours about it six, seven years ago but it is a different prospect in rugby in a lot of ways…"https://t.co/D0srFWpOcv
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 20, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
An on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
10 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
10 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
10 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to comments