This is a thread about the 2020 Six Nations, formerly the Five Nations

Dr. Bre · 23-02-2020 7:49pm

Hope France do the grand slam

jacothelad · 23-02-2020 9:43pm

penybont exile wrote: »

Another frustrating afternoon following on from two weeks ago ..... just as then we hand the opponent 7 points immediately after getting back into it.

A very eventful game played out in front of an incredible atmosphere ...... one that no other rugby ground in the world can generate.

Loads of talking points .... affecting both sides ..... overall I think France benefitted more than Wales .... but that's sport ..... we've had them in the past.

In general don't think we were bad ..... granted we made some very poor decisions during the game ...... but we were still in there at the death. Some referees may even have called the penalty at the end the other way for not releasing the tackled player ......

Onwards and upwards .... Twickers next ..... I reckon well give them a good game ....... loads of comments here about the death of Welsh rugby post WG ..... I don't see it that way .... there are plenty of good youngsters coming through. As Mark Twain said rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated .....

Well done France ..... not easy to beat us in Cardiff .... deserved win ....

Should have been a penalty try for the slap down...and a y.c. Robbed by a crap ref.

Ardillaun · 24-02-2020 1:27am

Too often, I find myself trying to explain away Welsh wins but they were excellent in defeat yesterday and were unlucky, to put it mildly, with a few of the reffing decisions. Let’s hope we play as well against the French.

prawnsambo · 24-02-2020 10:33am

penybont exile wrote: »

Another frustrating afternoon following on from two weeks ago ..... just as then we hand the opponent 7 points immediately after getting back into it.

A very eventful game played out in front of an incredible atmosphere ...... one that no other rugby ground in the world can generate.

Loads of talking points .... affecting both sides ..... overall I think France benefitted more than Wales .... but that's sport ..... we've had them in the past.

In general don't think we were bad ..... granted we made some very poor decisions during the game ...... but we were still in there at the death. Some referees may even have called the penalty at the end the other way for not releasing the tackled player ......

Onwards and upwards .... Twickers next ..... I reckon well give them a good game ....... loads of comments here about the death of Welsh rugby post WG ..... I don't see it that way .... there are plenty of good youngsters coming through. As Mark Twain said rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated .....

Well done France ..... not easy to beat us in Cardiff .... deserved win ....

France turning up for an away game in the cauldron that is Cardiff with a closed roof is a rare enough sight. If they can keep it up, they have a slam in it. Our chances of beating them in Paris are pretty small. It's a rare enough thing at the best of times.

Dr. Bre · 24-02-2020 10:39am

France are away to Scotland only 6 days before Ireland game. Ireland have Italy at home and the extra day rest plus the option of resting a few with France in mind. I give ireland more than a chance

lawred2 · 24-02-2020 11:15am

Dr. Bre wrote: »

France are away to Scotland only 6 days before Ireland game. Ireland have Italy at home and the extra day rest plus the option of resting a few with France in mind. I give ireland more than a chance

It's very difficult for even the best of Irish teams to win in Paris. I think France are more dynamic than England in attack. And they did a job on the English pack. Could be a chastening experience I fear.

prawnsambo · 24-02-2020 11:28am

lawred2 wrote: »

It's very difficult for even the best of Irish teams to win in Paris. I think France are more dynamic than England in attack. And they did a job on the English pack. Could be a chastening experience I fear.

Yeah. Their only weakness is that they get a bit sloppy and throw an offload too many. But Ntamack can kick, their pack is extremely mobile and athletic and they have some of the best backs in the game. And of course Dupont.

jacothelad · 24-02-2020 3:37pm

There is speculation that the Ireland / Italy game is in doubt. If we can bin games because of a non-fatal cattle disease - Foot and Mouth - it's a logical step to stop a game that might cause human disease and deaths.

JF100 · 24-02-2020 3:50pm

Wales-France:
(Just before half-time): What did Josh Adams do that prompted the Ref to say it was "inappropriate". The French were enraged..!

JF100 · 24-02-2020 3:51pm

Wales-France:
(At full-time): Why was Dan Biggar so incensed?

JF100 · 24-02-2020 3:55pm

Rugby Law Question:
When the ball is kicked into a team's in-goal area (as with Sexton & Stockdale) can the defending player slap the ball dead with their hands and get a 22 drop-out OR does that result in an attacking 5-metre scrum?

prawnsambo · 24-02-2020 3:59pm

JF100 wrote: »

Rugby Law Question:
When the ball is kicked into a team's in-goal area (as with Sexton & Stockdale) can the defending player slap the ball dead with their hands and get a 22 drop-out OR does that result in an attacking 5-metre scrum?

Penalty at the 5m in line where it crossed the DB line. Otherwise it's a 22 drop out.

Dr. Bre · 24-02-2020 4:17pm

jacothelad wrote: »

There is speculation that the Ireland / Italy game is in doubt. If we can bin games because of a non-fatal cattle disease - Foot and Mouth - it's a logical step to stop a game that might cause human disease and deaths.

Will we get the bonus point?

24-02-2020 4:20pm

So we are hoping that England or France don't get bonus points in the next two rounds and we have to beat an up and coming France in Paris. No problem.

Buer · 24-02-2020 5:47pm

jacothelad wrote: »

There is speculation that the Ireland / Italy game is in doubt. If we can bin games because of a non-fatal cattle disease - Foot and Mouth - it's a logical step to stop a game that might cause human disease and deaths.

The IRFU have advised that it will proceed with the matches and they will follow government advice. At this point, no travel restrictions have been implemented but I'm honestly a little surprised they haven't.

Italy have now reported their 7th death from the virus and there is a full travel warning in place for citizens travelling to Italy. 11 towns in Lombardy have been put into lockdown in Italy with 50k people under quarantine.

lawred2 · 24-02-2020 6:18pm

Buer wrote: »

The IRFU have advised that it will proceed with the matches and they will follow government advice. At this point, no travel restrictions have been implemented but I'm honestly a little surprised they haven't.

Italy have now reported their 7th death from the virus and there is a full travel warning in place for citizens travelling to Italy. 11 towns in Lombardy have been put into lockdown in Italy with 50k people under quarantine.

We were supposed to host Italian students next week. We've been informed that it's not likely to happen.

EmmetSpiceland · 24-02-2020 7:41pm

jacothelad wrote: »

There is speculation that the Ireland / Italy game is in doubt. If we can bin games because of a non-fatal cattle disease - Foot and Mouth - it's a logical step to stop a game that might cause human disease and deaths.

Ah now, that one could have devastated our “economy”...well, our already embattled agricultural sector.

This yoke will only kill 6, or 7, people tops. Certainly not enough to get in the way of the, mighty, 6 Nations.

jacothelad · 24-02-2020 8:15pm

EmmetSpiceland wrote: »

Ah now, that one could have devastated our “economy”...well, our already embattled agricultural sector.

This yoke will only kill 6, or 7, people tops. Certainly not enough to get in the way of the, mighty, 6 Nations.

Well it might suit the government as it kills old people like me....think what tha savings on pensions and the health service would be....:D

Squidgy Black · 24-02-2020 8:36pm

jacothelad wrote: »

Well it might suit the government as it kills old people like me....think what tha savings on pensions and the health service would be....:D

Don't forget the gafs it'll put back into the social housing list!

Burkie1203 · 25-02-2020 12:11am

Italy v England could be played in Newcastle apparently.

Ardillaun · 25-02-2020 4:54am

France have the sort of dynamic team we just can’t keep up with these days. They’ve been a pleasure to watch in this tournament.

Clegg · 01-03-2020 12:58am

It was good while it lasted.

https://twitter.com/TheRugbyPaper/status/1233892898799837185?s=19

icdg · 01-03-2020 1:15am

Very remarkable if true considering Sky have all but abandoned rugby union to BT. (All they have left at moment are Sanzaar and England’s autumn internationals, and the Lions every four years).

bilston · 01-03-2020 1:32am

icdg wrote: »

Very remarkable if true considering Sky have all but abandoned rugby union to BT. (All they have left at moment are Sanzaar and England’s autumn internationals, and the Lions every four years).

Are the SANZAAR rights not up for auction again soon?

Anyway I wonder how long this deal will be for? £300m over how many years?

How much is the current BBC/ITV deal?

Is this just for UK rights? Or will it include Ireland?

Hurrache · 01-03-2020 1:54am

Wasn't the Ireland 6N games put on the protected free to air games some time ago?

sydthebeat · 01-03-2020 2:08am

Hurrache wrote: »

Wasn't the Ireland 6N games put on the protected free to air games some time ago?

Was that not to be reviewed quite periodically??

If this happens, which eventually it will, I hope its weighted accordingly.
Five games a year, at probably 15 million euro each from TV, and 1 Million profit each for 2.5 games in the aviva...... Plus 6Ns prize money... Would be a major windfall for the IRFU each year from international games.... Without even looking at the other year games.

icdg · 01-03-2020 8:56am

Hurrache wrote: »

Wasn't the Ireland 6N games put on the protected free to air games some time ago?

No, they were never added. The last review only added the LGFA and camogie finals (events which were never in danger of being snapped up by pay TV). The Six Nations stayed exactly where it was - the only event on the “B” Iist for which highlights are protected but not live coverage.

I’m not saying there won’t be a repeat of the FAI fiasco mind you, where the major television events protection legislation was rushed through after the deal was actually signed.

OldRio · 01-03-2020 10:04am

The final nail. No doubt the Unions will all talk about how poor they are. 'Money will be filtered down to the grassroots' Yeah, right
Disaster in my opinion.

bilston · 01-03-2020 11:59am

It's far from ideal, not the disaster it would have been 10 years ago as more and more people have access to Sky Sports etc, however it's the casual viewer that you risk losing, the person who is flicking through the channels on a Saturday afternoon and stumbles across the 6Ns. Rugby fans will still find a way but the casual fans won't.

Selfishly as a rugby fan who also subscribes to pretty much every sports channel under the sun I'm relaxed enough about it, and in fact the coverage on Sky would probably be a lot better with a dedicated channel and magazine programmes etc, but as I say for the casual fans it will be a problem.

salmocab · 01-03-2020 12:15pm

bilston wrote: »

It's far from ideal, not the disaster it would have been 10 years ago as more and more people have access to Sky Sports etc, however it's the casual viewer that you risk losing, the person who is flicking through the channels on a Saturday afternoon and stumbles across the 6Ns. Rugby fans will still find a way but the casual fans won't.

Selfishly as a rugby fan who also subscribes to pretty much every sports channel under the sun I'm relaxed enough about it, and in fact the coverage on Sky would probably be a lot better with a dedicated channel and magazine programmes etc, but as I say for the casual fans it will be a problem.

A lot of older fans will just miss out completely. My father would watch all the 6N matches but he wouldn’t be able for an afternoon in the pub. He’ll likely never see another 6N match once this happens. Whilst I’m personally a bit in the fence there are plenty of people who would always watch these matches who will just not be able to anymore.

Bazzo · 01-03-2020 12:26pm

Ah **** sake. And looks like going to sky as well so splitting the Heineken cup and 6 nations... Haven't looked into it in detail but pretty sure sky sports is way more expensive than BT also (here in the UK at least).

Squidgy Black · 01-03-2020 12:40pm

Bazzo wrote: »

Ah **** sake. And looks like going to sky as well so splitting the Heineken cup and 6 nations... Haven't looked into it in detail but pretty sure sky sports is way more expensive than BT also (here in the UK at least).

Sky sports in Ireland is around 40 quid a month without any deals I think.

Bazzo · 01-03-2020 12:48pm

Squidgy Black wrote: »

Sky sports in Ireland is around 40 quid a month without any deals I think.

Yeah whereas I pay BT 34 a month for my internet + TV including sports

EmmetSpiceland · 01-03-2020 12:54pm

I have Sky Sports and I still wouldn’t want to have the 6Ns on it. Their rugby “coverage” is brutal.

Their “analysis” is always weak, if there’s any at all. They mostly just send someone like Will Greenwood down to the touch line to talk about ‘what this means for the game’ and then interview a couple of players to ask them ‘what this means for the game’.

Then it’s back to the studio to speculate, with the panel, about what this means for the game. They might cut to Scott Quinnell for a “humorous” take on something that happened in the breakdown or a particular move that was done well but they try not to dwell too much on that.

BT do a much better job but it’s still a bit too “gimmicky” at times. You can argue that the BBC coverage is a bit much or the TV3 one can be, somewhat, “flat” but at least they look at what went on in the game.

greensox · 01-03-2020 1:04pm

More good news for IPTV sellers - the more sports go behind a paywall the more alternative means of watching turn up.

01-03-2020 1:35pm

6 nation's going behind a paywall would probably just end me watching international rugby. I'd likely just support my local team. It will also kill the great talent coming out of the underage teams currently. Real knife in the back for rugby in this country if true

cantwbr1 · 01-03-2020 6:53pm

Kaiden Fluffy Orange wrote: »

6 nation's going behind a paywall would probably just end me watching international rugby. I'd likely just support my local team. It will also kill the great talent coming out of the underage teams currently. Real knife in the back for rugby in this country if true

Me too. While I currently will organise my weekend around the 6 nations matches, once they go behind a paywall I won’t make any effort to watch them. This is the same as the H cup, would have watched all lei/mun matches when free to air I rarely see any of them now.
I don’t watch enough sports to justify paying for any channel

bilston · 01-03-2020 7:29pm

To be fair, going to Sky/BT has hardly harmed the Heineken Cup.

01-03-2020 7:38pm

bilston wrote: »

To be fair, going to Sky/BT has hardly harmed the Heineken Cup.

I think it has for sure I can go down the pub for the odd game but I'll.miss some and the bigger issue is that you have far fewer kids watching because if it that's the future look how it's damaged Australian rugby when I lived I'm Melbourne most people didn't realise they had a team.

Someone said this is the UK and by Ireland they mean northern ireland. Anyone know if this is true?

dublinman1990 · 01-03-2020 7:40pm

I think my nightmares about this story have come back to haunt me. This is a disgrace from Sky.

They are not getting a cent of a subscription from me for 7 weeks of rugby. They can go to hell in a hand basket.

Squidgy Black · 01-03-2020 7:41pm

dublinman1990 wrote: »

I think my nightmares about this story have come back to haunt me. This is a disgrace from Sky. They are not getting a cent of a subscription from me for 7 weeks of rugby. They can go to hell in a hand basket.

Hardly a disgrace from Sky, if anything blame the unions and CVC. Sky just put in the bid for what they think it's worth to them, the unions and CVC are the ones who sell the rights to them.

icdg · 01-03-2020 11:14pm

Should be remembered at this point: no matter what is being presented by the Rugby Paper in terms of their headline; this is not a done deal, the deadline for bids has not even passed. This is one media outlet finding out that the request for tenders doesn’t allow joint bids and translating that into “BBC or ITV alone will never be able to outbid Sky”. That’s not the same as the rights having been awarded to Sky - a company that has practically all but withdrawn from rugby union over the past few years.

awec · 01-03-2020 11:29pm

Is there a legitimate reason to block joint bids, or is this the 6N playing silly buggers knowing that individually the free to air tv stations will never be able to outbid the pay tv operators, so they get the outcome that they want while afterwards getting to point and say how much a free to air bid would cost them?

02-03-2020 12:35am

awec wrote: »

Is there a legitimate reason to block joint bids, or is this the 6N playing silly buggers knowing that individually the free to air tv stations will never be able to outbid the pay tv operators, so they get the outcome that they want while afterwards getting to point and say how much a free to air bid would cost them?

IV not seen a reason given anywhere anyway

icdg · 02-03-2020 7:56am

They haven’t given a reason apparently. There might be legitimate reasons to do so, in terms of unhappiness at the tournament being split across two broadcasters and how that might impact viewing figures. However if that were their concern, you’d think the collapse in viewing figures that would inevitably follow the tournaments move to pay TV would outweigh that concern. It’s almost as if they are determined that the tournament not go to the BBC again (knowing that the BBC will never be allowed throw the kind of money they would need to do so to retain the tournament in a single bidder only scenario). Don’t know if that’s an indication of any sort of unhappiness at them partnering with ITV last time around.

molloyjh · 02-03-2020 9:34am

bilston wrote: »

To be fair, going to Sky/BT has hardly harmed the Heineken Cup.

That is true to an extent. Although the HEC in it's current guise doesnt seem as big as it was to me. I don't have a BT sub and have no intention of getting one. I have NowTV and I'll get the day package or weekend package depending on the games and what I want/can get to see. I used to watch every game. I'm happy now to miss a few and just watch select ones. Part of that is the fact that i have a young kid now, but part is by choice. I have chosen to watch less because I dont see the value in it.

But the free to air internationals are kind of the entry point for most new to the game. Interest filters down from there generally. We see it here. How many times have posters popped up in international windows and disappeared in between? The international game is the big draw, massively helped by its accessibility. And it's what we rely in here in Ireland to fund the game. It brings in newer and wider audiences and some of those go on to become provincial supporters and then become willing to pay for subs once their interest has developed enough. Less availability to casual/new fans of the game means, at best, reduced growth.

Former Former · 02-03-2020 10:05am

You could argue that the Six Nations has been on FTA for ever, its scope for growing the game and increasing exposure has plateaued. I'd hate to see it happen though.

Realistically though, if CVC are allowed come on board, it's a done deal.

sydthebeat · 02-03-2020 10:40am

Former Former wrote: »

You could argue that the Six Nations has been on FTA for ever, its scope for growing the game and increasing exposure has plateaued..

That argument doesn't have any allowance for time continuity though.

The big unknown if this happens, is 'will take up levels in rugby drop off if kids aren't exposed to free to air international six nations rugby?'

Part of me would be willing to see how it goes, as the deals tend to be short term anyway. However, going back to free to air world be incredibly difficult if business models of the unions are based on a much higher income level.

awec · 02-03-2020 10:56am

Going to paytv is a one way move. Can you think of anything substantial that has went to pay tv then back to free to air?

ArmaniJeanss · 02-03-2020 10:58am

icdg wrote: »

No, they were never added. The last review only added the LGFA and camogie finals (events which were never in danger of being snapped up by pay TV). The Six Nations stayed exactly where it was - the only event on the “B” Iist for which highlights are protected but not live coverage.

I’m not saying there won’t be a repeat of the FAI fiasco mind you, where the major television events protection legislation was rushed through after the deal was actually signed.

With England, Scotland and Wales being non-EU countries, would any 'free-to-air list' legislation apply to Ireland away games in these countries anyway?

This is a thread about the 2020 Six Nations, formerly the Five Nations

Comments