Always a Wasp
Show Posts
This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
47
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Stephen Jones in the Sunday Times
« on: September 11, 2022, 08:50:16 AM »
Gallagher Premiership must show missing seven million fans why rugby is not just for the Six Nations
Stephen Jones, Rugby Correspondent
Sunday September 11 2022, 12.01am, The Sunday Times
Where are the missing seven million? The search is on for the future health of one of rugby’s great competitions. They are out there somewhere, in rugby’s great beyond.
Convincing statistics have been issued that suggest there are about nine million people in England who have a significant affection for rugby, many of whom are encouraged by the profile of the international matches and their fireside appeal on a cold afternoon in November or February. But only about two million attend Gallagher Premiership matches.
At this time of economic strife — not forgetting the uncertainty surrounding the Premiership itself and the ravages of the pandemic — those seven million are needed out in the fresh air for up-close duty.
While facilities do vary, they are infinitely better than in the early days when comforts were low and the pies were frozen inside. Most grounds now offer a civilised and often inspiring experience.
Moreover the Premiership now offers rich entertainment. The sweep and the spectacle of the league has soared in the past two seasons, inspired by Harlequins, Wasps and Northampton Saints — although every team have picked up the pace and skill level. Turf technology has made the days of two feet of mud a thing of the past and provided the platform for attacking epics.
But, crucially, you also get that satisfying crunch, that excuse to revel if attacking play is less than epic, because you are supporting your own town or city team. Take Bath last season when they were anchored at the bottom but still received fanatical support from their fans.
About half of the games in the Premiership last season were won by a margin of seven points or fewer. This is a remarkable statistic given that there was no relegation. The eyeballs-out competitiveness is what keeps the Premiership at the top of the pile of world competitions.
There are millions of potential fans out there who could be persuaded to watch the entertainment on offer in the Premiership on a regular basis
The drawbacks? Sadly, if you go to a club to watch your team’s marquee players, you will find that they are only there for half the season, which is deplorable.
Who is guiding the search for the missing seven million? Premiership Rugby (PRL) has come through the grimmest of times of bungling, secrecy and a heartbreaking lack of vision, not to mention that the club owners often tended to dispose of a global vision in favour of their own local interests. A lack of dynamism and fresh marketing ideas is only just being attended to. But the situation at PRL has changed.
Sponsored
Now, at last, there is some central promotion from the governing body. How depressing, then, that the Bristol Bears v Bath and Sale Sharks v Northampton games on Friday were reportedly postponed because of votes cast by clubs who were not involved. It is time for independent experts to join the club grandees.
The promotion of the tournament this season is much improved. There will be a highlights show on ITV every weekend, the type of programme that was missed early last season. There will be seven matches shown live on terrestrial TV, including the final. Also, every game that is not shown live on BT Sport, the main broadcaster, or ITV will be available on the new streaming service, PRTV Live. Matches will be transmitted, PRL says, in 139 countries.
And PRL is after more big games, as it should be — Saracens take matches to the high temple that is the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The league must bring back the double-header involving the London teams at Twickenham to kick off the season. Newcastle Falcons’ successful initiative in taking a game to St James’ Park three seasons ago should be repeated around the league, with clubs staging games at their closest mega-stadium.
It will be a slog. PRL still needs to add power and it should use its muscle to retain Test players for more games. The whole thing must reach a point at which benefactors can cover costs, at the very least. But the whole thing is still potentially lovable at every turn. To watch Leicester Tigers at home is to see all the best that the Premiership has to offer and everything it was meant to be — with the possible exception of their fans failing to understand that a penalty awarded against the home side is not always a mistake.
Advertisement
The whole thing may be battered and bruised, given the worrying travails of Worcester Warriors and Wasps, but there is a core resilience — a way is always found to preserve the rugby, its impact on the community and the harmony among rival fans. The heartbeat of the whole thing is reflected beautifully in the fervency with which those who love Worcester came to their aid. Their co-owners should move on as soon as possible and leave it to new investors and the will of the people.
Premiership clubs must keep improving and uniting; no more sweeping up their own backyards. The idea that there are seven million out there who could be persuaded to watch the whole swashbuckling, convivial, confrontational, messy and lovely weekly mini-epics, with a warm pie, really should kick backsides of the professional arm of the sport, until they grasp that their fate remains in their own hands and feet. And turnstiles.
The Premiership Experience
The Rec, Bath Rugby
Glorious riverside, city centre location but enter The Rec at the moment and it might seem like you are part of a giant Meccano set. The popular side stand is a temporary uncovered structure — in midwinter they have a group of rescue St Bernards standing by. But the Bath experience still has something wondrous about it, even if the view these days is from the bottom of the table. Those near the media seats can also overhear the hourly Stuart Barnes Lecture.
Ashton Gate, Bristol Bears
My favourite, because they actually celebrate rugby here. Even the roaring ranter on the microphone keeps it in bounds so you can talk to your friend sitting next to you, and the mid-Atlantic cacophonous thunder music that other clubs play is toned down. Pies are excellent for content and temperature. Cider direct from Barrow Gurney, and Pat Lam as boss. Perfect.
Sandy Park, Exeter Chiefs
Such a shame that they have discarded their ‘Indian’ head-dress and the rest of the paraphernalia of what has always been part of the club’s benevolent image. Some members of the rugby community can feel famished after short rations at the club, but this remains the archetypal and golden example of what promotion in the Premiership can achieve.
Kingsholm, Gloucester
For some of us, the magnificent Shed stand has become a little too polite. Its occupants used to be not just the 16th man but the 17th, 18th and 19th as well. But here is another rugby city, from its centre out to the housing estates. The friendliest commissionaires in sport, and the final steps are for the team to take a title. No one who has any concept of rugby history could fail to be there for that.
Advertisement
The Twickenham Stoop, Harlequins
The essential gentility of this well-appointed stadium, with enough catering outlets to avoid queues, has now been taken over by a splendidly fervent and ranting bunch who often fill the stadium to capacity. The Stoop tends to have the paying consumer at heart, and my mate Mike on the microphone can hardly be missed — though you do fear that one day, when Harlequins score, he will simply explode.
Welford Road, Leicester Tigers
The Crumbie stand now looks like a hoary old veteran standing opposite the mighty newish construction opposite, but this is a classic place to watch rugby, even though rather oddly, the car park for the Tigers now appears to be nearer Northampton than Leicester. This was the club which made pro rugby a possibility and it is still up there now it is a reality. Earplugs de rigeur for match officials.
Brentford Community Stadium, London Irish
The best new arena in the Premiership, which can be found somewhere underneath the skyscrapers marking about 40 new hotels towards the end of the elevated section of the M4. Keep looking, it is worth it. The distressing drone of The Fields of Athenry – often, you would love to hear the almost-as-dreadful Sweet Caroline instead – should not put anyone off. Leave three hours early to negotiate the Kew traffic.
Kingston Park, Newcastle Falcons
It is no excuse that they are right up in the North East. This is one of the most fervent, passionate and possibly angry clubs in the division, with so few of the natural advantages but every intention of squeezing out what they can from every situation. So much depends on a run of results, but the stadium is excellent, the catering decent. For a fee, the Newcastle United great Alan Shearer can make a personal appearance and promise not to say anything.
Franklin Gardens, Northampton Saints
The first club to really get to grips with professional rugby, with their annual profits — yes, profits. Nothing missing in the stadium or surrounding complex, and you will enjoy meeting the legend David (Piggy) Powell, the grandest of grand old props who will brief you on all matters to do with the scrum and the general meaning of life itself. Seats next to him carry a premium fee. Also the train station is nearby, so you can go along and watch the RMT picket line and then catch the bus home.
AJ Bell Stadium, Sale Sharks
The eternal, heroic battle against the massed forces of Manchester football and Old Trafford cricket goes on. They do feel slightly out on a limb in Salford, though the stadium is neat and tidy and modern and you sense that Sale are getting there, on their long and mighty march. No pouting, preening, late-30s footballers from Portugal among the starters at the AJ Bell, just ever-ready grafters.
StoneX Stadium, Saracens
The predicted demise has actually become a hurtling revival. The new stand gives them one of the best arenas, their pies have always been a cut above and indeed, in the realms of coffee, beers and pies and other essential elements, you can now purchase from companies run by former players. The infrastructure is now almost all there, and the longest bar in the game could command your attention.
Advertisement
Coventry Building Society Arena, Wasps
In the first years of their move to Coventry they played before crowds of up to 33,000. People used to say that some of those were in on free tickets but they never explained what exactly was wrong about that. Do you want to change grounds and not market the new one? They have been hammered by the recession and by their rather bewildering financial set-up but chiefly by an horrendous run of injuries. Yet the stadium is arguably the best in the league, everyone working there appears to be friendly and passionate. Now they need to start winning games and whirring the turnstiles.
Sixways, Worcester Warriors
If you don’t think that the Warriors are worth saving, you have never been to Sixways. There is ample car parking providing that the present owners haven’t flogged the spaces. They also have a gleaming stadium and a remarkably inventive crowd song (“Come in you Warriors, come on you Warriors”).
Stephen Jones, Rugby Correspondent
Sunday September 11 2022, 12.01am, The Sunday Times
Where are the missing seven million? The search is on for the future health of one of rugby’s great competitions. They are out there somewhere, in rugby’s great beyond.
Convincing statistics have been issued that suggest there are about nine million people in England who have a significant affection for rugby, many of whom are encouraged by the profile of the international matches and their fireside appeal on a cold afternoon in November or February. But only about two million attend Gallagher Premiership matches.
At this time of economic strife — not forgetting the uncertainty surrounding the Premiership itself and the ravages of the pandemic — those seven million are needed out in the fresh air for up-close duty.
While facilities do vary, they are infinitely better than in the early days when comforts were low and the pies were frozen inside. Most grounds now offer a civilised and often inspiring experience.
Moreover the Premiership now offers rich entertainment. The sweep and the spectacle of the league has soared in the past two seasons, inspired by Harlequins, Wasps and Northampton Saints — although every team have picked up the pace and skill level. Turf technology has made the days of two feet of mud a thing of the past and provided the platform for attacking epics.
But, crucially, you also get that satisfying crunch, that excuse to revel if attacking play is less than epic, because you are supporting your own town or city team. Take Bath last season when they were anchored at the bottom but still received fanatical support from their fans.
About half of the games in the Premiership last season were won by a margin of seven points or fewer. This is a remarkable statistic given that there was no relegation. The eyeballs-out competitiveness is what keeps the Premiership at the top of the pile of world competitions.
There are millions of potential fans out there who could be persuaded to watch the entertainment on offer in the Premiership on a regular basis
The drawbacks? Sadly, if you go to a club to watch your team’s marquee players, you will find that they are only there for half the season, which is deplorable.
Who is guiding the search for the missing seven million? Premiership Rugby (PRL) has come through the grimmest of times of bungling, secrecy and a heartbreaking lack of vision, not to mention that the club owners often tended to dispose of a global vision in favour of their own local interests. A lack of dynamism and fresh marketing ideas is only just being attended to. But the situation at PRL has changed.
Sponsored
Now, at last, there is some central promotion from the governing body. How depressing, then, that the Bristol Bears v Bath and Sale Sharks v Northampton games on Friday were reportedly postponed because of votes cast by clubs who were not involved. It is time for independent experts to join the club grandees.
The promotion of the tournament this season is much improved. There will be a highlights show on ITV every weekend, the type of programme that was missed early last season. There will be seven matches shown live on terrestrial TV, including the final. Also, every game that is not shown live on BT Sport, the main broadcaster, or ITV will be available on the new streaming service, PRTV Live. Matches will be transmitted, PRL says, in 139 countries.
And PRL is after more big games, as it should be — Saracens take matches to the high temple that is the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The league must bring back the double-header involving the London teams at Twickenham to kick off the season. Newcastle Falcons’ successful initiative in taking a game to St James’ Park three seasons ago should be repeated around the league, with clubs staging games at their closest mega-stadium.
It will be a slog. PRL still needs to add power and it should use its muscle to retain Test players for more games. The whole thing must reach a point at which benefactors can cover costs, at the very least. But the whole thing is still potentially lovable at every turn. To watch Leicester Tigers at home is to see all the best that the Premiership has to offer and everything it was meant to be — with the possible exception of their fans failing to understand that a penalty awarded against the home side is not always a mistake.
Advertisement
The whole thing may be battered and bruised, given the worrying travails of Worcester Warriors and Wasps, but there is a core resilience — a way is always found to preserve the rugby, its impact on the community and the harmony among rival fans. The heartbeat of the whole thing is reflected beautifully in the fervency with which those who love Worcester came to their aid. Their co-owners should move on as soon as possible and leave it to new investors and the will of the people.
Premiership clubs must keep improving and uniting; no more sweeping up their own backyards. The idea that there are seven million out there who could be persuaded to watch the whole swashbuckling, convivial, confrontational, messy and lovely weekly mini-epics, with a warm pie, really should kick backsides of the professional arm of the sport, until they grasp that their fate remains in their own hands and feet. And turnstiles.
The Premiership Experience
The Rec, Bath Rugby
Glorious riverside, city centre location but enter The Rec at the moment and it might seem like you are part of a giant Meccano set. The popular side stand is a temporary uncovered structure — in midwinter they have a group of rescue St Bernards standing by. But the Bath experience still has something wondrous about it, even if the view these days is from the bottom of the table. Those near the media seats can also overhear the hourly Stuart Barnes Lecture.
Ashton Gate, Bristol Bears
My favourite, because they actually celebrate rugby here. Even the roaring ranter on the microphone keeps it in bounds so you can talk to your friend sitting next to you, and the mid-Atlantic cacophonous thunder music that other clubs play is toned down. Pies are excellent for content and temperature. Cider direct from Barrow Gurney, and Pat Lam as boss. Perfect.
Sandy Park, Exeter Chiefs
Such a shame that they have discarded their ‘Indian’ head-dress and the rest of the paraphernalia of what has always been part of the club’s benevolent image. Some members of the rugby community can feel famished after short rations at the club, but this remains the archetypal and golden example of what promotion in the Premiership can achieve.
Kingsholm, Gloucester
For some of us, the magnificent Shed stand has become a little too polite. Its occupants used to be not just the 16th man but the 17th, 18th and 19th as well. But here is another rugby city, from its centre out to the housing estates. The friendliest commissionaires in sport, and the final steps are for the team to take a title. No one who has any concept of rugby history could fail to be there for that.
Advertisement
The Twickenham Stoop, Harlequins
The essential gentility of this well-appointed stadium, with enough catering outlets to avoid queues, has now been taken over by a splendidly fervent and ranting bunch who often fill the stadium to capacity. The Stoop tends to have the paying consumer at heart, and my mate Mike on the microphone can hardly be missed — though you do fear that one day, when Harlequins score, he will simply explode.
Welford Road, Leicester Tigers
The Crumbie stand now looks like a hoary old veteran standing opposite the mighty newish construction opposite, but this is a classic place to watch rugby, even though rather oddly, the car park for the Tigers now appears to be nearer Northampton than Leicester. This was the club which made pro rugby a possibility and it is still up there now it is a reality. Earplugs de rigeur for match officials.
Brentford Community Stadium, London Irish
The best new arena in the Premiership, which can be found somewhere underneath the skyscrapers marking about 40 new hotels towards the end of the elevated section of the M4. Keep looking, it is worth it. The distressing drone of The Fields of Athenry – often, you would love to hear the almost-as-dreadful Sweet Caroline instead – should not put anyone off. Leave three hours early to negotiate the Kew traffic.
Kingston Park, Newcastle Falcons
It is no excuse that they are right up in the North East. This is one of the most fervent, passionate and possibly angry clubs in the division, with so few of the natural advantages but every intention of squeezing out what they can from every situation. So much depends on a run of results, but the stadium is excellent, the catering decent. For a fee, the Newcastle United great Alan Shearer can make a personal appearance and promise not to say anything.
Franklin Gardens, Northampton Saints
The first club to really get to grips with professional rugby, with their annual profits — yes, profits. Nothing missing in the stadium or surrounding complex, and you will enjoy meeting the legend David (Piggy) Powell, the grandest of grand old props who will brief you on all matters to do with the scrum and the general meaning of life itself. Seats next to him carry a premium fee. Also the train station is nearby, so you can go along and watch the RMT picket line and then catch the bus home.
AJ Bell Stadium, Sale Sharks
The eternal, heroic battle against the massed forces of Manchester football and Old Trafford cricket goes on. They do feel slightly out on a limb in Salford, though the stadium is neat and tidy and modern and you sense that Sale are getting there, on their long and mighty march. No pouting, preening, late-30s footballers from Portugal among the starters at the AJ Bell, just ever-ready grafters.
StoneX Stadium, Saracens
The predicted demise has actually become a hurtling revival. The new stand gives them one of the best arenas, their pies have always been a cut above and indeed, in the realms of coffee, beers and pies and other essential elements, you can now purchase from companies run by former players. The infrastructure is now almost all there, and the longest bar in the game could command your attention.
Advertisement
Coventry Building Society Arena, Wasps
In the first years of their move to Coventry they played before crowds of up to 33,000. People used to say that some of those were in on free tickets but they never explained what exactly was wrong about that. Do you want to change grounds and not market the new one? They have been hammered by the recession and by their rather bewildering financial set-up but chiefly by an horrendous run of injuries. Yet the stadium is arguably the best in the league, everyone working there appears to be friendly and passionate. Now they need to start winning games and whirring the turnstiles.
Sixways, Worcester Warriors
If you don’t think that the Warriors are worth saving, you have never been to Sixways. There is ample car parking providing that the present owners haven’t flogged the spaces. They also have a gleaming stadium and a remarkably inventive crowd song (“Come in you Warriors, come on you Warriors”).
48
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Wasps legend undergoing treatment for prostate cancer
« on: September 06, 2022, 02:00:02 PM »49
Wasps Rugby Discussion / How sustainable are we??
« on: September 04, 2022, 11:13:12 AM »
This was posted by Neils on the Worcester thread but it deserves it's own discussion page IMHO.
Premiership clubs rack up more than £500MILLION in debt
Not looking good across the board.
Another article has the LI owner offering to give away the club for free.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-11177209/Premiership-clubs-rack-500MILLION-debt-amid-English-rugby-financial-crisis.html
How on earth are Wasps going to survive?? £112 milion in debt.
Premiership clubs rack up more than £500MILLION in debt
Not looking good across the board.
Another article has the LI owner offering to give away the club for free.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-11177209/Premiership-clubs-rack-500MILLION-debt-amid-English-rugby-financial-crisis.html
How on earth are Wasps going to survive?? £112 milion in debt.
50
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Wasps extend travel deal with Gullivers Travel
« on: September 01, 2022, 11:41:15 AM »51
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Wadey tweet this morning ......
« on: September 01, 2022, 09:02:21 AM »
His return to rugby is imminent.
52
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Worcester
« on: August 28, 2022, 08:09:23 AM »
Statement from Jim O'Toole :
https://twitter.com/JimOToole/status/1563756855410786304
Would going into Administration mean that they get a points deduction?
https://twitter.com/JimOToole/status/1563756855410786304
Would going into Administration mean that they get a points deduction?
53
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Stuart Barnes in The Times
« on: August 26, 2022, 09:25:03 AM »
English clubs left trailing by their ruthless French rivals
Stuart Barnes
Friday August 26 2022, 12.01am, The Times
These are dark times and when professional rugby clubs primarily become businesses — taking over “the business” once quaintly decided on the pitch — it’s no surprise that headlines emanate from boardrooms. There were worrying whispers from Wasps this summer before the reported threat to Worcester Warriors, with both sides in talks with HM Revenue & Customs over unpaid tax bills.
Worcester’s story is deeply concerning in its own right, but perhaps the unspoken implications are greater. They are a club who have struggled to make an impact on the professional game. Cecil Duckworth, the former executive chairman of Worcester, saw his side promoted to the Premiership in 2004. It was an epic journey through the leagues, but there has since been little of the glory witnessed many junctions down the M5, where Exeter Chiefs turned sport into fairytale fare, conquering England and Europe.
For Worcester, survival has been the keynote. Had relegation not been abandoned in 2021 they would have been playing in the Championship last season, as they did in 2014-15 and 2010-11. Teams have their dips; Bath should be one league lower this campaign. So, too, Leicester Tigers in recent years. Northampton Saints and Harlequins have both been relegated and rebounded.
Worcester, though, have never “rebounded”. Their most successful Premiership period was from 2004 to 2006, during which they managed to finish ninth and then what is still an all-time high of eighth. Give Saracens back their docked points in 2019-2020 and Worcester have finished between tenth and 12th in the Premiership for the past 14 years. They have made no progress on the field.
While full of sympathy for their present predicament, one can also acknowledge their sporting failures. Premiership Rugby Ltd (PRL) makes much of the need for any promoted club to have a stadium that holds a bare minimum of 10,001 spectators. Worcester, with a capacity of about 12,000, meet that criterion. Yet last season their ground was typically only a shade over 60 per cent full for league matches.
Advertisement
The inability to progress on the pitch has stalled the development of Worcester as an elite rugby club doing anything but hanging on as part of PRL. In stark contrast, Bath filled the Recreation Ground to 96 per cent of its capacity in their most recent and most dismal professional season. The loyalty of their fans tells the tale of a rugby club who have roots Worcester haven’t laid. The Warriors’ nearest rivals are Gloucester. Supporters at The Shed have seen some rubbish over the years, but they keep coming back. Gloucester have a tradition upon which they can fall back in hard times. Worcester do not.
Across the Channel, our friends in France have a history of club competitions going back into the last days of the 19th century. Here, business does not come before sport. If a team fail on the field, they face relegation, no matter how great the name. Biarritz, back after a spell in the second tier of the French club game, were relegated immediately last term.
Whereas PRL used Covid to push through a period of no relegation, the French fuelled the excitement of promotion and relegation even as funding was cut.
Here, the size of the stadium is perceived as a serious stumbling block for ambitious clubs such as Ealing Trailfinders and Doncaster Knights. Never mind that Newcastle Falcons, with an average attendance of 5,840, play to a half-empty Kingston Park.
Sponsored
Divisions are being created between leagues, where aspirant clubs struggle to meet the various criteria — including that 10,001 capacity. Meanwhile French rugby maintains the closest possible link between the two elite tiers. Professionalism appears to be a carefully erected corporate barrier in the English game. It is hard not to see the actions of PRL as an attempt to raise the drawbridge and monopolise the game and any ensuing profits.
In France the game grows ever more competitive. France’s Guinness Six Nations grand slam-winning side, along with their Heineken and European Challenge Cup winners, are on a roll. English rivals will cite the more liberal French salary cap as the main reason, but there is much more to the growing gap between the two countries’ rugby success.
There is the justifiable excitement surrounding next year’s World Cup. Whereas, week in, week out, football stirs the sports fans’ emotions in England, football fanaticism reaches nothing like the same level in France. As a French coach told me: “Rugby is in the French culture. The population identify with rugby. If you are from Toulon, you want to play for Toulon.”
Rugby has always been a matter of passion in France, from its two sophisticated clubs in Paris down to partisan Pau. The revival of the national team and the World Cup could lead to France leaving England and its limited monopolist league trailing. While the game is spreading throughout France (with a determination to kick-start it in the formerly disinterested north), Leeds has long been left behind here, with Doncaster the last remaining Premiership dream in Yorkshire.
Advertisement
While we worry about the future of a club still scrapping for their survival, Worcester are a warning of the many inherent failures besetting the English club game. These are difficult days for professionalism. It is time for the RFU and PRL to step up to the challenge of doing more than protecting their own positions and the status quo, or so it seems.
It’s time to work out the balance between rugby union as sport and/or business. It’s time for a vision and a lead, not protection.
Rugby union
Stuart Barnes
Friday August 26 2022, 12.01am, The Times
These are dark times and when professional rugby clubs primarily become businesses — taking over “the business” once quaintly decided on the pitch — it’s no surprise that headlines emanate from boardrooms. There were worrying whispers from Wasps this summer before the reported threat to Worcester Warriors, with both sides in talks with HM Revenue & Customs over unpaid tax bills.
Worcester’s story is deeply concerning in its own right, but perhaps the unspoken implications are greater. They are a club who have struggled to make an impact on the professional game. Cecil Duckworth, the former executive chairman of Worcester, saw his side promoted to the Premiership in 2004. It was an epic journey through the leagues, but there has since been little of the glory witnessed many junctions down the M5, where Exeter Chiefs turned sport into fairytale fare, conquering England and Europe.
For Worcester, survival has been the keynote. Had relegation not been abandoned in 2021 they would have been playing in the Championship last season, as they did in 2014-15 and 2010-11. Teams have their dips; Bath should be one league lower this campaign. So, too, Leicester Tigers in recent years. Northampton Saints and Harlequins have both been relegated and rebounded.
Worcester, though, have never “rebounded”. Their most successful Premiership period was from 2004 to 2006, during which they managed to finish ninth and then what is still an all-time high of eighth. Give Saracens back their docked points in 2019-2020 and Worcester have finished between tenth and 12th in the Premiership for the past 14 years. They have made no progress on the field.
While full of sympathy for their present predicament, one can also acknowledge their sporting failures. Premiership Rugby Ltd (PRL) makes much of the need for any promoted club to have a stadium that holds a bare minimum of 10,001 spectators. Worcester, with a capacity of about 12,000, meet that criterion. Yet last season their ground was typically only a shade over 60 per cent full for league matches.
Advertisement
The inability to progress on the pitch has stalled the development of Worcester as an elite rugby club doing anything but hanging on as part of PRL. In stark contrast, Bath filled the Recreation Ground to 96 per cent of its capacity in their most recent and most dismal professional season. The loyalty of their fans tells the tale of a rugby club who have roots Worcester haven’t laid. The Warriors’ nearest rivals are Gloucester. Supporters at The Shed have seen some rubbish over the years, but they keep coming back. Gloucester have a tradition upon which they can fall back in hard times. Worcester do not.
Across the Channel, our friends in France have a history of club competitions going back into the last days of the 19th century. Here, business does not come before sport. If a team fail on the field, they face relegation, no matter how great the name. Biarritz, back after a spell in the second tier of the French club game, were relegated immediately last term.
Whereas PRL used Covid to push through a period of no relegation, the French fuelled the excitement of promotion and relegation even as funding was cut.
Here, the size of the stadium is perceived as a serious stumbling block for ambitious clubs such as Ealing Trailfinders and Doncaster Knights. Never mind that Newcastle Falcons, with an average attendance of 5,840, play to a half-empty Kingston Park.
Sponsored
Divisions are being created between leagues, where aspirant clubs struggle to meet the various criteria — including that 10,001 capacity. Meanwhile French rugby maintains the closest possible link between the two elite tiers. Professionalism appears to be a carefully erected corporate barrier in the English game. It is hard not to see the actions of PRL as an attempt to raise the drawbridge and monopolise the game and any ensuing profits.
In France the game grows ever more competitive. France’s Guinness Six Nations grand slam-winning side, along with their Heineken and European Challenge Cup winners, are on a roll. English rivals will cite the more liberal French salary cap as the main reason, but there is much more to the growing gap between the two countries’ rugby success.
There is the justifiable excitement surrounding next year’s World Cup. Whereas, week in, week out, football stirs the sports fans’ emotions in England, football fanaticism reaches nothing like the same level in France. As a French coach told me: “Rugby is in the French culture. The population identify with rugby. If you are from Toulon, you want to play for Toulon.”
Rugby has always been a matter of passion in France, from its two sophisticated clubs in Paris down to partisan Pau. The revival of the national team and the World Cup could lead to France leaving England and its limited monopolist league trailing. While the game is spreading throughout France (with a determination to kick-start it in the formerly disinterested north), Leeds has long been left behind here, with Doncaster the last remaining Premiership dream in Yorkshire.
Advertisement
While we worry about the future of a club still scrapping for their survival, Worcester are a warning of the many inherent failures besetting the English club game. These are difficult days for professionalism. It is time for the RFU and PRL to step up to the challenge of doing more than protecting their own positions and the status quo, or so it seems.
It’s time to work out the balance between rugby union as sport and/or business. It’s time for a vision and a lead, not protection.
Rugby union
55
Wasps Rugby Discussion / OT : Apple security
« on: August 19, 2022, 06:45:15 PM »
Times headline today :
iPhone users urged to update devices after Apple security flaw
Seems that the isssue was identified on Wednesday.
Basically it's Macs, Macbooks, iPads and iPhones.
Just update your security software on whichever device(s) that you have. I've just done the update on a Macbook, an iPad and 2 iPhones.
iPhone users urged to update devices after Apple security flaw
Seems that the isssue was identified on Wednesday.
Basically it's Macs, Macbooks, iPads and iPhones.
Just update your security software on whichever device(s) that you have. I've just done the update on a Macbook, an iPad and 2 iPhones.
56
Wasps Rugby Discussion / House of Cards
« on: August 07, 2022, 07:20:37 AM »
Throw in everything that we know about instabilities within the club - finances, stadium issues, pitch and a block on recruitment - it has an ominous ring akin to a House of Cards.
57
Wasps Rugby Discussion / P'ups and breweries spring to mind
« on: August 05, 2022, 07:02:02 PM »
The way that Wasps run their business(es) is becoming a tad worrying.
59
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Christian Wade in the RP.
« on: July 24, 2022, 09:04:57 PM »
https://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/latest-news/359558/im-in-no-rush-to-get-a-club-deal-wade/
Could someone C&P it please.
Could someone C&P it please.