Directors of rugby agree on overseas player rule and more

[Neils]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/c8991jw3dd3o

THe usual commentary from the "top" coaches.

[WonkyWasp]

I could, of course, be wrong on this but my immediate reaction to the  above is a vision of English rugby sliding slowly down the waste pipe.   

[Neils]

I could, of course, be wrong on this but my immediate reaction to the  above is a vision of English rugby sliding slowly down the waste pipe.   

+1

The comments at the bottom are interesting.

[coddy]

When Wasps were a Premiership club I agreed with the Overseas Player rule. I'd be a bit of a hypocrite
if I now decided it was a crap rule just because my team wouldn't be disadvantaged by it.

[Rossm]

When Wasps were a Premiership club I agreed with the Overseas Player rule. I'd be a bit of a hypocrite
if I now decided it was a crap rule just because my team wouldn't be disadvantaged by it.

FWIW: I've never agreed with the rule as I always believed that the number of overseas players should have been tightly restricted in the Prem thus ensuring there were more team spots available for home grown talent - particularly lads who come up through a club's academy. In my opinion, you can't have one without the other.

[Bloke in North Dorset]

Its start to look like a death spiral:

Smaller league means fewer games leading less revenue from gate receipts, F&B, replica kit sales, matchday sponsorship etc as well as reduced revenue from TV deals. It also means fewer games for players to the point where some may feel they're not getting enough game time in a game they love.

The clubs are becoming more reliant on the RFU for funding through the professional game agreement.

The response of the Premiership is to reduce the salary cap and widen the gap between what players are paid in comparison to other leagues, especially the French.

The smaller squads will also lead to being less competitive in Europe, reducing the incentives for top players to stay here.

As players leave and make themselves unavailable for England the national team will suffer. If conversations here are to be taken as a guide then there's already a problem with long standing rugby fans not being interested in England or at least going to Twickenham. If England's performance starts to decline the fair weather fans are going to be less likely to put their hands in their pockets and paying for exorbitant ticks and match day experience.

If the RFU starts losing revenue then that means less to feed back in to the professional game and crucially the lower leagues and game development, from where the talent they need is nurtured.

We've seen this story played out in Wales and it hasn't been pretty.

The further rugby declines the more likely players are to sacrifice a call up to a second rate national team in search of a better lifestyle and more money in France.

I don't know the answers, but I do know that special pleading from DoRs isn't one of them.

And a quick look at the final games of the season gives lie to the claim that a smaller league would give rise to closer, more entertaining, games: 90:0 makes a mockery of a that claim and in the same round Chiefs beat Quins by 32 points.

[Neils]

I note that the EAs have been unable to sell their allocation for the semi. Was ever thus!

[St Bruno]

Neils,
That's because the other two supporters are away at the RFU Navel-gazing Symposium!

[Neils]

Neils,
That's because the other two supporters are away at the RFU Navel-gazing Symposium!

 

[Neils]

Saracens and Sale Sharks fail to sell Premiership semi-final ticket allocations

Tickets not sold have been made available for general sale by opponents Northampton Saints and Bath
Charlie Morgan, Senior Rugby Writer 28 May 2024 ? 3:45pm

Northampton Saints and Bath have put tickets for their Premiership semi-finals back on sale after both Saracens and Sale Sharks returned a portion of their allocations for the weekend?s matches.

It is understood that Saracens returned around 500 tickets of the 2,700 that were given to them for Friday?s play-off game at Franklin?s Gardens.

Northampton, who finished top of the Premiership to secure a first home semi-final since 2015, have subsequently announced that they will be putting these on general sale from 3pm on Tuesday. These will be priced at ?45 for adults and ?12 for children.

Although the clubs are just 62 miles away, the situation mirrors that of a year ago when Saints are understood to have returned around 300 from their allocation of 1,800 for the semi-final at StoneX Stadium against Saracens, which ended in a 38-15 win for the hosts.

On Tuesday afternoon, Bath followed suit, announcing that ?following a return of seats from the away team?s allocation, additional tickets will be made available for this weekend?s play-off against Sale Sharks?.

A source suggested that away fans have tended to purchase tickets directly from an opposition club once they know where the semi-finals will be held, meaning that a team will often be supported by more people than could be accommodated by their official ticket allocation.

This season, the line-up of play-off games was not finalised until the final day of the regular season, with Sale Sharks? victory at Saracens sending the latter into fourth, giving them a trip to Northampton, as Bath beat Saints to seal second.

Saracens are gearing up for their first away semi-final in the Premiership since 2017, when they were beaten 18-16 by Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park. Since then, they have played in five semi-finals at StoneX Stadium and won each of them, going on to win the title four times including last season.

Premiership Rugby sources remain encouraged by ongoing ticket sales for the final, which will be held at Twickenham on June 8, and are hoping for a sell-out of the 82,000-seater venue.