General rugby thread
Discussion
The Mad Monk said:
I hope you don't mind if I ask why you didn't buy them direct from the RFU?
Heaven knows, they are dear enough anyway, but to add all those re-sellers fees, it just gets up my nose.
No not at all - I've never bought tickets directly before, I have always had access to them through club. I saw the Baabaa game was coming up, googled and looked at ticketmaster which only had limited tickets. Viagogo was next on the google search list. I saw they had good seats (allegedly) and just went through with it to get "dad's present" off the to do list. Was in too much of a rush and paid the price.Heaven knows, they are dear enough anyway, but to add all those re-sellers fees, it just gets up my nose.
Pretty foolish and won't be doing it again.
I was at HQ this morning, so I stuck my nose into the ticket office. The lady behind the counter wouldn't be specific, but they had plenty of Baa Baas v All Blacks tickets at - £55, £75, £85, £95, and £125.
Public sale of England v Australia has finished (whatever that means) but you can buy tickets if you register at www.englandrugby.com/tickets
Public sale of England v Australia has finished (whatever that means) but you can buy tickets if you register at www.englandrugby.com/tickets
)Kermit power said:
This new "only players on 60+ caps can be selected for Wales whilst playing overseas" rule is interesting!
Who the hell are they going to pick at scrum half now they can't play Rhys Webb???
What’s the logic? Is the national side suffering from players playing abroad, surely they’re learning loads playing with top players each week.Who the hell are they going to pick at scrum half now they can't play Rhys Webb???
I get the argument about limiting foreigners in your own leagues but I’m not so convinced about limiting your own players going abroad.
DocJock said:
IIRC it was a response to some teams in England and France refusing to release players for some training camps and even the odd international.
That seems a bit of an anti-English & French take on it, but essentially yes, or at least that's half the picture.It's fairly easy for a union to negotiate agreements with their own home clubs to get more access to their players outside the agreed IRB windows, but it wouldn't be practical for them or the clubs to try and negotiate individual release agreements with each of their players around the globe.
The other half of the story comes down to the fact that there's not enough money in Welsh rugby. If players are free to chase the cash in England or France without sacrificing their international careers, then they'll just do that. The more players who do that, the harder it is for the already pressured Welsh regions to remain competitive, making it in turn harder for them to remain competitive and bring new players through to international level in the first place. Ultimately, it puts them into a death spiral.
At the other end of the scale, of course, is the French problem whereby they've got so much money to buy in fully formed foreign internationals that they're neglecting their own academy programmes, and [their union is starting to struggle to find enough homegrown talent for their national team...
At the moment, it looks like only England in the NH really have the best of both worlds, with enough cash to hold their established players and also enough new talent coming out of the academy systems.
Warren Gatland 'done' with British & Irish Lions and will not lead South Africa tour
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/41645590
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/41645590
El stovey said:
Warren Gatland 'done' with British & Irish Lions and will not lead South Africa tour
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/41645590
He'll be back in NZ by thenhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/41645590
Kermit power said:
DocJock said:
IIRC it was a response to some teams in England and France refusing to release players for some training camps and even the odd international.
That seems a bit of an anti-English & French take on it, but essentially yes, or at least that's half the picture.It's fairly easy for a union to negotiate agreements with their own home clubs to get more access to their players outside the agreed IRB windows, but it wouldn't be practical for them or the clubs to try and negotiate individual release agreements with each of their players around the globe.
The other half of the story comes down to the fact that there's not enough money in Welsh rugby. If players are free to chase the cash in England or France without sacrificing their international careers, then they'll just do that. The more players who do that, the harder it is for the already pressured Welsh regions to remain competitive, making it in turn harder for them to remain competitive and bring new players through to international level in the first place. Ultimately, it puts them into a death spiral.
At the other end of the scale, of course, is the French problem whereby they've got so much money to buy in fully formed foreign internationals that they're neglecting their own academy programmes, and [their union is starting to struggle to find enough homegrown talent for their national team...
At the moment, it looks like only England in the NH really have the best of both worlds, with enough cash to hold their established players and also enough new talent coming out of the academy systems.
particularly the French. They were also one of the drivers behind the English 'home players only' rule.The SRU are just as skint as the WRU but have adopted the opposite approach of including everyone, wherever they choose to play.
The Scottish team don't seem to suffer from having a large number of their squad playing outside Scotland. Playing every week in the Top 14 and Premiership against the best players has to improve your own game.
Edited by DocJock on Tuesday 17th October 13:05
DocJock said:
Not really, since it was English and French clubs who were refusing to release players, particularly the French. They were also one of the drivers behind the English 'home players only' rule.
The SRU are just as skint as the WRU but have adopted the opposite approach of including everyone, wherever they choose to play.
The Scottish team don't seem to suffer from having a large number of their squad playing outside Scotland. Playing every week in the Top 14 and Premiership against the best players has to improve your own game.
I thought pretty much the only difference between Scotland and Glasgow was the colour of their shirts? particularly the French. They were also one of the drivers behind the English 'home players only' rule.The SRU are just as skint as the WRU but have adopted the opposite approach of including everyone, wherever they choose to play.
The Scottish team don't seem to suffer from having a large number of their squad playing outside Scotland. Playing every week in the Top 14 and Premiership against the best players has to improve your own game.
Kermit power said:
The other thought that springs to mind is "why the f
k do people tolerate the rip off RFU prices"????
I paid £56 to watch the England vs All Blacks game back in 2012, then they ramped up all the ticket prices for RWC in 2015, never put them down again, and it's more like £80+ now to see them play any half-decent opposition!
I used to go to at least a couple of the Six Nations games and one or two of the Autumn internationals. Now, I've got a Quins season ticket for not a lot more than that would cost, and I'll just watch the internationals on TV.
I have sympathy.k do people tolerate the rip off RFU prices"????I paid £56 to watch the England vs All Blacks game back in 2012, then they ramped up all the ticket prices for RWC in 2015, never put them down again, and it's more like £80+ now to see them play any half-decent opposition!
I used to go to at least a couple of the Six Nations games and one or two of the Autumn internationals. Now, I've got a Quins season ticket for not a lot more than that would cost, and I'll just watch the internationals on TV.
I am paying £130 for A grade matches for my seats, which are lower west, adjacent to the top of the player tunnel. These are debenture seats, so there is that cost to add!!
Just to point out though, the RFU did not control the ticket prices for the World Cup; its controlled by the IRB.
I think that the RFU grabbed the coat tails though.
If I think about the cost of the debenture, the match ticket, programme, car park, blah blah blah, I think it's roughly £260 per seat, when I go to a game.
I don't gamble, smoke or spend every night in the pub, so I look upon this as my big vice!!!
To be fair it was £70 back in 2008.
I went for back to back weeks to Autumn Internationals vs Australia and South Africa.
Nearly £1 a minute to watch England get battered 42-6. (& we got 3 of those points inside 3 minutes!)
We left early and spent another £70 in pubs.
Calculated including transport, food, booze, etc cost me £600+ to watch two dire performances.
I went for back to back weeks to Autumn Internationals vs Australia and South Africa.
Nearly £1 a minute to watch England get battered 42-6. (& we got 3 of those points inside 3 minutes!)
We left early and spent another £70 in pubs.
Calculated including transport, food, booze, etc cost me £600+ to watch two dire performances.
iwantagta said:
To be fair it was £70 back in 2008.
I went for back to back weeks to Autumn Internationals vs Australia and South Africa.
Nearly £1 a minute to watch England get battered 42-6. (& we got 3 of those points inside 3 minutes!)
We left early and spent another £70 in pubs.
Calculated including transport, food, booze, etc cost me £600+ to watch two dire performances.
gawd we went to that SA game, very depressing. Possibly England's lowest point in recent years.I went for back to back weeks to Autumn Internationals vs Australia and South Africa.
Nearly £1 a minute to watch England get battered 42-6. (& we got 3 of those points inside 3 minutes!)
We left early and spent another £70 in pubs.
Calculated including transport, food, booze, etc cost me £600+ to watch two dire performances.
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