Always a Wasp
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61
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Re: 2023/24 season
« on: December 04, 2023, 04:26:11 PM »
No, it isn't good for the club or players. Yes, they have a young and/or relatively inexperienced squad, with very little depth. They are working to a very tight budget and cannot afford even the experience that Ealing have, let alone any Premiership club. They are trying to live within their means, and that is laudable, but playing in the Premiership (as I said before, I suspect that is not their choice).
The problem is physical attrition. They are on the defensive for 95% of the game, taking the hits, running the extra yards. They are going to be exhausted already, and injuries will start to mount. This is kids versus giants and it is grossly unfair on those players. Experience yes, but not good.
At some point the players will lose heart, and not chase the ball, and we will see cricket style triple digit scores. Is that a good advert for the much vaunted 8 team Premiership? Far from it. At some point, other teams will field their A teams against them, and still win.
The problem is physical attrition. They are on the defensive for 95% of the game, taking the hits, running the extra yards. They are going to be exhausted already, and injuries will start to mount. This is kids versus giants and it is grossly unfair on those players. Experience yes, but not good.
At some point the players will lose heart, and not chase the ball, and we will see cricket style triple digit scores. Is that a good advert for the much vaunted 8 team Premiership? Far from it. At some point, other teams will field their A teams against them, and still win.
62
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Re: 2023/24 season
« on: December 04, 2023, 01:25:35 PM »As for Falcons, 8 matches played, 8 losses, and only 4 bonus points, it's almost like the London Welsh year. Looking on Wiki it mentions a Prem vs Championship playoff (depending on Champ club eligibility) is this right, that had passed me by if it is?
Grim reading for Falcons, and not much better for Glaws. There was a rumour last season that Falcons had asked to voluntarily be allowed to be relegated, but were refused. It was officially denied at the time.
At the end of this season, let's assume that they remain at the bottom, and let's assume (still far from a certainty) that Ealing top the Championship, and in the playoffs Ealing win, will the PRL waive its rules, or force Falcons to stay in the Premiership? At some point, the wheels will come off that bus, leaving only one club in the Premiership in the 'North'. What then of the 'national' game?
63
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Re: I see even the well run Saints posted a loss this year
« on: November 26, 2023, 12:40:20 PM »
I think Ampthill and Caldy have the best financial models to survive, although Caldy have had to fork out for air travel to Plymouth and Jersey (no more). They expect not a penny from the RFU, and spend as little as possible. Caldy have no overnight stays on away games for example. They did fork out a massive ?7000 to bring their main pitch up to spec.
No silly aspirations to promotion, so no attempt to buy in expensive players or a pointlessly expensive stadium build.
No silly aspirations to promotion, so no attempt to buy in expensive players or a pointlessly expensive stadium build.
64
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Re: I see even the well run Saints posted a loss this year
« on: November 24, 2023, 08:42:36 PM »
The thing is, the club finances are very simple.
Incoming and outgoing.
It's the major items you focus on.
In
TV money, likely to fall
Sponsorship, likely to fall
Ticket Sales who knows? Put prices up, will gate numbers fall?
Merchandising. Cost of living crisis will hit these.
If I were a club, I would be expecting revenue to fall.
Out
Player wages. Based on number of players and contracts. Difficult to turn around in a year, but likely lower offers are being made, reductions in squads
Other staff. A lot are on minimum wage, and that is going up.
Power. Gone up hugely.
Entertainment (food and drink). Margins will have been squeezed to the bone.
All other costs (maintenance, travel, equipment) will all have gone up.
It is going to be very hard to increase profitability.
Not just Saints, but any club.
Incoming and outgoing.
It's the major items you focus on.
In
TV money, likely to fall
Sponsorship, likely to fall
Ticket Sales who knows? Put prices up, will gate numbers fall?
Merchandising. Cost of living crisis will hit these.
If I were a club, I would be expecting revenue to fall.
Out
Player wages. Based on number of players and contracts. Difficult to turn around in a year, but likely lower offers are being made, reductions in squads
Other staff. A lot are on minimum wage, and that is going up.
Power. Gone up hugely.
Entertainment (food and drink). Margins will have been squeezed to the bone.
All other costs (maintenance, travel, equipment) will all have gone up.
It is going to be very hard to increase profitability.
Not just Saints, but any club.
65
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Re: New Article on Kent "Move"
« on: November 21, 2023, 07:30:56 PM »Some sensibly heads down in Sevenoaks and Blackheath. So how come the AhEffYou ends up with utter muppets like Sweeney Todd the demon CEO of Twickenham?
Because the RFU is about money, power and prestige.
Sevenoaks and Blackheath are about the game.
66
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Re: New Article on Kent "Move"
« on: November 20, 2023, 03:32:38 PM »
See attached screenshot
67
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Rugby's Reckoning - 300 former players go to Court over brain injuries
« on: November 19, 2023, 10:35:42 AM »
From the Sunday Times. Behind a paywall, this is all I could see for free.
Almost 300 former rugby union professionals and top amateurs who blame the sport for life-changing brain injuries will formally apply for a class action against its governing bodies next month.
Players including the England World Cup winner Steve Thompson are currently among 268 who say they have been left with illnesses, including dementia and depression, because of repeated blows to the head on the field and in training. A further 26 are expected to put forward similar claims this week.
They are bringing a case against World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) in England and the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU).
In claims seen by The Sunday Times they detail how their lives have been affected by injuries sustained on the pitch. On December 1 in the High Court in London their solicitor will apply for a group litigation order on their behalf.
One of the claimants is Michael Lipman, 42, who won 10 caps for England between 2004 and 2008. A neurologist's report states that he "suffered at least five episodes of loss of consciousness during a game, which would be sufficient for a classification of mild traumatic brain injury to be made".
It says he "now suffers from headaches; vertigo, fatigue; sleep disturbance; intolerance to noise; alcohol intolerance; changes in personality; difficulties with short term memory; problems with new learning; anxiety; depression; emotional lability in the form of increased tearfulness and increased irritability".
The report on Neil Spence, 47, who played at Leicester Tigers, Gloucester and in clubs in Yorkshire, states "In my opinion, on balance, Mr Spence has developed long term brain injury complication from rugby. This is on the balance of probabilities, a form of early onset neurodegeneration, and is most likely to be CTE. Chronic Traumatic encephalopathy is a progressive brain disease caused by repeated head injuries, which leads to conditions such as dementia and, eventually, death.
Spence is now a teacher but has to sleep for two hours after the school day and has split with his partner of nearly 19 years, which she blames on his "problems with [his] head". He said "I still love the game, for what it has given me and the person it has made me. Rugby has values and I hold those values dear. The places I've been, the friends I've made, the memories, but if I knew that it was going to turn out the way it has, with the issues that I have and the problems that are ...
Almost 300 former rugby union professionals and top amateurs who blame the sport for life-changing brain injuries will formally apply for a class action against its governing bodies next month.
Players including the England World Cup winner Steve Thompson are currently among 268 who say they have been left with illnesses, including dementia and depression, because of repeated blows to the head on the field and in training. A further 26 are expected to put forward similar claims this week.
They are bringing a case against World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) in England and the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU).
In claims seen by The Sunday Times they detail how their lives have been affected by injuries sustained on the pitch. On December 1 in the High Court in London their solicitor will apply for a group litigation order on their behalf.
One of the claimants is Michael Lipman, 42, who won 10 caps for England between 2004 and 2008. A neurologist's report states that he "suffered at least five episodes of loss of consciousness during a game, which would be sufficient for a classification of mild traumatic brain injury to be made".
It says he "now suffers from headaches; vertigo, fatigue; sleep disturbance; intolerance to noise; alcohol intolerance; changes in personality; difficulties with short term memory; problems with new learning; anxiety; depression; emotional lability in the form of increased tearfulness and increased irritability".
The report on Neil Spence, 47, who played at Leicester Tigers, Gloucester and in clubs in Yorkshire, states "In my opinion, on balance, Mr Spence has developed long term brain injury complication from rugby. This is on the balance of probabilities, a form of early onset neurodegeneration, and is most likely to be CTE. Chronic Traumatic encephalopathy is a progressive brain disease caused by repeated head injuries, which leads to conditions such as dementia and, eventually, death.
Spence is now a teacher but has to sleep for two hours after the school day and has split with his partner of nearly 19 years, which she blames on his "problems with [his] head". He said "I still love the game, for what it has given me and the person it has made me. Rugby has values and I hold those values dear. The places I've been, the friends I've made, the memories, but if I knew that it was going to turn out the way it has, with the issues that I have and the problems that are ...
68
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Re: Hey ho - another one?
« on: November 18, 2023, 08:24:32 PM »Little signs like this are the start. Admin error? Unlikely
More than unlikely. The cashflow of big businesses like this is planned down to the hour. If they didn't get paid on the right date, it was because there were insufficient funds in the bank account. Given that all Premiership clubs are likely negative cashflow from month to month, that means Tony Rowe did not transfer funds, and the only reason for that would be he didn't have them available. He too would manage his cashflow carefully, so it is likely times are also tough for him (or SW Comms).
69
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Re: Hey ho - another one?
« on: November 18, 2023, 12:54:38 PM »https://www.ruck.co.uk/report-another-premiership-club-were-late-paying-their-players/
The 'admin error' was that they thought they had money in the bank. They didn't, so Rowe quickly dropped another bung in to cover them.
He has probably given personal guarantees to the PRL that he will keep the club afloat (which is not the same as paying all the debts) until the last match has been played this season, so he will be dropping a wedge just to cover what he has to until then. If I were a trade creditor, I would be looking for payment up front right now, or a personal guarantee from Rowe.
70
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Re: 10 Changes that should be made - Article
« on: November 14, 2023, 09:35:45 AM »Are these changes really, needed?
It feels like in recent years, Rugby has begun to pander to non-rugby fans to try and coax them over. It's hardly been a successful exercise as viewing figures and attendances are showing and in doing so feels like they're quickly beginning to alienate some of the core fans it so desperately needs.
The problem is that the game was OK as we played it as kids. Abnormal giants were not playing, and very little money was changing hands. We were playing because we wanted to, not because we had bills to pay.
In came the money men. Greed and avarice took over. In came coaches, who picked the rules apart looking for loopholes, and bugger the spirit of the game. That was when the decline started.
The 'cheating' moved from occasional to wholesale. Ever since then, rules have tried to be introduced to stop the cheats.
If the ref was the only arbiter of wrong doing (no TMO and no refs on the touchline), do the cheating behind the refs back (offside encroachment all over the pitch). The ref does not have eyes in the back of their head, and can only stand on one side of a scrum, lineout or ruck.
The cheating became endemic and persistent. Ever since, the RFU has been behind, always reacting, and not being proactive.
With TV coverage and mobile phones, the cheating has become very public, very obvious, and ruins the game. A game of possession, speed and fluidity has become a game of frustration, delay and breaks.
The team that 'wins' consistently is the one that cheats the most, in the most effective way.
Given the way the game works, we will end up gravitating towards the same model as American Football, which has its roots in Rugby Union.
Longer games. More breaks. More officials. More game micromanagement.
And, for me, it has killed a beautiful game. Mammon has won.
71
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Re: 10 Changes that should be made - Article
« on: November 13, 2023, 04:29:49 PM »
#1 Agree. It is what I like least about refs like Barnes (but, he has now retired).
#2 Agree, BUT ... the refs do not have ideal positioning. They seem to lack the feel for the game to be in the right place.
#3 Agree. I have proposed this for a while. And no opting for a scrum again.
#4 Not sure I agree that this is a major issue.
#5 Automatic 'out'. As soon as it is available, the ref starts counting (in their head), and simply calls it 'out' after 4 or 5 seconds. The scrum half is then on his/her own. No coaching again, so no calling use it.
#6 Anything that encourages kicking is a bad thing, and a goal line drop out as punishment for the defense is not right. If the ball goes over the line as a result of what the attackers did (kick or attempt to score a try), it should be a 22m drop.
#7 Nothing can solve this conundrum, which actually encourages red/yellow card play towards the end of the game.
#8 Agree
#9 Agree
#10 Agree
No mention of creeping offside at rucks and scrums. It helps defenses and ruins the game.
#2 Agree, BUT ... the refs do not have ideal positioning. They seem to lack the feel for the game to be in the right place.
#3 Agree. I have proposed this for a while. And no opting for a scrum again.
#4 Not sure I agree that this is a major issue.
#5 Automatic 'out'. As soon as it is available, the ref starts counting (in their head), and simply calls it 'out' after 4 or 5 seconds. The scrum half is then on his/her own. No coaching again, so no calling use it.
#6 Anything that encourages kicking is a bad thing, and a goal line drop out as punishment for the defense is not right. If the ball goes over the line as a result of what the attackers did (kick or attempt to score a try), it should be a 22m drop.
#7 Nothing can solve this conundrum, which actually encourages red/yellow card play towards the end of the game.
#8 Agree
#9 Agree
#10 Agree
No mention of creeping offside at rucks and scrums. It helps defenses and ruins the game.
72
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Re: Massie-Ferguson Speaks
« on: November 08, 2023, 12:22:02 PM »Sounds plausible. If they expect to announce the deal in December they've probably agreed HoTs and financials and are just finalising the finer details. That should give the clubs a reasonable view of their finances until the end of the season.I stopped reading at the social media bit.
Trouble is there isn't much else to do other than read this stuff- unless you count going to the Warrior's board to endure the delusional ramblings of a few faves.
I guess PRL and the RFU think they may be able to survive this season with no further clubs down the swanny, but I am not so sure.
I suspect that, behind the scenes, they have required all the sugar daddies to sign a personal guarantee to fund the clubs sufficiently to keep them going until each of them has played their last game, with the sanction that the club would be booted out before the season started. I think this was why Irish went under. Having refused to sign up to that, it all unraveled from there.
What this means is that each owner, around January or February, will work out if they can or want to sustain their respective leeches for 24/25. If they do not, they will work out who actually needs paying (and when) to keep the doors open (and indeed that will also be affected by playoffs etc, and also if their last game is home or away). From a certain point onwards, creditors will start to find themselves not being paid. Again, exactly what happened at Irish. They then simply wait for HMRC to take action, which they will. It would not surprise me to see two more clubs go under.
It's like watching green bottles on a wall, in slow motion.
The next major hurdle will be TV rights. For the clubs that is a very big deal for financial because it gives them a known income for X years, most other streams being quite variable and subject to external influences.
Yes. I do not expect the deal to be anywhere near as lucrative. My guess is that it could be less than half what the last deal was for. That would put a massive strain on finances, and the RFU will find itself under fire from those sugar daddies.
73
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Re: Massie-Ferguson Speaks
« on: November 07, 2023, 10:17:49 PM »I stopped reading at the social media bit.
Trouble is there isn't much else to do other than read this stuff- unless you count going to the Warrior's board to endure the delusional ramblings of a few faves.
I guess PRL and the RFU think they may be able to survive this season with no further clubs down the swanny, but I am not so sure.
I suspect that, behind the scenes, they have required all the sugar daddies to sign a personal guarantee to fund the clubs sufficiently to keep them going until each of them has played their last game, with the sanction that the club would be booted out before the season started. I think this was why Irish went under. Having refused to sign up to that, it all unraveled from there.
What this means is that each owner, around January or February, will work out if they can or want to sustain their respective leeches for 24/25. If they do not, they will work out who actually needs paying (and when) to keep the doors open (and indeed that will also be affected by playoffs etc, and also if their last game is home or away). From a certain point onwards, creditors will start to find themselves not being paid. Again, exactly what happened at Irish. They then simply wait for HMRC to take action, which they will. It would not surprise me to see two more clubs go under.
It's like watching green bottles on a wall, in slow motion.
74
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Re: Massie-Ferguson Speaks
« on: November 06, 2023, 11:55:00 AM »
Vows none will go bust during this season. In other words, will go under once their last game has been played.
He is suggesting that he can rely on the promise of the sugar daddies that they won't change their minds mid season (or indeed will not suffer a financial mishap leaving them without funds).
Such promises are worthless.
There is nothing in that piece to inspire confidence.
We all know that the game is headed in the wrong direction. Like an oil tanker, it takes a while for course changes to take effect, but he is like the captain that still steers towards the rocks.
He is suggesting that he can rely on the promise of the sugar daddies that they won't change their minds mid season (or indeed will not suffer a financial mishap leaving them without funds).
Such promises are worthless.
There is nothing in that piece to inspire confidence.
We all know that the game is headed in the wrong direction. Like an oil tanker, it takes a while for course changes to take effect, but he is like the captain that still steers towards the rocks.
75
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Re: Goodbye and thank you
« on: November 03, 2023, 08:05:17 AM »Wayne Barnes has announced his retirement from refereeing.
Personally, I always liked his way of running matches.
I found him too matey and prone to making snap 'I didn't see it decisions,' where he was just plain wrong. TMOs at the RWC to an extent fixed that, but that in itself opens a can of worms about overuse of the TMO. One cannot deny he has made a very positive contribution to the game.
Still, horses for courses and all that.
With clubs going bust left, right and centre, less refs are needed. I am sure his missus will appreciate seeing him more. He will continue to earn a bundle on the after dinner speaker circuit, and still get invites to all major games.
I would be surprised if he didn't get offered a gong or two, and maybe a senior position as a judge. He is one of those rare people who came through the state school system, and 'only' went to a new university, and isn't from one of the 'right sort' of families. All in all, I have little doubt he has enjoyed life thus far, and good on him for that.