Welsh fans give possible new British League their seal of approval
After it was reported in The Rugby Paper that a chairman of an English Premiership side has said that there will be a British League in two years’ time, many fans flooded Twitter to give their opinion on this concept.
After CVC Capital Partners became shareholders in the Premiership over the past year, they are now expected to invest in the PRO14 as well. With a say in both leagues, they may try and forge a new league, which could potentially be an Anglo-Welsh League, a British League with Scotland or a British and Irish League.
These are only early days in discussing what may happen, but Welsh fans on Twitter are already jumping on board this new concept. Attendance at stadiums among the Welsh regions has dwindled in recent years, as have TV viewing numbers.
The Welsh Rugby Union has struggled to fund the regions in a way that would make them consistently threatening, particularly in the Champions Cup. As a result interest in that level of the game has fallen off.
This was made abundantly apparent earlier this year, with the proposed merger of the Ospreys with the Scarlets to make a more powerful team. That idea was later abandoned.
FRONT: New British League ‘coming to rugby in two years’
Sunday’s TRP ☕️ pic.twitter.com/ywITPVAFRP
— The Rugby Paper (@TheRugbyPaper) July 20, 2019
The prospect of playing against English teams is a great boon to the Welsh fans, as it would rekindle one of the great rivalries in rugby.
Not only is the prospect of playing against the likes of Bath, Bristol, Gloucester and Worcester far more accessible for the regions’ supporters than journeys to the likes of Glasgow, Ulster and South Africa, there will be more passion in those games.
This would be a game-changer all thanks to CVC https://t.co/FmRlPAfqoq
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 22, 2019
Many fans feel that this will regenerate a fervour among fans that has been missing for years. As a result, more people will watch the matches both on TV and at the grounds. Sponsorship would also likely increase, allowing the teams to consistently improve.
It’s a potential cycle that appears to have Welsh fans very excited. This is what they have said:
As a Scarlets supporter hearing the talk of a British League is amazing. The thought of looking at the fixtures & seeing for eg. Ospreys home, Bath away, Glasgow home & Bristol away would be nuts. Speaking from the regions point of view the pros must massively outweigh the cons🏉
— Ricky Harries (@RickyHarries) July 22, 2019
https://twitter.com/alunprice667/status/1153063645078855680?s=20
https://twitter.com/Wyn18028668/status/1153229267595120640?s=20
I think that it's short sighted to dismiss the idea out of hand especially when 99% of teams are struggling financially & the Pro14 is loaded in favour of the Irish teams.. If CVC put the money into the game & infrastructure & get rugby on a normal tv channel then let's do it!!
— Andy Lee (@metalpirate77) July 22, 2019
Anyway a British league would probably mean more sell out games for the Welsh regions which would mean more income and bigger budgets. No brainer for me.
— Guto Shôn Edwards (@GutoShon) July 21, 2019
https://twitter.com/davidallan999/status/1152897184670584832?s=20
The constant referring to the good old days is just what people remember. Packed grounds watching Anglo-Welsh games, can't fault people for harking back.
We know that joining with the English won't be the complete answer, but it may well be our only chance to survive.
— Cardiff Rugby Life (@CardiffRugbyWeb) July 22, 2019
https://twitter.com/martp68/status/1152957237285011457?s=20
Would love this to happen. Should have happened 20 years ago. If you could conceive the SA sides to join it would be the best league by a huge stretch
— Timothy Reynolds (@Timothy47365109) July 22, 2019
The trouble with this possible league is that the English clubs may not be as committed to it as the Welsh clubs will be. Premiership teams are set to benefit far less from joining another league than their rivals across the Severn, and the question will remain as to whether they would be willing to give up what they have.
Furthermore, the Irish and the Scottish teams in the PRO14, as well as the Italian and South African sides, may have different feelings about the shake-up of the leagues, particularly if a solely Anglo-Welsh one were to be created.
As this prospect is fleshed out over the coming months, pros and cons will inevitably appear, but for now it looks like the Welsh fans are fully supportive of the mooted change.
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Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks 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?
4 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.
4 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 commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
25 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
25 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
4 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
45 Go to comments