Not sure if this is a first for an Irish provincial pre season friendly but it seems rights to Ulster v Exeter on Friday night have been picked up by the BBC and will be shown on BBC Two NI.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/62724311.amp
IIRC Ulster played Exeter in a pre season friendly a few years ago at home and BBC NI also covered the game.
Correction - just checked my records and Ulster vs Bath (Pre Season friendly) in 2010 was covered live by BBC on red button interactive. Exeter friendly had no live TV coverage.
Big Loss for Benetton, and Italy. Hopefully he can get healthy again
Can't say ever heard of them, but tyre company BKT have become the title sponsor of the URC in the Northern hemisphere until 2025, so it will now be known as the BKT United Rugby Championship. Or BKT URC, which rolls off the tongue nicely!
Dear god, that’s UKTVG2 territory.
Great they got one, seems like a strange marriage though? Drinks, mobile and Insurance companies I get, things the average person will see and potentially look into. Tires for agricultural vehicles? You'd think that speaks to a much smaller demographic. Money in as far as the URC are concerned I guess, roll on season kick off!
They sponsor the French second division football league and the Italian Serie B.
Annoying as if you previously had a URCtv and peacock subscription (for the Champions cup) it was only costing you $15 a month whereas the florugby subscription is $30 a month most
Not good for growth of the game
That says it all tbh. Second rate sponsors I guess.
They are also sponsoring the RWC next year apparently.
I eat my words then.
That’s according to Simon Thomas, what level they’re sponsoring at I don’t know.
Eh no thanks.
Correct. They have to expand the league in the right way. Jumping at any money that is thrown their way is a short road to ruin.
It’s how America and subsequently golf have gotten into trouble with Saudi Arabia. Jumping into bed with oil states is a definite no no. Tell the Saffers to piss off on this one.
Edit: or was it CVC?
I do not want to be part of sportswashing a country where flogging is the legal punishment for adultery, and homosexuality and blasphemy are crimes, thanks.
Yep! Money talks
Theres more!
Presume all this stuff is coming from CVC.
Nice. Hopefully gives a boost to rugby over in America.
I wonder would such a fixture net a financial gain or loss to the IRFU and the branches? As compared to playing it at the Aviva?
Don't really care where it's coming from. If it goes ahead that's going to see a significant loss of engagement from myself (and while I'm only one person, anyone I've seen react to this has basically said "f*ck off" to it).
The airline money deal is distasteful enough. Moving games there is an even bigger step in the wrong direction.
I think its time for some full quotes.
“I think it’s a process actually, and I know that sounds super corny,” said Anayi at the URC launch in London today.
“Our championship games and Champions Cup games are so important to our clubs and the fans of those clubs. To take any of those games away from a home crowd is really difficult.
“We’ve had this conversation around do you take games to the US, which is slightly less challenging logistically or from a conceptual point of view as there have already been games in the US.
“It’s going to be really hard to take a championship game to Qatar but can you take baby steps?
“Can we have winter training camps like football have in Qatar? Can you take pre-season matches to the air-conditioned stadiums and take full advantage of the legacy they want to achieve there? Can you set up new competitions? Can you help Qatar rugby?”
Despite the headline URC games won't be played in Qatar (or the US) any time soon.
It’s the ethical and moral questions that make the Qatar deal stink. Anayi said “At the same time, what they can take from a partnership with a rugby competition is that we stand for great values and stand for championing those values.”
He’s talking about the values of the game and then grabbing the money with the other hand. You can’t talk about ethics and morality and then out the other side of your mouth trample all over those values by backing a country who has those human rights abuses.
I think he’s going to have to be reigned in by the Irish hopefully.
Wouldn't mind having a preseason friendly in the USA but a regular season game there would upset the home fans, and possibly the away ones resulting in the beginning of the end for the competition
I wouldn’t go that far. An exhibition game in a America wouldn’t destroy the competition. One game a season is grand once the IRFU and the Branches gain more from it than they would playing at home.
I wouldn't be entirely opposed to a game in the States (thinking back to when the Premiership tried it, it seemed to go pretty well) but I wouldn't be too pleased if a marquee game like Munster v Leinster was moved there.
Good grief. Capitalism at its finest. Almost faustian in its nature.
There might be some merrit in a smaller game being moved stateside, or even a game against the Eagles, but the bigger games would do more harm than good
Anayi's comments about club ownership shouldn't be overlooked either. Thank God the provinces are owned by the Union because going by his remarks the next step will be clubs being cut up and sold off piece by piece.
As people are pointing out on social media, Nick McCarthy couldn't even travel to Qatar and conduct his personal life as he sees fit.
Until that happens, I feel its incumbent on the fans to kill off any notion of URC association with Qatar, in its crib.
All any of that means is that we're going to do this, but we're going to do it incrementally so people don't get angry, but we're doing it regardless because money.
