Idea for PRO12

[General Zod]

http://m.sport24.co.za/sport24/Rugby/Su ... r-20170419

Cheetahs and Kings to Pro 12? This chap suggests making it a pro 14, but I'd be for ditching the Italians instead, or ditching one Italian team in favour of the Cheetahs. Not least because I could time my holidays with the in-laws in Bloemfontein for a Glasgow or Edinburgh trip.

Probably pie-in-the-sky stuff, but if they could get enough sponsors interested, particularly tourism ones, well, money talks...

[Big D]

http://m.sport24.co.za/sport24/Rugby/Su ... r-20170419

Cheetahs and Kings to Pro 12? This chap suggests making it a pro 14, but I'd be for ditching the Italians instead, or ditching one Italian team in favour of the Cheetahs. Not least because I could time my holidays with the in-laws in Bloemfontein for a Glasgow or Edinburgh trip.

Probably pie-in-the-sky stuff, but if they could get enough sponsors interested, particularly tourism ones, well, money talks...

If we are allowed pie in the sky I'd prefer some sort of conference system.

Scotland:
Caley Reds
Weeg
Embra
London Scottish.

Ireland:
4 Sides as it is.

Wales:
4 Sides as it is

Europe:
2 Italians
1 Georgian team
1 Romanian team

Each play H+A within their Conference and then each of the other teams either H or A (switching every season).

Top of each conference makes the play offs as does next 2 (could do 4) on a combined league. The two worst league winners play those two with two best getting byes into SFs.

That leaves a maximum of 21 games per season for any one team. It also gives Georgia and Romania some representation. I do hate giving an Italian side a pass into the play offs but allows more Scottish sides which would help us no end and reduces the league games.

[hugh_woatmeigh]

Load of nonsense.

[whatisthejava]

http://m.sport24.co.za/sport24/Rugby/Su ... r-20170419

Cheetahs and Kings to Pro 12? This chap suggests making it a pro 14, but I'd be for ditching the Italians instead, or ditching one Italian team in favour of the Cheetahs. Not least because I could time my holidays with the in-laws in Bloemfontein for a Glasgow or Edinburgh trip.

Probably pie-in-the-sky stuff, but if they could get enough sponsors interested, particularly tourism ones, well, money talks...

If we are allowed pie in the sky I'd prefer some sort of conference system.

Scotland:
Caley Reds
Weeg
Embra
London Scottish.

Ireland:
4 Sides as it is.

Wales:
4 Sides as it is

Europe:
2 Italians
1 Georgian team
1 Romanian team

Each play H+A within their Conference and then each of the other teams either H or A (switching every season).

Top of each conference makes the play offs as does next 2 (could do 4) on a combined league. The two worst league winners play those two with two best getting byes into SFs.

That leaves a maximum of 21 games per season for any one team. It also gives Georgia and Romania some representation. I do hate giving an Italian side a pass into the play offs but allows more Scottish sides which would help us no end and reduces the league games.

Not a bad idea but I dont think we will get 3 teams unless a multi millionaire wants to throw some money away

[Big D]

http://m.sport24.co.za/sport24/Rugby/Su ... r-20170419

Cheetahs and Kings to Pro 12? This chap suggests making it a pro 14, but I'd be for ditching the Italians instead, or ditching one Italian team in favour of the Cheetahs. Not least because I could time my holidays with the in-laws in Bloemfontein for a Glasgow or Edinburgh trip.

Probably pie-in-the-sky stuff, but if they could get enough sponsors interested, particularly tourism ones, well, money talks...

If we are allowed pie in the sky I'd prefer some sort of conference system.

Scotland:
Caley Reds
Weeg
Embra
London Scottish.

Ireland:
4 Sides as it is.

Wales:
4 Sides as it is

Europe:
2 Italians
1 Georgian team
1 Romanian team

Each play H+A within their Conference and then each of the other teams either H or A (switching every season).

Top of each conference makes the play offs as does next 2 (could do 4) on a combined league. The two worst league winners play those two with two best getting byes into SFs.

That leaves a maximum of 21 games per season for any one team. It also gives Georgia and Romania some representation. I do hate giving an Italian side a pass into the play offs but allows more Scottish sides which would help us no end and reduces the league games.

Not a bad idea but I dont think we will get 3 teams unless a multi millionaire wants to throw some money away

Absolutely. It's pie in the sky and would assume the owners of LS and the sru spoke again!!

[General Zod]

Not a bad idea but I dont think we will get 3 teams unless a multi millionaire wants to throw some money away

I know there's some Georgian bloke who seems happy to pump millions into their rugby. Dunno about Romania.

Just thinking a bit more about it - while Sterling is strong compared to the Rand, the costs needn't be too high. Unfortunately, the Kings in particular wouldn't be a team in which I'd want to invest - must be losing money hand over fist.

[Jps]

If they added two SA sides & two or three North American sides, I imagine that could lead to a much better TV deal. We gotta do something or risk really getting left behind.

[hp18]

If they added two SA sides & two or three North American sides, I imagine that could lead to a much better TV deal. We gotta do something or risk really getting left behind.

Take a look at soup rugby.

[Big D]

If they added two SA sides & two or three North American sides, I imagine that could lead to a much better TV deal. We gotta do something or risk really getting left behind.

Take a look at soup rugby.

I think adding an east coast team from the USA would be ok in a straight 12 team league/play off format as the Pro12 is now. It could work, not sure they would try it though.

The soup is struggling for a few reasons including the conferences meaning best teams don't all make the play offs and the fact there are multiple time zones (one is 15 hours apart!) which makes it hard for fans. Large distances between countries is a pain too.

Rugby league has now has Toronto in it and the set up seems sound. Toronto are doing subsidised flights for fans etc.

New York or Boston is only 4 or 5 hours time difference, easy to get to for fans to get to and would open the marketing up a bit.

[Jps]

There's zero reason to post this here, but it's an overseas thing and I think it's interesting: http://www.espn.co.uk/rugby/story/_/id/ ... -nfl-draft

I watched that kid play all last year and he's an absolute monster. What's particularly interesting to me is that Sarancens have multiple world wide affiliate clubs, I had no idea that existed, but it's very interesting.

[General Zod]

Get in there!

http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/40122015

[Big D]

Shite

[General Zod]

Why shite? Aside from my personal interest, I think it's good news for the profile of the competition, particularly if we are ditching an Italian entrant.

[Big D]

Why shite? Aside from my personal interest, I think it's good news for the profile of the competition, particularly if we are ditching an Italian entrant.

S.A. has it's own SH based competition. Getting one of their rejects doesn't interest me in the slightest. S.A. based players aren't going to hurry to play in the pro12 imo.

The article doesn't say any side would be dropping out either.

If additional games are required Georgia could easily accommodate a pro team, a Boston or NY based team (it works in RL for toronto) could have been good. All new markets andbhwlping spread the game. The London based exiles could have been accomodated if expansion was really wanted.

[OptimisticJock]

Weather is going to be a bit of an issue

[Sandydragon]

Something does need to change or else we will continue to be the poor relations. The English and French clubs seem quite happy with their arrangements, so we need to think differently.

Either drop the number of games and make HC qualification based on the top 6 only regardless of nationality, but make sure we miss the international windows.

Or look to expand the league and bring in money making fixtures from elsewhere. An inter continental league would need huge resource to make it work, but the best fo the Pro 12 vs the best from South Africa would potentially be very good games.

Not sure that I have any of the required answers. just an awareness that we are the poor relations.

[General Zod]

I just think we need to think outside the box, and that this is worth a punt. It's a point of difference compared to other competitions, and will bring in a ready-made "proper" team.

Who knows what would happen re: European cup qualification, but I reckon it's worth a go.

[Big D]

I just don't think a reject super rugby side is outside the box.

[hugh_woatmeigh]

Awful idea.

[Eugene Wrayburn]

Something does need to change or else we will continue to be the poor relations. The English and French clubs seem quite happy with their arrangements, so we need to think differently.

Either drop the number of games and make HC qualification based on the top 6 only regardless of nationality, but make sure we miss the international windows.

Or look to expand the league and bring in money making fixtures from elsewhere. An inter continental league would need huge resource to make it work, but the best fo the Pro 12 vs the best from South Africa would potentially be very good games.

Not sure that I have any of the required answers. just an awareness that we are the poor relations.

Short of going on an enormous and sustained national fuck frenzy, we're always going to be the poor relations. It's a question of numbers.

If this is genuinely a suggestion that they join our league - and for issues of weather and Currie cup and travel I sincerely doubt it - it's one of the worst ideas I've ever seen for the league.

[Sandydragon]

Something does need to change or else we will continue to be the poor relations. The English and French clubs seem quite happy with their arrangements, so we need to think differently.

Either drop the number of games and make HC qualification based on the top 6 only regardless of nationality, but make sure we miss the international windows.

Or look to expand the league and bring in money making fixtures from elsewhere. An inter continental league would need huge resource to make it work, but the best fo the Pro 12 vs the best from South Africa would potentially be very good games.

Not sure that I have any of the required answers. just an awareness that we are the poor relations.

Short of going on an enormous and sustained national fuck frenzy, we're always going to be the poor relations. It's a question of numbers.

If this is genuinely a suggestion that they join our league - and for issues of weather and Currie cup and travel I sincerely doubt it - it's one of the worst ideas I've ever seen for the league.

Travel would be a bitch, although it's not the first time South African teams have been linked to regular fixtures with UK ones.

As for a fuck frenzy, I've heard worse ideas.

[General Zod]

Travel needn't be insurmountable. You could do 2 home games and 2 away for the cheetahs, and if there's an odd number of teams in the league, the fallow week for a team going to SA could be filled with a sunny training camp/ safari-based piss-up the week before or after playing in Bloemfontein.

I think even a super rugby reject XV will improve the quality of the league if we ditch one or both of the Italians.

[no sleep]

Can't see the point of this. If we want to grow the game globally then we invite Italian/Georgian/Romanian teams to join the league and if they're crap we help them improve as best we can. If we want to improve our own league, we look to the grassroots. Inviting not-very-good teams from regions where the game's already established seems like the worst of both worlds.

[General Zod]

I agree with the general principle of growing the game (although we have tried that with Italy and their teams are still shite), but growing it doesn't mean ditching established teams. It's also not as if the Cheetahs are skint although they aren't exactly flush either. Is there a ready-made team in Georgia or Romania who could come in? Even the sunwolves and the Jaguares took at least a year to set up. I think if the cheetahs called up and said "we want in" (which is, I think, pretty much what happened), we should try it and see how it goes. The league needs freshening up and I reckon this is worth a shot.

[Cameo]

I'm really not sure on this. I would be interested to watch a cheetahs team unless it was just the second tier of SA club rugby but it feels a bit too random. I don't like the word narrative but a league has to have a coherent reason for being. At least if it was a US team we could say it was the cream of US talent.

Imagine explaining to a non rugby fan when Glasgow/Edinburgh win the pro13 in 2019 that it is a tournament made up of us, Ireland, Wales, Italy and one random team from South Africa who got kicked out and didn't really have anywhere to play. Or worse, what if they won it!