Cheetahs and Kings to join "Pro 14"

[smartcooky]

Referring to hard ground?

And temperature. I played cricket in Welkom back in the early 1980's.... temperature 30°+, grounds were like concrete... diving to stop the ball wasn't fun. I would not want to play rugby on any of them

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

I'm most interested in how this affects my Leinster season ticket. Do I get more games than I bargained for or less than I paid for?

 

[Groundhog]

I'm most interested in how this affects my Leinster season ticket. Do I get more games than I bargained for or less than I paid for?

You get a free trip to South Africa where if the rugby gets boring and you stand up for a Mexican wave your watch will be gone when you sit down.
Yeah though there's people with 10 year season tickets who must be guaranteed a certain amount of games per season.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Referring to hard ground?

Probably the ~35 degree Celsius average highs. Games could be played at 19h00 local when it gets cool which would make it 17h00 GMT. Kinda ideal?

 

[munstermuffin]

I'm most interested in how this affects my Leinster season ticket. Do I get more games than I bargained for or less than I paid for?

In Munster it's part of the deal. Was provisionally accepted Cork and Limerick will get 1 game extra each. Doesn't necessarily mean they will get 1 SA team each though.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Friday night games in South Africa could work.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

I'd imagine less games is more likely. Currently 22 plus playoffs. If two conferences it is likely to be 12 (own conference) + 7 (other conference) = 19 plus playoffs.

Hopefully resulting in less games when international players are available which i think is currently a weakness for the league. I'd imagine some kind of refund would be made for season ticket holders who lose out on one or two home games.

 

[munstermuffin]

I'd imagine less games is more likely. Currently 22 plus playoffs. If two conferences it is likely to be 12 (own conference) + 7 (other conference) = 19 plus playoffs.

Hopefully resulting in less games when international players are available which i think is currently a weakness for the league. I'd imagine some kind of refund would be made for season ticket holders who lose out on one or two home games.

I think equally the pressure will ramp up on the Italian teams now to get it right or be gone. Treviso have a stable franchise but Zebre just can't seem to get it right.

 

[stus768]

How will they split the conferences?
Geographically or merit based?

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

I think equally the pressure will ramp up on the Italian teams now to get it right or be gone. Treviso have a stable franchise but Zebre just can't seem to get it right.

Personally think long term Pro 12 should be looking at getting another SA team or maybe say another European team from spain, Germany, Georgia where ever and just have one italian team that is based in Rome.

Really surprised that Italy has yet to move a pro 12 team to rome it has the better resources, the higher population, it's where the internationals are played and is alot better when it comes to media location IMO.

1 Italian Pro 12 team based in rome with a proper domestic championship that feeds players into that pro 12 team would be better than the current situation.

 

[munstermuffin]

Personally think long term Pro 12 should be looking at getting another SA team or maybe say another European team from spain, Germany, Georgia where ever and just have one italian team that is based in Rome.

Really surprised that Italy has yet to move a pro 12 team to rome it has the better resources, the higher population, it's where the internationals are played and is alot better when it comes to media location IMO.

1 Italian Pro 12 team based in rome with a proper domestic championship that feeds players into that pro 12 team would be better than the current situation.

Fully agree. There was the talk of a German/Georgian team joining also and that they'd be based in Germany and the funding was there.
Think if this does happen with Kings and Cheetahs it will definitely open up a whole new era of evolution within pro rugby in term of competitions evolving in their structures.

 

[profitius]

Probably the ~35 degree Celsius average highs. Games could be played at 19h00 local when it gets cool which would make it 17h00 GMT. Kinda ideal?

Have it as late as possible.

For the hard ground problem they could always look at putting in an artificial pitch.

35 degrees would be a shock to the system for the players but then again I don't think they'll mind spending a few weeks in a warm climate.

 

[MikeTheNative]

I don't see how hard ground will be a problem for a professional sports team. They will have sprinkler systems installed in the stadiums to keep it soft and watered anyways.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

On the original plan it was that they play majority of the Dec/Jan games away as in tour for maybe a few weeks and then in return have large amount of games at home as teams "tour" for the 2 games. This makes sense to as no team will want to be travelling too far around European Cup games.

That seems very sensible. No wonder the NH competitions work better as products than our SH counterparts in general.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Wonder what the league will be called now a non Celtic country is in it.

It hasn't been called the Celtic League since the Italian teams joined in 2010. It will probably just be called the pro 14.

LOL, the Kings can hardly be called 'pro' though. Up till recently the union couldn't even pay its admin and playing staff.

If anything I think the term 'Celtic' would be a better fit as we are of such mixed European decent (those of us of European decent of course).

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

I'd assume that the SA teams home games in the hottest months would be played in London (as suggested in the BBC article) or at night with a 7pm or 8pm kickoff time in SA.

If it meant a 24 game regular season, from a Leinster perspective, it frees up the possibility of an extra home game in Lansdowne Rd which could be very lucrative. Say Leinster v Ulster over the Christmas/New Year season?

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

Have it as late as possible.

For the hard ground problem they could always look at putting in an artificial pitch.

35 degrees would be a shock to the system for the players but then again I don't think they'll mind spending a few weeks in a warm climate.

The hard surfaces won't be an issue for Bloemfontein stadium. Its more your grass roots fields where kids essentially grow up playing on concrete slabs. The grounds are harder than what you would find in Europe but not so much as to be hazardous to anyone's health. If anything it should promote running rugby while the thin air also does promote a kicking for territory based game. Its the main reason for our mixed approaches to the game across our different unions. The Sharks with their tropical humidity (an issue unless you have very good hands) and heavy coastal fields are served better by a suffocating game playing without the ball and a huge pack for instance.

I think our boys visiting Europe in winter would lead to as much of a shock but we are the late comers to the party.

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

I'd assume that the SA teams home games in the hottest months would be played in London (as suggested in the BBC article) or at night with a 7pm or 8pm kickoff time in SA.

If it meant a 24 game regular season, from a Leinster perspective, it frees up the possibility of an extra home game in Lansdowne Rd which could be very lucrative. Say Leinster v Ulster over the Christmas/New Year season?

Summer evening in SA is paradise. Especially at the more moderate coastal climates.

 

[Gavin]

Now will we be seeing a full 14 team league or two leagues of 7 teams?

The two leagues could seriously reduce the matches played by players, which would be a good thing IMO. It might also develop into adding some more lower teams from Georgia, Spain and Portugal etc in the long run.

 

[munstermuffin]

That seems very sensible. No wonder the NH competitions work better as products than our SH counterparts in general.

Exactly. It makes sense for Saffa teams too as they could literally set up 1 base in Ireland or Wales and travel on a Friday to games and back Saturday. It wouldn't be constant changing of hotels.