tigerburnie wrote:fourthirtythree wrote:PRL were running it until they realised they couldn't organise a root in a brothel. Then they called the grown ups. Too late.
They really are comically inept as well as grubby.
No, they have never had anything(other than as a "partner") in running the new competition, I am told they put forward the ideas and the ERC rejected them and it was the RFU that got all parties round the table and the 6 nations were nominated to run the show. Now we all know the PRL and the French started the ball rolling by resigning from the old Heineken, but after that, the ball is now in the new comittees court, so to speak. Much as some tuther side of the Isle of Man like to blame the PRL for everything, on this occassion, they are busy running their own show. Their teams busy getting ready to qualify for next years competition by getting into the top positions in our league, a
Champions Cup that would not exist if it had been left to the ERC and thier refusal to budge from the old "status quo".
Hopefully when the French and Welsh sort out their own domestic problems we can all enjoy a competition that will be full of the best teams in Europe which I'm sure we will all want our teams to do well in.
Kind of forgetting about the terms of the BT deal there aren't you? I.E that they were unknown to the unions when PRL "offered" the RCC. The unions couldn't budge. They'd no idea what they'd be signing up to. Given all the comprises that came to pass were known well in advance of the BT deal I think it's fair to say that had BT not offered PRL a wedge to give Sky a bloody nose none of this would have happened. Also there was going to be ERC next year without the PRL until BT stepped in and bribed the SRU and RRW.
You do make a good point about the priorites of PRL and LNR. As a couple of English posters pointed out again and again, English teams and fans they don't really care for the competition just the money. There priorities are at home. It shows.
The idea to drop the title sponsor was club lead and if you remember it was PRL who came up with the title RCC. So yeah the sponsorship gap, that's all on PRL. There are potential upsides to going with mixed sponsorship deals but when 2 of the 3 leagues supplying the teams can't do without a title sponsor and the 1 league that can has no TV deal......well. It's all well and good having a soundbite for media spin("We've founded the Rugby Champions Cup, We'll competing in it next year we may even invite the South Africans"), but when that becomes policy it's important you have an idea of how you're going to get there. Having TV deals lined up first is a good first step.
The decision of ERC to sign a rival TV deal was a master stoke(though the fans have to pay more), as in the end both BT and Sky were forced to compromise and upping the pot to 28m. Whereas PRL sold the competition to BT for c17/18pa. This may well have saved the BT PRL deal from going the way of the LNR-Canal+ deal. The rules for TV deals are that they have to be open tender and can't be for more than 3 years. Sky were conspicuously quiet throughout the debacle.
TBF to PRL they have a well established and somewhat popular league(3rd most popular worldwide?). They've benefitted handsomely from the entry of BT Sport into broadcasting. So their claim that they could do it all better will have rung true to them particularly given they were English
. They believed it so much they even guaranteed the Pro12 teams their income. It was nonsense to suggest that the ERC couldn't have played Sky off BT for a significant increase in TV revenue and that by and large the competition wasn't well run. The main gripe of PRL/LNR was the money split and qualification of P12 teams(Particularly Zebre Connacht and Edinburgh). As it stands they've yet to deliver on their promise of more moolah and a smoother running competition.
As regards the location, IIRC it was more a French thing(FFR & LNR) as well as FIRA(whatever they're called now) thing to get the organisation moved away from Dublin(the 6N committee in particular). IMO PRL went with this to get/keep the French onside. It didn't have to be done this year though and it was f*cking stupid to do it so late in the day. Despite the protestations of Quentin Smith ERC staff did their job well according to what they were meant to do. It was the board that was the problem and they've been kept on with a new mediator.
The Welsh are as likely to sort out their domestic problems as they are to beat a SH side.
Ruddock's tackle stats consistently too low for me to be taken seriously as a Six Nations blindside..... Ruddock's defensive stats don't stack up. - All Blacks Nil, Jan 15th, 2014
England A 8 - 14 Ireland A, 25th Jan 2014
Ruddock(c) 19/2 Tackles
