Pro14 is dead...

by No9 Sat 13 Apr 2019, 1:03 pm

First topic message reminder :

Well we are nearing the end of the normal season and going into the knock out stages, and thanks to Premier Sports I can know say with confidence that my earlier prediction has materialised and the day has killed the Pro14.

They promised 1 game on FreeSports every week. Well unless you follow Zebre or the Kings you’ve not had that game. The Ospreys have not had one game shown on FreeSports. As for free to air coverage on S4C that has also been hit or miss, with them banning the red button English cometary, and again covering games with little interest.

So , since the conception of the league, this is the first season I’ve not been able to follow with interest. No (little) live coverage of games, no magazine show I’ve been able to watch to keep up with the league. I’ve managed to get to minimum Ospreys home games this season, due to family commitments. Basically, only rugby I’ve been able to follow has been the 6 Nations.

Thanks, Pro14, you played a stormer selling out. Enjoy the cash injection it brought, as it won’t last...

furious

by Guest Fri 26 Apr 2019, 3:56 pm

That's the line you were fed when the rats were fleeing the sinking ship as the recession hit? Interesting, if warped, sense of nationalism there Collapse...

by Collapse2005 Fri 26 Apr 2019, 3:57 pm

miaow wrote:That's the line you were fed when the rats were fleeing the sinking ship as the recession hit? Interesting, if warped, sense of nationalism there Collapse...

God you come across as incredibly gullible.

by LeinsterFan4life Fri 26 Apr 2019, 3:58 pm

RugbyFan100 wrote:
LeinsterFan4life wrote:
Except for the fact I have actually posted on match threads, transfer rumours etc in regards to Leinster on here in the past like a normal fan unlike you.

Proved wrong yet again. Plenty more where these came from. You can believe what you like up in dream world though, makes no odds to me.

https://www.606v2.com/t67538-glasgow-warriors-vs-scarlets#3705808

https://www.606v2.com/t65750p50-steff-evans-cleared-to-play-in-pro12-final#3571026

https://www.606v2.com/t64353-cardiff-blues-v-scarlets-friday-28th-october-2016#3456073

https://www.606v2.com/t68035-epcr-champions-cup-pool-4-thread#3740712

https://www.606v2.com/t68221-glasgow-warriors-v-scarlets-saturday-1st-december#3759185

https://www.606v2.com/t68492-scarlets-coach-unhappy-with-pro14-medical-procedures

https://www.606v2.com/t67442-champions-cup-semi-finals#3698966

https://www.606v2.com/t65767p100-pro12-final-munster-v-scarlets-dublin-27-05-2017#3573292

I think you've actually talked about the Scarlets once here and that was to say Johnny McNicoll is not a 15 and how the other team should target him. Most of the other comments I see are just more negativity and barely anything about the squad or the game. How a fan of a great club like the Scarlets can be this negative is beyond me.

by Guest Fri 26 Apr 2019, 4:05 pm

Collapse2005 wrote:
miaow wrote:That's the line you were fed when the rats were fleeing the sinking ship as the recession hit? Interesting, if warped, sense of nationalism there Collapse...

God you come across as incredibly gullible.

You sound like you have no idea what you're on about. Ireland is used by businesses as a European hub to make vast amounts of money due to the tax laws. Its reckless approach to regulation, among other things, led it to requiring a huge bailout from the EU. Think they still owe something in the region of 50bn Euros, no?

That said, it still remains a place where businesses make a lot of money. Leinster is definitely benefitting from Dublin's rise as a financial hub - as is WR etc. Rugby - the classist sport that it is - is clearly seen as the aspirational sport in Dublin and its public schools, hence a rise in Leinster's success stemming from the academy system. It's all interlinked, of course, but you're playing dumb so there's little point persisting.

by marty2086 Fri 26 Apr 2019, 4:09 pm

miaow wrote: The travel to Italy/SA - not just for fans. It's an expensive thing for the clubs to do

Yet another example of just making stuff up, travel costs are subsidised

by Guest Fri 26 Apr 2019, 4:12 pm

Oh right, my mistake. They're not expensive then Rolling Eyes

by Collapse2005 Fri 26 Apr 2019, 5:42 pm

miaow wrote:
Collapse2005 wrote:
miaow wrote:That's the line you were fed when the rats were fleeing the sinking ship as the recession hit? Interesting, if warped, sense of nationalism there Collapse...

God you come across as incredibly gullible.

You sound like you have no idea what you're on about. Ireland is used by businesses as a European hub to make vast amounts of money due to the tax laws. Its reckless approach to regulation, among other things, led it to requiring a huge bailout from the EU. Think they still owe something in the region of 50bn Euros, no?

That said, it still remains a place where businesses make a lot of money. Leinster is definitely benefitting from Dublin's rise as a financial hub - as is WR etc. Rugby - the classist sport that it is - is clearly seen as the aspirational sport in Dublin and its public schools, hence a rise in Leinster's success stemming from the academy system. It's all interlinked, of course, but you're playing dumb so there's little point persisting.

Having favourable tax laws doesnt make country a tax haven. Go do some research on what a tax haven is and whether or not any competent economic authority has ever categorised Ireland as a tax haven before you accuse others of not knowing what they are talking about.

Recessions are inevitable, Irelands recovery to one of the strongest gdps per capita globally tells you all you need to know about whether or not economic policy and regulation in Ireland works well or not. Stick to the social justice fluff cause its clear you havent a clue about this topic.

picard

by Guest Fri 26 Apr 2019, 6:18 pm

Tax haven's tongue in cheek ya numpty. Lighten up. The fact you couldn't sense the tone of humour suggests you're the one with the lack of understanding.

Anyway, have a nice weekend everyone. Let's hope the Pro14 doesn't slip away in its sleep!

by **profitius** Fri 26 Apr 2019, 6:25 pm

Premier sports "blown away" by the amount of subscriptions. Well above what they hoped for.

by mikey_dragon Fri 26 Apr 2019, 8:25 pm

miaow wrote:As for Rugbyfan not posting about the Scarlets, we'v mostly all left and gone to ScarletFever to talk about the region. Because this site was full of trolls like mikey who loved coming on the threads, bending over, and projectile gushing their filth all over it.

Guess what - it ruins the forum. Certain posters should take the hint...

Interesting comment, somehow I'm responsible for Scarlets' fans leaving this forum? A number of Welsh posters left this forum because their coach, teams, and players were constantly targeted on here and the mods weren't doing anything about it; not to mention our match day threads being continuously ruined by the same posters barging in and constantly blaming the ref when Wales did anything good.

I'm not the only one to take issue with your posts on here, as well as your toy-throwing when someone disagrees with you. I actually took you off ignore after a long time because you were adding what I considered to be mostly good debate on the forum. You come across as very dull when you post comments like this, I suggest behaving like a grown man rather than the middle-aged woman who bitches about everyone in the office.

by Eejit Fri 26 Apr 2019, 8:40 pm

Personally I think Mikey is a great poster and he should absolutely stay thumbsup

by Eejit Fri 26 Apr 2019, 8:52 pm

Given the good league isn't playing tonight and have donated the treat of an all-dayer for us tomorrow on the world class Premier Sports, I decided to take the advice of some of the Pro14 bashers on this thread and tune in to the Gallagher Premiership this evening.

To say this is a better league than the Pro14 is objectively absolute rubbish. Sarries are awesome, Exeter have their moments too and both could compete throughout the season with the Pro14 team's far superior wider squads, but the rest really are horrible.

I feel dreadfully mislead by some posters here. warning

by marty2086 Fri 26 Apr 2019, 9:58 pm

Even Steve Diamond said he wouldn't pay to watch that tonight and he owns the bloody team

by mikey_dragon Sat 27 Apr 2019, 1:43 am

Eejit wrote:Personally I think Mikey is a great poster and he should absolutely stay

Thanks... but I think few would agree with you Wink

.

by The Great Aukster Sat 27 Apr 2019, 8:31 am

mikey_dragon wrote:
Eejit wrote:Personally I think Mikey is a great poster and he should absolutely stay

Thanks... but I think few would agree with you .

I agree! Two dimensional, paper thin, frayed at the edges and found plastered against some building site hoarding - isn't that what a great poster should be?

by The Great Aukster Sat 27 Apr 2019, 10:15 am

LordDowlais wrote:miaow, just to add to your post, Wales has over three times the amount of rugby clubs that Ireland have with half the population.

People in Wales cannot be in two places at once, nor can they afford to be in two places at once. If you think about it, we are not just talking about the fans, we are talking about people who are part of each club as well.

Players aside, you will have wives, daughters, sons, mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts, grandparents and volunteers who will all either go and watch their family or be part of the people organising the food or the kits and the what not.

Through all the age grades of each club, and the people playing, sometimes there must be at least 50+ people, perhaps more involved in each rugby club in Wales. Add all those people up, and that is three times the amount of people in Wales committed to rugby outside the regions, with half the population of Ireland.

These are people who would watch the regions on tele as well might I add, in the clubhouse or at home.

There are over three hundred rugby clubs in Wales, I would imagine that is a lot of people, there are currently 73,444 registered rugby players in Wales, and that is without all the people attached who are not playing. No wonder the regions cannot get huge crowds.

This is a key point LD. If the Club game is at odds with the Regions it is always going to be an uphill struggle - scheduling the games to clash means one has to suffer.
On the positive side, with more Welsh people involved in rugby per capita than the other Nations there is massive scope to improve if the Clubs and Regions sort out their differences.

by Pot Hale Sat 27 Apr 2019, 1:07 pm

marty2086 wrote:

PRO14 Rugby and Premier Sports are delighted to announce that the first season of their partnership has been highly-successful with subscriber figures ahead of projected targets.

As the Guinness PRO14 enters into the final round of the regular season Premier Sports have delivered on their promise to screen every minute of the action while also providing Free-To-Air access on FreeSports.

With the end stages of Guinness PRO14 season approaching ahead of the Final on May 25 in Glasgow, Premier Sports have reported unprecedented interest throughout the campaign with subscribers joining at a record pace setting an overall figure which has exceeded all expectations and forecasts.

Since kicking off their coverage of the Championship in August, Premier Sports have also added Autumn internationals and Under 18s Six Nations rugby to their package while they have also picked up top-tier football rights with Serie A, LaLiga, Scottish Cup, MLS and Eredivisie all available to customers.

Premier Sports have raised the game for Guinness PRO14 fans this season with their delivery of:
•Dedicated highlights programme with 17-minute edits of each game available every Sunday
•The PRO14 Hour, co-produced with eir sport, has provided fans with a dedicated magazine and review show on Wednesday nights
•The Premier Player app and desktop site has allowed supporters to watch games on their terms

Martin Anayi, PRO14 Rugby CEO, said: “From the very beginning we knew that Premier Sports understood our vision for what the Guinness PRO14 should be and their commitment to delivering every game live has been rewarded by the interest from supporters all across the UK.

“The production standards have been raised across the board with dedicated pre and post-match analysis from players and coaches who know what it takes to win at the highest level. Our clubs are now getting more consistent exposure and interest in the Championship continues to rise.

“To see Premier Sports adding properties such as LaLiga and Serie A is a welcome boost and it’s terrific to see stars of the Guinness PRO14 billboarded alongside faces like Ronaldo and Messi. The competition in our Championship this season has been really intense and with tries being scored in record numbers it’s great that whether our fans our watching live, on-demand or checking out the highlights programming they’ll never miss a score.”

Richard Sweeney, CEO of Premier Sports said: “We’ve been blown away about the partnership we’ve built with Guinness PRO14 in our first season both in terms of our coverage and by the growth of our customer base, with subscriptions ahead of target. We are pleased to be working closely with a world-class production team at Sunset+Vine with the expertise and know-how required to deliver high quality live coverage of seven games every weekend throughout the Championship.

“We’ve brought together great rugby talent across Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for our coverage, believing that if you invest in the right people, you show you’re really serious about providing rugby coverage that customers enjoy.

“We’ve had great feedback from the clubs, PRO14 Rugby and supporters this season, particularly around the opportunity to access so much rugby action, all in one place. Never before has the Guinness PRO14 had such comprehensive coverage and a platform to show every game live.”

Premier Sports coverage of the Guinness PRO14 has been powered by the production expertise of Sunset+Vine who have assembled an incredible on-air cast of 20-plus experienced commentators and presenters – bringing together some of the brightest broadcast talent and former players and coaches with international pedigree.

Across Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland the likes of Ross Harries, Dougie Vipond and Graham Little have been joined by headliners and giants of the game such as Sam Warburton, Shane Williams, Martyn Williams, Doddie Weir, Al Kellock, Chris Paterson, Jim Hamilton, Stephen Ferris and Andrew Trimble. They are joined by accomplished and respected guests, commentators and reporters Sean Holley, Eddie Butler, Rory Lawson, Emma Dodds, Rory Hamilton, Mark Robson, Wyn Gruffydd and Lauren Jenkins.

Premier Sports customers have also enjoyed some star-studded guest appearances during their PRO14 coverage this season including pitchside inside track from current and retired players including Jamie Roberts, John Barclay, Ed Jackson, Peter Stringer, Stuart Hogg, Tom Shanklin and Scott Hastings.

Premier Sports is available for £9.99 per month, but every weekend its sister channel FreeSports broadcasts a live game FREE from the Guinness PRO14 with audiences of more than 35,000 tuning to Free Sports for key games.

The “on-the-go” Premier Player has also been a hit with subscribers who can see all of the action from Premier Sports live or on-demand via their iOS and Android apps or by simply logging onto premierplayer.tv directly on their Smart TV’s or Chromecasting.

That all sounds very positive - good to see that it's working out for them, even with providing free to air coverage each week.

by Guest Sat 27 Apr 2019, 1:20 pm

New goal kick technolgy being trialed today at the Principality Stadium for the Pro14 matches. ‘Goal-light technology’ makes the goal post light up green for a score or red for a miss. Seems a bit pointless but good that we’re involved in something progressive and innovative.

by Collapse2005 Sat 27 Apr 2019, 1:33 pm

I like the idea.

by Guest Sat 27 Apr 2019, 2:10 pm

Fairly certain it's been used in Super Rugby this season as well. Bit gimicky tbh and, inevitably, it'll go 'wrong' at some point.

I also dislike the idea that the top level of the game is practically doing away with a facet of adjudication on a human level. It's not really the same as the TMO, having 'eyes' where human eyes cannot be. It might be only a minor refereeing 'skill' to judge whether the ball's gone between the posts or not, but it seems an important one to have rather than relying on technology.

Not overly against it per se but, inevitably, it'll have issues with it - something the slow march towards AI seems to deem fine.

by Guest Sat 27 Apr 2019, 4:45 pm

miaow wrote:Fairly certain it's been used in Super Rugby this season as well. Bit gimicky tbh and, inevitably, it'll go 'wrong' at some point.

I also dislike the idea that the top level of the game is practically doing away with a facet of adjudication on a human level. It's not really the same as the TMO, having 'eyes' where human eyes cannot be. It might be only a minor refereeing 'skill' to judge whether the ball's gone between the posts or not, but it seems an important one to have rather than relying on technology.

Not overly against it per se but, inevitably, it'll have issues with it - something the slow march towards AI seems to deem fine.

Only trialed in 7s so far apparently. The company is owned/run by a former classmate of Jamie Roberts, so I’m guessing he’s local to Cardiff and hence the PS getting a trial.

What will be funny, given this site and threads like this one, is if the Scarlets miss out on the play offs or Champions Cup rugby or something because of an error with the technology and a couple of points from a perfectly good conversion were not awarded! Just imagine!

by Guest Sat 27 Apr 2019, 4:58 pm

Definitely seen it in Super Rugby.

Yeah, Patchell's drop goal was over...honest...!

As for the league, with something of a shock/strange result happening in this game the staggered games can most definitely be 'fixed' should 'home country rules' come in to play.

Despite not winning, the Scarlets are currently 3rd in the table, with superior points difference over Benneton (level on 52 overall) and Edinburgh (superior by 1 point, on 51).

Let's take it as read that Benneton win and make the play-offs. You're then left with a fight between Edin and Scarlets for that play-off place.

Glasgow can still beat Edinburgh yet 'let' Edinburgh get within 7 points, scoring 4 tries, to give their countrymen a play off place for Europe with 2 losing bonus points.

by Guest Sat 27 Apr 2019, 5:28 pm

I just don’t think that sort of thing happens personally, Miaow. As much as on paper any team could throw a game, I just can’t see a union actually asking a team to lose and all of the players and coaches agreeing and buying into it and doing as told. Too much pride, morals, etc. collectively I reckon. Might be more likely in an individual sport like boxing maybe. Plus, it would have come out by now from a coach or player who has moved on to another team. They’d eventually spill the beans about being asked to throw a game to make sure their fellow clubs got through into play offs or Europe. They’d be able to write a book about it and cash in!

Not a plausible conspiracy theory for me.

by Guest Sat 27 Apr 2019, 5:34 pm

Obviously. They're not going to get the head of the SRU or whatever coming in the dressing rooms at half-time. "Och, laddies, go easy on each other, it's only a 2 point game...let's keep it that way."

Sometimes it's an unspoken thing. It doesn't have to be Italian football-level fixing to still be 'influenced' by knowing you need a certain result in the game to get the desired result in the league.

by Guest Sat 27 Apr 2019, 6:40 pm

Still not convinced that teams of the same nation are so close and loyal to each other that they’d be willing to do the unthinkable for each other, whether unspoken or not.

by Guest Sat 27 Apr 2019, 7:11 pm

It's also a case of Glasgow knowing EXACTLY what they need etc. So instead of going for a 4th try with a 3 points lead and 3 tries scored, maybe they go for 3 points from a kick etc. But anyway, it opens the door for this possibility - even if, I agree, outright fixing games is unlikely to happen.

by geoff999rugby Sun 28 Apr 2019, 10:34 am

miaow wrote:
Collapse2005 wrote:
miaow wrote:That's the line you were fed when the rats were fleeing the sinking ship as the recession hit? Interesting, if warped, sense of nationalism there Collapse...

God you come across as incredibly gullible.

You sound like you have no idea what you're on about. Ireland is used by businesses as a European hub to make vast amounts of money due to the tax laws. Its reckless approach to regulation, among other things, led it to requiring a huge bailout from the EU. Think they still owe something in the region of 50bn Euros, no?

That said, it still remains a place where businesses make a lot of money. Leinster is definitely benefitting from Dublin's rise as a financial hub - as is WR etc. Rugby - the classist sport that it is - is clearly seen as the aspirational sport in Dublin and its public schools, hence a rise in Leinster's success stemming from the academy system. It's all interlinked, of course, but you're playing dumb so there's little point persisting.

It was a Loan not a bailout - which is being paid back in full and in some cases ahead of schedule

UK has a debt as a % of GDP of 86.80%, for Ireland it is 64.80%
UK has a budget deficit of 1,5% a year, Ireland has no budget deficit, and is running a slight surplus

Ireland has its finances under control, the UK doesn't

by SecretFly Sun 28 Apr 2019, 1:49 pm

Oh this is the Pro14 Financial Times supplement? Oh right. I was just looking for the Pro14 crossword. They're usually quite good.

1 Across: To be a Welsh snivelling git (4 letters) - *un*
7 Down: To be an Irish moaning asswhole (6 letter) - **l**x

I just need those two to win top prize... a season ticket for the Gallagher Premiership!

by Recwatcher16 Sun 28 Apr 2019, 6:42 pm

geoff999rugby wrote:
miaow wrote:
Collapse2005 wrote:
miaow wrote:That's the line you were fed when the rats were fleeing the sinking ship as the recession hit? Interesting, if warped, sense of nationalism there Collapse...

God you come across as incredibly gullible.

You sound like you have no idea what you're on about. Ireland is used by businesses as a European hub to make vast amounts of money due to the tax laws. Its reckless approach to regulation, among other things, led it to requiring a huge bailout from the EU. Think they still owe something in the region of 50bn Euros, no?

That said, it still remains a place where businesses make a lot of money. Leinster is definitely benefitting from Dublin's rise as a financial hub - as is WR etc. Rugby - the classist sport that it is - is clearly seen as the aspirational sport in Dublin and its public schools, hence a rise in Leinster's success stemming from the academy system. It's all interlinked, of course, but you're playing dumb so there's little point persisting.

It was a Loan not a bailout - which is being paid back in full and in some cases ahead of schedule

UK has a debt as a % of GDP of 86.80%, for Ireland it is 64.80%
UK has a budget deficit of 1,5% a year, Ireland has no budget deficit, and is running a slight surplus

Ireland has its finances under control, the UK doesn't

Some reading for those in Ireland who don't have the first clue on what is going on. The Irish financial authority is completely out of its depth and once Brexit (unfortunately) happens the Irish will be at the mercy of the French. Interesting times.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/04/25/ireland-is-tax-haven-thats-becoming-controversial-home/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.b17515f47f36

by Collapse2005 Sun 28 Apr 2019, 11:17 pm

Not sure how you conclude from that article that "the Irish Regulator" as you call them, is out of their depth, or the Central Bank of Ireland as they are more commonly known?

Have you ever asked yourself why articles like this appear in US papers where Ireland attracts some of their largest multinationals to set up in Ireland and pay tax in Ireland rather than the US?

Its all down to the fact that the US isn't benefiting as much as they might in terms of taxation re these large companies than they could. Aside from that they aren't remotely interested in the morals of a lower corporate tax rate. Some people are so naive.

What those articles dont tell you is that multinationals based in the US (not Ireland) also benefit from completely legitimate US tax laws to pay very low tax bills equivalent to what they might pay in Ireland.

by marty2086 Mon 29 Apr 2019, 9:23 am

The UK would never allow something like that to happen

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/vodafones-84bn-tax-avoidance-bonanza-nothing-for-taxpayers-in-verizon-deal-while-bankers-share-500m-8794169.html

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-1704527/Taxman-let-Vodafone-off-6bn-bill.html

by Collapse2005 Mon 29 Apr 2019, 9:35 am

Or how about the fact that the UK banking industry is built on illicit money from Russia and the Middle East:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/audio/2019/mar/06/super-yachts-and-private-schools-tracing-the-russian-money-troika-laundromat

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/uk/banking-leak-exposes-russian-network-with-links-to-prince-charles-charity-1.3813901

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/may/25/how-britain-let-russia-hide-its-dirty-money

Ireland sets its own tax rules and thats immoral however, the UK will literally take money from anywhere regardless of the legitimacy of its origins and thats ok? Lol.

by carpet baboon Mon 29 Apr 2019, 1:10 pm

You have to remember recwatcher has some axe to grind against the pro14 and Ireland in particular it seems.
I think he may be mates with Bruce ( we cheated the cap and still won nothing) Craig.

by RugbyFan100 Mon 29 Apr 2019, 1:16 pm

carpet baboon wrote:You have to remember recwatcher has some axe to grind against the pro14 and Ireland in particular it seems.
I think he may be mates with Bruce ( we cheated the cap and still won nothing) Craig.

Everybody who disagrees with you seems to have an axe to grind.

by marty2086 Mon 29 Apr 2019, 1:21 pm

RugbyFan100 wrote:
carpet baboon wrote:You have to remember recwatcher has some axe to grind against the pro14 and Ireland in particular it seems.
I think he may be mates with Bruce ( we cheated the cap and still won nothing) Craig.

Everybody who disagrees with you seems to have an axe to grind.

Well it's clear you do given the number of posts that are just flat out lies

by maestegmafia Mon 29 Apr 2019, 1:37 pm

How about stopping acusing someone of lying or having a grudge and rather finding it within you to post a reply that verifies your point in a considered and non offensive way guys?

by marty2086 Mon 29 Apr 2019, 1:39 pm

maestegmafia wrote:How about stopping acusing someone of lying or having a grudge and rather finding it within you to post a reply that verifies your point in a considered and non offensive way guys?

I've already done that previously on numerous occasions

by maestegmafia Mon 29 Apr 2019, 1:42 pm

marty2086 wrote:
maestegmafia wrote:How about stopping acusing someone of lying or having a grudge and rather finding it within you to post a reply that verifies your point in a considered and non offensive way guys?

I've already done that previously on numerous occasions

No one asked you to stop did they..!

by marty2086 Mon 29 Apr 2019, 1:43 pm

maestegmafia wrote:
marty2086 wrote:
maestegmafia wrote:How about stopping acusing someone of lying or having a grudge and rather finding it within you to post a reply that verifies your point in a considered and non offensive way guys?

I've already done that previously on numerous occasions

No one asked you to stop did they..!

No said anyone did Rolling Eyes

by Guest Mon 29 Apr 2019, 6:58 pm

A post from ScarletFever. Give it as much heed as you want but there are some points about the timing of Judgement Day that definitely ring true for me. Last day of the season derbies - let alone the Millennium showpiece event - is a bad idea.

Just read crowd down from 63 ,338 to 51,297
drop of 12,041
Why the drop?
1) The people I spoke to say theres loads of people back and forth to the bar all the time and spilling drinks and standing up blocking the view and generally ruining the experience
2) regional season has been mediocre at best
3) The fact regions arent on terrestrial tv anymore means millions fewer get access to see them and that massive loss of exposure seems to have hit crowds and interest
4) The judgement day is too late in the season, its the latest Easter I can recall almost in May
Id have 2 judgement days. In the first few weeks of season and whistun holidays
5) the welsh team won the grand slam but a lot of turgid rugby was played. The hugely inhibited way Wales played seems to have stunted the running game of star players like foxy, gareth davies, North , parkes etc

by LeinsterFan4life Mon 29 Apr 2019, 8:30 pm

miaow wrote:A post from ScarletFever. Give it as much heed as you want but there are some points about the timing of Judgement Day that definitely ring true for me. Last day of the season derbies - let alone the Millennium showpiece event - is a bad idea.

Just read crowd down from 63 ,338 to 51,297
drop of 12,041
Why the drop?
1) The people I spoke to say theres loads of people back and forth to the bar all the time and spilling drinks and standing up blocking the view and generally ruining the experience
2) regional season has been mediocre at best
3) The fact regions arent on terrestrial tv anymore means millions fewer get access to see them and that massive loss of exposure seems to have hit crowds and interest
4) The judgement day is too late in the season, its the latest Easter I can recall almost in May
Id have 2 judgement days. In the first few weeks of season and whistun holidays
5) the welsh team won the grand slam but a lot of turgid rugby was played. The hugely inhibited way Wales played seems to have stunted the running game of star players like foxy, gareth davies, North , parkes etc

63338 is an exceptional crowd for this fixture, there is no way they can keep that up every season as the novelty of the fixture wears off. Leinster's game against Munster in the Aviva every season experiences the same fluctuation with the attendance. Does everything have to be a negative with you guys... 51k is still a good number given the poor performances of the regions,

by marty2086 Mon 29 Apr 2019, 8:47 pm

miaow wrote:A post from ScarletFever. Give it as much heed as you want but there are some points about the timing of Judgement Day that definitely ring true for me. Last day of the season derbies - let alone the Millennium showpiece event - is a bad idea.

Just read crowd down from 63 ,338 to 51,297
drop of 12,041
Why the drop?
1) The people I spoke to say theres loads of people back and forth to the bar all the time and spilling drinks and standing up blocking the view and generally ruining the experience
2) regional season has been mediocre at best
3) The fact regions arent on terrestrial tv anymore means millions fewer get access to see them and that massive loss of exposure seems to have hit crowds and interest
4) The judgement day is too late in the season, its the latest Easter I can recall almost in May
Id have 2 judgement days. In the first few weeks of season and whistun holidays
5) the welsh team won the grand slam but a lot of turgid rugby was played. The hugely inhibited way Wales played seems to have stunted the running game of star players like foxy, gareth davies, North , parkes etc

If 2, 3 or 5 were factors then why are the total and averages up across the rest of the season?

Given that there was really little to play for for the regions given that only Scarlets could get a play off place and that required Zebre to beat Benetton it wasn't likely to happen.

by Guest Mon 29 Apr 2019, 9:31 pm

LeinsterFan4life wrote:
miaow wrote:A post from ScarletFever. Give it as much heed as you want but there are some points about the timing of Judgement Day that definitely ring true for me. Last day of the season derbies - let alone the Millennium showpiece event - is a bad idea.

Just read crowd down from 63 ,338 to 51,297
drop of 12,041
Why the drop?
1) The people I spoke to say theres loads of people back and forth to the bar all the time and spilling drinks and standing up blocking the view and generally ruining the experience
2) regional season has been mediocre at best
3) The fact regions arent on terrestrial tv anymore means millions fewer get access to see them and that massive loss of exposure seems to have hit crowds and interest
4) The judgement day is too late in the season, its the latest Easter I can recall almost in May
Id have 2 judgement days. In the first few weeks of season and whistun holidays
5) the welsh team won the grand slam but a lot of turgid rugby was played. The hugely inhibited way Wales played seems to have stunted the running game of star players like foxy, gareth davies, North , parkes etc
63338 is an exceptional crowd for this fixture, there is no way they can keep that up every season as the novelty of the fixture wears off. Leinster's game against Munster in the Aviva every season experiences the same fluctuation with the attendance. Does everything have to be a negative with you guys... 51k is still a good number given the poor performances of the regions,

Novelty? It's in its 7th year in all fairness...

It's not about it being all positive or all negative. Playing derbies on the last game of the season is slightly stupid. Not playing derbies at traditional Xmas/NY times is ridiculously stupid. Hosting Judgement Day on the last game of the season is also stupid. These are all stupid decisions - negatives, if you will - that take nothing away from supporting the regions, or playing, coaching for them as well etc. Given the state of Welsh rugby - clubs folding all over the place, the regions/Ospreys under threat because they're unfunded, in a RWC year the WRU needs to make as much money as possible - so those 10-15k seats that could be made up (normal fluctuation apparently) could end up being costly to someone, and some club, shortly down the line.

Having had to entertain the notion that 'the WRU insists on Judgement Day being on the last day of the season', and that's to blame for the league fixtures ensuring the game round of games are all intra-national derbies, is a reallly weird one - but scroll back in this thread and you'll see it suggested, plain as day! There's plenty of Irish ambivalence around the leagues' issues - no doubt because they're the most competitive nation in it and have seen their domestic rugby flourish. It results in 'stop whinging' comments that reveal the fact you don't really care about the tournament's issues - it's success (and Welsh jealousy of it) that really matters. Bleurgh. I'd rather be negative than dishonest.

Until the league is every team plays every other team home and away, it's fundamentally flawed. You start adding all the other (aforementioned, not point dragging it back up now) problems and there's more than enough reason to take issue with it. Again, these are problems that are totally separate from how useless the Scarlets have been this season.

by Guest Mon 29 Apr 2019, 9:32 pm

marty2086 wrote:If 2, 3 or 5 were factors then why are the total and averages up across the rest of the season?

Given that there was really little to play for for the regions given that only Scarlets could get a play off place and that required Zebre to beat Benetton it wasn't likely to happen.

marty, you're embarrassing yourself now. have a lie down and stop pretending to understand welsh rugby.

by LeinsterFan4life Mon 29 Apr 2019, 9:38 pm

miaow wrote:
LeinsterFan4life wrote:
miaow wrote:A post from ScarletFever. Give it as much heed as you want but there are some points about the timing of Judgement Day that definitely ring true for me. Last day of the season derbies - let alone the Millennium showpiece event - is a bad idea.

Just read crowd down from 63 ,338 to 51,297
drop of 12,041
Why the drop?
1) The people I spoke to say theres loads of people back and forth to the bar all the time and spilling drinks and standing up blocking the view and generally ruining the experience
2) regional season has been mediocre at best
3) The fact regions arent on terrestrial tv anymore means millions fewer get access to see them and that massive loss of exposure seems to have hit crowds and interest
4) The judgement day is too late in the season, its the latest Easter I can recall almost in May
Id have 2 judgement days. In the first few weeks of season and whistun holidays
5) the welsh team won the grand slam but a lot of turgid rugby was played. The hugely inhibited way Wales played seems to have stunted the running game of star players like foxy, gareth davies, North , parkes etc
63338 is an exceptional crowd for this fixture, there is no way they can keep that up every season as the novelty of the fixture wears off. Leinster's game against Munster in the Aviva every season experiences the same fluctuation with the attendance. Does everything have to be a negative with you guys... 51k is still a good number given the poor performances of the regions,

Novelty? It's in its 7th year in all fairness...

Not sure what you're trying to say here?

by Guest Mon 29 Apr 2019, 9:45 pm

The novelty would surely have worn off a bit sooner? Say after the 3rd or 4th year? Or does the novelty factor only come in to play when the attendance starts to dip/after 6 years?

(cba arguing this point, not a hill I want to die on)

by LeinsterFan4life Mon 29 Apr 2019, 9:49 pm

miaow wrote:The novelty would surely have worn off a bit sooner? Say after the 3rd or 4th year? Or does the novelty factor only come in to play when the attendance starts to dip/after 6 years?

(cba arguing this point, not a hill I want to die on)

It's hard to say when it dies off or if it is even dying off yet, 3 or 4 is very early I would think. Anyway like I said the attendance will fluctuate like most big fixtures in club rugby. 51K is still a good number, no need to panic.

by Guest Mon 29 Apr 2019, 9:56 pm

I know, but I edited my comment above and there are reasons why Irish fans might see no issue, whereas for Wales/Welsh rugby it's very reasonable to panic/worry/implode.

by marty2086 Mon 29 Apr 2019, 10:27 pm

miaow wrote:
marty2086 wrote:If 2, 3 or 5 were factors then why are the total and averages up across the rest of the season?

Given that there was really little to play for for the regions given that only Scarlets could get a play off place and that required Zebre to beat Benetton it wasn't likely to happen.

marty, you're embarrassing yourself now. have a lie down and stop pretending to understand welsh rugby.

There you go being obnoxious, I raised valid points and instead of addressing them you attempt to belittle me, since you are so clued in maybe you can explain what exactly they had to play for?

by Guest Tue 30 Apr 2019, 12:05 am

Europe x3...

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