Could we create a second Tier URC with promotion/ relegation?

[Ewan Ritchie]

What do people think about creating a URC second division with some more Scottish/ Irish/ Italian/ Welsh semi pro teams? Perhaps also get in a Portugese/ Georgian outfit to join.

Then make it possible for teams to get relegated from/ promoted to the URC? Might be a good way of making the tournament more dynamic and also helping to give our young players more competitive game time?

 

[Amiga500]

While its not a bad idea in principle, I think you'd around aground on a few things.

- travel costs.
- general funding in the game. The Welsh cannot afford, and don't support the teams they have. The Scots have toyed with a 3rd team for years now, but never went for it.
- more teams means more stadia etc to upkeep.


What might be more viable is to take a leaf out of the GAA's inter county championships and have U-20 games as curtain-raisers to the seniors.
So, say on Friday night Ospreys are playing Leinster at 19:35 - you'd then have Ospreys U-20s play Leinster U-20s with 17:35 kick-off in the same stadium.

There are problems of course:
- In bad weather, the pitch won't be able to take 2 matches back to back.
- Where do the senior teams warm up?

But it gets the younger players games against others teams that should, at least in theory, be of similar quality.
Might be more viable than a 2nd division, but very uncertain whether its above the threshold of actually viable.

 

[dirty harry]

While its not a bad idea in principle, I think you'd around aground on a few things.

- travel costs.
- general funding in the game. The Welsh cannot afford, and don't support the teams they have. The Scots have toyed with a 3rd team for years now, but never went for it.
- more teams means more stadia etc to upkeep.


What might be more viable is to take a leaf out of the GAA's inter county championships and have U-20 games as curtain-raisers to the seniors.
So, say on Friday night Ospreys are playing Leinster at 19:35 - you'd then have Ospreys U-20s play Leinster U-20s with 17:35 kick-off in the same stadium.

There are problems of course:
- In bad weather, the pitch won't be able to take 2 matches back to back.
- Where do the senior teams warm up?

But it gets the younger players games against others teams that should, at least in theory, be of similar quality.
Might be more viable than a 2nd division, but very uncertain whether its above the threshold of actually viable.

I actually quite like this U20 idea. Brings the younger players on, spends time with the seniors etc...

I'm not sure how viable a full u20 season would be, like you said costs are pretty big, and taking another 25 people to SA would be expensive.

Maybe an inter region comp though, where U20s play a against their regional for the first half of the season, and the 2nd half they play a 5 team tournament in the format you propose pre URC game weekends.

Keeping costs down firs half being local, and then the top 5 teams of 1 from each nation spend 6 weeks playing 5 games each, leading to a winner.

I don't hate a 2nd URC division, but I think it would have to be invitational. Could SA potentially enter Cheetahs, Georgia could fund 1 team, Scotland probably could afford 1, Ireland could afford to run 4 more provinces, maybe A teams of the current with limitations of non promotion, but certainly Wales and Italy couldn't I wouldn't have thought. Unless a financial backer could get a Ponty team up and running, but considering they don't play in the new Welsh competition now, seems unlikely. The WRU have ****** welsh rugby so hard, the valleys is adrift.