6 Nations round 5 - Wales v Italy

[inactionman]

Where's the money coming from?
I trhought Welsh rugby and the regions were skint?

I imagine the Welsh money comes from the same place as the SRU's money comes from - international rugby and the URC tv deals, but especially the internationals, which is why they usually put on an extra match during the Autumn.

We have the same problem in Scotland with the clubs trying to wrestle power and money from the professional game, totally blind to the fact that without the pro game the whole sport in Scotland would be dead beyond the private schools and their FP teams.

The problem is from the get go the regions were an abortion. Nobody supports these made up clubs and it's not changing anytime soon.
Utter madness

One thing I'm not sure on- are the new pro teams slowly changing 'character' to reflect the old amateur?

I ask as Ebbw Vale have sort of disappeared from the Dragons, which - despite shifting from Rodney Parade - are effectively the old Newport RFC.

Same to some extent for Cardiff (Pontypridd etc) and maybe even for Ospreys - Neath feels an afterthought.

I suppose what I'm wondering isn't whether someone who used to watch/still watches Llandovery play might not really want to watch Scarlets, but whether that view would be shared by Llanelli fans.

[Tichtheid]

Where's the money coming from?
I trhought Welsh rugby and the regions were skint?

I imagine the Welsh money comes from the same place as the SRU's money comes from - international rugby and the URC tv deals, but especially the internationals, which is why they usually put on an extra match during the Autumn.

We have the same problem in Scotland with the clubs trying to wrestle power and money from the professional game, totally blind to the fact that without the pro game the whole sport in Scotland would be dead beyond the private schools and their FP teams.

The problem is from the get go the regions were an abortion. Nobody supports these made up clubs and it's not changing anytime soon.
Utter madness

Similar in Scotland, whenever you see the question about why there isn't a professional team in the Borders in Scotland, the supposed heartland of Scottish rugby, you can answer that people from Hawick wouldn't travel to Galashiels to watch the Borders play Leinster In a game full of Scottish and Irish internationals when the Dubs' top players did travel for league games, there was huge disagreements about where the Borders should play and how could you afford to watch them on a Friday and Melrose etc on a Saturday?

However, the regions based on the old inter-district championship for Scottish professionalism was the right move, the clubs just have never accepted that reality.

[Rhubarb & Custard]

Warburton with a few thoughts on Welsh rugby

"I just think you've got to invest more in the pro game and then the interest will naturally come," said Warburton...........

"A lot of people won't like this but I just think it's true," he told the BBC's Rugby Union Daily podcast.

"It's the easy thing to say - they just moan about the fact there's grassroots clubs who can't put kids out and can't make teams - 'oh the WRU need to invest more in grassroots'. I completely disagree.

"Let's go Premier League football, if you look at them as businesses. If you said to Arsenal, where is the majority of your budget spent, it's on the first team. If you actually looked at their income it's on the first team. And yes of course you do community, of course you support grassroots.

"Everyone back home just goes 'oh we need more grassroots, we need to increase the pyramid'. No, you increase the pyramid by having something aspirational like kids want to chase.

"Having a successful national team, having successful regions, will generate much more interest in the game. So you need to invest money into your national team, into your regions."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/68594896

Where's the money coming from?
I trhought Welsh rugby and the regions were skint?

I assume from the way he's phrasing it by diverting community funding into the wages of the top tier players, even if those top tier players are nothing like top tier.

I tend to think differently on the pyramid to Warburton, but even if I concede his line of thought there why the interest will come naturally when it's barely come at all during the era of professionalism in Wales is a mystery

[inactionman]

Fuck's sake

This is not how it was supposed to have ended.

George North has confirmed he ruptured an Achilles tendon in his final Test appearance for Wales.

British and Irish Lions back North was carried off the field in the 79th minute of Wales' 24-21 home defeat against Italy last weekend.

With recovery times measured in months it is unlikely the 31-year-old will play again for Ospreys before joining French club Provence in the summer.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/68626695

[Uncle fester]

Fuck's sake

This is not how it was supposed to have ended.

George North has confirmed he ruptured an Achilles tendon in his final Test appearance for Wales.

British and Irish Lions back North was carried off the field in the 79th minute of Wales' 24-21 home defeat against Italy last weekend.

With recovery times measured in months it is unlikely the 31-year-old will play again for Ospreys before joining French club Provence in the summer.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/68626695

That's proper shit news for a great great player.

[Jim Lahey]

Really shit news.
Hope Provence don't try and bail on his contract.

[laurent]

Really shit news.
Hope Provence don't try and bail on his contract.

They can and probably will