Club rugby season ends
Discussion
After 28 matches the rugby club my son plays for played its last match of the season. We had something of a scratch side, following injuries, and we were playing the team above us in the league and away, so the omens didn't look good.
We lost, by a single point 3 minutes from the end of time.
But an exciting match against an old fashioned rugby club.
I congratulated a couple of their players as they walked from the pitch and had a five minute conversation with them. The team will be relegated at the end of the season, with a 25 point penalty, so we won't play them next season (or the season afterwards, even in the unlikely event they manage to get promoted, as we are going for the top slot in 16-17). Inside the club house afterwards I was talking to some of their supporters about the penalty and instead of moaning about it they were talking about the challenge of the 25 point hit almost as if it will add to the fun of the season.
It seemed like real rugby union.
We've had a tough season. In one match we had three players concussed, one of whom was hospitalised with a broken cheek bone, another of whom was my son, and all by the same player, and the fun went out of it. But play against a team that seems in it for enjoyment as well as victory, and it all changes.
I've got my weekends back as I edit the team videos on Sundays (just finisned) but the feeling is roll on next season.
We lost, by a single point 3 minutes from the end of time.
But an exciting match against an old fashioned rugby club.
I congratulated a couple of their players as they walked from the pitch and had a five minute conversation with them. The team will be relegated at the end of the season, with a 25 point penalty, so we won't play them next season (or the season afterwards, even in the unlikely event they manage to get promoted, as we are going for the top slot in 16-17). Inside the club house afterwards I was talking to some of their supporters about the penalty and instead of moaning about it they were talking about the challenge of the 25 point hit almost as if it will add to the fun of the season.
It seemed like real rugby union.
We've had a tough season. In one match we had three players concussed, one of whom was hospitalised with a broken cheek bone, another of whom was my son, and all by the same player, and the fun went out of it. But play against a team that seems in it for enjoyment as well as victory, and it all changes.
I've got my weekends back as I edit the team videos on Sundays (just finisned) but the feeling is roll on next season.
Kermit power said:
Aha! Just the man I was looking for, as I reckon if anyone knows how relegation works in London South 1 on here, you will! 
We also had our last match of the season on Saturday, with the boys celebrating promotion by running in the largest winning score in the club's history, but everyone on the day - apparently including themselves - seemed to think that our opponents, Twickenham, had already been relegated.
I'm not so sure, though? Charlton Park also lost without a bonus point, so finished dead last on 20 points, a single point behind Twickenham, who normally would've also gone down, but with the guys being penalised with relegation, wouldn't that mean Twickenham are safe? Trying to figure out a third team to promote from the division below would be a bit of a nightmare!
I asked some of those in my club who know everything whether London 1 will lose two or three teams and there was the blank look you get when ex rugby players try and think. We also had our last match of the season on Saturday, with the boys celebrating promotion by running in the largest winning score in the club's history, but everyone on the day - apparently including themselves - seemed to think that our opponents, Twickenham, had already been relegated.
I'm not so sure, though? Charlton Park also lost without a bonus point, so finished dead last on 20 points, a single point behind Twickenham, who normally would've also gone down, but with the guys being penalised with relegation, wouldn't that mean Twickenham are safe? Trying to figure out a third team to promote from the division below would be a bit of a nightmare!
The general belief in my club is that Twickenham will stay up but it is by no means universal. The anti thought is that relegation goes on as normal regardless of the penalty to Medway. This seems unlikely to me, and unfair. After all, if Medway had not bent the rules, things might have been different. The only other time I've known anything similar, the penalised club disintegrated as it hemorrhaged star players as was bottom anyway.
Shame: I've always enjoyed our matches against them. They play hard but there's a great atmosphere. Mind you, I don't enjoy it as much when we lose by one point in the last 3 mins.
Congratulations on your promotion and best of luck next season. We got a point from you at home but you trounced us when we were away.
With any luck we'll be with you next season. We've got some players coming in over the summer - possibly including an international! - and the idea is that we will go for promotion. That's a problem from my point of view as every loss will be a tragedy and every win expected. It takes some of the enjoyment away.
We've had some tough times but still managed 5th. We had three concussed in one match just after mid season, one of them my son. He missed 6 matches and one player had a fractured cheekbone.
On the highest ever score, a couple of seasons ago we were playing another side that had suffered injuries and we were playing a makeshift second team. We got over 100 and my son, the captain, regaled the players to continue trying. He said to the team: Let's try for the club record. His thought was that he wouldn't want the opposition to give up if the boot was on the other foot. As they walked off I asked him what the club record was. He replied, 'I haven't got a clue.'
National League 3 is an expensive option. Grinstead, it seems, are struggling to stay in NL3. I doubt you'll have problems next season if you just want to consolidate your promotion.
All the best,
Derek
housem said:
I don't necessarily disagree with (some of) that. But I am of the principle of the the winner of the league over the season should be the champion (Regardless of whether i like them or not), so Bristol and Saracens and anyone should both receive that. IMO it's wrong to change the principle just because I don't like one club or some of that clubs players.
To keep the interest and generate the income!, by all means create another 'competition' for the Top 4, but the league should decide the champions.
From what I remember, the clubs were asking for more matches to increase income. The current system, where the normal season can be seen as a qualification for the play-offs, seems as good as any. It also evens things out to a degree. Richer clubs tend to dominate the season but any team in the top four can, on any one day, win. It adds a bit of excitement (although not for me as 'my' team isn't in it), and gives more matches which is a positive for me. To keep the interest and generate the income!, by all means create another 'competition' for the Top 4, but the league should decide the champions.
Any competition has rules and regulations.
jimKRFC said:
Close but missing a few points - apologies in advance for the essay!
The play offs were introduced in 2009/10, previously it was called National Division 1 - a straight league of 16 teams. The RFU decided that it wanted an all pro second level so came up with a plan.
At the end of 2008/2009 5 teams were relegated (1 promoted). In order to balance the loss of games the clubs voted in the play offs (or pray offs as some in Bristol know them). It is worth noting that only Bristol and Exeter (at the time the only clubs that could be promoted due to Premiership regulations) voted against the introduction.
So in 2009/10 the play offs were:
1st, 4th, 5th & 8th - promotion pool 1
2nd, 3rd, 6th & 7th - promotion pool 2
Winners play home/away for promotion.
9th-12th play off for relegation.
Exeter narrowly avoided being knocked out and beat Bristol in the final.
Birmingham & Solihull lost every game in the season, brought in a team of ringers and stayed up (at Coventry's expense i think).
2010/12 - broadly similar but "bonus points" were given to the play off stages for various things.
2012/13 - pools scrapped, top 4 play off, no relegation play off
This is the system currently in place. Bristol have won the "league" section 5 times in the past 7 seasons.
Under the original system the team that topped the league had an additional 10 games to play to get promoted!
At least now its only 4, but it does make recruiting players (should you win) far harder and stacks the deck against the promoted team. As does the level of funding but that's a different issue....
Thanks for that.The play offs were introduced in 2009/10, previously it was called National Division 1 - a straight league of 16 teams. The RFU decided that it wanted an all pro second level so came up with a plan.
At the end of 2008/2009 5 teams were relegated (1 promoted). In order to balance the loss of games the clubs voted in the play offs (or pray offs as some in Bristol know them). It is worth noting that only Bristol and Exeter (at the time the only clubs that could be promoted due to Premiership regulations) voted against the introduction.
So in 2009/10 the play offs were:
1st, 4th, 5th & 8th - promotion pool 1
2nd, 3rd, 6th & 7th - promotion pool 2
Winners play home/away for promotion.
9th-12th play off for relegation.
Exeter narrowly avoided being knocked out and beat Bristol in the final.
Birmingham & Solihull lost every game in the season, brought in a team of ringers and stayed up (at Coventry's expense i think).
2010/12 - broadly similar but "bonus points" were given to the play off stages for various things.
2012/13 - pools scrapped, top 4 play off, no relegation play off
This is the system currently in place. Bristol have won the "league" section 5 times in the past 7 seasons.
Under the original system the team that topped the league had an additional 10 games to play to get promoted!
At least now its only 4, but it does make recruiting players (should you win) far harder and stacks the deck against the promoted team. As does the level of funding but that's a different issue....
No need to apologise to me for an essay.
Kermit power said:
You learn something new every day! I'd always assumed a ball coming off a player's head would be a knock on?
Don't feel in any way guilty. The first try my lad almost scored for his new National League 3 team was when a 'pass' went awry and came to him at some speed at head height. He headed over the goal line, took it first bounce and touched down. Cue a great deal of rejoicing only for the referee to award a knock on after protests from the other side.Gassing Station | Sports | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff