Can't catch Stormers (number of wins)
So yes Connacht will face A
It's up to them to deserve Champîons Cup now, can't complain the fate is too much against us, this compensate the unfair rule/Leinster A vs Bullls
As of right now, before Stormers play Munster, Glasgow could pass out Stormers. However, I can't see it happening.
If Connacht win tonight, Benetton will be out of the running to make the top 8 so they will put out their seconds against the Stormers in the final round and save themselves for their Challenge Cup semi-final against Toulon away. So Stormers would pick up an easy win last round.
It's likely that Stormers will win today and put it beyond Glasgow.
Connacht should be facing the Glasgow seconds next week is the point anyway.
Just checked and Zebre haven't won a game at all this season and only managed one win last season! That's in both the URC and Europe!
Some win for Leinster, they’re never dead. Gives a bit of hope Bulls won’t get it all their own way next week too although Leinster will need to be a fair bit better.
On another note, is Jamie Heaslip paying homage to old boy bands or something, some bit of gear on him!
I see JJ Hanrahan doesn't seem to be starting for the Dragons lately. Think he is in the first year of a 3 year contract there. Bit of a mess with so many players leaving Wales.
The Welsh teams will have 60 or 70 points put on them regularly next season. WRU really haven't sorted things out.
Think I also read somewhere that a lot of amature players in the club game in Wales are getting money as the WRU funding allows cash to flow down to amature clubs who then give it to players while the guys in the pro game can't get paid enough. Mess.
JJ is just after a surgical procedure, he’ll be back for pre-season.
Some players were on north of 250k Sterling, were offered new deals worth 30-40k sterling
WRU blazers looking after the amateur game. Their income is on a par with IRFU but how they spend is is very different.
Not sure if he would be starting though. I think that Angus O'Brien was in the 10 shirt for a while and JJ was at 12 in a game I saw.
Anyway hopefully he can get back to form. Pro game isn't easy and you need luck with injuries. Himself and Carberry just got injured when they were getting going.
Looking at the game today too it is a shame to see Ben Healy going away. He made the difference when he came on as Crowley was out of sorts though I think Healy's defence could be improved.
When was the last time all four Provinces won with bonus points ?.
11 weeks ago
If Ospreys beat Cardiff without a bonus and Edinburgh get 2 bonus points off Ulster. All 4 Welsh regions will finish bottom of the table, with only Zebre below them. That would be a fairly damning indictment of the state of Welsh club rugby.
Has there been any word on the final venue yet? Or is it like last year the highest rank team going into the final gets home advantage?
And that's before they trim their squads back for next season.
They desperately need a new golden generation of youngsters to emerge
The whole league would be better off without Zebre and without Dragons.
A 14 team league, and copy the format of the Top 14.
More rugby, fairer, and less whipping boys.
Teams dont want a format with that much extra rugby. Less teams in some of the other countries wouldnt be good either.
But apparently its all the URC's fault...
You need a comma rather than a full stop at end of your first sentence. Also bottom of the table means bottom of the table so Zebre are bottom.
Apart from that you're spot on re Welsh regions. Apart from Scarlets, they were not at all competitive last weekend. Watched Scrum V and those in studio tried to take positives from the 3 hammerings and even play up this weekend's Judgment Day at Millenium Stadium but they failed miserably.
Zebre have won one game in the last 2 seasons. They don’t really count in any significant way. If Zebre ever finish above any team, it will a sad day for whoever that is.
I wonder what it would take for Cheetahs to be added and for Zebre to be dropped. As per previous post I think Dragons and Zebre should both be cut, but perhaps their Unions won't allow it.
Would be much better to have Cheetahs instead of Zebre, but the geographic shields would be messed up then.
Is it a conscious decision by the FIR to load Benetton so as to have one competitive team and leave Zebre with the dregs or is it just a failure of their academy, coaches etc.?
It would surely be in the best interests of Italian rugby to have a meaningful rivalry with big derby matches.
Benetton are privately owned. Zebre are union owned. The Benetton group are richer than the FIR.
Nah, disagree. You'd end up with a scenario where there's only one club side in Italy - a huge, growing market actually in Europe.
It would exacerbate the travel issues team have by adding even more games in SA to the calendar, and strengthen the argument for SA in the Six Nations, something I wouldn't want to see happen.
Whatever about Zebre, if the Italian Union insists on having them then fair enough, and they may eventually win a few matches, but the Welsh Union are probably in more danger of losing one of their regions, so we may need another team from somewhere. Maybe Ealing Trailfinders would join with Ospreys or one of the other regions and solve that one though.
Yeah, there was a lot of talk about that potential Ealing - Ospreys merger, but it seems to have fallen away, and apparently the Welsh have been told it isn't happening. Logistically, you'd think they'd really need to get cracking quickly to have that side in the URC next season.
The one thing about all the agreed upon changes in Welsh rugby is that there will be a period of onboarding throughout which major decisions may not happen.
As close as Zebre have come to a few wins this season, 1 win in two years just isn't good enough and there needs to be a serious conversation happening there as it's diminishing the league.
Whatever you want to say about Zebre on the field, they are a stable entity with sustainable financial backing. The URC is not in a position to be throwing out any team that meets those criteria. Besides, the Italian union (owner of Zebre) is an equal partner in the league. They're not going anywhere.
Fir actually gives the same funding to both teams despite only owning Zebre.
Benetton have about double the matchday income as Zebre and funding from the Benetton family as extras.
If we have really bad teams in the URC I'd prefer they come from 6N unions rather than SA. At least there is some development of the game in Europe involved.
Zebre are muck. Just when I think they're getting somewhere, they crap the bed
Dragons are strange. Decent squad, probably poor coaching? All the regions have been poor. Dragons are pretty good at being awful.
The URC doesnt have the luxury of dropping teams if they're awful. Start doing that and you could conceivably see them going after a US team again. Zebre might not come good anytime soon but removing them would ensure they never have a chance.
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