Sabre-rattling from Premiership Rugby again ...

[johng]

If you insist on running off the comp "with unseemly haste" just after the 6n ..............

[fourthirtythree]

Cruden out? That's a shame for him.

In other news: obvious consequences are obvious. They'll blame: the ERC staff they rehired because they obviously can't do it; the salary cap; the lack of meritocracy in the Pro 12; the RFU; and the French (just a little bit).

[paddyor]

They're lucky it's 2 french in the final. Would have looked very bad if Saracens had made it and the place was still empty.....not enough freebies, their fans were stuck in buses, union control etc.

[Dexter]

They're lucky it's 2 french in the final. Would have looked very bad if Saracens had made it and the place was still empty.....not enough freebies, their fans were stuck in buses, union control etc.

There were vast empty areas in the Millenium last year as well, mainly upper tiers. They tried to avoid showing it on the camerawork.

[Vamos los azules]

That's what you get for putting TV money first and fans last. It was entirely predictable. Mind you rugby league have been perfectly happy following that business model and playing matches in half empty stadia once they get their hands on sky's cash so I don't see this lot being too bothered either.

[Dave Cahill]

I think they should give away loads of free tickets, make sure its a full house, with all the bar staff, policing etc a packed twickenham requires.

It'll cost a fortune to stage with no gate return and we still gots to get paid. Done properly this could cost PRL clubs a tidy sum.

[ratpack]

They're lucky it's 2 french in the final. Would have looked very bad if Saracens had made it and the place was still empty.....not enough freebies, their fans were stuck in buses, union control etc.

There were vast empty areas in the Millenium last year as well, mainly upper tiers. They tried to avoid showing it on the camerawork.

I also find it ironic that this final was originally supposed to be in Milan but the new overlords decided in their wisdom that the ERC had made a catastrophic mistake and rescheduled it for London! Now I'm no psychic but I'd wager that a final in the San Siro, given the two sides involved, would have attracted significantly more than 40,000!!

Still though at least we have meritocracy!

[simonokeeffe]

try not to laugh but Mark McCall has had a go at Ulster for wage inflation over the Pitau deal

[mikerob]

try not to laugh but Mark McCall has had a go at Ulster for wage inflation over the Pitau deal

He didn't .... The Belfast Telegraph interpreted his statement as having a go at Ulster purely as click bait IMO.

McCall was making a statement about Saracens not paying for marquee players as the PRL cap entitles them to do now. Given the state of their finances and their CEO departing, I wonder if they are in for some austerity?

[simonokeeffe]

try not to laugh but Mark McCall has had a go at Ulster for wage inflation over the Pitau deal

He didn't .... The Belfast Telegraph interpreted his statement as having a go at Ulster purely as click bait IMO.

McCall was making a statement about Saracens not paying for marquee players as the PRL cap entitles them to do now. Given the state of their finances and their CEO departing, I wonder if they are in for some austerity?

gah
thats ruined my fun now

[rooster]

I think they should give away loads of free tickets, make sure its a full house, with all the bar staff, policing etc a packed twickenham requires.

It'll cost a fortune to stage with no gate return and we still gots to get paid. Done properly this could cost PRL clubs a tidy sum.

I like your thinking Dave, but sure PRL clubs are used to losing money so it wouldn't be a shock to them

[Vamos los azules]

try not to laugh but Mark McCall has had a go at Ulster for wage inflation over the Pitau deal

He didn't .... The Belfast Telegraph interpreted his statement as having a go at Ulster purely as click bait IMO.

McCall was making a statement about Saracens not paying for marquee players as the PRL cap entitles them to do now. Given the state of their finances and their CEO departing, I wonder if they are in for some austerity?

I've seen announcements of contracts for Maro Itoje, George Kruis and Owen Farrell in the past few days and one would imagine all of them are due a pay rise given the progress they have made since they last signed one.

To be honest if I was Mark McCall I'd be far more concerned just at the moment with keeping all the promising English youngsters coming through. Not sure who is in charge of the Saracens academy but they are producing some seriously good players at the moment.

[paddyor]

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/a ... mpions-cup
From that kitson article McCall was quoted in

Everything is relative, though, and here was further proof that, depth-wise, English sides are still chasing the game.

The sport at elite club level is accelerating towards a new era of mass globalised appeal and, like it or not, the plucky underdog is becoming an endangered species.

Jesus wept, he f*ckin campaigned for this with all the "elite" b*llox!

[fourthirtythree]

I do love, and had noticed before, the BOD article they list under there headlined "Brian O’Driscoll: English salary cap will preserve dominance of French sides"

In it, when asked about the salary cap he actually says:

“I don’t know enough about it. I don’t know what it means to certain clubs. Certain clubs are being squeezed so the cap is there to save them. Unless you have a benefactor that comes in and is willing to make a loss, you’re in a bit of a tricky predicament."
“You’ve got to be careful what you do. The English utopia is that each club gets a Roman Abramovich and it’s their pet thing so they are able to extend salary caps and attract the better players. That married with the best of the English academy players coming through, of course they’d be competitive again. But it is going to be a money issue, absolutely. The game is going that way.”

Which is rather different. But we have come to expect that from the Grauniad.

[footrush]

Seriously, BW, you have not convinced one Irish rugby fan. Maybe it's time to call it a day.

The acronym BW being used for Bwasp, is doing one of our members a serious disservice.

Indeed, poor Broken Wing must wondering what he did to deserve such abuse!

Any sign of this poster yet ?, considering or impending Qtr final ?.

[domhnallj]

Didn't he spit his dummy out over the move from London?

[footrush]

[quote="domhnallj"]Didn't he spit his dummy out over the move from London?[/
Things have been so quiet in these parts .......

[Peg Leg]

The acronym BW being used for Bwasp, is doing one of our members a serious disservice.

Indeed, poor Broken Wing must wondering what he did to deserve such abuse!

Any sign of this poster yet ?, considering or impending Qtr final ?.

Thought he abandoned them when they upgraded to Coventry?

[footrush]

Indeed, poor Broken Wing must wondering what he did to deserve such abuse! [/quote]
Any sign of this poster yet ?, considering or impending Qtr final ?. [/quote]
Thought he abandoned them when they upgraded to Coventry?[/quote]
Things just aren't the same without him.

[blockhead]

Telegraph

Talk of Rugby exclusive: European governing body to move HQ from Neuchatel

Gavin Mairs, Rugby News Correspondent

10 January 2018 • 10:00pm

The governing body of the European Champions Cup has decided to move its headquarters out of the Swiss town of Neuchatel just three years after it was established, because of the travel demands the location has put on its staff and executives.

In a decision that draws into question the merits behind the original decision to move to such a remote location for what is supposed to be the biggest club rugby tournament in the world, European Professional Club Rugby is understood to be relocating to Lausanne.

Establishing a new headquarters in Neuchatel in 2015 had been intended to represent a new era for the competition after the former governing body, Dublin-based ERC, was wound up following a power struggle between the England and French clubs and the international Unions.

The location was thought to have been chosen by Jacques Pineau, the former Clermont chief executive, who had been appointed to assist with the establishment of the new governing body.

The more obvious locations of London or Paris were rejected because they were not regarded as “neutral” locations, given the bitterness of the dispute that led to the break-up of the ERC.

EPCR had enjoyed a warm welcome in Neuchatel, but the area has virtually no strong sporting links, and the hour-and-a-half journey by road or rail from Geneva is thought to have put too much of an added strain on the business of governing the tournaments, which also include the European Challenge Cup.

More central locations were ruled out because of the commitment that the existing staff had made to move to Neuchatel from Dublin. While the latest move is seen as a welcome one, to improve the operational running of the tournaments and the working lot of the staff, it leaves the original decision open to question.

Every member of the 20-strong staff is expected to move to the new location in Lausanne, which features a rapid transit system and is less than one hour from Geneva airport, ahead of the start of next season. Lausanne is home to the International Olympic Committee, the Court of Arbitration for Sport and a further 55 international sports associations.

It is expected that the new headquarters will be open in time to stage the draw for next season’s tournaments.