14 team Pro 12 from 2017/2018??

CIARAN_BOYLE

I had heard rumours of two S.A. teams joining the pro 12 but I had assumed we would be looking at 18/19 or 19/20 as a start date.

BBC is claiming it will start this season.

Getting a long haul airline partner to cover the cost of all teams travel must be crucial.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/40448854

fbse90

Please no.

sioda

Turkish fly to Port Elizabeth in partnership with comair and have already sponsored the ERC

Shefwedfan

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

I had heard rumours of two S.A. teams joining the pro 12 but I had assumed we would be looking at 18/19 or 19/20 as a start date.

BBC is claiming it will start this season.

Getting a long haul airline partner to cover the cost of all teams travel must be crucial.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/40448854

Excellent idea. Hopefully will bring some additional revenue into the League.

A couple of trips down to SA will be called for as well :P

Riskymove

already being discussed in the Pro12 thread

Shefwedfan

sioda wrote: »

Turkish fly to Port Elizabeth in partnership with comair and have already sponsored the ERC

Port Elizabeth was ok, the bit I looked at anyway....

Never made it as far as Bloemfontein

thebaz

great idea - the tournament needs a bit more tough competition

Quin_Dub

thebaz wrote: »

great idea - the tournament needs a bit more tough competition

Which they won't get from the Cheetahs or the Southern Kings...

turnikett1

Quin_Dub wrote: »

Which they won't get from the Cheetahs or the Southern Kings...

I don't watch a whole lot of SR. Who are they comparable to - Edinburgh, Cardiff? Zebre!?

irishbucsfan

turnikett1 wrote: »

I don't watch a whole lot of SR. Who are they comparable to - Edinburgh, Cardiff? Zebre!?

The Southern Kings would be comparable to Zebre in the number of games they've won in Super Rugby I guess.

The Cheetas are somewhat better.

Its impossible to say though, the teams could be far stronger or far weaker.

Quin_Dub

irishbucsfan wrote: »

The Southern Kings would be comparable to Zebre in the number of games they've won in Super Rugby I guess.

The Cheetas are somewhat better.

Its impossible to say though, the teams could be far stronger or far weaker.

Given that neither side has any Bok internationals of note on their books I think we can make some educated guesses..

Also - Can't imagine they'll love a January fixture in the Sportsgrounds all that much!!!

connemara man

Quin_Dub wrote: »

Given that neither side has any Bok internationals of note on their books I think we can make some educated guesses..

Also - Can't imagine they'll love a January fixture in the Sportsgrounds all that much!!!

And their better players are getting contracts with the remaining s15 clubs

irishman86

Quin_Dub wrote: »

Given that neither side has any Bok internationals of note on their books I think we can make some educated guesses..

Also - Can't imagine they'll love a January fixture in the Sportsgrounds all that much!!!

They could easily get some of the guys in the NH though. Im excited about the prospect, I would rather a team from Canada/USA though

Neil3030

Quin_Dub wrote: »

Given that neither side has any Bok internationals of note on their books I think we can make some educated guesses..

Also - Can't imagine they'll love a January fixture in the Sportsgrounds all that much!!!

Pro12 will most likely be a step down for them, relative to the teams they usually play. Though they will also lose some players with this overhaul of the league. So I'd say it's reasonable to assume somewhere in the Dragons territory, with possible upside.

thebaz

Quin_Dub wrote: »

Which they won't get from the Cheetahs or the Southern Kings...

well, lets just wait and see - SA rugby is in the doldrums , but has good depth , I'd be very surprised if either team is as weak Zebre - The Pro 12 certainly lacks depth, needs more competition or something to give it more value.

CatFromHue

26 games in the Pro14 + 6 European games = a 32 game regular season for 12 of the clubs :eek:

Bernard Jackman will be lacing his boots up come the end of the Dragons season!

sydthebeat

I see the southern kings beat the jaguares in Argentina last night, 30-31.

If this is happening and they kept their players, both teams could turn out to be quite useful in the league.

bilston

sydthebeat wrote: »

I see the southern kings beat the jaguares in Argentina last night, 30-31.

If this is happening and they kept their players, both teams could turn out to be quite useful in the league.

Hopefully.

Let's look at it in reverse, if Leinster The Scarlets and Munster were in Super Rugby, where would they finish?

I've been reading comparisons between the Kings and Zebre. I just don't buy that at all.

I asked the question yesterday and I think it was Buer who responded saying the two SA sides would challenge for the Play Offs. That seems about right to me.

irishbucsfan

bilston wrote: »

I've been reading comparisons between the Kings and Zebre. I just don't buy that at all.

Because the Kings have only ever won 6 games in Super Rugby

ThisRegard

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Because the Kings have only ever won 6 games in Super Rugby

But would that be a reflection on the quality of the other teams, i.e. more competitive than many of the Pro 12 teams?

irishbucsfan

ThisRegard wrote: »

But would that be a reflection on the quality of the other teams, i.e. more competitive than many of the Pro 12 teams?

Probably a bit of both. Not a single Springbok there though as far as I know

pickarooney

Kings haven't been in SR all that often.

Shefwedfan

Dont see why people are so down on this? With the addition of SA teams it means more money will be injected into the league.

The Italian have done nothing and bringing nothing to the league. At least the Welsh have started to pull themselves together as well

With the amount of talent in SA they are bound to be able to pull together a decent team, better than anything the Italians have put together so far

pickarooney

I suppose if any of them are any use they might defect to Limerick, so there is that.

bilston

irishbucsfan wrote: »

bilston wrote: »

I've been reading comparisons between the Kings and Zebre. I just don't buy that at all.

Because the Kings have only ever won 6 games in Super Rugby

7 wins now IBF!

But the obvious point is that Super Rugby is much stronger than the Pro 12.

matthew8

bilston wrote: »

7 wins now IBF!

But the obvious point is that Super Rugby is much stronger than the Pro 12.

The New Zealand sides are much stronger than the Pro 12, the rest of the tournament wouldn't be much stronger if at all. Kings have only got their wins this year due to an easy schedule. There's no way they're as bad as Zebre, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were no better than the likes of Edinburgh.

swiwi_

A bit like a Kiwi heading to Oz to live raises the IQ of both countries, this could be a win-win I suppose. Super Rugby is bloated and these 2 teams are cannon fodder more often than not. But they could be better value than the cellar dwellers of the Pro 12.

Would they be eligible for Champions Cup if they finish high enough??

CIARAN_BOYLE

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Because the Kings have only ever won 6 games in Super Rugby

I'd guess the two South African teams might finish between 6th and 0th in a 14 team league.

CatFromHue

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Dont see why people are so down on this? With the addition of SA teams it means more money will be injected into the league.

The Italian have done nothing and bringing nothing to the league. At least the Welsh have started to pull themselves together as well

With the amount of talent in SA they are bound to be able to pull together a decent team, better than anything the Italians have put together so far

They'll be better than the Italians but will probably be just mid table teams.

The league doesn't need anymore mid or lower table teams, we have enough of them as it is.

I'm not sure how much more TV money they'll bring in either.

Then you add in the lengthing of the regular season and it's bad for the quality of the league.

Neil3030

Cheetahs just gone ahead of the Stormers in a very entertaining game.

LeinsterDub

http://m.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/40464201?platform=hootsuite

Interesting read. 800k pounds per team would be a great boost