We Need To Talk About London Irish

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Saracens did that with a...Romanian? side before, didn't they?

Teams have global partners but I don't see many teams outside the home nations wanting to invest in the uk game

 

[will311293]

Saracens did that with a...Romanian? side before, didn't they?

Indeed, maybe thats how we should grow the game, Wuss get Spain/Portugal, Wasps get America & Canada/Japan, Irish get Ireland/Germany

 

[Which Tyler]

Saracens did that with a...Romanian? side before, didn't they?

They did it with a few IIRC

ETA, from Wiki

Under the current ownership, Saracens have dramatically increased their international reach. They currently have established partner clubs in Georgia, Seattle, Abu Dhabi, Kuala Lumpur, Amman, Kenya, São Paulo, and Tonga.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Tigers have partner clubs in
Malaysia
Holland
Belguim
Italy
Thailand
India

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Saracens one with Romanian side was a bit more full on, wasn't it?
Remember them changing their name to Saracens and having the same kit etc.
Pretty sure they sent a player or two across to Saracens for Prem Cup games as well

 

[Pieter Steph du Teague]

I know it was a different type of deal but what happened with the All Blacks/Quins partnership? Anything beyond Marchant going to the Blues for a summer?

 

[Not Mike Brown's Sock]

I know it was a different type of deal but what happened with the All Blacks/Quins partnership? Anything beyond Marchant going to the Blues for a summer?

Literally that and we got Harry Plummer to train for a couple months.

Unless there was lots more behind the scenes in reg to coaching etc, I'm not sure what else came out of it

 

[Not Mike Brown's Sock]

Saracens one with Romanian side was a bit more full on, wasn't it?
Remember them changing their name to Saracens and having the same kit etc.
Pretty sure they sent a player or two across to Saracens for Prem Cup games as well

SCM USV Timișoara - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[stus768]

Yeah, I imagine they'd be looking to make them a phoenix club - it's gonna be a money pit regardless but championship would cost a lot less than trying to make them a fifth URC side, though I'm not sure where they'd play - think there's two years left on the Brentford ground share but they want LI gone regardless, and that stadium is way too big for Championship (and for Premiership, realistically), could just be a parting of ways by mutual agreement
If they move closer to central London and big up the Irish connection to tap into the expat/diaspora community and they could get decent crowds (for the championship)

Could move to Wimbledon stadium where they discussed previously. London Broncos already play there too.

 

[Mumbles119]

With rumours of Loader to Stormers and Arundell to Racing…

Has there been any mention of LI EQ players getting special dispensation for England selection like Worcester/Wasps?

 

[Which Tyler]

As far as I've seen - there's been speculation only.

 

[Kiwiwomble]

Could move to Wimbledon stadium where they discussed previously. London Broncos already play there too.

we'd kick broncos out, couldn't have both, i think our fan base would prefer irish to broncos, more high profile....there are concerns about real scrums on our pitch though

I know it was a different type of deal but what happened with the All Blacks/Quins partnership? Anything beyond Marchant going to the Blues for a summer?

i would going to bring this up, was a bit of hype about rotating players/coaches in and out maybe stop players taking full sabbaticals if they can get a taste...but as mentioned very little came out of it

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

One-on-one with Michael R. Yormark: Why Premiership model must change

INTERVIEW: @king365ed sat down with Michael R. Yormark, President of Roc Nation Sports International, to unpack the financial challenges facing England's Premiership competition.

rugby365.com

Kinda funny when you think player agents are a reason we are in this mess.
He is true though the 10 team league would be massive in terms of scheduling also in theory should mean teams can look at using smaller squads..

 

[Tomma235]

So I moved to London 30 odd years ago as a rugby league fan from Lancashire. A friend had a London Scottish top so they became my union team (as I didn't have one) until they were taken over by Irish in 1999 and since then i've closely followed Irish but now find myself without a club again. It doesn't feel right to go to Scottish but rugby is better when you follow someone. Has anyone else chosen a new team? Or is there still hope a version of Irish will rise from the ashes?

 

[TRF_Olyy]

London Irish apply for place in Championship next season

London Irish apply for place in Championship next season, but case is complicated with new owners yet to be finalised and rugby club still in administration

www.thetimes.com

So that's Wasps, Irish and Worcester all applying now

Considering none of the clubs exist.....how's that going to work? All three are going to need full squads of Championship level players, which is what? 100+ players?
Guess there'll be players released from Prem sides, players signed from other Champ sides, maybe players coming in from Currie Cup/NPC/Shute Shield, but still feels like a big ask

 

[Crash Hamster]

Does this mean a 15 team league? More relegation this season? Increased promotion?

Then what about next season? To a large extent, with three new teams, they're not all getting relegated first season, whether the squads are substandard or not. As long as the new teams are sensibly structured, they could also survive one season of relegation (much as they have from the Prem to the Championship.)

I'd like to see a bigger Premiership (12 or 14 teams) so that there are 22 or 26 meaningful games a season (doing away with the Cup games for Premiership First XVs if necessary.)

Once again, I bet the RFU won't have any definitive answers...

 

[Which Tyler]

They're applying for 2 places, along with any other club who wants to apply.

 

[McTallshort]

Arnt the RFU still in despute with the championship clubs