Where to for Twiggy Rugby?

[WorkingClassRugger]

I wouldn't mind if the ideas and competitions were separate in the short term, I would hate that the ARU just scrap the NRC because Twiggy comes along. If he can develop something which is WA and the Asia-Pacific, which exists at a different time of year and geographical area to the NRC and club finals, then possibly in the future something can grow out of it organically.

Certainly hope they keep the NRC. It's a great and very necessary structure that we need in place. I think a window post NRL/AFL would be great. Yes, it's heading into spring but it can be scheduled to work out the weather to a degree. Night games. New Year's GF etc.

 

[Slim 293]

Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest reveals details of new rugby competition

BILLIONARE Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest has unveiled a historic offer of collaboration between the new Indo Pacific Rugby Championship and the Australian Rugby Union.

.........

The offer includes:

Forrest will collaborate with the ARU to identify the best Indo Pacific Rugby Championship competition window to avoid direct competition to Super Rugby and is working with the ARU to provide the major sponsorship of the NRC

This multi-year sponsorship is expected to start immediately.

Player contracting: Forrest and the ARU will work together to enhance the standard ARU contract to enable players to be contracted to the Indo Pacific Rugby Championship for four months each calendar year, considerably defraying ARU and member union costs.

National team eligibility: IPRC contracted players will be eligible for ARU team selection and ARU contracted players will also be eligible for national selection in the IPRC outside of Super Rugby’s competition schedule.

The IPRC will attract our best players back from overseas for the further benefit of Super Rugby and/or the Wallabies.

“We have made significant progress this week,” Forrest said.

“We are now consulting with sovereign governments, international broadcasters, media organisations and other global businesses, with great interest in the Indo Pacific, as well as Australia’s leading coaches and players, both here and overseas.

 

[Slim 293]

Also..........

WA mining billionaire Andrew Forrest has revealed details of his new Indo-Pacific Championship, though says it won't be attempting to rival the ARU.

The competition, slated to kick off on August 13, 2018, will include six teams, set to be from countries including China, Malaysia, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Japan, along with a Perth team.

http://www.rugby.com.au/news/2017/09/13/forrest-ipc-launch

 

[Rugbynutter39]

Been getting my head around the press release.

Regardless all seems a positive step in the right direction. I appreciate for WA rugby not a first best solution here but gives them a pathway and assume the IPRC Australia side of course will be based out of Perth.

Sponsorship of NRC and pouring more resources into it a good thing as clearly lack that and might with TWF backing have better chance of success.

 

[Strewthcobber]

All looks promising - the WA team will obviously be able to put out a pretty good team, at this stage it's the quality of the opposition that's going to need a lot of work

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[Brumby Runner]

Will Forrest backing the NRC ensure the Spirit remain in the competition, even if rebadged as the Force?

 

[Brumby Runner]

All looks promising - the WA team will obviously be able to put out a pretty good team, at this stage it's the quality of the opposition that's going to need a lot of work

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Is that where the current overseas based players are earmarked? And if there are significant numbers of Wallaby and Super players suddenly available, it would seem that many will be absorbed into those teams for the 4 months as well, as the Perth side will probably be filled with Force players.

 

[Strewthcobber]

Is that where the current overseas based players are earmarked? And if there are significant numbers of Wallaby and Super players suddenly available, it would seem that many will be absorbed into those teams for the 4 months as well, as the Perth side will probably be filled with Force players.

Its being played in the TRC/EoYT window so I wouldn't think anyone in the wallaby squad would be available to actually play

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[Brumby Runner]

Plenty of Super Rugby players available at that time of year. The question stands.

 

[Rebel man]

Don't see how this could be bad for Australian rugby. I think a lot of the players who come back will also want to play Super Rugby before the IPRC kicks off so we should see the strength of our sides increase

 

[Rebel man]

Not only that more money and opportunity will help keep our juniors in the game. We should not only target getting oir players back from overseas but look at getting our players back from the NRL

 

[RugbyReg]

Plenty of Super Rugby players available at that time of year. The question stands.

this is where RUPA comes into it thought and the mandatory stand down periods.

I'm all for this type of comp but I fear a:

Super Rugby Comp (Feb to Jun)
Tests (July to September)
NRC (September to November)
IPRC (November to December ??)
Wallaby Tour (November to December).

 

[Strewthcobber]

Plenty of Super Rugby players available at that time of year. The question stands.

I don't think they'll have any trouble attracting a lot of good players to this competition, especially to the Perth team.

The Perth team will be very good, I have no doubt

I think it will be very hard to get enough players to make 5 other competative teams while being played at the same time as the European and Japanese club competitions, TRC and EoyT, as well as the NRC, especially in less than a year.

That's of the order of 150 players.

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[dru]

this is where RUPA comes into it thought and the mandatory stand down periods.

I'm all for this type of comp but I fear a:

Super Rugby Comp (Feb to Jun)
Tests (July to September)
NRC (September to November)
IPRC (November to December ??)
Wallaby Tour (November to December).

Short of working together with ARU, not a lot of detail so far.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/...n/news-story/123a67fa7fb93bd0df05b82eb8fbc85c

 

[BLR]

Don't see how this could be bad for Australian rugby. I think a lot of the players who come back will also want to play Super Rugby before the IPRC kicks off so we should see the strength of our sides increase

Good for East coast rugby. Very luke warm for the West. We still have been bent over by the ARU.

 

[Derpus]

They should've just tiered the Asia comp below Super Rugby with a 1 to 2 team yearly promotion/relegation system. This would allow for a smaller more enjoyable Super competition and also allow for gradual integration of Asia.

This comp will result in a very long season.

 

[Killer]

Good for East coast rugby. Very luke warm for the West. We still have been bent over by the ARU.

Not even 10mins into an 80 min game. It's a difficult situation that TF is working in with a governing body who are desperate to survive but have few assets no cash and a dying product. TF said he is in it for the long term so the long term outcome is what we should focus on.

 

[daz]

Somehow, I don't see how this is specifically benefiting WA rugby, except potentially keeping the Force name afloat pending the 2020 broadcast negotiation, which guarantees nothing right now.

Not much has changed; the rhetoric does not match the reality, it seems.

Having said that, happy for Twiggy to introduce another comp that is not in direct competition with Super Rugby. I hope it works, and Twiggy is a step closer to taking an ARU board position and joining the status quo.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

this is where RUPA comes into it thought and the mandatory stand down periods.

I'm all for this type of comp but I fear a:

Super Rugby Comp (Feb to Jun)
Tests (July to September)
NRC (September to November)
IPRC (November to December ??)
Wallaby Tour (November to December).

That's the schedule I'd like to see the most.

 

[mst]

Not even 10mins into an 80 min game. It's a difficult situation that TF is working in with a governing body who are desperate to survive but have few assets no cash and a dying product. TF said he is in it for the long term so the long term outcome is what we should focus on.

I believe the devil is in the detail and its appears to be a clever strategy that prepositions his competition well as it does for Aussie Rugby if it pans out.

This looks like a long term strategy and its also appears not to be detrimental to existing parts of the game. Its interesting that the key piece of real estate being Feb-June is being left in silence. So this appears it will be the battle ground in the future.

Based on the simple facts that the Kiwis have no option but to jump on board anyone else train due to their small market (and notice they are strategically being left out of IPRC comp talks!), the South African teams want to go north and the head of the SARU is a advocate of SA ditching the Super Rugby comp, it leave the whole of the "east coast" team with nothing more than a short term future which is compounded by the fact that most of their unions have nailed their colours to the Super Rugby franchise masts.

He has clearly thought about the new global calendar come 2020 thus the dates.

Looking at what he is proposing, and IPRC comp, supporting the NRC heavily and 7's etc, working with the ARU including player eligibility, I feel optimistic that come 2019 the ARU board will be purged (if not already), the Super Rugby franchises (Unions) will have to tuck tail after driving down the dead end Super Rugby street and the weight and support of the Twiggy concepts will drive the next Super Rugby replacement product.

Looking at the political / business angle, with 2 of the 4 Super Rugby franchises fundamentally "directed" and funded by state or territory government they will be looking for ROI which the IPRC is a marketing boon based on the market it will be operating in.