WRW WEDNESDAY
Who's making moves for a Premier 15s place?
LOOK OUT LEICESTER
Montpellier are putting together a good run of form in the Top 14, ahead of next week’s European Challenge Cup Final.
Despite having to play 3 games in 9 days to fulfil postponed fixtures thanks to Covid, Montpellier are a shadow of the side that skirted close to the relegation zone in recent months.
Reports suggest a visible togetherness at the CGL which contradicts any thought to it being a club full of mercenaries, mostly from South Africa and a fallback to the Jake White era. They’re a passionate bunch and appear now to be building through Philippe Saint-Andre’s efforts based on the foundations laid by his predecessor Vern Cotter. (We’ll ignore the brief spell of Xavier Garbajosa which came to an abrupt end in January.)
But last night’s win over Toulon makes it five straight wins in the Top 14, knocking off both Champions Cup Finalists plus Clermont and Toulon who are all in the league’s top 6 as well.
With three in the Challenge Cup, Montpelllier have now won ten out of their last eleven games. Some form.
CRITICAL MASS APPROACHING
Guess what the following clubs have in common?
Harlequins, Saracens, Exeter, Sale, Gloucester, Worcester, Wasps and now London Irish..
Answer: they have a team in the Premier 15s or have announced ambitions to set up an operation to get there, with the Exiles the latest to do so yesterday.
The plans do appear serious at Irish, with experienced coach Graham Smith part of the set-up. It is very interesting to see more and more Premiership teams getting serious about this. For example, Exeter’s new team finished just outside the playoffs in their first season. Irish’s arrival will only add to the competition for franchises which become due in two years’ time.
It surely makes sense to share professional knowledge to broaden the women’s game and the Premiership clubs would be the best place to do that. Perhaps in time it is likelier with the much lower costs involved that others will emerge to develop a two- division league but that appears some way off yet.
Unquestionably, this is helping the England team, but the question of who is paying for the league might explain why the other clubs - Newcastle, Northampton, Bath and of course, Leicester - have not quite got involved to the same extent.
Now it costs apparently £500,000 to run a Premier 15s team, according to one estimate.
Centrally contracted England players are already spoken for, of course, but wages are not huge and most outside that core of players are effectively part-time. Needless to say, the more money you put into wages the more full-time you are.
It’s unclear how much money the RFU put in directly, beyond that. That’s come up this season when it became clear that some players’ insurances schemes left them having to pick up part of the tab.
That case leaves a bad taste in the mouth by the blatant protectionism. The clubs and the RFU seem determined not to fund other countries’ development, in this case, Wales.
If not now, then when?
All signs point to the women's game being the major driver of growth in interest in rugby union. TV coverage is now increasing with the BBC showing all 6 Nations games including the Final on BBC2. BT are planning to show both semis and the final of the Premier 15s, which of course, involves Loughborough Lightning at Saracens a week on Saturday.
But I can’t help imagining a top Tigers team, with games staged at Welford Road when crowds return. How good from a branding point of view would it be for England stars like Emily Scarratt - brought up by the likes of Leicester Forest East and the current World Player of the Year - to be seen in Tigers kit?
It would be a loss leader to begin with, no question. It took Quins a hell of an effort three years ago to to draw a crowd of 4500 for a game. But with the women's game drawing more and more media attention, surely there is a way to co-operate between Tigers and Loughborough University - and there is already plenty.
Don’t underestimate the importance of playing in Leicester. Remember the extended period that Leicester Riders spent playing basketball at Loughborough University when the Granby Halls closed. It was only when the Morningside Arena in Leicester opened, that the business behind the UK’s most successful basketball club, has started to really take off. It's a terrific facility and it’s probably saved the Riders. If you get a chance to go, take it.
I just ask a question…if England A and the Leicester-DMU games can come to Welford Road, why not Loughborough Lightning?
We’ll return to this, in due course and yet the game has so far to go…
Ada Milby from Asia Rugby picked up 17 votes from a possible 51. The Six Nations bloc wins out again.
You can talk the talk about equality, but…
GOOD NEWS FOR THE WORLD GAME
Despite playing no games and seeing their domestic setup ripped apart in the Super Rugby breakup, these are remarkably good financial figures for South African rugby.
BUT….
I just hope that staging the Lions tour with no fans isn’t a step too far.
HOW THE MEDIA CAN WORK
When your bosses want to attack the BBC at every point possible:
Yes, let’s get outraged. Why on earth is the BBC daring to show live sport only on the iPlayer…?
When it’s another broadcaster:
Another last minute deal done so that’s all right then.
But it’s not about bashing the BBC. Perish the thought.
Quins preview no doubt to come on Friday. See you then.
Chris
That looks like the Telegraph, Chris - you're not telling us we were to expect something different? But in amongst their hypocrisy there is a point - why *are* the BBC showing a repeat of the antique show rather than live sport?
Why should the RFU and English club's fund Welsh Womens Rugby?