Future of ex-Scotland skipper John Barclay decided at Edinburgh
Edinburgh head coach Richard Cockerill still has his heart set on finishing the Guinness PRO14 season despite the Scottish Government’s gloomy forecast for sports fans and the complications around the cross-border competition. Cockerill’s side sit top of Conference B and were well on course for the end-of-season play-offs before the coronavirus pandemic stopped sporting events.
PRO14 chief executive Martin Anayi last week claimed he was “really confident” about finding a solution to complete the campaign, which has eight rounds of regular fixtures to go. But Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warned sports fans on Monday not to expect action to resume any time soon – and even cast doubt on the feasibility of playing matches behind closed doors.
Cockerill, whose side also have a European Challenge Cup quarter-final at Bordeaux outstanding, said: “We have all got families and kids and parents and grandparents so the most important thing is to make sure everybody is healthy and safe and then if we can make sure that is guaranteed we can get back to going about our daily lives.
“But I don’t think Nicola Sturgeon or Boris Johnson even know what the actual case is, it’s the same for everybody across the world at the minute. It’s more complicated in the PRO14 than it is in England and France. It’s going to be hard in the very short term because you look at South Africa and Italy, there are going to be issues coming and going from there.
“Even in the UK, it’s going to be difficult to go and visit teams in other countries. I’m sure the PRO14 are looking at every way to try and get some sort of conclusion to the season. We all hope that in some way shape or form we can have a conclusion to the season because a lot of hard work has gone in from everyone. But we are guessing whether we are going to be allowed to have public gatherings or even play behind closed doors.”
The @johnbarc86 Column:
'Firstly, it is not out of the question that this season is over'https://t.co/6pkfchyRX1
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 20, 2020
Cockerill recently agreed to a pay cut as the Scottish Rugby Union looks to mitigate the financial impact of the health crisis by reducing the wages of high-earners. But Edinburgh are in a relatively strong position for next season after doing their recruitment and re-signings early.
Cockerill, who confirmed that ex-Scotland captain John Barclay would be leaving in the summer, said: “We are probably 95 per cent done recruitment wise and probably even a bit more than that. If we don’t recruit another player now before the start of next season we’ll be more than happy with what we have got. We have a small bit of budget left but financially it’s not the right thing to be doing.”
High-earning players have also been asked to take wage cuts and Cockerill warned smaller pay packets might be the new norm across the rugby world. The ex-England international said: “We don’t have a product and aren’t bringing in any income. In the real world, people have to make sacrifices and take less money or be made redundant.
“When things start again, the financial model will be slightly different and coaches’ and players’ salaries will be significantly less, I would have thought.”
– Press Association
Comments on RugbyPass
It was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to comments