General rugby thread
Discussion
Kermit power said:
JerryEXE said:
I could twist your thought process to say that Quins shouldn’t be allowed to play Premiership matches at Twickenham as, if they make a final, they’ll have an unfair advantage on knowing the venue better than the opposition 
The final needs to be shared around the better grounds of the countries competing, this year the Aviva was chosen and it just so happens that Leinster are showing great form and probably the best team in the competition … good luck to them if they have a “home” final.
I did say earlier in the thread that I'd understand people feeling aggrieved about Quins getting a final at Twickenham. Also, as a Quins fan nothing would give me greater pleasure than seeing an end to those bloody awful games! ??The final needs to be shared around the better grounds of the countries competing, this year the Aviva was chosen and it just so happens that Leinster are showing great form and probably the best team in the competition … good luck to them if they have a “home” final.
I wouldn't mind if they played at other stadiums occasionally if it had better transport infrastructure than Twickenham though!
Let's take an example in Caelan Doris...
He has played 18 games so far this season. Of these, 6 were away games and 12 at home.
Of the 12 at home 5 were for Ireland (so obviously at the Aviva) and 7 were for Leinster.
Of those 7 games for Leinster, he played at the RDS against Benneton, Ulster, Connacht & Gloucester and at the Aviva against Munster, Racing & Leicester, with at least the semi-final still to come of course.
So, to add that all up, by the time of the final, assuming Leinster and Doris are in it, he will have played 75% of his home games at the Aviva this season.
You might discount Ireland games by saying that all the other 6 Nations internationals get that same advantage if the final happens to be at their national stadium. That's fair enough (even if Leinster to have far more players in that position) but even taking those games out, Doris will have played 50% of his home provincial games at the Aviva. How can that possibly not be construed as an unfair advantage for a game that is supposed to be happening at a neutral stadium?
The obvious answer to me would be either to ban all teams from holding home fixtures at their national stadium, or saying that the Heineken final should be at Croke Park if Leinster are in it.
phil_cardiff said:
If you think the Irish gerrymander the European Cup you should see what happens in the URC, a tournament run by the Irish for the benefit of the Irish.
In what way? I seem to recall it was a South African team who reigned supreme last yearI think Leinster need to rig these competitions a bit more as we’re not winning them of late
If we do win the Heineken this year, it could be played in the Insurance-sponsored Landsdowne Road, Croker, Thomond or a random field in Normandy for all I care, we will have deserved it as being the best team in the competition. All this talk of finances, unfair advantage, etc is just a distraction. Good luck to all four remaining teams, they all deserve their SF place
Fantastic result with the England ladies. 59 -3 against Wales. Wales ran us ragged in the first 20 mins and were sure of a try which never came. The best they had was a penalty. For England to score another try with only 13 on the pitch really shows how formidable they are. Good match.
Leins said:
phil_cardiff said:
If you think the Irish gerrymander the European Cup you should see what happens in the URC, a tournament run by the Irish for the benefit of the Irish.
In what way? I seem to recall it was a South African team who reigned supreme last yearI think Leinster need to rig these competitions a bit more as we’re not winning them of late
If we do win the Heineken this year, it could be played in the Insurance-sponsored Landsdowne Road, Croker, Thomond or a random field in Normandy for all I care, we will have deserved it as being the best team in the competition. All this talk of finances, unfair advantage, etc is just a distraction. Good luck to all four remaining teams, they all deserve their SF place
C70R said:
You do realise that home advantage for knockout games, based on group seeding, was actually something the English clubs originally petitioned for, right?
You do realise I've said more than once on this thread that I've no issue with them having home advantage in the rounds up to and including the semi-final, right?Them's the rules, and fair play to Leinster for securing that home advantage.
My only complaint is with the FINAL being played at the Aviva. The final is supposed to be played at a neutral venue, and when you've got Leinster players who've played more games at the Aviva this season than at the RDS, a final at the Aviva with Leinster in it is blatantly not being played at a neutral venue.
Leinster have never got to a final anytime it’s been held in Dublin, although Ulster did and won. We’ve won all ours in other countries
From memory Cardiff got to the final when it was played in Cardiff, so there is form here not just for Irish teams. Same with Stade a few years later in Paris, although both of them lost
From memory Cardiff got to the final when it was played in Cardiff, so there is form here not just for Irish teams. Same with Stade a few years later in Paris, although both of them lost
Edited by Leins on Saturday 15th April 23:13
pocketspring said:
Fantastic result with the England ladies. 59 -3 against Wales. Wales ran us ragged in the first 20 mins and were sure of a try which never came. The best they had was a penalty. For England to score another try with only 13 on the pitch really shows how formidable they are. Good match.
The 15 vs 13 for eight minutes might have seemed like a great chance at some consolation points for the Welsh but the English were brilliant - a great match to watch again.Kermit power said:
C70R said:
You do realise that home advantage for knockout games, based on group seeding, was actually something the English clubs originally petitioned for, right?
You do realise I've said more than once on this thread that I've no issue with them having home advantage in the rounds up to and including the semi-final, right?Them's the rules, and fair play to Leinster for securing that home advantage.
My only complaint is with the FINAL being played at the Aviva. The final is supposed to be played at a neutral venue, and when you've got Leinster players who've played more games at the Aviva this season than at the RDS, a final at the Aviva with Leinster in it is blatantly not being played at a neutral venue.
Leins said:
Leinster have never got to a final anytime it’s been held in Dublin, although Ulster did and won. We’ve won all ours in other countries
From memory Cardiff got to the final when it was played in Cardiff, so there is form here not just for Irish teams. Same with Stade a few years later in Paris, although both of them lost.
Cardiff don't play home games in the Principality though, do they?From memory Cardiff got to the final when it was played in Cardiff, so there is form here not just for Irish teams. Same with Stade a few years later in Paris, although both of them lost.
As for Stade, yes, I'd put them in the same category as Leinster at the Aviva and Quins at Twickenham. In a match which is supposed to be at a neutral ground, they all play too many home fixtures in their respective national stadia to not have an unfair advantage.
McGee_22 said:
pocketspring said:
Fantastic result with the England ladies. 59 -3 against Wales. Wales ran us ragged in the first 20 mins and were sure of a try which never came. The best they had was a penalty. For England to score another try with only 13 on the pitch really shows how formidable they are. Good match.
The 15 vs 13 for eight minutes might have seemed like a great chance at some consolation points for the Welsh but the English were brilliant - a great match to watch again.Kermit power said:
Leins said:
Leinster have never got to a final anytime it’s been held in Dublin, although Ulster did and won. We’ve won all ours in other countries
From memory Cardiff got to the final when it was played in Cardiff, so there is form here not just for Irish teams. Same with Stade a few years later in Paris, although both of them lost.
Cardiff don't play home games in the Principality though, do they?From memory Cardiff got to the final when it was played in Cardiff, so there is form here not just for Irish teams. Same with Stade a few years later in Paris, although both of them lost.
As for Stade, yes, I'd put them in the same category as Leinster at the Aviva and Quins at Twickenham. In a match which is supposed to be at a neutral ground, they all play too many home fixtures in their respective national stadia to not have an unfair advantage.
Leins said:
It was Cardiff Arms Park, so surely that’s not fair either if we go down that line. Is Bilbao the only truly neutral venue that’s ever been used?
If Cardiff were playing in the main stadium in '95, then yes, also unfair.I disagree with the notion of a stadium being not neutral just because of the country it's in though. The chances are that many of Leinster’s Ireland players or Toulouse's France players, for example will have played more often at the Principality or Murrayfield than uncapped Welsh or Scottish players have, so that evens things out quite a bit.
My view relates purely to club appearances. When you've got Leinster players who've played as many Leinster home matches at the Aviva as they have at the RDS this season, then they are clearly being given home advantage in the final.
I've not checked to see how often Stade Français have played at the Stade de France, but even with Quins only playing two home games a season, I absolutely think that if we ever do make it to a European final scheduled for Twickenham, it should be moved to another ground, as everything about the hype the club and players create around playing at "The Big Stoop" absolutely create a home advantage for Quins.
If you've got home advantage through having better results in prior rounds, then well done you and fill your boots, because that's what the rules say, but for the final it's wrong.
Great bit of footage from the Tiger’s dressing room after the game
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMgvB64z5TY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMgvB64z5TY
Any referees on here?
I've played both codes and currently referee tag rugby (nearly 400 matches) and Masters RL
Just signed up for an introductory event next week with Yorkshire County RU. Maybe a bit late in the day at 48 years old but I've been refereed by many older guys so hope I can give something back
I might even learn the laws of the game
I've played both codes and currently referee tag rugby (nearly 400 matches) and Masters RL
Just signed up for an introductory event next week with Yorkshire County RU. Maybe a bit late in the day at 48 years old but I've been refereed by many older guys so hope I can give something back
I might even learn the laws of the game
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