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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.
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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.
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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
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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
I really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
1 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to comments