Yet the most successful sporting team in just about any sport on the planet run their game for country first and can anyone say NZ clubs are suffering as a result?
Why do people have such an issue with following a system that clearly works in favour of one that has a history of not working?
We can get the best clubs in England but none of them are financially self-sustaining. The Irish get similar or better performance for less and the French are able to attract the revenue to offset the increased costs. The Aviva is financially unsustainable and it NEEDS to be reformed but compare the 2, the French clubs are strong but the national team is dire. The Irish clubs are strong and the team is arguably the 2nd best in the world, the NS clubs are strong and the national team is easily the best in the world. That should show pretty damn clearly which system works the best overall. Further control to the clubs will cause England to slide the same way as France. Hell we are already there flogging our players like crazy, We cannot ******* continue like this and someone just needs to have a bloody spine, grab the bull by the horns and sort this thing out once and for all. Much as the clubs don't want to admit it, the VAST majority of the population will only see rugby when it is internationals and so if they want to actually get people through the turnstiles, they need to make England a success. I think many clubs are blinded to this under the delusion that rugby is actually a popular sport, it ******* isn't, the internationals are what get the attention of the vast majority of people. We need to get rid of the old boys in suits treating the whole damn thing like their little toy train sets or exclusive club and recognise the reality of where the sport is domestically and internationally.
