Ring fencing premiership and championship

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

I may be wrong, but I don't see how that works. America has a huge college system that feeds into the professional level. I imagine this means teams don't have direct academies where they develop youth players. It's different here, the clubs are responsible for identifying and developing young talent. Not fair for a club to invest in a player and then another team gets an opportunity to pick them when they turn professional.

Unless the rfu ran/ funded all the academies? (Which I don't like though)

 

[SG59_]

Fair point. As someone who's only really started looking at club level, it's kinda a mess from what I've seen.

 

[higgik]

I may be wrong, but I don't see how that works. America has a huge college system that feeds into the professional level. I imagine this means teams don't have direct academies where they develop youth players. It's different here, the clubs are responsible for identifying and developing young talent. Not fair for a club to invest in a player and then another team gets an opportunity to pick them when they turn professional.

But therein lies the problem for rugby.
The pyramid is not a strong in depth as football so we need to have a proper 3 tier system with full links across them.
1) pro
2) development
3) community

The pro teams should have formal links with development clubs, through player sharing, and community clubs, through coaching development.

The MLB baseball, the NBA have farm teams where players can be sent to develop at a lower level.

The community game should be about raising the profile of the game, encouraging people into the sport in various ways.

Scrap the league system and go back to county league only for this level, so matches dont mean whole days away for people.

 

[Reiser99]

But therein lies the problem for rugby.
The pyramid is not a strong in depth as football so we need to have a proper 3 tier system with full links across them.
1) pro
2) development
3) community

The pro teams should have formal links with development clubs, through player sharing, and community clubs, through coaching development.

The MLB baseball, the NBA have farm teams where players can be sent to develop at a lower level.

The community game should be about raising the profile of the game, encouraging people into the sport in various ways.

Scrap the league system and go back to county league only for this level, so matches dont mean whole days away for people.

Don't get me wrong, English rugby needs massive changes if it wants to compete or even possibly survive. I was just pointing out that currently a draft system wouldn't work.

 

[BrokenWing]

It's not really comparable.

The interest in college sport in America is insane and generates massive revenue for the colleges. They only have the students for a fixed period so they're always going to leave and they've already got more out of the athletes financially than they've put in.

There are 32 NFL teams for a population of 332 million people, so IMO the NFL is more on par with international sport, and college football would be your domestic league.

We simply wouldn't generate the interest to make that sort of thing work - The varsity match is boring enough, would you watch more of it?

 

[stus768]

Wasps plan new ‘Wasps Nest Stadium’ and return to Premiership by 2025-26

Wasps are seeking funding for a new 24,000-capacity stadium development and are targeting a projected return to the top flight for the 2025-26 season

www.theguardian.com

 

[BrokenWing]

Is it gonna be in someone's shed?

 

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

Where on the M40 though as that's a massive broad area unless i missed something.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

24k is pretty ambitious lol

How about you know 10k

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Hmmmmmmmm, I'll believe it when I see it

Got to get past the NIMBYs, as well as actually, you know, have the millions it'll cost

 

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

Stadium probably cost £100-£200m depending on land etc.

I think this idea might be a pipe dream without some serious funders.

 

[Reiser99]

Where on the M40 though as that's a massive broad area unless i missed something.

Where are they going to get 24k supporters from? Surrounded by Gloucester, Northampton, Coventry and London. No major cities with large populations unless you maybe include Oxford. They are living in fantasy land.

 

[McTallshort]

Where are they going to get 24k supporters from? Surrounded by Gloucester, Northampton, Coventry and London. No major cities with large populations unless you maybe include Oxford. They are living in fantasy land.

Coventry, Warwick, Banbury are all off the M40. Solihull and south Birmingham just one junction up on the M42. I'm guessing they are going to try and get somewhere near their relatively established supporters in and around Cov but given the stupid decisions the Wasps board seem to make I wouldn't be surprised if they stuck it in the middle of the Cotswold's

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Seen speculation that it might be a move to Oxford/ground share with their football club, as they have to leave the Kassam by 2026 as the owner's knocking it down and turning the ground into a retail park or something like that

Would make sense tbh, and targeting students in Oxford as a supporter base could work as they'll have disposable income and a large part of them will have rugby backgrounds from school

 

[higgik]

Coventry, Warwick, Banbury are all off the M40. Solihull and south Birmingham just one junction up on the M42. I'm guessing they are going to try and get somewhere near their relatively established supporters in and around Cov but given the stupid decisions the Wasps board seem to make I wouldn't be surprised if they stuck it in the middle of the Cotswold's

They were fairly successful in High Wycombe, so maybe Oxford might be a shout.
Thames Valley Wasps are go!!!!

 

[higgik]

Don't get me wrong, English rugby needs massive changes if it wants to compete or even possibly survive. I was just pointing out that currently a draft system wouldn't work.

True.
Would love to see a complete reset of pro rugby, with an RFU league with franchises that current clubs buy up. Just like IPL cricket.
The areas/regions/cities are decided by RFU and ownership groups bid for it.
Lets say one team from Gloucestershire and Somerset, then Bath, Bristol and Gloucester owners bid for the franchise with a proper business plan and one group wins the bid.
On players side, they put themselves forward for auction at a price and franchises bid for them up to their squad cap of 35 players and a monetary cap

 

[McTallshort]

They were fairly successful in High Wycombe, so maybe Oxford might be a shout.
Thames Valley Wasps are go!!!!

How did that work for London Welsh?

 

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

True.
Would love to see a complete reset of pro rugby, with an RFU league with franchises that current clubs buy up. Just like IPL cricket.
The areas/regions/cities are decided by RFU and ownership groups bid for it.
Lets say one team from Gloucestershire and Somerset, then Bath, Bristol and Gloucester owners bid for the franchise with a proper business plan and one group wins the bid.
On players side, they put themselves forward for auction at a price and franchises bid for them up to their squad cap of 35 players and a monetary cap

Sounds horrid.

 

[higgik]

How did that work for London Welsh?

Yes, but they did not get any locals involved and did not have a great fan base in London.
Wasps were getting decent crowds in High Wycombe, so have a good supporter base in that area.

 

[higgik]

Sounds horrid.

Maybe, but the current situation is no better.
Clubs running huge losses and benefactors dipping into pockets.
Best players moving abroad.
Death of professional rugby in England.

Not saying my option is great, but sometimes opening up minds to different options means people are more likely to look for solutions rather than burying heads in the sand.