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The London Irish Premiership restart riddle that Darren Childs still doesn't have an answer for

By Chris Jones
(Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images)

Premiership Rugby chiefs have admitted that London Irish are still sorting out where their delayed Gallagher Premiership fixtures will be played as their new home at Brentford is not ready to stage matches.

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Premiership Rugby are confident that Irish will be able to find a temporary home but the uncertainty clouded Friday’s confirmation of the dates for the final nine rounds of the interrupted regular season that returns with Harlequins hosting Sale Sharks on Friday, August 14 – ironically at one of the potential temporary ‘homes’ for the Irish.

Darren Childs, Premiership Rugby’s chief executive, tried to play down the problems faced by the Irish who are no longer able to play at the Madejski Stadium in Reading after signing an agreement to share with Brentford Football Club at the new 17,200 capacity community stadium in West London.

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Wasps and New Zealand’s Lima Sopoaga guests on The Breakdown, the RugbyPass pandemic interview series

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Wasps and New Zealand’s Lima Sopoaga guests on The Breakdown, the RugbyPass pandemic interview series

Childs, whose handling of his CEO role has been far from impressive with the administrator opting for a low profile approach amid the Covid-19 pandemic, claimed that he “didn’t know the specific details” of the Irish situation which has them pencilled in to first host Northampton on August 22 before welcoming Saracens eight days later.

He added: “London Irish are in that transition period from the Madejski over to Brentford and this (restart) falls between that. The unplanned consequences of that we are working hard to sort out.”

There was more detail from Jan Gooze-Zijl, the Premiership’s chief financial operating officer. He explained: “This is a pretty unusual time. London Irish do have to leave the Madejski Stadium and there are a couple of options which are available to them. We hope to confirm that in the next couple of days. We think we have a solution to that.”

Under the new fixture schedule, which sees mid-week matches used to try and ensure the competition is completed in time for the play-off semi-finals and then the Premiership final at Twickenham on October 24, teams will have to play three games in eight days.

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They will also have to deal with the on-going testing for the virus which saw ten positive tests – six players – from the first round of testing last Monday. Meanwhile Leicester city, home to the Tigers, is currently under lockdown due to the number of positive cases.

Childs added: “I’m cautiously optimistic we are going to emerge from the worst of these horrors of Covid-19 which have had a massive impact on society and sport. We are all working around the clock to make sure we can get back safely. 

“We are also focussed on the financial stability of the league and the clubs. With the rugby calendar squeezing us into just eight weekends it was inevitable we would be forced into midweek matches. It was absolutely critical to us we could deliver sporting integrity of the league.

“It does mean we will have to play a very small number of midweek games. We have agreed there will be a minimum turn around for midweek games of four days to give the players as much rest as possible. 

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“Every club is on board and totally supportive of the schedule. Many other leagues have cancelled rounds and we have found a way of doing it safely and that is a great result for the league.”

Childs believed the ten positive tests for coronavirus were “in line with expectation”, claiming that Premiership Rugby had “put in one of the most rigorous testing regimes in elite sport and it has taken us some time”

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Adrian 1 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

11 Go to comments
T
Trevor 4 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of 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.

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