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1
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Re: Ex Wasps signing for new clubs
« on: April 18, 2024, 03:00:48 PM »
Methuselah.
2
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Re: The Cheetahs Still at it.
« on: April 01, 2024, 06:44:35 PM »
From the Telegraph:
Leicester Tigers have been fined ?47,000 for their latest historical salary-cap breach which occurred in the 2019-20 season.
The East Midlands club, currently seventh in the league table, were two years ago fined ?309,841.06 following the conclusion of a Premiership Rugby investigation into salary-cap compliance for the seasons 2016-17 to 2020-21. Within that investigation, Leicester were found to have breached the cap by ?98,586.32 in the 2019-20 campaign.
Premiership Rugby on Monday announced that additional payments of ?47,136.91 had been identified relating to Leicester?s cap spend in the 2019-20 season, although this expenditure was ?a separate matter? to the ?300,000 fine which the Tigers received in 2022.
A Premiership Rugby statement added: ?These payments relate to salary during the Covid-19 period, which had not been included in the club?s certification for the 2019-20 Salary Cap Year. Leicester Tigers have paid the overrun tax in full.?
In their own statement, Leicester confirmed that they had accepted and paid the ?47,136.91 ?overrun tax?, once again highlighting that these breaches occurred under the club?s previous regime, overseen for the most part by chief executive Simon Cohen.
?While disappointed to again have historic salary cap spending relating to the 2019/20 season result in this overrun tax, as was the case in March 2022, we accept the findings of Premiership Rugby,? said Andrea Pinchen, chief executive.
?As was the case in March 2022, this in no way relates to any of the most recent four seasons and we are grateful to Premiership Rugby for the cooperative approach in bringing this matter to a close.
?We have accepted and paid the overrun tax and, as stated in March 2022, the current club management ? who inherited this issue ? have a great respect for the Salary Cap regulations and remain committed to ensuring Leicester Tigers is compliant every season.?
In 2020, Saracens were relegated to the Championship after being found to have breached the salary cap in three consecutive seasons - albeit by far greater amounts than Leicester.
In 2016-17, Saracens overspent by more than ?1.1 million, in 2017-18 it was just over ?98,000 and in 2018-19 it was ?906,000.
Leicester Tigers have been fined ?47,000 for their latest historical salary-cap breach which occurred in the 2019-20 season.
The East Midlands club, currently seventh in the league table, were two years ago fined ?309,841.06 following the conclusion of a Premiership Rugby investigation into salary-cap compliance for the seasons 2016-17 to 2020-21. Within that investigation, Leicester were found to have breached the cap by ?98,586.32 in the 2019-20 campaign.
Premiership Rugby on Monday announced that additional payments of ?47,136.91 had been identified relating to Leicester?s cap spend in the 2019-20 season, although this expenditure was ?a separate matter? to the ?300,000 fine which the Tigers received in 2022.
A Premiership Rugby statement added: ?These payments relate to salary during the Covid-19 period, which had not been included in the club?s certification for the 2019-20 Salary Cap Year. Leicester Tigers have paid the overrun tax in full.?
In their own statement, Leicester confirmed that they had accepted and paid the ?47,136.91 ?overrun tax?, once again highlighting that these breaches occurred under the club?s previous regime, overseen for the most part by chief executive Simon Cohen.
?While disappointed to again have historic salary cap spending relating to the 2019/20 season result in this overrun tax, as was the case in March 2022, we accept the findings of Premiership Rugby,? said Andrea Pinchen, chief executive.
?As was the case in March 2022, this in no way relates to any of the most recent four seasons and we are grateful to Premiership Rugby for the cooperative approach in bringing this matter to a close.
?We have accepted and paid the overrun tax and, as stated in March 2022, the current club management ? who inherited this issue ? have a great respect for the Salary Cap regulations and remain committed to ensuring Leicester Tigers is compliant every season.?
In 2020, Saracens were relegated to the Championship after being found to have breached the salary cap in three consecutive seasons - albeit by far greater amounts than Leicester.
In 2016-17, Saracens overspent by more than ?1.1 million, in 2017-18 it was just over ?98,000 and in 2018-19 it was ?906,000.
3
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Re: Hope All English Refs Were Watching
« on: March 31, 2024, 05:02:41 PM »
I didn't watch the game but I understand Northampton were pinged for 9 not using it after 5 seconds during Friday evening's game. Luke Pearce was the ref.
4
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Rugby?s Radical Plans in The Times
« on: March 19, 2024, 05:10:13 PM »
World Rugby is considering a global trial of the 20-minute red card ? where the player sent off is replaced by a substitute after 20 minutes has elapsed ? as part of a swathe of law changes aimed at improving the spectacle.
The sport?s world governing body also wants to explore the use of a shot-clock to speed up scrums and lineouts ? having introduced it for penalties and conversions ? and further down the line will look at the feasibility of lowering the height of the tackle in the elite game to the base of the sternum.
More immediately, referees have been told to crack down on water-carriers coming onto the pitch and the proliferation of ?caterpillar rucks?, by making the scrum half use the ball quicker.
These, and other potential changes to the laws of rugby, are recommendations from a recent Shape of the Game conference in London which gathered coaches, former players, referees and administrators during the Six Nations.
The most eye-catching suggestion is a world-wide trial for 20-minute red cards. The move has proved popular in the southern hemisphere, where it has been trialled in Super Rugby Pacific, as it punishes the offending player and team without spoiling the spectacle, as can happen when a red card is shown early in a match. However, its opponents fear it is a weak punishment that could lead to targeted thuggery.
The 20-minute red card would only be introduced alongside harsher sanctions for those sent off for dangerous tackles that made contact with the head.
World Rugby?s council will vote on the proposal in May, so there could be a global trial of 20-minute red cards as early as next season.
The governing body has moved to close several loopholes that are being exploited in the laws. Referees will be compelled to call ?use it? and start their five-second count at rucks earlier, to try to stop the formation of long ?caterpillar rucks? to protect a scrum half?s box-kick. They are heavily unpopular as they lead to predictable passages of play and several minutes of lost time from matches.
If an attacking player does not use the ball within the allotted five seconds after the referee shouts ?use it?, a scrum will be awarded to the defence, as is the standard ? albeit irregular ? practice.
Players will be asked to play the ball after it is clearly won and available in a ruck. If scrum halves move the ball down the caterpillar of players with their foot, the ruck will be deemed to be over.
The appearance of water-carriers will be restricted too. From July 2022, water-carriers were only allowed to appear at two allocated moments in each half. In January 2023, this was changed to allow them to also enter the field of play after tries, but World Rugby believe teams have pushed this too far.
For example, the Wales assistant coach Neil Jenkins was involved in an argument with the French referee, Mathieu Raynal, during Saturday?s Six Nations match against Italy. Jenkins questioned whether Stephen Varney, the Italy scrum half, had made a high tackle to which Raynal replied: ?Your job is to bring the water on.? Jenkins hit back with: ?Your job is to ref the game,? after which Raynal banned him from returning with water.
To stop this sort of behaviour, World Rugby want referees to re-enforce the present rule, where water-carriers can only come onto the field after the scoring of a try, unless no tries are scored in the first 15-20 minutes or there is a lengthy injury break.
World Rugby also want to deal with the emergence of ?Dupont?s Law? ? a loophole that the French scrum half, Antoine Dupont, readily exploited, which has led to dead passages in games.
Law 10.7, which covers offside in rugby, states that players who are in front of the kicker can become onside as soon as the kick receiver has either passed the ball or run five metres with it. This means that in a territorial kicking battle, a group of chasers can station themselves in the opposing half, well in front of their own kicker, so they can try to charge down the catcher as soon as he runs or passes.
This means kickers have often held the ball and stood still, which kills the spectacle, as it did when Finn Russell and Thomas Ramos engaged in a long, stationary kick-tennis battle in the Scotland-France Six Nations match.
In Super Rugby Pacific, they have tried to stop this happening with a law trial where players will remain offside until they have been rendered onside by a team-mate who has come from behind the kicker, or the kicker himself.
To remove more dead time from matches, World Rugby want to introduce a law amendment where teams cannot take a second scrum from a free kick which is awarded after a scrum, and it is also keen to trial a shot-clock for scrums and lineouts.
Under a law trialled early last year and then brought in fully for the World Cup, kickers have 90 seconds to take a conversion and one minute to strike a penalty, but there are set to be trials where that time is reduced further. Owen Farrell was timed-out when taking a penalty against Samoa in the pool stage, while Paolo Garbisi hit a post with a penalty that would have earned Italy an historic Six Nations win in France, when he rushed his kick with the clock ticking down after the ball slipped off the kicking tee.
In future, players could call a ?mark? when they catch the ball inside their own 22 from a kick-off, to encourage more attacking play from both the kicking and receiving team.
A specialist working group will be established to look at reducing the influence of the TMO after high-profile incidents where they have intervened, such as Ben Whitehouse?s call to penalise the England No 8, Ben Earl, for a no-arms tackle last Saturday against France, which led to Ramos kicking the winning penalty in a 33-31 victory.
Another group will look at the ?appropriateness? of lowering the tackle height to the base of the sternum in elite rugby, as is now the case in the community game in 11 countries including England.
The use and timing of substitutes will also be analysed, after the likes of South Africa ? with their ?Bomb Squad? ? and France have utilised powerful forwards from their benches, as rugby tries to create more space on the field while improving rates of injuries.
The World Rugby chairman, Sir Bill Beaumont, said: ?Change is in rugby?s DNA. Two hundred years ago we were born from a desire to change, and we are harnessing that same spirit to excite the next generation of fans and players.
?That means being bold, embracing change by dialling up the entertainment value, making our stars more accessible and simplifying terminology and language used to explain rugby to those who are yet to fall in love with it.?
Immediate law changes
? Referees to call ?use it? and start their five-second countdown at rucks earlier, to avoid ?caterpillar rucks?
? Hookers must maintain a full ?brake foot? by putting one foot forward at scrums to aid their stability
? A crackdown on water-carriers entering the field
Possible law changes (to be voted on by World Rugby council in May)
? Closing the ?Dupont Law? loophole, by tweaking the offside rule from kicks, to reduce kick-tennis battles
? Remove the option of a second scrum when a free kick is given at a scrum
? Outlawing the dangerous ?crocodile-roll? at rucks
Possible trials
? A shot-clock for scrums and lineouts
? Ability to mark the ball inside the 22m from a restart
? The ball must be played after the maul has been stopped once, not twice
? Further protection of scrum halves at the base of rucks and scrums
? Play on if a lineout is not straight, but the throw is uncontested
Areas for further analysis
? Possible global trial of a 20-minute red card
? A big safety review of the breakdown, and possible removal of the ?jackal?
? A review of the role of the TMO
? A review of how and when replacements are used
? Possible introduction of a lower tackle-height for the elite game
The sport?s world governing body also wants to explore the use of a shot-clock to speed up scrums and lineouts ? having introduced it for penalties and conversions ? and further down the line will look at the feasibility of lowering the height of the tackle in the elite game to the base of the sternum.
More immediately, referees have been told to crack down on water-carriers coming onto the pitch and the proliferation of ?caterpillar rucks?, by making the scrum half use the ball quicker.
These, and other potential changes to the laws of rugby, are recommendations from a recent Shape of the Game conference in London which gathered coaches, former players, referees and administrators during the Six Nations.
The most eye-catching suggestion is a world-wide trial for 20-minute red cards. The move has proved popular in the southern hemisphere, where it has been trialled in Super Rugby Pacific, as it punishes the offending player and team without spoiling the spectacle, as can happen when a red card is shown early in a match. However, its opponents fear it is a weak punishment that could lead to targeted thuggery.
The 20-minute red card would only be introduced alongside harsher sanctions for those sent off for dangerous tackles that made contact with the head.
World Rugby?s council will vote on the proposal in May, so there could be a global trial of 20-minute red cards as early as next season.
The governing body has moved to close several loopholes that are being exploited in the laws. Referees will be compelled to call ?use it? and start their five-second count at rucks earlier, to try to stop the formation of long ?caterpillar rucks? to protect a scrum half?s box-kick. They are heavily unpopular as they lead to predictable passages of play and several minutes of lost time from matches.
If an attacking player does not use the ball within the allotted five seconds after the referee shouts ?use it?, a scrum will be awarded to the defence, as is the standard ? albeit irregular ? practice.
Players will be asked to play the ball after it is clearly won and available in a ruck. If scrum halves move the ball down the caterpillar of players with their foot, the ruck will be deemed to be over.
The appearance of water-carriers will be restricted too. From July 2022, water-carriers were only allowed to appear at two allocated moments in each half. In January 2023, this was changed to allow them to also enter the field of play after tries, but World Rugby believe teams have pushed this too far.
For example, the Wales assistant coach Neil Jenkins was involved in an argument with the French referee, Mathieu Raynal, during Saturday?s Six Nations match against Italy. Jenkins questioned whether Stephen Varney, the Italy scrum half, had made a high tackle to which Raynal replied: ?Your job is to bring the water on.? Jenkins hit back with: ?Your job is to ref the game,? after which Raynal banned him from returning with water.
To stop this sort of behaviour, World Rugby want referees to re-enforce the present rule, where water-carriers can only come onto the field after the scoring of a try, unless no tries are scored in the first 15-20 minutes or there is a lengthy injury break.
World Rugby also want to deal with the emergence of ?Dupont?s Law? ? a loophole that the French scrum half, Antoine Dupont, readily exploited, which has led to dead passages in games.
Law 10.7, which covers offside in rugby, states that players who are in front of the kicker can become onside as soon as the kick receiver has either passed the ball or run five metres with it. This means that in a territorial kicking battle, a group of chasers can station themselves in the opposing half, well in front of their own kicker, so they can try to charge down the catcher as soon as he runs or passes.
This means kickers have often held the ball and stood still, which kills the spectacle, as it did when Finn Russell and Thomas Ramos engaged in a long, stationary kick-tennis battle in the Scotland-France Six Nations match.
In Super Rugby Pacific, they have tried to stop this happening with a law trial where players will remain offside until they have been rendered onside by a team-mate who has come from behind the kicker, or the kicker himself.
To remove more dead time from matches, World Rugby want to introduce a law amendment where teams cannot take a second scrum from a free kick which is awarded after a scrum, and it is also keen to trial a shot-clock for scrums and lineouts.
Under a law trialled early last year and then brought in fully for the World Cup, kickers have 90 seconds to take a conversion and one minute to strike a penalty, but there are set to be trials where that time is reduced further. Owen Farrell was timed-out when taking a penalty against Samoa in the pool stage, while Paolo Garbisi hit a post with a penalty that would have earned Italy an historic Six Nations win in France, when he rushed his kick with the clock ticking down after the ball slipped off the kicking tee.
In future, players could call a ?mark? when they catch the ball inside their own 22 from a kick-off, to encourage more attacking play from both the kicking and receiving team.
A specialist working group will be established to look at reducing the influence of the TMO after high-profile incidents where they have intervened, such as Ben Whitehouse?s call to penalise the England No 8, Ben Earl, for a no-arms tackle last Saturday against France, which led to Ramos kicking the winning penalty in a 33-31 victory.
Another group will look at the ?appropriateness? of lowering the tackle height to the base of the sternum in elite rugby, as is now the case in the community game in 11 countries including England.
The use and timing of substitutes will also be analysed, after the likes of South Africa ? with their ?Bomb Squad? ? and France have utilised powerful forwards from their benches, as rugby tries to create more space on the field while improving rates of injuries.
The World Rugby chairman, Sir Bill Beaumont, said: ?Change is in rugby?s DNA. Two hundred years ago we were born from a desire to change, and we are harnessing that same spirit to excite the next generation of fans and players.
?That means being bold, embracing change by dialling up the entertainment value, making our stars more accessible and simplifying terminology and language used to explain rugby to those who are yet to fall in love with it.?
Immediate law changes
? Referees to call ?use it? and start their five-second countdown at rucks earlier, to avoid ?caterpillar rucks?
? Hookers must maintain a full ?brake foot? by putting one foot forward at scrums to aid their stability
? A crackdown on water-carriers entering the field
Possible law changes (to be voted on by World Rugby council in May)
? Closing the ?Dupont Law? loophole, by tweaking the offside rule from kicks, to reduce kick-tennis battles
? Remove the option of a second scrum when a free kick is given at a scrum
? Outlawing the dangerous ?crocodile-roll? at rucks
Possible trials
? A shot-clock for scrums and lineouts
? Ability to mark the ball inside the 22m from a restart
? The ball must be played after the maul has been stopped once, not twice
? Further protection of scrum halves at the base of rucks and scrums
? Play on if a lineout is not straight, but the throw is uncontested
Areas for further analysis
? Possible global trial of a 20-minute red card
? A big safety review of the breakdown, and possible removal of the ?jackal?
? A review of the role of the TMO
? A review of how and when replacements are used
? Possible introduction of a lower tackle-height for the elite game
5
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Re: U 20s tonight
« on: March 17, 2024, 09:40:53 PM »
Pani's try was beautiful.
6
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Re: Ex Wasps signing for new clubs
« on: March 15, 2024, 08:54:38 AM »
So does Thomas Ramos 
7
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Re: Ex Wasps signing for new clubs
« on: March 14, 2024, 10:05:07 PM »How successful Wade will be at Kingsholm will depend on how Skivs wants to play the game.
Last season at Racing with Finn Russell at 10 he played in 9 games & scored 7 tries
This season in a team playing more conservative rugby he has also played in 9 games but only scored 2 tries.
Maybe with Atkinson at 10 next season Gloucester can get him the ball in some space?
Gareth Anscombe at 10
GA also plays full back.
9
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Re: Wasps update February 2024
« on: February 28, 2024, 03:08:13 PM »
WTF is Trigger's broom? I've heard of Occam's razor, Planck's constant, Pascal's wager and Pythagoras' theorem, but just what has Roy Rogers and Trigger got to do with it?
10
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Re: Wasps update February 2024
« on: February 27, 2024, 02:19:25 PM »
Latest from the BBC.
Wasps no longer considering temporary Sixways move as they pursue new stadium.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/68411809
Wasps no longer considering temporary Sixways move as they pursue new stadium.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/68411809
11
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Re: Wasps update February 2024
« on: February 26, 2024, 04:09:54 PM »Same here, Garruda, but it might help keep Wasps alive ..... and kicking. I'll probably have popped my clogs by then, but until then maybe not. So I'll just join the many far flung fans who love the club but can't get to see live matches.
Wonky, a (probably apocryphal) story about Leopold Stokowski, the great conductor. His contract came up for renewal and he insisted on a 20 year extension - he was 95
12
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Re: Wasps update February 2024
« on: February 26, 2024, 01:27:48 PM »
Win 10. Brave browser. Went straight to pledge which I signed.
13
Wasps Rugby Discussion / Re: Matteo Retiring at 27
« on: February 22, 2024, 02:20:13 PM »
His eye injury, though not I understand to be rugby related, would have been enough to put the wind up anyone.
14
Wasps Rugby Discussion / England A Squad
« on: February 15, 2024, 10:19:54 AM »
Quite a few ex Wasps.
Forwards
Fin Baxter (Harlequins)
Jamie Blamire (Newcastle Falcons, 7 caps)
Tarek Haffar (Northampton Saints)
Sam Riley (Harlequins)
Seb Blake (Gloucester)
Josh Iosefa Scott (Exeter Chiefs)
James Harper (Sale Sharks)
Nick Isiekwe (Saracens, 11 caps)
Arthur Clark (Gloucester)
Ben Bamber (Sale Sharks)
Rusiate Tuima (Exeter Chiefs)
Tom Pearson (Northampton Saints, 1 cap)
Guy Pepper (Newcastle Falcons)
Alfie Barbeary (Bath)
Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs)
Jack Clement (Gloucester)
Backs
Caolan Englefield (Gloucester)
Harry Randall (Bristol Bears, 2 caps)
Charlie Atkinson (Gloucester)
Jamie Shillcock (Leicester Tigers)
Oliver Sleightholme (Northampton Saints)
Oliver Hartley (Saracens)
Rekeiti Ma?asi-White (Sale Sharks)
Cadan Murley (Harlequins)
Ollie Hassell-Collins (Leicester Tigers, 2 caps)
Josh Hodge (Exeter Chiefs)
Sam Harris (Bath)
Forwards
Fin Baxter (Harlequins)
Jamie Blamire (Newcastle Falcons, 7 caps)
Tarek Haffar (Northampton Saints)
Sam Riley (Harlequins)
Seb Blake (Gloucester)
Josh Iosefa Scott (Exeter Chiefs)
James Harper (Sale Sharks)
Nick Isiekwe (Saracens, 11 caps)
Arthur Clark (Gloucester)
Ben Bamber (Sale Sharks)
Rusiate Tuima (Exeter Chiefs)
Tom Pearson (Northampton Saints, 1 cap)
Guy Pepper (Newcastle Falcons)
Alfie Barbeary (Bath)
Greg Fisilau (Exeter Chiefs)
Jack Clement (Gloucester)
Backs
Caolan Englefield (Gloucester)
Harry Randall (Bristol Bears, 2 caps)
Charlie Atkinson (Gloucester)
Jamie Shillcock (Leicester Tigers)
Oliver Sleightholme (Northampton Saints)
Oliver Hartley (Saracens)
Rekeiti Ma?asi-White (Sale Sharks)
Cadan Murley (Harlequins)
Ollie Hassell-Collins (Leicester Tigers, 2 caps)
Josh Hodge (Exeter Chiefs)
Sam Harris (Bath)