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Ealing Welsh Trailfinders |
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PiffPaff 
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Joined: 30 Oct 2014 Location: Manchester Status: Offline Points: 1126 |
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 Posted: 07 Mar 2023 at 08:42 |
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Beat me to it billesleyexile, there is more chance of Ealing moving somewhere else in London than non-RFU competition games taking place in England. In a nutshell URC games can only take place in those Unions signed up to the competition and as for the odd game taking place in Ealing instead of Swansea what would be the motivator for it be?, it's not a commercially sound move if even allowed. Think Ospreys get just over 3K average home crowd how many of them would want to travel to West London for a game they could have watched in Wales and the same goes for visiting fans. The bums on seat games are the other Welsh Regions and some of the Irish Provinces doubt the SA Teams will bring 1000s over for a one off game in London just doesn't make sense.
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Crouch, Bind, Tweet!
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Camquin
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Joined: 01 Jun 2007 Location: Cambridge Status: Offline Points: 11151 |
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Posted: 07 Mar 2023 at 08:59 |
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Given that those involved in Ealing are not complete idiots, they know that, but obviously think that this is a useful bargaining position in their attempt to achieve top level professional rugby. |
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Sweeney Delenda Est
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rugbychris
First XV regular 
Joined: 02 May 2019 Location: London Status: Offline Points: 141 |
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Posted: 07 Mar 2023 at 09:08 |
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Gooley owns a professional rugby club that has won the Champ on merit several times but is constantly denied promotion. He has a vast fortune and rugby in all areas is in desperate need of a cash injection. Welsh rugby seems to be in a terrible financial state (as is prem rugby) so I am sure a man of his wealth will be taken seriously.
He could take over a Welsh region whilst reducing investment in Ealing to make it rely more on its Academy products. After-all what's the point in pumping money into a club that can go no further than the Champ. It doesn't make much sense but then again I can't see any sense in pumping endless money into a club that has hit its ceiling. |
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billesleyexile
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Joined: 20 Jun 2013 Location: England Status: Offline Points: 1855 |
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Posted: 07 Mar 2023 at 09:22 |
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That makes the most sense tbh - all the talk of how it affects Ealing would really be a distraction to a story of 'man frustrated by RFU in England buys Welsh region to continue it playing in Wales.'
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keep the faith
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Richard Lowther
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Moderator Joined: 19 May 2007 Location: England Status: Offline Points: 6529 |
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Posted: 07 Mar 2023 at 09:32 |
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I agree. He's an astute business man and must have done his risk and financial calculations and decided that this* option makes sense on both accounts. He could challenge the PRL/RFU criteria in court - and probably stands a good chance of winning - but that is a long drawn out expensive process with takes money away from rugby, where as this* deal is probably cheaper and has more immediate results and keeps the money within rugby. *the trouble is no one knows what this deal is. All suggestions is that it is a takeover of Ospreys to move them to London, but what does that mean for Ealing?
I can see the attraction of some URC games played in London - especially if you tap into the South African and Irish communities in London for the visits of the SA teams and Irish provinces, but whether it will be allowed is the mute point. |
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Kimbo
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Joined: 31 May 2007 Location: 'incleh Status: Offline Points: 6187 |
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Posted: 07 Mar 2023 at 10:05 |
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Quietly unheard, or moot?
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Our Club |
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Richard Lowther
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Posted: 07 Mar 2023 at 10:22 |
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Yes one of those...
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Brizzer
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Posted: 07 Mar 2023 at 10:51 |
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What rules exist, if any, around loan players from clubs outside of the RFU jurisdiction?
For instance, Mr. G could buy Osprey’s and run it as an URC club, but have loan agreements between Osprey’s and Ealing to help cover/strengthen both sides as required. Effectively, Ealing could become the Osprey’s reserve team, hence the question with regards to any rules being in place to stop this practice |
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Tackle Low!!!!!
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KnightsBoy
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Joined: 31 Oct 2010 Location: Doncaster Status: Offline Points: 2731 |
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Posted: 07 Mar 2023 at 11:10 |
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Currently Knights have two players on short term loans from Glasgow due to our injury list, so it can happen
Edited by KnightsBoy - 07 Mar 2023 at 11:11 |
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corporalcarrot
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Joined: 22 Sep 2013 Location: St Brelade Status: Offline Points: 4724 |
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Posted: 07 Mar 2023 at 11:18 |
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It's all a total can of worms mate. The shockers at the RFU should wake up and do the right thing for a change. Promote Ealing on playing merit and entirely scrap the daft ground requirements which if I understand it correctly aren't even followed by all of the existing premiership clubs and are likely to lead to more bankruptcies. Promotion and relegation should exclusively be based on playing merit.
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Dont kick it. Pick it up and GO FORWARD.
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billesleyexile
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Joined: 20 Jun 2013 Location: England Status: Offline Points: 1855 |
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Posted: 07 Mar 2023 at 11:47 |
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I think you can do that - the downside is that the only benefit to the players is as a shop window. Essentially, if you're good enough to be playing URC and you're at Ealing and English, then by doing so you're making yourself ineligible to play for England until you move to a top flight English club. It would be basically akin to removing yourself from contention within England by moving to France. Technically it shouldn't actually set an English player back too much, but in practice...
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keep the faith
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*Stalwart
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Joined: 15 Oct 2022 Location: Penzance Status: Offline Points: 309 |
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Posted: 07 Mar 2023 at 11:55 |
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We can all see that, but the RFU are unlikely to "do the right thing" as they've been doing the wrong thing for decades. At the very least the Ealing thing will shake things up a bit. The ground criteria is a sham, we all know that.
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*Stalwart
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billesleyexile
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Posted: 07 Mar 2023 at 12:27 |
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I actually think it's a sham two ways - firstly in the way that it is applied, and secondly in terms of what they are. I've got no issue whatsoever with ground criteria existing, I just struggle to see why the apex should be at least 10000 seats or whatever it is this week. One of the few things IMO football has got right is that there is a progressive set of minimum standards as you work up the divisions from park pitch - don't meet them, you don't go up. Rugby on the other hand is still operating a wild west below the Premiership, where allegedly there are minimum standards, but either they're so minimum as to be invisible to the naked eye or they're not enforced. Personally I don't think a team should be in national 2 or above (never mind the prem) without floodlights, for example. Minimum standards should be an escalator where you build with each division such that no one's ground should be that far off the pace for the division above. It has been utterly mismanaged (like most things since probably 1895), but the answer shouldn't be completely free gangway based on performances on the pitch either.
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keep the faith
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Robb
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Posted: 07 Mar 2023 at 13:47 |
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The irony being that when those ground rules were brought in, only 3 Premiership clubs met the criteria (grandfather clauses were wonderful they all thought). Indeed, Bath still don't meet it so if they got relegated, by rights they would not be permitted promotion.
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373
British and Irish Lion 
Joined: 23 Jun 2016 Location: Norweb Status: Offline Points: 202 |
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Posted: 07 Mar 2023 at 14:19 |
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Ahh. Another thread where people don’t understand that the issue with grounds is more to do with DCMS rather than the RFU. One day the penny will drop.
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islander
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Joined: 17 Mar 2010 Location: jersey Status: Offline Points: 7355 |
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Posted: 07 Mar 2023 at 14:26 |
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BBC now reporting the story via Scrum V podcast. First time anyone's been quoted, seems to confirm that there have been talks but nothing too definite...
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Raider999
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Joined: 18 Jan 2013 Location: Crawley Status: Offline Points: 4433 |
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Posted: 07 Mar 2023 at 14:49 |
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RAID ON
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Raider999
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Posted: 07 Mar 2023 at 14:53 |
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You don't need floodlights for a rugby match, using them is an unnecessary expense (unless you get enoughextraspectatorsin to at least cover the cost) - in fact some football clubs started looking at early starts when electric prices went through the roof. |
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RAID ON
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Camquin
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Joined: 01 Jun 2007 Location: Cambridge Status: Offline Points: 11151 |
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Posted: 07 Mar 2023 at 16:11 |
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Kicking off at 3:00 in midwinter with poor floodlights is a much worse experience, in my opinion, compared to kicking off at 2:00 without. The earlier kick-off generally ensures sufficient light and is warmer. Trying to watch a game you cannot see in the cold and dark is no fun.
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Sweeney Delenda Est
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Richard Lowther
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Moderator Joined: 19 May 2007 Location: England Status: Offline Points: 6529 |
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Posted: 07 Mar 2023 at 16:53 |
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No its not. Stadium's with over 10k capacity have to have a Safety certificate as per 1975 Sports ground act (or the later legislation) but there is no reason why the RFU and Premiership have to insist on a 10k capacity stadium to play in the Premiership. This is how the cartel could drop the capacity down to 5k when pushed with the aim to develop upwards later. The RFU/PRL criteria is simply a blocker to admission to the Premiership.
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rugbychris wrote: