I wonder if he goes League? What with this talk about a new tournament.
Looks like MLR is headed toward collapse in the US. The two California franchises have merged, and founding member NOLA (New Orleans) has shut down. The fairly new Miami franchise just pulled the plug. I think that leaves just 8 teams, down 3 in little more than a month or so.
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Should be good for Newcastle
England through to the final of the women’s world cup, game is on BBC this weekend so hopefully a lot tune in to watch them win (
)
New season starts this weekend as well, very excited as a Saints fan. We’ve made so very good signings so injury permitting it’ll be a fun season
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From the little I’ve seen it’s been a good tournament. England are rightly in the final. Canada too, and they are an interesting opponent. Playing a brand of heads up rugby that is a bit on the wild side and in some senses chaotic. It wouldnt survive 5 minutes in the mens game but a brilliant watch here.
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It is an interesting question whether or not some version of it could work in the men’s game. The two Squidge pieces (one on Canada’s style in general, and the other on the NZ game) are really interesting, in terms of how he sees what Canada Women are doing being a reaction (in a paper-scissors-rock sense) to how South Africa’s version of the blitz defense is now the tactical default.
Obviously biased, but I think it would be far better and more interesting for the game for Canada to win with that style than England to win with their ace-in-the-hole maul.
Either way, damned proud of the Women’s XV and of my own efforts this summer organizing fundraisers for them to get where they are. They have added a great deal of excitement around the sport in Canada.
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Yeah, I have pondered that as possible shock tactic for Wales to use, as maybe they should look at a game that is far more unpredicatable.
But the difference in the mens game is the jackle. There’s much much more of it and combined with the additional power of the male players you cannot afford to get isolated which is the risk with these types of tactics. But it would be so good to see a team that plays a heads up game.
Hold my beer, Fiji do that.
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England women dominant in the first half. Second half underway
I am afraid it shows the two critical (and connected) failings of men’s rugby have made it over to the women’s game. Different referees call some aspects of the game (esp. mauls and the like) so radically differently as to make some tactical approaches vary wildly in effectiveness. That in turn makes it very difficult to play a free-flowing style much of the time, rewarding South Africa’s pragmatism - to the detriment of accessibility as a spectator sport. England is playing very well, probably their best of the tournament, but it is not an attractive style of play overall. Kildunne sort of stands out as an individual creating moments.
The ease with which England has been able to deny Canada quick ball for most of the match does underscore @Noo_Noo 's point, even without that much jackaling per se
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Great start to the season for the saints. Unbeaten in the opening five. The new signings seem great and are living up to what I hoped they’d be.
We are truly brilliant going forward. Frustrating as fuck in defence (ring a bell?). Thankfully when we do start to slip we dig deep the attacking players bails us out
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No announcement on who goes though.
Cardiff owned by WRU.
Dragons also tied to the WRU
Ospreys plan to invest in St Helens
Scarlets have secured external investment.
Geographically Cardiff and Dragons have the advantage and the article suggests that the WRU are leaning that way.
What a mess
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Even acknowledging how geographically concentrated Welsh rugby’s strength is in the South to South East, I will never accept that Newport as a separate entity can be justified when resources are so limited.
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Not sure. Isolating that whole eastern corridor feels wrong, as has ignoring the north. They may not contribute much to the national side but selectively removing parts of the country when you’re scrounging for resources and trying to grow the game feels backwards. Do not be surprised if Gloucester, Worcester and Bristol start pinching youth or the game dies a little more.
Bristol is only about 40 motorway miles from Cardiff, so no one in that eastern corridor is being left on an island if they are forced to be represented by Cardiff. When that is compared against leaving the whole of Dyfed and the north unrepresented it’s just pretty impossible for me to justify
That may well see kids from Newport/Chepstow getting picked up by Bristol and Gloucester, but at least they are still in the system and still available to the WRU down the line. The alternative is the largest region in the country being unrepresented and leaving the talent there with no where at all to go resulting in them dropping out entirely or losing development opportunities. Either way, potential talent drops out of the system and is no longer available to welsh rugby
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Maybe, it just feels like a race to the bottom.
Warburton brought some sense to it a while ago saying that the aspiration would be 5 teams. Sensibly we can only fund and staff (players) 2.
I think the worse part of this is it doesn’t come into effect until 2028. So the decision that was needed last June gas been deferred again for 2+ years.
The link seems to be not loading properly - head of world rugby looking at plans to play six nations games in America
Obscene
It’ll probably be Ireland Vs Italy to appeal to all the yanks who think they’re actually Irish/Italian
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I just don’t think it would find much of an audience. The North American attendance records for both men’s and women’s crowds were set in Canadian cities (Vancouver and Ottawa respectively), and the men’s record is not impressive by Six Nations standards.
As it is, the RWC 2031 isn’t looking healthy right now. MLR has been bleeding teams, the organization of the RWC is struggling - time to turn it around, of course, but the current circumstances present a challenge to what was already a reach
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