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United Rugby Championship confirm UK broadcasting details

By Ian Cameron
United Rugby Championship

The United Rugby Championship (URC) have confirmed the details of their free-to-air broadcast deal in the UK with BBC Wales, BBC Northern Ireland and S4C winning the rights to the tournament.

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The new competition – which features 12 o the previous 14 PRO14 sides plus the addition of South African franchises; the Sharks, Lions, Stormers and the Bulls – kicks off on September 24.

In Wales, BBC and S4C will broadcast 75 per cent of the live games involving the Welsh regions, while BBC Northern Ireland will screen many of Ulster’s biggest home games live against Irish and South African opposition each season. These agreements follow on from the Free-to-Air partnerships announced in the Republic of Ireland with TG4 and RTÉ. This will be supported by URC’s long-term partner Premier Sports, who will provide in-depth live coverage of all 151 games in both territories for the first time.

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Springbok centre Lukhanyo Am about the uncertainty surrounding the Rugby Championship

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Springbok centre Lukhanyo Am about the uncertainty surrounding the Rugby Championship

With the elite South African quartet of the Cell C Sharks, DHL Stormers, Emirates Lions and Vodacom Bulls ready to take on the best that Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales can offer, the promise of a new world-class league has generated a tremendous appeal for broadcasters and fans alike.

Martin Anayi, United Rugby Championship CEO, said: “Our agreements with BBC Northern Ireland, BBC Wales and S4C is a progressive move to broaden access at a time when we have made a transformative change to our league. Alongside our deals with RTÉ and TG4 in the Republic of Ireland over 75 per cent of games in those territories will be available live on Free to Air.

“This will provide a major uplift in our audience reach and increase the access for fans of all ages to connect with top-level rugby week after week. Over the next four years the exposure these agreements provide will be a great boost for our clubs as we establish the United Rugby Championship as one of the world’s leading leagues.”

Both BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Wales make a welcome return to the competition’s broadcast group while S4C’s partnership will run to 25 years by the end of this new agreement due to their remarkable support for the league that dates back to 2001 when they first broadcast the Celtic League.

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The agreement with BBC Wales and S4C will run for four years and ensure that Welsh fans have access to at least two FTA games per round while the Boxing Day, New Year and Judgement Day derbies will be shared between both broadcasters each season.

BBC Northern Ireland’s coverage will run for an initial three years as they show six Ulster home games each season, including two derby games and both home fixtures with teams from South Africa.

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Jon 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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