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Rumours...

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WorkingClassRugger

David Codey (61)
Rugby related of course. Recently on my scouring over different Rugby foru,s etc. I've come across tow interesting little pieces of speculation. One being moves to establish a secondary 7s series and the other supposed discussions on setting a franchise based league centred around the top 6 REC (Russia, Spain, Belgium, Romania, Georgia and Germany). With the latter supposedly involving Augustin Pichot. Will be interesting to see if either has any legs.
 

neilc

Bob Loudon (25)
Rugby related of course. Recently on my scouring over different Rugby foru,s etc. I've come across tow interesting little pieces of speculation. One being moves to establish a secondary 7s series and the other supposed discussions on setting a franchise based league centred around the top 6 REC (Russia, Spain, Belgium, Romania, Georgia and Germany). With the latter supposedly involving Augustin Pichot. Will be interesting to see if either has any legs.

What do you mean by a secondary 7s series?
 

WorkingClassRugger

David Codey (61)
What do you mean by a secondary 7s series?


From what I can tell it would be another 7s circuit akin to the World Series. No idea how many teams or locations. You would have to imagine that it would have a promotion/relegation set up with the WS. Hopefully they manage it. Would be good if they can manage to get more nations involved.
 

neilc

Bob Loudon (25)
Agreed, if some of the emerging nations can get more regular matches that has to help them. Interesting. What about this other comp that Pichot is allegedly involved in? It's 15's? More regular competition - is that the aim?
 

WorkingClassRugger

David Codey (61)
Agreed, if some of the emerging nations can get more regular matches that has to help them. Interesting. What about this other comp that Pichot is allegedly involved in? It's 15's? More regular competition - is that the aim?


Yeah, it's 15s. Don't know the motivation but providing players with higher levels of competition would likely be high up on the list. A Spanish official evidently let slip about it mentioning that they are looking at each nations having two squads each.
 

WorkingClassRugger

David Codey (61)
Here are a couple more this time regarding Fiji. Evidently after the success of the Chiefs/Crusaders game the Fijian Rugby Union are set to begin a push to enter a combined PI squad in Super Rugby. Additionally, they are also keen to get a squad playing in the NRC.
 

Omar Comin'

Chilla Wilson (44)
Here are a couple more this time regarding Fiji. Evidently after the success of the Chiefs/Crusaders game the Fijian Rugby Union are set to begin a push to enter a combined PI squad in Super Rugby. Additionally, they are also keen to get a squad playing in the NRC.


A Fijian team in the NRC would be cool. They'd draw crowds and viewers. They'd presumably have to be based somewhere in Australia during the tournament, with maybe 1 home game in Fiji workable.

Not sure about the PI super rugby team. I'd love to see it, but it'd need significant backing and I doubt it'd work if it's run by the PI unions. A privately owned team based in Western Sydney or Auckland committed to having X amount of PI eligible players could work.
 

WorkingClassRugger

David Codey (61)
A Fijian team in the NRC would be cool. They'd draw crowds and viewers. They'd presumably have to be based somewhere in Australia during the tournament, with maybe 1 home game in Fiji workable.

Not sure about the PI super rugby team. I'd love to see it, but it'd need significant backing and I doubt it'd work if it's run by the PI unions. A privately owned team based in Western Sydney or Auckland committed to having X amount of PI eligible players could work.


Well, according to the speculation the team would be based in either NZ or Aus with a game in one of the PI teams each.
 

WorkingClassRugger

David Codey (61)


There's also this article by Gregor Paul ( http://m.nzherald.co.nz/gregor-paul/news/article.cfm?a_id=196&objectid=11667796) which briefly discusses both the US and Spain. Hawaii would be an interesting out of the blue choice on the face of it. Honolulu is the centre of a metro area with a little under 1 million people. Lacks any professional sporting teams. Has a decent sized stadium that only hosted a handful of games each year. PI heritage to boot. According to the article we'll have a better idea of the future make up of Super Rugby in November.
 

wamberal

Phil Kearns (64)
Not sure about the PI super rugby team. I'd love to see it, but it'd need significant backing and I doubt it'd work if it's run by the PI unions. A privately owned team based in Western Sydney or Auckland committed to having X amount of PI eligible players could work.

Agree. It always amuses me when people talk about this. Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa each have strong rugby heritages. Any initiative would either have to come from them, or be privately financed and managed. It certainly could not be imposed.


The politics of each country's rugby scene can be difficult enough to navigate as separate entities. Joined together? Forget it.
 

GTPIH

Ted Thorn (20)
I recall that several years ago a combined PI team (similar to the Lions) played a few Tests v Wallabies and possibly AB's and it was deemed a failure due to the history between the various nations amongst other reasons
 

kiap

Steve Williams (59)
The Pacific Islanders did 3 tours (2004, 06, 08) and weren't overly successful against the then 3N/6N test sides, but did beat Italy in their last game (see a report of the PI alliance breakup below).

Problems with a PI side in the soup would be the small revenue base and probably having to be nomadic team.

Samoa quits Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance

Planet Rugby: 17th July 2009
This week the Samoan Rugby Union informed fellow Alliance members Fiji and Tonga of its intention to withdraw, saying the merged Pacific Island team had failed to produce financial benefits sought by member unions.
"We've already advised (PIRA) of that decision by Samoa," Samoa Rugby Union chief executive Peter Schuster told the Samoa Observer. "The original concept was basically to provide an opportunity (to play) every two years.
"There were two aims, to get revenue to help in the running of the activities of the unions (and) to provide players with the opportunity to play against tier one sides. But the International Rugby Board (IRB) changed the schedule for the Pacific Islands team to play every four years. Every four years won't generate the revenue needed to run our rugby."
... Samoa was the only Pacific nation invited by SANZAR to bid for a place in the enlarged 15-team competition but Schuster said the island nation did not have the financial resources or facilities to support a team at this stage.
"Unfortunately our stadium at Apia Park is not a full (international) rugby ground," Schuster told the Observer.
... Schuster said a Super competition might eventually expand to 18 or 20 teams and Samoa would re-examine participation at that time. It was also eager to discuss with Australia whether Samoan players might join a new franchise based there.
"From what I can gather it's a choice between Melbourne, Gold Coast and western Sydney," he said.
"They're not sure yet whether it will be in Melbourne but we've already indicated ... that we'd like to have a relationship with the new team."
 

WorkingClassRugger

David Codey (61)
The Fijian proposal has the team being primarily based in NZ and would take a couple of games to the Islands each year. You'd imagine it would be Auckland with it being the 'biggest polynesian city' in the world.
 
T

TOCC

Guest
Who is driving that proposal, the cynic in me questions whether the NZRU would allow an additional Super Rugby team to be based in Auckland given the finances of the New Zealand Super Rugby teams aren't too dissimilar to the Australian ones.

An additional team in Auckland could/would cannibalise some of the existing corporate and sponsorship support that the Auckland Blues currently receive. Yes Auckland is New Zealand's largest city, but its population is less then that of Brisbane or Perth with corporate support reflecting that.
 

Lindommer

Steve Williams (59)
Staff member
The Chief/Saders match in Suva last week's surely the way to go in the medium future. Maybe the Kiwi sides can schedule an intra-Kiwi match in Fiji, Tonga or Samoa every year, that way losing a home match is shared around every five years. Dunno what the Oz sides can contribute here, open to suggestions.
 

waiopehu oldboy

Stirling Mortlock (74)
^^^^^^^^^^^ match whatever the NZ teams do. Given there's gotta be as many PI players in your teams as ours it seems only fair..... so maybe next year Brumbies v Reds could be in Nuku'alofa :)
 
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