Not to start the thread off on a negative but all not looking good for Worcester Warriors:
I wonder if they fold could Easling be promoted
Obviously the answer is not with me. But in its current state the premiership appears to be a financial cripple. Rugby is not a very popular sport, compared to others. I believe there's the biggest number of registered players worldwide in England and yet they struggle to keep their heads above water.
Maybe a system like ours would work. Perhaps a semi union run league with the union owning part of each team. Filling stadiums is a must! There's got to be ways to keep fans coming and to attract more.
Maybe auction off England tickets for each match? Meet and greet with the players and fanzines? In it's current condition, the premiership is a mess. Maybe better business and advertising people should be involved?
I think rugby needs an enema and a reboot. Oz can't fill their stadiums for international matches! The business end needs help.
Well you put out these big statements so surely you must back them up sometimes...
Rugby isnt a popular sport compared to what?
I dont think England want to run a system like ours. England is a big enough country to run 12 or so top level teams and has the population base to cover that number of teams in a top division but do they want to fund all those sides and have to substantially reduce their money going towards amateur rugby to pay for pro rugby then?
You have to get across a very good product to get stadiums full.. I dont think what works in Ireland will work in England. Theyre not comparable
Australia is for another thread but sport is too much for people from a certain background and hasnt done enough to get beyond those people to get money in...
Compared to football. Compared to basketball, Compared to the nfl, baseball etc...
I said I don't know what the answer is. But, it's in current condition, the premiership is a joke. They've got to do something to make it more attractive. The premiership has been around for a while and yet it's finances are precarious.
Biggar off to Toulon, the Saints can't afford him. Simmonds leaving for a better league. They need people that can market the clubs and good business people.
Im always amazed at the kick off times for games in the GP And how they clash and never seem to attempt anything different like a late saturday game.
There is a complete disconnect between premiership rugby fans and english rugby fans.
The typical fan at games in twickenham doesnt go to premiership games and the typical fan at premiership games doesn't go to twickenham.
Worst piece of refereeing I've seen for a long time by Craig Maxwell-Cheats this afternoon. Did everything in his power to ensure that Harlequins could beat London Irish. It took him until the 85 minutes to achieve his aim, but he managed it in the end. Quins 26 - 24 L Irish. I feel sick.
He blew quins off the pitch in the first half
Probably more accurate to say that Quins blew themselves off the pitch in the first half. They were woeful. But he still let them away with a couple of blatant forward passes. He turned up expecting quins to win, and, when it became obvious that they couldn't do it by themselves, he helped them.
What a load of crap. If you honestly believe a professional ref goes into a game with a plan to make sure one team wins then you're a moron.
Nonsense. Premiership isnt a joke. How do you make it more attractive then. Many sports have risky finances having been around a while.
I'd be in favor of a French style financial commissioner that gets to review the budgetes of all clubs.
The one thing I would say is that too many teams are in small towns or cities. Without a franchise system that can't be changed but I think a lot of teams should attempt to expand their catchment areas. Running supporters buses to nearby towns and cities.
The big city teams should imo all put on an "event" or two a season. That is to say move a big clash to a bigger stadium, offer tickets cheaply and try and bring new fans to rugby. €10 ticket with an international ticket, Season ticket holders bring a friend for €10, junior tickets for cheap. 40-50K showing up for a big event could be good for developing additional casual support. Harlequins have a game in Twickenham every year. Let the others try.
The Premiership cup varies in importance from season to season. At the moment its at a low point and attended by a few hundred a game. This is because the games are scheduled mid week. The teams are completely second tier. Now its hard to find a spot in the season for the premiership cup when there's a 13 or 14 team league. If there's a ten or eleven team league you can focus the Premiership weekends away from the international windows. Play the Premiership cup during international windows with a mix of squad players and development players and draw a few thousand for each game.
Every team needs to look at what they can do. The league is struggling but so is every professional rugby league really. Every team needs to consider their options.
If you say so, your opinion. It's a shitfest! Wasps, Warriors going under. Biggar shown the door, yawn!! It's beyond belief.
It's got 11 teams now. How many are in the black? The French seem to run their leagues better.
How to fix it? I don't know. It needs an enema.
Just out of interest what is your evidence for these statements particluarly for the second one?
I see the EPL have games this weekend. An International weekend. Utter madness.
The moron in this particular situation was Craig Maxwell-Cheats.
of course this isnt a hard and fast rule, there are people who attend both, but rugby isnt supported in england the same way it is here, twickenham is a corporate fest, a day out for toffs, ive been to plently of games there and its more gucci handbags and pimms than tetleys and pies that you get at welford road or any of the other traditional grounds around the league, ive talked to friends who live in the UK, would go to twickenham but wouldnt have their own local club.
The average attendance at a league game in the GP is less than 9k, twickenham sells out at 80odd k for internationals.
Average attendance in 2018 was 14.5k. Some drop to 9k !
Attendance in 2021/2022 was 12,564. That counts league semis but not league finals (neutral venue in twickenham).
Mad to think that they actively undermined the European Cup because they thought they could make more money from their domestic league. Lucky for them they got Gallagher to extend the sponsorship deal last year, I'm sure the value would be down were it being negotiated this year.
How is this any different to Ireland??
irish rugby fans attend club games, and internationals.
It may be that the Irish / IRFU provincial structure allows a more obvious connection between the casual (Internationals & big ERC games) supporter and the committed club supporter. That being said, success at International level, which funds all levels here, is key. The GP reliance on gate & TV money looks the more precarious model.
Rugby fans in ireland support their clubs very well (their provincial clubs) and its to the detriment of the AIL club game which is a pity but not a travesty, those fans also attend internationals.
In the UK the fans who support the internationals do so in large numbers but dont turn up in such numbers at club games and its to the detriment of the professional club game in the UK as we are currently seeing.
Apparently Exeter are calling an egm to get permission from the members to sell a non rugby asset to clear some debt.
It could be the hotel or some fields.
Some of the Exeter loans are LIBOR+3.5%. Good when LIBOR was 1-2% a year ago. Not good now with LIBOR around 4.5%.
I'm unsure if this is because Exeter can't meet debt payments or if its because 8% is too high interest and they want to pay expensive debt down.
JvG showing his ineptitude as a coach. A SH returning from injury who is out of his feet at 60 mins and he doesn't replace him until 78 mins, a game there for the taking and he does that.
Bath win with last play of the game despite being under the pump for most of the 80 mins. Ted Hill who joined from Worcester was player of the match.
The JVG revolution is starting.
Hill played a blinder alright. Decent match
Wasp's stadium has managed to sell to Mike Ashley for 17 million with bidding closing mere hours before a 25 million pound offer was made.
Buying a stadium that size for 17 million is a steal but for large properties like that its a question of who has the funds in place at the right time.
Ashley bid 17M, the sale closed and then someone bid 25?
So Ashley just makes 8M profit in a few hours?
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