mikeyp102 Posted October 12, 2022 Share Posted October 12, 2022 Rugby in England really needs a hard look at itself. 2 clubs going bust from the prem is not a good look (really disappointing it’s West Midlands affected as well). The RFU makes so money yet teams in the top league are struggling. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa89 Posted October 12, 2022 Share Posted October 12, 2022 The problem for rugby is that it has followed the football model when it went professional which is not workable. Constantly relying on increased tv revenues and clubs trying to buy success with flawed business models. It's a complete mess with no central authority to actually run it properly. It's not accident that the game hasn't grown to more countries, its mismanagement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshVilla Posted October 12, 2022 Share Posted October 12, 2022 Very sad day for Rugby. Had some great days out at Wasps, and the decline over the past few years always looked ominous. I think one of the big issues was that they simply had to invest a lot of money when they moved to Cov. Ultimately, you're moving into a region where there were already 2 big, well established clubs fairly nearby in Tigers & Saints. They had to give people a reason to choose Wasps, and the best way to do that was to make them exciting to watch. Unfortunately, as much as they were a fantastic team to watch and had some real superstars (Wade, Beale, Smith, Le Roux, Cipriani), they had nothing to show for it. Arguably the best team on paper for a couple of years, but no trophies (though they got very close). Without sustained success, the pot eventually began to empty and then the initial excitement went away. Big name players left that couldn't be adequately replaced, performances dropped, as did the crowds. I always thought that the Ricoh was far too big anyway as, unfortunately, Rugby just isn't popular enough to fill a stadium that size consistently. I really do hope that they can find a buyer and come back stronger. It'd be a real tragedy for English Rugby if they were to disappear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted October 13, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted October 13, 2022 14 hours ago, Jonesy7211 said: I don't know what the answer is, but I hope English rugby finds its way out of this mess. The answer is obvious. Only pay players what you can afford to. Same as football clubs who get into trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CVByrne Posted October 13, 2022 Share Posted October 13, 2022 Relegation is such a big threat to the clubs that mismanagement of finances happens. There should be no relegation so clubs don't need to worry about the finances of it. France and the Top 14 are financially too powerful and will only get more so. We need a salary cap in Europe or some restraint to stop the wage pressure on clubs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonesy7211 Posted October 13, 2022 Share Posted October 13, 2022 45 minutes ago, sidcow said: The answer is obvious. Only pay players what you can afford to. Same as football clubs who get into trouble. I agree with this, but the clubs from France and Ireland would blow us out of the water in Europe. I also think that the influx of foreign talent has vastly improved the skill level in domestic rugby. Some of the players I've seen recently are incredible. I think a big help would be to reduce the necessity of having a huge squad. Most teams now have 3-4 players per position, granted the level drops off, due to the amount of injuries, number of games, and the international calendar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ingram85 Posted October 13, 2022 Share Posted October 13, 2022 (edited) I’m not a big fan of Rugby and don’t really follow it but from an outsiders perspective the amount of cases and the link between Rugby and dementia, MND and other similar illnesses is a bit shocking. Have things changed in the last few years in a cautionary or preventative way to help combat it? Could we see the sport eventually banned, changed completely or even die out as people don’t want to be a part of it due to the risks later in life? Edited October 13, 2022 by Ingram85 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidcow Posted October 13, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted October 13, 2022 3 hours ago, Ingram85 said: I’m not a big fan of Rigby 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rds1983 Posted October 13, 2022 VT Supporter Share Posted October 13, 2022 6 hours ago, Ingram85 said: I’m not a big fan of Rugby and don’t really follow it but from an outsiders perspective the amount of cases and the link between Rugby and dementia, MND and other similar illnesses is a bit shocking. Have things changed in the last few years in a cautionary or preventative way to help combat it? Could we see the sport eventually banned, changed completely or even die out as people don’t want to be a part of it due to the risks later in life? Each year group at my son's club has 20 or 30 kids playing in it, so I think the sport will carry on. Amateur clubs aren't as big as they were but you still see 2nd and 3rd teams running out regularly, which is 50+ people each Saturday. I've had concussions before from knocks in games but bizarrely I always got worse and more frequent injuries from football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonesy7211 Posted October 13, 2022 Share Posted October 13, 2022 8 hours ago, Ingram85 said: I’m not a big fan of Rugby and don’t really follow it but from an outsiders perspective the amount of cases and the link between Rugby and dementia, MND and other similar illnesses is a bit shocking. Have things changed in the last few years in a cautionary or preventative way to help combat it? Could we see the sport eventually banned, changed completely or even die out as people don’t want to be a part of it due to the risks later in life? Rugby is light years behind football and the NFL for identifying brain injuries caused by the game. Players are so strong, fast, and powerful that the collisions have incredible force. I hung up my boots a few years ago now, but heads were always targeted by dirty players, and there were lots of incidents of accidental contact too. Safety has been improved over the last few seasons. Any contact above a player's shoulders is usually an automatic red with a multiple game ban. Even in the breakdown players are being rightly cited for illegal contact and rolling. Players are supposed to be protected in the air, and tip (spear) tackling has long since been outlawed. There's still a massive, massive way to go though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyp102 Posted November 4, 2022 Share Posted November 4, 2022 So for all the talk of Jones saying he’s bringing through the youth etc, and less than a yr before the World Cup we are back with Youngs, Vunipola at 8/9, and relying on Manu to save the back line. Van Poortvleit showed he should be given the reigns. Moving Maro to the back row again to cover Courtney is pointless as well, just play one of the many great back rowers we have. Jack Willis will be chopping at the bit to play as he doesn’t have a club. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheepyvillian Posted November 5, 2022 Share Posted November 5, 2022 This looks like being some game between Ireland and South Africa, some ferocious tackling by the Springboks as expected. I always enjoy listening to Brian Habana's analysis of the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheepyvillian Posted November 5, 2022 Share Posted November 5, 2022 Beautiful try by Ireland. They're a joy to watch when in full flow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heffoman Posted November 5, 2022 Share Posted November 5, 2022 Some effort from Ireland so far . Hopefully we can keep it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheepyvillian Posted November 5, 2022 Share Posted November 5, 2022 What a superb game of rugby between France and Australia. Unbelievable passion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theboyangel Posted November 5, 2022 Share Posted November 5, 2022 Some really entertaining games of rugby today and you just know Eddie Jones' England will stink the house out tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theboyangel Posted November 6, 2022 Share Posted November 6, 2022 I know the weather is terrible but the pace of this game is so so slow and turgid. England unsurprisingly labouring with no real invention when on the ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theboyangel Posted November 6, 2022 Share Posted November 6, 2022 When will the RFU realise that Jones is a busted flush??? awful performance. Slow, predictable and error strewn. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted November 6, 2022 Share Posted November 6, 2022 1 hour ago, theboyangel said: When will the RFU realise that Jones is a busted flush??? awful performance. Slow, predictable and error strewn. Didn’t see the game today as I was out but I’m not surprised. (Would’ve chosen to watch Villa, anyway.) I just can’t be arsed watching England anymore. Sport should at least be mildly entertaining and although I didn’t necessarily think we’d lose, I had a pretty good idea of how the game was going to go. I don’t care if he’s ‘peaking for the World Cup’; I’d actually prefer to enjoy watching England play for the other 46 months of the cycle Eddie should’ve gone a long, long time ago. It’s been a farce for a while. The guy is also an absolute bell end. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheepyvillian Posted November 12, 2022 Share Posted November 12, 2022 Watching the France v South Africa game. Two players red carded, one from each side. The French sending off for a challenge whilst the opponent was in the air could so easily have ended up as a very, very serious injury. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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