New Indo-Pacific League proposals

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Following the confirmation that the Western Force are to be removed from Super Rugby, their multi-billionaire backer Andrew Forrest has confirmed rumours of his plans to set up a rival league in the general Oceania area:

"This is the beginning of the new Force, this is the beginning of the new Indo-Pacific competition and I am delighted to be an instigator of it," Forrest told reporters in Perth on Tuesday.

"I will be releasing details immediately of the initial administration structure and can assure all of you that discussions have commenced and within our own state and country to ensure this competition starts and starts strong."

http://www.planetrugby.com/news/force-lose-supreme-court-appeal/

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Talk of a sevens tournament aligned to this new XVs tournament in a Western Force press release.

https://www.rugbywa.asn.au/news/and...hearts-but-toughens-and-emboldens-our-spirit/

Wild and currently baseless speculation I have read includes:

- pinching the Fijian NRC side
- some Aussie side in NSW called the Greater Sydney Rams that underwent a recent rebranding and new ownership
- Malaysia (apparently they have plans to create a domestic professional league and they are no stranger to international sports (e.g. MotoGP)
- Sri Lanka (apparently they have some kind of professional 7s circuit called Super 7s)
- something based in Singapore


There is even wilder speculation about Hong Kong and South Korea but you'd imagine these would be more credible markets for Mr Forrest to consider given their world rankings and domestic qualified talent.

Rumours that the SA franchises the Sharks and Lions have sent letters to the SARU requesting membership of this Indo Pacific tournament given their position near the Indian Ocean are at present completely made up by me.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Last post from me for now. Below are the background to Malaysian and Sri Lankan rugby that I could find.

http://www.thepapare.com/slsuper7s/

http://www.mru.org.my/web/news/new-malaysian-rugby-league-in-the-offings-press-release/

It doesn't sound all that absurd to me to suggest they could be candidates for a franchise; assuming they can find local commercial backers/partners (which I'd imagine would be a whole lot easier in Malaysia).

 

[TRF_stormer2010]

This, assuming this crazy billionaire makes it take off, could potentially develop into the Super Rugby tier 2 a number of us (including myself) have been touting as the way forward. I still say SR should be a round robin of home OR away 12 way affair.

Take top 12 of SR and drop the rest into this comp.

From SA, they could look to ask the Griquas, Pumas, Boland and other SA sides. It'd be hilarious to have SA involved in 3 different tournaments all while our best talent are playing in the Premiership and Top14. Long term though I want SARU to pick either SH or NH ITO club/provincial rugby and go all in. I appreciate we are currently in a transition phase.

How about Kenya and Madagascar national sides. Zimbabwe if they could get their act together could easily be Africa 2 behind SA. Namibia... I suppose is not Indo-Pacific.

 

[amz]

I don't think SA really needs to be part of this, to me sounds like a stretch.

About the rest of franchises, realistically if they find 8 sides this might kick off.

 

[smartcooky]

With a billionaire bankroller, money probably won't be a problem, but match coverage might be. Who'd be interested? Players might be problem too... who wants to go and live in Sri Lanka or Malaysia or South Korea?

 

[pagliaccio_euforico]

With a billionaire bankroller, money probably won't be a problem, but match coverage might be. Who'd be interested? Players might be problem too... who wants to go and live in Sri Lanka or Malaysia or South Korea?

Don't know about Sri Lanka or Malaysia, but South Korea would probably one of the most attractive places to go and play professional rugby.

The travel required for league play would be not as attractive.

 

[smartcooky]

Don't know about Sri Lanka or Malaysia, but South Korea would probably one of the most attractive places to go and play professional rugby.

I would not want to go anywhere near there right now. We've got a megalomaniac fat buffoon with a bad haircut, who has his finger on the nuclear button.

And in North Korea they've got Kim Jong Un.

 

[pagliaccio_euforico]

I would not want to go anywhere near there right now. We've got a megalomaniac fat buffoon with a bad haircut, who has his finger on the nuclear button.

And in North Korea they've got Kim Jong Un.

ehhh... i live across the river from our orange deity, i'm used to living next to disaster

but i understand the hesitation

 

[BPM]

With a billionaire bankroller, money probably won't be a problem, but match coverage might be. Who'd be interested? Players might be problem too... who wants to go and live in Sri Lanka or Malaysia or South Korea?

Rightly or wrongly will always attract professional sportsmen. I hate referencing football, but look at the Chinese league there - it's a crappy competition but they'll pay top dollar so leading international players (mainly Brazilians) will go and play there, despite the fact that it's a competition that no-one outside China watches or cares about.

Match coverage and the interest level is likely to be more of a problem. If it was properly done, it could be a very good opportunity to grow the game and re-invigorate SH rugby. For example, it could be used to incubate younger Australian players who are less likely to be getting the game time in Super Rugby and it could be an ideal opportunity to create a proper PI franchise.

I could imagine a Singapore-based franchise being a popular choice for quite a few players. Definitely for ex-internationals looking for a new challenge.

 

[Brigantine]

I can't see the XVs Forrest league doing anything in the next 6 years other than hiding below the radar bleeding money and keeping reserve SR players fit...

But a pro 7s circuit seems much more interesting. (As long as they keep it tournament-based and don't do what the Americans were talking about)

Looking forwards 10 years, Asian rugby will grow, and it will grow in Forrest's image. If he can make it survive that long, these tournaments will really be a big deal. He's ahead of his time.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

- Starts in August 2018
- 6 teams in first year
- encompassing women's and 7s rugby on the undercard of the main fixture (possibly)
- aiming at luring Aussies back from Europe and Japan with bigger pay packets.
- possible rule tweaks to further encourage running rugby and ball in play.

http://www.planetrugby.com/news/forrest-announces-indo-pacific-tournament/

 

[duncanb]

Will Forrest be the new Kerry Packer,if he chose to throw some serious money at it.
He had a large influence on how one day cricket is now.
Look at the travelling 20/20 chasing the $ around the world,is Rugby next.

 

[Brigantine]

The start date means it won't square off with Super Rugby but it will overlap with Australia's National Rugby Championship (NRC) in 2018.

While that may hinder the NRC next year, Forrest was overwhelmingly positive about the future of the code, eliminating any thought that this competition would be setup to try and inflict pain on the Australian Rugby Union [...]

Well... I wasn't worried by the speculation surrounding the Fijian Drua and Greater Sydney Rams joining the Forrest League, when I thought it would run during SR.

But if they run at the same time as NRC and poach the Spirit, Drua and Rams... He could probably end up taking over the NRC wholesale. (taking over a loss-leader won't 'inflict pain' on ARU)
More likely IMO he'll shift the season around after RWC 2019 once he has enough SR players committed.

Is there a risk of this turning into a new great schism with all the rule changes he wants?