The Doc wrote: ↑April 3rd, 2023, 2:02 pm
Ultimately I think they have a choice to make - jeopardy in the group stage or have a last 16 knockout round.
Over the last 2 years the last 16 knockout has gone down well with TV - but to have 16 teams make the knockouts means (a) you have to have 24 group teams which means e.g. 8 out of 11 in England qualify for the senior comp or 8 out of 14 from the others and (b) 2/3 of the group teams make the knockouts. And there just aren't 24 teams in Europe who are that strong and that interested in the European Cup.
Personally I'd drop the the last 16 - go straight to QF - and reduce it to 18 teams. But suspect TV might win out
I guess it's not beyond them to change things again though.
If they had to go with the current number of weekends because there aren't enough slots in the calendar, I would have preferred:
- 8 groups of 3 with one team from each league, home and away ties, with only group winners qualifying from the pool stage.
- Home and away QFs instead of the last 16 ties. That would leave plenty of time for away fans to organise their trips, instead of the current nonsense. And the home/away format was one of the few EPCR innovations that was actually good.
FWIW, the dates EPCR announced ((on Friday afternoon in French) are:
8/9/10 December and 15/16/17 December - Pool Games;
12/13/14 January and 19/20/21 January - Pool Games
5/6/7 April - Round of 16 Knock-out
12/13/14 April -Quarter Finals Knock-out
3/4/5 May - Semi-finals
25th May - Final.
So absolutely no regard for comments of Clubs or fans. Same ol', same ol'.
Ruckedtobits wrote: ↑April 3rd, 2023, 7:21 pm
FWIW, the dates EPCR announced ((on Friday afternoon in French) are:
8/9/10 December and 15/16/17 December - Pool Games;
12/13/14 January and 19/20/21 January - Pool Games
5/6/7 April - Round of 16 Knock-out
12/13/14 April -Quarter Finals Knock-out
3/4/5 May - Semi-finals
25th May - Final.
So absolutely no regard for comments of Clubs or fans. Same ol', same ol'.
And what about all the rugby correspondents, who were hearing on the grapevine, that the competition was returning to the previous group format? Mugs...
Appreciate this sounds a bit “airplane fuel doesn’t melt steel beams” but….
Lot of English journos - Foy, Jones x2 - randomly saying that an Anglo Welsh must happen. Several recent S Jones articles have, for no obvious reason, gone off on major tangents on it.
Last time I recall a similar, random drumbeat was pre-EPCR takeover
Leinster jersey on the Great Wall of China.The Mongolians couldn't breach it but the Blues did!
blaker wrote: ↑April 3rd, 2023, 9:08 pm
Appreciate this sounds a bit “airplane fuel doesn’t melt steel beams” but….
Lot of English journos - Foy, Jones x2 - randomly saying that an Anglo Welsh must happen. Several recent S Jones articles have, for no obvious reason, gone off on major tangents on it.
Last time I recall a similar, random drumbeat was pre-EPCR takeover
The Welsh would take any offer the English suggest to them, glady and with giddy enthusiasm.
You know I'm going to lose,
And gambling's for fools,
But that's the way I like it baby, I don't want to live FOREVER!
blockhead wrote: ↑April 3rd, 2023, 9:32 pm
The Welsh would take any offer the English suggest to them, glady and with giddy enthusiasm.
I don't think they would. A lot of the welsh on social media would, but anyone actually involved in the professional game knows that doing so would be the death knell for Professional Rugby in Wales. It would end up like the Famous Fried Chicken League
blaker wrote: ↑April 3rd, 2023, 9:08 pm
Appreciate this sounds a bit “airplane fuel doesn’t melt steel beams” but….
Lot of English journos - Foy, Jones x2 - randomly saying that an Anglo Welsh must happen. Several recent S Jones articles have, for no obvious reason, gone off on major tangents on it.
Last time I recall a similar, random drumbeat was pre-EPCR takeover
Sounds like a win-win to me. The English get to weaken the URC, while buttressing the struggling Prem. The Welsh seem resigned to their regions never being able to compete against the Irish provinces or the Saffer franchises, so why go to all the travel hassle, if you're gonna get hockeyed anyway; throw in your lot with the Nigels and the players can be home in their own beds for a good night's sleep after another trashing the other side of Offa's Dyke.
blaker wrote: ↑April 3rd, 2023, 9:08 pm
Appreciate this sounds a bit “airplane fuel doesn’t melt steel beams” but….
Lot of English journos - Foy, Jones x2 - randomly saying that an Anglo Welsh must happen. Several recent S Jones articles have, for no obvious reason, gone off on major tangents on it.
Last time I recall a similar, random drumbeat was pre-EPCR takeover
The Welsh would take any offer the English suggest to them, glady and with giddy enthusiasm.
They (WRU) turned them down just over 20 years ago.
blockhead wrote: ↑April 3rd, 2023, 9:32 pm
The Welsh would take any offer the English suggest to them, glady and with giddy enthusiasm.
I don't think they would. A lot of the welsh on social media would, but anyone actually involved in the professional game knows that doing so would be the death knell for Professional Rugby in Wales. It would end up like the Famous Fried Chicken League
blaker wrote: ↑April 3rd, 2023, 9:08 pm
Appreciate this sounds a bit “airplane fuel doesn’t melt steel beams” but….
Lot of English journos - Foy, Jones x2 - randomly saying that an Anglo Welsh must happen. Several recent S Jones articles have, for no obvious reason, gone off on major tangents on it.
Last time I recall a similar, random drumbeat was pre-EPCR takeover
Sounds like a win-win to me. The English get to weaken the URC, while buttressing the struggling Prem. The Welsh seem resigned to their regions never being able to compete against the Irish provinces or the Saffer franchises, so why go to all the travel hassle, if you're gonna get hockeyed anyway; throw in your lot with the Nigels and the players can be home in their own beds for a good night's sleep after another trashing the other side of Offa's Dyke.
The prem is done as a financial behemoth, no matter what it does. But does the Welsh leaving weaken the URC? Geniune question as I'm not sure what they bring financially. I would rather they stayed but I'd imagine they'd just get replaced by more SA sides (Cheetahs, Pumas etc) and maybe look towards new markets (Georgia).
blaker wrote: ↑April 3rd, 2023, 9:08 pm
Appreciate this sounds a bit “airplane fuel doesn’t melt steel beams” but….
Lot of English journos - Foy, Jones x2 - randomly saying that an Anglo Welsh must happen. Several recent S Jones articles have, for no obvious reason, gone off on major tangents on it.
Last time I recall a similar, random drumbeat was pre-EPCR takeover
Sounds like a win-win to me. The English get to weaken the URC, while buttressing the struggling Prem. The Welsh seem resigned to their regions never being able to compete against the Irish provinces or the Saffer franchises, so why go to all the travel hassle, if you're gonna get hockeyed anyway; throw in your lot with the Nigels and the players can be home in their own beds for a good night's sleep after another trashing the other side of Offa's Dyke.
The prem is done as a financial behemoth, no matter what it does. But does the Welsh leaving weaken the URC? Geniune question as I'm not sure what they bring financially. I would rather they stayed but I'd imagine they'd just get replaced by more SA sides (Cheetahs, Pumas etc) and maybe look towards new markets (Georgia).
I'd prefer to keep the Welsh but they have too many teams to be competitive and they aren't adding much currently. They also get the league onto UK media which is good. Georgia don't offer a lot commercially and expansion into England or the US would probably make more sense. Or bring the league down to a number of teams where we can play home and away where you don't need a PhD in maths to understand the format.
The Premiership never really was or could be what it's owners thought it would become, a rugby version of the English premier soccer league. They have 2 choices with that, downscale it and cut their budgets which would make them even less competitive in Europe or roll in behind a European league or an expanded URC. Are the Dragons going to save rugby in England? Probably not.
tigerburnie wrote: ↑April 2nd, 2023, 2:23 pm
I doubt there will be a cup of any sort in the next few years, talk of a super league seems to be gathering pace, this could be one of the last it seems.
And who will be playing in this "super league"?
I don't know it's a friend of a friend kind of rumour, but Southern Hemisphere involvement with rugby played in the summer time in the Northern Hemisphere seems to be the way the talk is going.
Flash Gordon wrote: ↑April 4th, 2023, 2:22 pm
Or bring the league down to a number of teams where we can play home and away where you don't need a PhD in maths to understand the format.
We play Irish teams home and away and everyone else once. There's a single table.
It was more complicated before with conference nonsense, it's simple again.
Keith wrote:....and maybe look towards new markets (Georgia).
People keep mentioning Georgia like they've never looked at a map or an airline schedule
(Not specifically aimed at you btw)
Sent from my LE2123 using Tapatalk
It certainly would be an issue.
But I never thought I'd see SA sides play in our league... nor did I ever think that a team from Israel (Tel Aviv Heat) would play in a European competition and get accepted to join a South African competition. Or see an American club side (Coloroado Raptors) play in Chile, in a South American club comp etc etc. I can't rule out anything these days.
Flash Gordon wrote: ↑April 4th, 2023, 2:22 pm
Or bring the league down to a number of teams where we can play home and away where you don't need a PhD in maths to understand the format.
We play Irish teams home and away and everyone else once. There's a single table.
It was more complicated before with conference nonsense, it's simple again.
I agree on the conferences, I was more thinking about the Pro 12/Top 14 format, everyone plays each other home and away. Go with 4 Irish, 2 Italian, 2 Scots, 4 South African and 2 Welsh who play 26 games (like the Top 14).
Coming back to the Heineken cup, reducing it to 16 teams (6URC, 6 French, 4EPL) with 4 pools of 4 and pool winners to semi finals would allow the competition to complete in 8 weekends.
Could return to the back to back home and away matches in the middle of the pool matches block.
Should be less mismatches initially, although by not having QFs there's a fair risk that teams losing their first two matches lose interest.
