French to Boycott HEC

[RoyalBlueStuey]

In BO'D we trust

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/6273277.stm

Leinster's Brian O'Driscoll has pleaded with French clubs to reconsider their boycott of next season's Heineken Cup.

Ireland captain O'Driscoll says the tournament would be devalued if the French clubs withdrew over a dispute with the Rugby Football Union.

"It would take away from the winner if the French teams didn't play," he said.

"I know they take massive pride in their domestic league, but they have to realise pitting themselves against the best teams in Europe is where it's at."

Listen to the man...listen to the fans...Sort.It.

 

[O'Rothlain]

In BO'D we trust

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/6273277.stm

Leinster's Brian O'Driscoll has pleaded with French clubs to reconsider their boycott of next season's Heineken Cup.

Ireland captain O'Driscoll says the tournament would be devalued if the French clubs withdrew over a dispute with the Rugby Football Union.

"It would take away from the winner if the French teams didn't play," he said.

"I know they take massive pride in their domestic league, but they have to realise pitting themselves against the best teams in Europe is where it's at."

Listen to the man...listen to the fans...Sort.It.
[/b]

We need to rally the top musicians in Europe to do some sort of charity song for this...
"I believe the Heiniken Cup is the Future, Don't let money and disputes get in the way, Let the clubs of Europe have a chance to shine, Because we love them...Yes we fans love them..."

Something like that...as you sing this tune make sure it's to the song Whitney Houston once sang "I believe the Children are the future..."

 

[Prestwick]

I just think the whole thing is a friggin joke lol

Maybe its exactly what rugby needs though a good kick in the ass. The NHL lockout last year did that in North America and the league has comeback stronger then ever.

The should scrap the stupid anglo welsh cup cut out the november tours and have the June tours alternate hemisphere's each year.

The whole notion of having the national team play at the same for half the domestic league's season is just f***ing stupid. International Ice Hockey does not do this except with the world championship but thats a secondary tournament anyways. With the Olympics and hte World Cup of Hockey internationals are played when the NHL and the other seasons are either not in season or are taking a stoppage for the respective tournaments.

Problem with rugby is yes we want to see internationals but these can't be at the expense of the domestic leagues that help build and foster these great international sides.
[/b]

Yes but the problem is that you're comparing like for like a wee bit too much there.

In the Rugby World (like in Cricket) tours are a vital part of the schedule. Its the way that the rugby world knows who is top dog and who isn't.

Also because of how rugby is played, if you removed the summer internationals, you'd never get a northern hemisphere side to play down under ever again. The reason why we tour down south is because by May and June, they will be in late autumn and the conditions will be far better to play in. Imagine playing 80 minutes of top quality, high octane rugby in the Australian sun in the middle of their summer!!! Madness!

Thats also why tours are an integral part of Cricket. Adopting an NHL way of thinking for scheduling just wouldn't make sense.

To balance the schedule books you just need to do three things:

1) Force the French to adopt the same league shedule as everyone else in the North.
2) Get rid of the Anglo-Welsh cup
3) Make the GP a ten team league.

There we go. Loads of time for resting, the HEC and the internationals.

 

[RoyalBlueStuey]

We need to rally the top musicians in Europe to do some sort of charity song for this...
"I believe the Heiniken Cup is the Future, Don't let money and disputes get in the way, Let the clubs of Europe have a chance to shine, Because we love them...Yes we fans love them..."

Something like that...as you sing this tune make sure it's to the song Whitney Houston once sang "I believe the Children are the future..."
[/b]

*holds lighter in the air*

I bet, whether people admit it or not, they all instinctively defaulted to Whitney whilst reading it.

We could Sir Elton to do some proper lyrics :

"Goodbye Europe's cup
May you ever grow in our hearts..."

*blah blah blah, insert overly sentimental crap here*

"...The French teams pulled out long ago
O'Driscoll never will"

 

[O'Rothlain]

"I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind, That I put down in Words, Please France don't remove European Championship Rugby out of my world."

 

[DC]

How about make an all european league with the top teams from the Top 14, England, ML, Italy, then take the other teams from all thoes leagues and make up another 2 tiers below that using the other teams and some from the national 1 division. And there youve got a competitive league, with 14 of the top euro sides (leinster, leicester, munster, biarritz, paris etc.), and all the sides who werent at the top of their league (borders, northampton, etc.) filing into the other leagues eager for promotion.

 

[An Tarbh]

That's never going to happen, there's too much money in the Top14 for the French to toss it aside for a European league.

 

[DonBilly]

That's never going to happen, there's too much money in the Top14 for the French to toss it aside for a European league.
[/b]

An Tarbh, I think you're right. I don't see the French ending a competition which started in the late XIXth century. Brennus shield remains for the French club Rugby the supreme trophee.

 

[Bullitt]

<div class='quotemain'>
I just think the whole thing is a friggin joke lol

Maybe its exactly what rugby needs though a good kick in the ass. The NHL lockout last year did that in North America and the league has comeback stronger then ever.

The should scrap the stupid anglo welsh cup cut out the november tours and have the June tours alternate hemisphere's each year.

The whole notion of having the national team play at the same for half the domestic league's season is just f***ing stupid. International Ice Hockey does not do this except with the world championship but thats a secondary tournament anyways. With the Olympics and hte World Cup of Hockey internationals are played when the NHL and the other seasons are either not in season or are taking a stoppage for the respective tournaments.

Problem with rugby is yes we want to see internationals but these can't be at the expense of the domestic leagues that help build and foster these great international sides.
[/b]

Yes but the problem is that you're comparing like for like a wee bit too much there.

In the Rugby World (like in Cricket) tours are a vital part of the schedule. Its the way that the rugby world knows who is top dog and who isn't.

Also because of how rugby is played, if you removed the summer internationals, you'd never get a northern hemisphere side to play down under ever again. The reason why we tour down south is because by May and June, they will be in late autumn and the conditions will be far better to play in. Imagine playing 80 minutes of top quality, high octane rugby in the Australian sun in the middle of their summer!!! Madness!

Thats also why tours are an integral part of Cricket. Adopting an NHL way of thinking for scheduling just wouldn't make sense.

To balance the schedule books you just need to do three things:

1) Force the French to adopt the same league shedule as everyone else in the North.
2) Get rid of the Anglo-Welsh cup
3) Make the GP a ten team league.

There we go. Loads of time for resting, the HEC and the internationals.
[/b][/quote]

Why not just move to those f***ing RFU franchises that Byron wants... <_<

The GP sides will eventually break away from the RFU and form an independant league at this rate. Then they will compete in a new and completely different european competition proberbly joined by the French sides.

The HEC is now a dead tournament. This years champion had best be worthy of the ***le, there's not ever going to be another for a long long time.

 

[Prestwick]

I think you're overracting there. I think at the end of the day this is just a case of France "******* into the wind with an umbrella" and doing whatever the hell it likes.

Over the course of this thread, I've come to realise that maybe even if the RFU and Premier Rugby got into bed with each other, the French would still shrug a fine gailic shrug and still boycott the HEC.

Come 2008/9 though, they'll be back in it and it will be as if nothing had ever happened.

And as for the 10 team league, this is vital. It has to happen, I mean, lets face it, its not just the RFU that are f***ing over the face of rugby as we know it, the Clubs have to hold their share of the blame too.

At the end of the day, there are too many matches being played, the league is a smidgin too big and so two teams need to go. If Northampton actually got their act together and got out of the bottom third of the league tables then you wouldn't be so angry about the whole situation.

Its called bloody social dawinism mate, the fittest survive and the crappest get sent to the first division.

And I forgot to add two things to that:

1)Increase the wage cap, let the clubs expand their squads to compensate for internationals being taken away from them. One thing people forget is that the clubs can't just summon up legions of Pacific islanders out of nowhere because alot of the Premiership clubs are pushing at the limit of their salary caps already. Increasing the salary cap would at least cover teams who have lost their best talent to international duty.

2)Compress England training days to block weeks. Just having a couple of days here and there is pointless, everyone is usually shagged after a weekends hard club rugby. Just take the number of days currently agreed upon and squeeze them into two or three weeks. One week for the summer, one for the autumn internationals and one for the period just before the Six Nations. This is another thing that the Clubs really do need to agree to.

 

[Bullitt]

Taking a dig at the team I support doesn't make any difference to the situation; This 10 team ******** will kill the domestic game, thus ruining everything else upwards in turn.

Most of the Clubs have a long and rich history (apart from Saracens who've never won f***-all) and 99% of people wo go to watch these clubs, their members and their owners would all put them before anything else. This is wht there are such fierce rivalries in the league, such as Saints/Tigers or Gloucester/Bath. A 10 team system would mean a lot of these local sides would end up "merging" to form the RFU franchises; Yeah Right. Like a Gloucester and a Bath fan will ever stand shoulder to shoulder cheering on each others home town.

The 10 team franchise has only been suggested so the RFU can put a noose around the neck of the professional game and bully the the game into submission. They couldn't care less if the domestic game is destroyed, the RFU would rather the elite squad only play 10 games a year anyway; The 6 nations and the pointless, money-spinning autumn/summer games.

What would happen once rhe RFU owned everything in English rugby;

- The passion would die because no one cares abouth their team anymore

- The standards of playing ability would reduce while every teams reverts the the Leicester/Saracens up-yer-jumper bullshit to accomidate Englands methods

- Ticket prices increas for games while the normal fan is pushed out for the corperate sponsor

- The BBC end up with more coverage so Brian "you can't do that" Moore starts talking crap on a regular basis

- Anyone who isn't in the old boys network finds themself without a job

- Past-it former England players given game time in the leage instead of talented and hungry youngsters





The RFU franchise will knoll the death toll for English rugby.

 

[Prestwick]

Mite, we're not talking about a ten franchise league. We're just talking about cutting the league down to ten teams and letting two get relegated down into the first division.

All this talk about franchises was only that. Talk. The RFU wheeled out all the top brass to reject any notion that they were suddenly going to wheel out a plan to turn the league into franchises so I don't quite understand your hysterical argument here Mite.

Even still, lets examine each of a couple of those points:


- Saracens don't do Leicester up your jumpers '********', you're only saying that because you're stung that someone had the temerity to tease you about your favourite team. I'm quite happy about people slagging off my team because I know that what goes around, comes around. You've only just realised that the mighty can indeed fall and boy does the truth hurt

- Worcester vs Wasps next Friday. £27 for the East Stand. Twenty Seven frickin' quid for a basement club fighting for survival!! We don't have to wait for pointless franchises for ticket prices to reach Dive-ball Premiership prices...we're already there mate!

- I object to having to pay Sky for their annoying, bombastic and in your face coverage. If I am paying a license fee and the BBC want to screen Premiership rugby. All the best of luck to them. You do have a choice y'know. Press the red button and select the local BBC Radio coverage instead I do that when watching a Scotland rugby international because BBC Radio Scotland does far better coverage.

- Rather than past-it former Southern Hemisphere stars being played because clubs don't want to put money into local talent in case they get picked for international duty?

Mite, at the end of the day, the RFU and Premier Rugby are equally to blame for this mess. I don't agree that English rugby should be ruled by old duffers on the RFU board neither do I believe that it should be run by corporate benefactors and Sky TV money. I'm against Franchises as much as you are, but change needs to happen to solve all of this bickering. If it takes the RFU moving to let Premier Rugby have their little seat on the European Rugby board thing then so be it.

I mean it really isn't rocket science here, the problem is that the RFU and the Clubs are now so stuck in their ways and stubborn to the point of lunacy that not even the stern words of a High Court Judge can make them see sense, I don't think really the RFU or the Clubs know why exactly they are arguing anymore. They just seem intent on wanting to score points off of each other and batter the other into dust.

A middle way needs to be found and both sides need to make compromises.

 

[DonBilly]

Neither the French clubs organization nor the English one showed up at the last meeting of the ERC convened to solve the issue arose with the renewal of the Paris agreements.

It mooks like that the English clubs too are seriously considering boycotting next season H-cup.

 

[DonBilly]

The ultimatum set by the LNR ends tomorow. This is likely that the boycott becomes real on Sunday.

 

[Bullitt]

So that's that then. Goodbye HEC, it was fun while it lasted.

 

[Prestwick]

Gah, what Club cup competitons do we have left?!

 

[SmokeyMonkey]

The French should reduce the number of teams in their top league, maybe from 14 down to 12.

 

[RoyalBlueStuey]

Neither the French clubs organization nor the English one showed up at the last meeting of the ERC convened to solve the issue arose with the renewal of the Paris agreements.

It mooks like that the English clubs too are seriously considering boycotting next season H-cup.
[/b]

That is absolutely criminal....nothing short of dereliction of duty.

It sounds melodramatic but we, the fans, have been completely disregarded and let down on this one. Supporters of the big boys should write to their clubs and let them know.

 

[shtove]

When money's involved, there are always last minute compromises. Just wait.

 

[Bullitt]

When money's involved, there are always last minute compromises. Just wait. [/b]

When the RFU basically want complete control, I doubt there willbe any compromise.

Tossers.