RUGBY ADMINISTRATORS HAVE, for the last 150 years or so, lived a full-bellied, sleepy existence.
Besides a brief upheaval in 1995 for the birth of the professional game, its been a series of bland press releases and end-of-season banquets.
Then, in the space of a few weeks this summer, all hell broke loose.
The French and English clubs went from annoying background noise to full siren wail. The rugby world suddenly has villains, international alliances and secret TV deals. There’s a a new statement every day from the IRB, or the RFU, the FFR, or the ERC. If this was football it’d be exciting, but everybody knows rugby isn’t robust enough to survive too much of a shakedown.
It’s brought to light what we’ve been seeing in Ireland for the last few years where the old world of the unions and the Six Nations and men with rosy cheeks have been drifting apart from the new world of sun-baked Heineken Cup quarter-final weekends and the Irish being good at rugby.
The game existed in its own little bubble for decades, neither seeking nor getting much love from the non-rugby population. The Six Nations sold out every year irrespective of war, famine or lack of entertainment. With no natural predator, it remained one of the most reliably successful competitions in any sport; but now the leaner, meaner club game wants a piece of that pie.
Saracens are quite open about their plans for global domination with alliances in Africa, Asia, and South America, plus their own little conveyor belt of talent coming from Tonga. The French are now bringing Fijians through their system from a young age so that they’re naturalised by the time they get to U20s level. It’s like sticking a pipe into another nation’s oil reserves and taking your own supply. This summer started with a debate about the Heineken Cup but it ended with everyone wondering who actually runs this sport.
Land grab
Everything is up for grabs including TV rights, the Olympic Games, player availability for internationals and the melding of the northern and southern hemisphere competitions. The old world doesn’t know where the borders are any more, or who they’re fighting.
The momentum has swung back and forth for the last few weeks, neither side landing a knock-out blow, but maybe the real power, and the solution to this whole saga, strangely, lies with the Irish fans. Munster fill out Thomond Park for every big European tie, the revamped Ravenhill will this season host 18,000 fans, Connacht are building all the time, and Leinster now use the 50,000-seater Aviva stadium as a second home. We have the biggest club/provincial fanbase in Europe, and the best travelling supporters.
Meanwhile Saracens, for example, will have to begin their quest for global domination from a moderate base of about 8,000 fans. For all their new-found wealth, the French don’t travel, and probably won’t care about whatever European competition is put in front of them, and the Welsh club game is short on cash, trophies and talent.
Whatever mutated competition emerges from this mess will initially lack credibility, and most importantly, good will, from the fans.
Would Leicester’s money men prefer to face Exeter three or four times a season, or play in front of 26,000 seething Munster fans?
If the English clubs are as greedy for cash as they currently seem to be, then they can’t and won’t disconnect themselves from what they see across the Irish Sea every week.
The English and French are snipping off their nose to spite their face…..the abolition of the Heineken will destroy Irish provincial teams but it won’t do much for the English and French either……i personally wudnt watch an Anglo/French competition
The French will be fine. The money they get off top14 over trebles the Heino money. This won’t affect them. It will probably improve their league as the clubs will attract the best form abroad.
It’ll be the premiership of rugby in 10 years time.
We are a country with a population of 6 million (NI included), England 54 million and France 66 million. Combined that’s 120million. They don’t care if we watch or not. We are irrelevant really.
Sad state of affairs
In terms of a European competition, at this time we are very relevant. Huge gates, incredible exposure and three sides with a travelling support. Unlike the French clubs who don’t travel or the English clubs with paltry home attendances and major financial issues. This is an attempt to wrench control of the game by a few club owners and the media conglomerates. If its allowed to succeed, teams like Munster & Leinster will survive. Ulster too probably. But the sides in Italy and Scotland? If this isn’t fought tooth and nail then the game will be choked internationally. Rugby does not have the international infrastructure to allow an Anglo French club driven competition. Without the artifical support of the weaker leagues that the present competition gives then the game will shrink into irrelevancy much like its league counterpart.
You have millions of fans waiting to be awoken here in America and Canada, possibly Australia and New Zealand as well.
What needs to happen is a better outreach to markets in North America that still have strong Irish roots (Boston-Washington corridor, Chicago, Halifax, Toronto, etc.)
From there just about any city in North America has some Irish period of immigration and influence.
Figure out how to market it.
The Premier League cracked the US market, and the GAA has it’s sights set on it when their TV contract ends in 2014.
There are still plenty of duel citizens born here. Imagine recruiting potential that exists.
We are irrelevant on the grand scheme of things. They don’t need us long term and they know it. France will be the Premiership.
I’d hate this to happen, it’s just my opinion.
Naturalization is wrong and unhealthy for the game, big countries grow better and small countries like Fiji fail to achieve anything of note. The IRB is killing the game by allowing it.
Look at England with a player pool somewhere in the region of 150,000 and a international team with something 30% of non English born players. We’ve started to follow suit and it angers me, Strauss and next Payne, Stander etc, they are good players but theyre not irish. I want to support an Irish team with Irish players, I don’t want rugby to go the soccer route which is full of mercenaries (mainly on club level) and have no ties to the traditions of the club or country.
Irish rugby would suffer in an Anglo French run competition. But Italian and Scottish rugby would implode. If the Unions don’t stand up to the money hungry clubs now, then it will see Union become like league, played only by a handfull of elite clubs. An Anglo French competition would have limited long term appeal. Let them go, they will be forced to come back.
In my lifetime, the H cup has been one of the best sporting innovations on these islands. In the mid nineties, inter pro games between Munster & Leinster would barely top 500. Now we see great arenas such as Thomond Park & Landsdowne being party to tens of thousands. Yes there had been a sad decline in the All Ireland League, but that unfortunately has been the price of professionalism.
If the RFU clubs get their way, this current era could well be seen as a golden one for Irish rugby, with a sad decline on the way. Irish soccer had its heyday in the 50′s. Let’s all hope that Irish rugby does’nt meet a similar decline…
The English clubs want to gain ownership of the ERC competition , they want to break it in this form and hoover up the pieces on their terms. If the RFU just allocate their ERC places to other English teams there is still a competition and the rebel English clubs are in a difficult place as far as sustainability is concerned. I think this is the best thing for the RFU to do in the short term as it avoids a lot of legal stuff but does not shut the door. If they blindly follow the elite clubs then The RFU has handed over controll of all rugby in England to four or five club owners.
Hopefully that whole sport is abolished soon…. What a waste of time
You stick to your big ball.
You stick to your Heineken Cup…. Oh wait
Troll
Steo or Stephen to people outside of north dublin stick with your sport that know one outside of Ireland knows or cares about.
I’m confused with that comment, is it a dig at northsiders!?
Nelly I know he’s a troll but that argument is so weak and I wish people would stop using it. The only reason anyone other than England play rugby or soccer is collonialism
no dave, it’s not all about you northsiders, Christ get over yourself!!!
Ciaran, What a dumb comment, I don’t recall the Italians being colonised or the French, indeed the last time I looked football or rugby hadn’t really been invented when the Brazilians were last ‘colonised’ maybe you should join a library and get a good history book out. might save you making a prat of yourself on here with infantile comments.
I was just merely going to point out the fact that our greatest ever rugby player is a northsider. Don’t get your knickers in a twist there Pat.
O’connell is from Cork!!!!
Rugby is a rubbish boreing no skill pansie sport. Its for people who have no skill in real sports so they play this garbage. Running around wrestling for an egg. O yes that is entertainment.
David are you talking about dan carter?i think he’s from the north island of New Zealand alright
@paul were you not watching the last 10mins of the all Ireland on Sunday?it looked more like rugby than GAA.
A bit like GAA where there is only two real contenders sometimes in both codes
Ah here, I’m impartial to most sports, be it rugger, soccer, ga, but for someone who is clearly a gaa man, the irony of someone saying rugby is talentless is funny, Gaelic football is easily one of the least talented sports around. Not skillfull enough to play it on the ground so they pick it up and just run with it. Hurling, now that’s a talent but your a Kerry fan so football is your thing.
Hardly soccer is one of the biggest games in the world if not the biggest almost all country’s have a league or a national team and it wasn’t done by colonisation
A very close 2nd ;-)
By the looks ur from Kerry where they play handball and call it football where they fall over as easy as soccer players
I did indeed Nelly watch the Gaa. I Dont really know anything about it. Good game tho. Would like to see a live game at some stage .
Modern GAA is tripe. All it seems to be is pulling & dragging with very little skill. Given the dominance of the hand pass they should change the name to Gand Pass Ball. The final last week was awful. Give me hurling or rugby any day
David l. Im not a Gaa man. Im from London support the mighty Chelsea . Have done my whole life. I only start supporting Kerry this summer as there Irelands most successful Gaa team. I have nothing to do with Kerry. Same as all fans of Manchester u I am now. A moron if you will
He’s from Limerick actually.
Simon in theory can the provincial clubs pull away from the IRFU? I know the IRFU hold the purse strings but could it be done?
They can’t. They’re not clubs, they’re the professional side of each province. They are 100% owned by the IRFU and get close to 80% of their annual budgets from the IRFU.
Indeed, the formal titles are Munster/ Leinster/ Connacht and Ulster Branch of the IRFU, since the founding of each branch…
Munster/ Leinster/ Connacht and Ulster Rugby are effectively their brand names, implemented to protect revenue streams because they cant register Munster/ Leinster/ Connacht or Ulster individually as they are place names …
Why would they want to
Probably not a popular comment but: would love to see the whole Heineken Cup and the bigger leagues disappear and instead have a return to local clubs and local matches similar to the GAA. The disconnect between the big celebrity clubs and roots rugby has become really marked now: used to like going to watch local games. have little or no interest in the Sky Sports level stuff that has taken its place. Dont want to watch the ‘new’ game where you have14 scrum halves or a hooker in the centre and prop on the wing and the out half at full back (or any other tactics designed not to lose a game and the sponsorship that might go with it)
Isn’t that why it went pro in the 90′s!? It was only a matter of time (permitted it was successful) it would go down that route, sadly. Look at the circus that is the Emglish Premier League. Thing is a farce nowaday.
can I please have some of your tablets!!!
what you have just stated would take rugby back into the dark ages!!!
Pop down to your local AIL side any weekend to see a quality amateur game if that’s your thing Alan. I am a Leinster fan and go to a few games a year but i too can tire of it occasionally and really enjoy stopping in Trinity if DU are playing or down to St Mary’s or Skerries if i am out that way, reconnects you with the game! But to say you would like to see an end to professional rugby is a bit much!
When are Ken & Eoin getting their column?
As I understand it the FRU and the RFU have not endorsed the suggested Competition, the English and French Clubs are the one proposing it not their Unions. I also understand that the FRU have recently said they will not support it
There is nothing stopping Ireland joining the RFU & FRU. money talks and the money goes to those who have it.
Scary for the likes of Ulster or Munster to have to rethink their business loans for ravenhill & thomond. Only a matter of time before the players start to move to English & French clubs. Started always
Interesting stuff.The mid 90s rugby league Super League vs ARL in Australia? Greed brought a code to its knees.