NRFL Combine in United States Ready to Roll on April 5-6th

[ratsapprentice]

Who wants to bet that it's Saracens that have "signed" someone?

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Who wants to bet that it's Saracens that have "signed" someone?

Seeing is they, Bristol and Quins were the only English clubs represented, you've a 1 in 3 chance of being right. Would it be a bad thing if they did? They already have three Americans (or Eagles players) on their books.

 

[ratsapprentice]

I think they were almost guaranteed to sign someone before the event took place.

Their PR department would have made sure they did.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

I agree with you on that. Saracens are hell-bent on boosting their profile and becoming a dominant sporting brand. With teams bearing the Saracens name in Tonga, Moscow, Abu Dhabi, Sao Paulo, Nairobi and Kuala Lumpur, they're going for the first mover advantage approach in terms of gaining support in those countries. I guess that if the NRFL does get off the ground, there'll be a Sarries team taking part as an expansion of the Saracensworld project. It's a long term strategy which is gambling on an explosion in rugby's popularity at a relatively low cost. If it does take off London's Saracens will be in a very strong position to exploit revenue streams outside of England.

 

[Grant A Cole]

RA is pretty keen on the uptake re: Sarries, just short on the count.

I'm more interested in the changes to the visa system that will come about once the commerce begins. Today's judges & legislators in any nation are more interested in making sure the money keeps flowing than in preserving the status quo. Commercial entities (the clubs) will win out over non-profits (unions & the IRB ) in the end.

 

[ratsapprentice]

RA is pretty keen on the uptake re: Sarries, just short on the count.

I'm more interested in the changes to the visa system that will come about once the commerce begins. Today's judges & legislators in any nation are more interested in making sure the money keeps flowing than in preserving the status quo. Commercial entities (the clubs) will win out over non-profits (unions & the IRB) in the end.

Not sure what you mean by that, honestly. Never heard that expression before, and can't figure out how it applies to my comments?

At the moment the clubs don't have anywhere near as much financial clout as the unions (in the UK at least) - so that'll be a long way off if the Unions don't want it to happen.
I'm not really familiar with the visa thing though tbh - it really applies to very few players.

 

[LittleGuy]

Not sure what you mean by that, honestly. Never heard that expression before, and can't figure out how it applies to my comments?

At the moment the clubs don't have anywhere near as much financial clout as the unions (in the UK at least) - so that'll be a long way off if the Unions don't want it to happen.
I'm not really familiar with the visa thing though tbh - it really applies to very few players.

I had heard you have a minimum of two international caps in order to qualify for a Visa to play rugby in the UK(if you weren't able to get a European passport or a passport from a country that had work aggrements with the UK). Though this was a while ago and I haven't looked into seeing if it has changed.

 

[ratsapprentice]

Yeah, I know of the rule - but I'm unsure who it applies to (kolpak and commonwealth for example?) - and why the law is in place.
For example if it applies to the EPL - then I don't see how the PRL could even dream of overruling it.
I've only heard of it in the case of Lamositele - though that might just be because there aren't a whole lot of foreign rookies being signed in the first place.

Edit: from what I can figure out the "2-cap" rule is determined either by the RFU or the IRB - whichever is determined to be the governing body referred to below.

In order to be allowed to issue a Certificate of Sponsorship, a sponsor must first obtain the endorsement for the applicant from the relevant sport's governing body. The endorsement will confirm that:

• The player or coach is internationally established at the highest level
• The player or coach will make a significant contribution to the development of his or her sport at the highest level in the UK
• The post could not be filled by a suitable settled worker. A settled worker is either a UK national, a national of the European Economic Area or someone who is legally settled in the UK with permission to work.

Not sure how a conglomerate of 12 (mostly loss making) entities is going to have that law changed.

 

[Grant A Cole]

Never heard that expression before, and can't figure out how it applies to my comments?

"keen on the uptake" means you are correct.

 

[ratsapprentice]

I worked that bit out... it's the "just short on the count" bit that's got me puzzled.

 

[goodNumber10]

Edit: from what I can figure out the "2-cap" rule is determined either by the RFU or the IRB - whichever is determined to be the governing body referred to be.

It's set by the home office, no?

 

[ratsapprentice]

The bit in quotes in my last comment suggest that the RFU determine the requirements for a certificate.
Clearly the home office will have a hand in it though.

 

[goodNumber10]

The bit in quotes in my last comment suggest that the RFU determine the requirements for a certificate.
Clearly the home office will have a hand in it though.

The way I read it is they will sponsor the person.

The requirements are still set by the home office AFAIK.

That's just my interpretation though. Legal mine field this kind of stuff.

 

[ratsapprentice]

The sponsor in this case would be the club - the RFU are the governing body.
It's then up to the RFU to determine whether an applicant meets the requirements set by the home office (as set out in the bullet points above).
One of their requirements is that a player has 2 caps.

 

[goodNumber10]

You're right.

 

[Grant A Cole]

I worked that bit out... it's the "just short on the count" bit that's got me puzzled.

You said that Sarries were signing someone, as in singular.

 

[smartcooky]

Am I the only one who saw the thread ***le and thought it was about Rugby League in the USA?

 

[Grant A Cole]

Am I the only one who saw the thread ***le and thought it was about Rugby League in the USA?

Most understand that the term "league" has no negative connotations to the American sports fan. They drop it there, because, well, its the Americans. Those bloody blighters always do things differently, right?

The American hang up is with the term "union". It possesses negative connotations in the American lexicon for historical reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with sports.

 

[bakakumon]

The NRFL ‏@TheNRFL 13 May
Notices have gone out to players that we have made our first cuts following the inaugural NRFL Combine

Finally there are some news after the combine

 

[LittleGuy]

So it took them a month to annouce cuts were made and now another month of no news.......