WRW: FOUR FROM FOUR
But stand by for venting towards SW London...
TOP OF THE TABLE, IF ANYONE NOTICED…
Four wins out of four…who’d have thunk it?
Well, some of us did consider Tigers to have a great shot of starting well…and haven’t they delivered?
What a glorious sight the table is, right now - especially when you think that Tigers were far from perfect in overcoming London Irish. In a game dominated by huge linespeed from both teams, perhaps neutrals would have considered it the least satisfactory of Leicester’s four wins so far.
And then there two
Two unbeaten teams remain then - Leicester and Harlequins.
Before their untimely defeat to Wasps on Sunday, no-one was talking about Northampton’s own unbeaten run - that definitely won’t happen now. But since Harlequins are now rugby’s “last great hope”, perhaps Leicester’s run of form may now become the league’s unspoken truth.
Which leads me to Harlequins and with the hype and fawning over their win over Bristol, professional objectivity can be thrown out of the window for once.
We are told that we are witnessing “faith being restored in rugby”, a few months after the Lions tour. We endlessly hear that Harlequins’ way is the manner how all rugby should now be played.
Repeat after me.
Harlequins are not that different from other teams. Harlequins are not the Barbarians.
Just to remind you, Quins still kick loads, use a caterpillar and have built a system which works for them. Last I saw, there were plenty of other sides opening the game up, including Leicester on occasions.
Yet Super League would scoff that Smith’s try in particular, was some wonder effort. We are also judging them on half a season where they came up roses and now on three games this season and as fun as Friday night was, who have Quins played?
It’s never a bad win at Newcastle, but it’s a great time to play Worcester as they rebuild and Bristol look a shadow of the team who have made the last two playoffs.
If anyone thinks Quins will beat Saracens at full strength, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.
Harlequins come to Welford Road on December 5th. No internationals that weekend.
If I were you, I’d buy a ticket.
WHAT IF SMITH AND FORD BOTH DON’T PLAY FOR ENGLAND?
I am trying to imagine the reaction if Eddie Jones picks Owen Farrell at 10 and Gloucester’s Mark Atkinson at 12 next month, after reading Charlie Morgan in the Telegraph this week. And after his display at Welford Road, you can’t deny Farrell’s good form.
It’s such an Eddie-like act of contrarianship, you could see him doing it as well.
FOREIGN TALENT
An interesting line from Nik Simon about foreign players in the Daily Mail caught my eye.
Now this has nothing to do with Owen Farrell, but the second story down the line concerning Sale. It should be no surprise that the RFU want to see more England-qualified players involved in the Premiership - it is after all one of the quid pro quos of no caps, if you play overseas.
But if any future RFU/Premiership agreement - the current deal expires in the summer of 2024 - produces a clause which says there must be 15 EQP players in a matchday 23, that might force other Premiership clubs to tweak their recruitment practices
How you define what an English-qualified player is important. Dual nationality is the main solution. Current regulations, as quoted in the Mercury recently, state
"It is important to note that the legal definition of foreign players is different to one of non-English players. In addition, players can fall under the Bosman or Kolpak rule. The Bosman ruling reinforced the Treaty of Rome in a sporting context, allowing the free movement of EU national workers around other EU countries. This effectively means any EU national has the same rights as any ‘local’ worker and therefore cannot be defined as a foreigner.
"In the Premiership, the rule on foreign players has been amended to come into line with the regulations in European competitions. A maximum of two foreign players can now be in the matchday 23, at all periods during the season."
For the record, I make it 8 foreign forwards in the Leicester pack alone - and that doesn’t allow for Reffell and Henderson who look future international quality, albeit on different timescales.
Henderson perhaps needs another season before Scotland come calling, but Reffell could do a job right now for Wales.
Keep your eye on this - both Scotland and Wales are due to announce their autumn squads this week, England next week.
Premiership = Ex-RFU?
Also bear in mind that if future deals are done that the lines between the RFU and Premiership Rugby become ever more blurred.
While they remain wholly separate entities, there now seems to be an established practice of former RFU employees moving to Premiership Rugby.
First it was Ian Ritchie, then Nigel Melville and now it is the new Premiership chief executive - Simon Massie-Taylor.
LEICESTER TIGERS WOMEN & PARTNERS
What a delight to see a trial game take place at Welford Road last Saturday, with Tigers running two full squads in front of paying supporters. Many more would have been there, if not for Brentford - me included.
This is something everyone should welcome in a programme that is intended to build from the bottom up to the highest level possible. Unlike the rather predatory approach from the other end of the Welland Valley.
Rising competition
Let’s face facts.
Tigers have not exactly hidden their ambitions about this project, as we have discussed here before. But has that got in the way of establishing relationships with other big fishes in the local pond?
Premiership teams currently take up 8 Premier 15s slots until 2023/24, Loughborough and DMP Durham Sharks the other two. Note the points difference for DMP Durham Sharks in particular:
It is fascinating to see where the league goes from here. Is there room for two Premier 15s teams in Leicestershire and have Loughborough realised their interests do not align with Tigers? The much-fabled Leicester way hasn’t always allowed room for compromise.
The relationship between Lichfield and Leicester is also evolving. The partnership was billed as a multi-year partnership with Tigers emphasising their support “through development work in the local community and with coaching of the girls’ junior teams.”
Some talk of professional coaches also being hired by Leicester has not happened to a great extent, apart from Heather Fisher’s recent appointment as Head of Strength and Conditioning for what was interestingly and recently titled "the Leicester Tigers’ women’s rugby programme”.
Lichfield remain in charge of their Championship 1 team, with plans too late to rename the first team Lichfield Leicester Tigers. Lichfield are currently recruiting Head Coaches for their 1st and 2nd teams.
The division of labour seems practical wth Lichfield focussing on Championship 1, and Leicester concentrating on the pathway to that level. But when do Leicester launch their own team? And will there be be a crock of gold waiting at the end of the rainbow in 18 months time, when the franchises are dished out?
More room at the top?
Bath, London Irish, Ealing along with Leicester are likely to bid for 2023/24 onwards. I wonder if Newcastle will bid too, given their links with Novocastrians and DMP Durham Sharks woes both last season and this.
A 12 or 14 team setup is not impossible. RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney has already spoken about a conference setup in the future, while a second division looks some way off, stressing that a competitive league was key.
But do not expect everyone to be accepted. The tension between developing quality and increasing quantity is already there, as Nick Heath argued recently, in TheXV (£):
While there is plenty of excitement about the rate of growth in the women’s game, that eagerness cannot force the top-flight product to dilute its quality before it has reached maturity by adding teams before it is ready. Saracens and Harlequins have been season-ending finalists since the league’s inception and each year the number of teams able to beat them is growing, and so is the overall competitiveness. If there was a requirement to add four more teams to the Premier 15s at any point within, say, the next five years, to align it with the men, that’s 120-150 new, amateur players that would need to be found. There are not enough athletes at the top of the club game to fulfil those teams at the level that should be demanded.
As the game’s top product, the Allianz Premier 15s cannot allow its quality to drop during these years where attracting fans, sponsors and broadcast deals are so important to its future. It is a note of caution shared by several head coaches and directors of rugby within the women’s league. One commented: “The worst thing we can do is cut and paste the men’s game on to the women’s game.”
With BBC coverage secured for England’s high quality programme of internationals next month, attention is growing, but so too is the importance of getting the next level of development in the Premier 15s right.
A lot to get off my chest after moving house this week. Off to the proverbial darkened room to lay out duly vented spleen.
See you next week.
Chris
Chris , you are spot on regarding the mainstream Rugby media`s obsession , sycophancy and drum banging for Quins in particular , but also Saracens, is utterly puke making. They have an agenda , a story , which they continue to push , irrespective of reality. The flag waving for Marcus Smith to start for England will soon disappear once the reality of actually playing against International good opposition occurs. Smith is a very good flyhalf but he wont thank anyone if he is pushed too hard and too fast, as much of the London based media are doing as they herald him as some kind of Messiah for England .
Great points you raise.
I think DMP Sharks and some others suffer an amount of ‘poaching’ from the richer London-based clubs. Ironically harping back to those times in the men’s game before professionalism when players from the north were often plunged into City jobs from farming and trade backgrounds.