Always a Wasp

The PGA which saw ?30M+ paid each year by the RFU to PRL clubs is up for renewal for presumably another 8 years from thec24/5 season. News reports suggest the RFU want central contracts and the PRL don't.

As Ireland's close coordination between club and country is being replicated to some degree by Scotland and Italy, I see closer ties being a critical element of any deal for England's future success. I also like the approach the French have taken to give their young players more opportunities/limit 'journeymen' foreign players.

What else should be in the agreement?

As an aside I had forgotten about the RFU funding each club on average ?2M+ pa when discussing the shocking losses made by PRL clubs year on year.

League stops growth in the North, London being London stops it in the South.

France has similar structural problems, their rugby heartland being the south west, a smattering of 'midland' clubs and two in the capital so how have they made it so financially successful?

Obviously local government support re stadia helps/helped but how did they get the big TV deal?

Don't wish to spoil a good conspiracy theory yet it was PRL's salary cap that was broken and it was PRL who decided what punishment should or should not be given

Quote from: hookender on October 12, 2022, 08:15:14 PM

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjK9-DOqNv6AhXUiVwKHd4kD34Q_1N6BAgHEAE&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fpremrugby%2Fstatus%2F1580234447726989312%3Fref_src%3Dtwsrc%255Egoogle%257Ctwcamp%255Eserp%257Ctwgr%255Etweet&usg=AOvVaw2qk6QCr3SLJgqPaWhy9aKZ

And in all of this Atkinson gets try of week

Good on him. He gets a prize too, yes? A bottle or so of the amber liquid?

A bottle or so of the amber - What?!?

Fosters??!!??!!

I know that Heineken have taken their beer back but surely the poor lad deserves better ....

If the "advanced stage" discussions involved a loan, I can imagine neither lender not borrower were keen to finalise the deal in the last 10 days given the huge market uncertainty.

Is it my memory playing up or didn't scrum-halfs used to play the full 80, or maybe just get subbed for the last 10 once convincingly in the bag. Simpson, for example, who I still really miss. And always seems a high stakes gamble to break the half-backs rythm mid-game, so why do we these days bake this into an almost Eddie Jones cake?

I was wondering exactly the same - when did routinely subbing scrum halves become a thing?

It's the same as Christian Wade - people double  mark him which creates space elsewhere.  Sure he will have more eye-catching cameos coming off the bench against a tiring defence however it makes the time he is on the bench that much easier for the opposition

Don't think he has the absolute pace to be a flanker so 8 it is.

Never understood why hookers 'have' to throw the ball into the lineout as it's a thankless task (ex hooker who was lucky to hit a barn door)