Leinster Team Talk Thread (Love you Furlong time)

Jump_In_Jack

Simple format for 8 pools of 3:

Round 1 English V French, URC continues.

Round 2 French V URC, English Prem continues.

Round 3 URC V English, French continues

Round 4 French V English, URC continues.

Round 5 URC V French, English Prem continues.

Round 6 English V URC, French continues.

There would be some advantage playing last as would know what is needed to progress. But could rotate the fixtures every year to cancel that out.

The main reason it might not be acceptable is for the broadcasters, they would have to agree that the Euro matches would get preferential kick-off times, over the domestic league kick-off times. That could be too complicated, The URC and Prem would probably be OK with taking a rest week for the byes but I doubt the French would agree to taking rest weeks so there would be a clash between the Top 14 and the Euro matches between the Prem and the URC. Maybe if they could come to an agreement, or just put up with the clash it could work.

It means the broadcaster would get 6 weekends of rugby, with potential to go to round of 16, winners of each pool getting home advantage to a second placed team, third team would drop out.

So it could be 4 rounds of playoffs.

It would amount to the same schedule interruption as already exists to the Top 14 of only 8 weekends.

Could work, but would take some convincing and a bit of acceptance from the broadcasters and league organisers.

The good thing about this structure is that the fans will get extra weekends to watch Euro matches. Most people can probably only find time for one match a weekend, so this would mean getting to watch 6 weekends of Euro matches instead of 4. Like I usually will watch Munster and one more match, whatever is on at around 7PM on the Saturday evening. I’d guess that’s common that people would prefer a regular weekly fix of Euro rugby for 6 weeks than 4 weeks.

The main selling point would be that each team would play all the teams home and away in each pool, and the home team is easily decided from the pools for the round of 16.

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120753050#Comment_120753050

doesnt work because there are no free teams not playing Champions or challenge cup on those weekends. The leagues cant continue so essentially your giving teams a week off. And the last thing each league wants to to be extending the season length

Jump_In_Jack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120753157#Comment_120753157

The Challenge Cup could adopt a slightly different format to coincide with it.

8 URC, 6 French, 2 English.

4 pools of 4

Pool 1: 2 URC, 2 French

Pool 2: 2 URC, 2 French

Pool 3: 2 URC, 2 French

Pool 4: 2 URC, 2 English

Each team would play each other team in their pool home and away over 6 weeks and the fixtures against the team from the same league would count for both the Euro pools and the respective league.

AbusesToilets

Everything would be so much simpler if the competition was held after the domestic leagues concluded.

pickarooney

Simpler for whom? Domestic leagues ending in January before the 6N and then the Champions' Cup in March-May?

Dubinusa

The top 14 is a brutal slog. Those lads earn their money. On the other hand, the premiership is collapsed and has 10 teams. Maybe 4 teams from the premiership, 6 from the urc and 6 from the top 14. 16 total!

AbusesToilets

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120753468#Comment_120753468

The ideal set up imo would be domestic leagues run straight through, a 16 team knock out CC and then the 6Ns, but that'll never happen.

Lost Ormond

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120754700#Comment_120754700

Would it? Teams wouldnt want it. Straighht knock out doesnt bring attention like a competition run through the season.

Former Former Former

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120754700#Comment_120754700

Then you have large chunks of pro rugby players doing nothing for months on end.

Neil3030

The next few seasons will be telling. As it stands, EPCR revenues are split evenly between the three leagues. So far, the issues in England have not hurt their participation in the latter stages of the cup: 2, 2 and 3 sides making the QFs in the three years since Sarries's relegation. Not a perfect measure*, but a reasonable proxy for how they still contribute to the tournament overall.

But on one hand there'll be a lot more competition for these QF spots going forward - e.g., a resurgent Munster, the SA sides getting used to the style of play, Lancaster at Racing, etc. And on the other hand, I'm hearing noises that the issues in England are not over, and that even clubs like Leicester are by no means safe. We also perhaps started seeing signs in the season just gone, that English sides were prioritizing their domestic league more, certainly to a degree that I have never seen (sending weakened away sides, etc)

If the tournament essentially becomes a shootout between URC and French sides, how much longer will these two leagues tolerate a three-way split of the pot? Or bother with the tournament at all?

*and you could easily use it to hammer the URC in many seasons prior to the SA teams joining. I'm just using it as a rough measure that they are still there or there abouts, and a lot more factors will be considered in determining everyone's participation going forward (TV, traveling fans etc).

AbusesToilets

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120754986#Comment_120754986

So? That's pretty normal in professional sports. We constantly bemoan how overworked players can be in the season, increasing the offseason would be beneficial to player health. You'd be talking 4-6 weeks of games, depending on how you'd schedule it. Basically the same as it is now when the season wraps up in the various playoffs.

AbusesToilets

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120754735#Comment_120754735

I don't think that's been a concern for the teams. Money and trophies would be the focus surely?

AdamD

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120756054#Comment_120756054

I think the participation numbers will start to come up for debate too. 8 English teams qualifying out of 10 would be a bit ridiculous

Former Former Former

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120758043#Comment_120758043

The domestic season would be over in January. For the 50% of teams who would exit Europe in the first round, you'd have seven months of no rugby, no income and a whole lot of bills to pay.

No offence but it's a bad idea.

AbusesToilets

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120758330#Comment_120758330

What's the gap right now, 5 months? I presume most rugby contracts are structured in a way that allows for players to have sufficient money to cover the offseason. Anyway, pie in the sky stuff.

Neil3030

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120758291#Comment_120758291

I wonder if a quotient system, like that used by UEFA to determine Champions League spots per country, might work. Or basically some dynamic qualification that adjusts a league's places per year, based on its general strength.

I actually think the French could certainly be on board with that, as you could imagine in seasons where they have a number of strong teams, they'd likely see more value in the Heino.

Sangre

Lot of Leinster players promoting a new will connors coffee venture. Hopefully not a sign he might be thinking retirement for medical reasons. Wish him well either way.

conquestscarer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120760020#Comment_120760020

Works in Uefa because there are about 15 leagues that champions league teams come from. For Rugby it's only URC, Top 14 and Prem. The coefficient might just get rid of 1 prem/URC team rather than making a real difference.

DelMcG

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120760785#Comment_120760785

He's doing a PhD at the moment. I think he's setting his post rugby sights a little higher than slinging lattes.

Dubinusa

Connors has had a right bolloocking with injury. Devastating to see. He's a fantastic player and I hope he rebounds well.

Dubinusa

Cardiff and Ospreys could merge, thus ruining the format of the urc. Leave it to the Welch! An uneven amount of teams would be ridiculous. I could see Cheetahs getting into the league and that would bring a 5th S.A side into the league.

A combined Welch region would be competitive, imo. It's bad for the league and Wales.

Sheep Shagger

Rumours getting stronger ..

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/rugby/arid-41170840.html

sydthebeat

Fack

salmocab

Presumably they saw the Irish soccer kit and thought that looks like great stuff altogether.

they'd want to be getting some deal to be going with that crap

DelMcG

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120769477#Comment_120769477

I assume they saw it online, given there is sod all of it in the shops. A month out from the women's World Cup & you still can't get their jerseys in stores & pre-orders made in April still haven't been fulfilled.

Castore's gear is garbage. Castore's supply lines are garbage.

clsmooth

I’ve quite liked the Leinster Adidas jerseys. The navy one we used for the last 2 years in the Heineken Cup is a beauty. The 2019 one was lovely too.

Buer

Vakh Abdaladze has signed for Brive.

PMC83

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120771616#Comment_120771616

I think we all saw that coming, best of luck to him! Wish we had a chance to see a little more of what he could do!

DelMcG

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120771616#Comment_120771616

Surprising and unsurprising in equal measure. Was always going to move on once he became NIQ but surprising in so far as they're letting him go with a year left on his contract & in a World Cup year to boot, when the frontliners will be coming back even later than usual. Also, he wasn't one of the lads given the customary send-off at the awards night. I wonder if letting him go now is to allow Leinster to open up a space to sign another NIQ player over the summer?

letsbefair

They didn't let him go without a plan to replace, you can be sure