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Premiership Rugby responds to criticism over its 2021 final taking place only a week before the Lions tour starts
Premiership Rugby have reconfirmed they won’t move forward the date for their 2021 final to accommodate Warren Gatland’s preparations for the Lions’ tour to South Africa.
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The Lions confirmed on Wednesday they will be kicking off their 2021 tour on July 3, just a week after the Twickenham conclusion to the English league season. There had been hopes that the Premiership would follow the PRO14’s lead and move their showpiece final forward by a week so that the full Lions squad would have preparation time together before flying to South Africa.
Lions boss Gatland has voiced concerns over sufficient preparation time for his squad with their opening fixture scheduled for the Saturday after England’s top two clubs go head-to-head at Twickenham. The Lions’ 2017 New Zealand tour saw them leave London two days after the Premiership final, arrive in Auckland on the Wednesday and then play their first game little more than 72 hours later.
Premiership Rugby have insisted that a 2021 switch was never on the cards as the dates for their league season had been set in stone since World Rugby’s 2017 San Francisco agreement on the global calendar. A Premiership statement also reiterated that talks are not ongoing about the issue.
“More than 12 months ago, alongside the RFU and RPA, we announced the season structure for Gallagher Premiership Rugby until 2022, which gave everyone clarity on the future,” read their media release.
(Continue reading below…)
“This joint agreement, which included a number of player welfare initiatives, detailed the dates of the Gallagher Premiership finals in 2020, 2021 and 2022. The 2021 Gallagher Premiership final will be on June 26 at Twickenham, as we re-confirmed to the Lions some weeks ago. Talks are not ongoing over this issue, and we are glad to have the opportunity to confirm that so any doubts can be removed.
“In 2017 World Rugby’s San Francisco agreement set out a new global calendar to run until 2032, which included the movement of the Premiership Rugby season into June aligning with Super Rugby. The San Francisco agreement allowed us to set the future season structure for Gallagher Premiership Rugby.
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With dates and venues finally set in stone for the Lions' shortened 2021 trip to South Africa, one major issue has emerged for Warren Gatland https://t.co/3XL20IpfAJ
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 4, 2019
“We welcome Wednesday’s confirmation of the 2021 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa, which starts on Saturday, July 3. Since 1997 Premiership Rugby and its clubs have been incredible supporters of the Lions, providing 124 players for those tours.
“We wish the Lions every success in South Africa when again we expect our clubs to supply a large number of players for the trip to play the world champions. We will continue our amicable discussions with the Lions over their tour operational requirements.”
Gallagher Premiership Rugby season dates
2019/20: Gallagher Premiership final – June 20
2020/21: Gallagher Premiership final – June 26
2021-22: Gallagher Premiership final – June 18
WATCH: RugbyPass Rugby Explorer takes a trek through rugby communities in the South African cities of Port Elizabeth and Cape Town
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Comments on RugbyPass
I hope Leinster’s proud of themselves fielding a poor team. They should decide if they’re all in or not.
1 Go to commentsJordie is looking at 16 games maximum if Leinster reach both the URC and champions cup finals. Thats not guaranteed. Some of those home URC fixtures will be cakewalks as well for Leinster and there is not much doing during the 6 nations in Feb and March so he can probably get a decent rest then. He will have to really put in it for maybe 7 or 8 games max. It should be a good move for both.
13 Go to commentsThe game was a quarter final, not a semi final. Barrett will be here for 6 months, he is no one's replacement at 13. That mantle will most likely ultimately go to Jamie Osborne, though Garry Ringrose has at least 4 more years in him. The long term problem position (in the next 3 years) for Leinster is tighthead prop, though there are a couple of prospects at schools level.
25 Go to commentsSo much for all that hype surrounding the ‘revival’ of Aussie rugby. The Blues were without the likes of regular starters Perofeta, Sullivan, Christie etc… This was a capitulation of the highest order by Australia’s finest. Joe Schmidt definitely has his work cut out for him.
2 Go to commentsYes they can ignore Sotutu. Like Akira Ioane plays OK at Super level but gets lost in tests. Too many chances too many failures.
2 Go to commentsA wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
13 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
13 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
6 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
25 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
6 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to comments