The Rugby Thread

[pharvey]

Well, the way the season ended it's fair to say Bristol should be there at the expense of Bath (hard to say for a Bath supporter). Unfortunately, in this day and age it's at the expense of London Irish .......

"Bristol will replace London Irish in next season's Champions Cup, European Professional Club Rugby has confirmed.

It comes after Irish's financial problems led to the club being suspended from the Premiership.

They will not be allowed to compete in any league next season.

Their European spot will therefore be taken by the Bears, who finished ninth in the Premiership table and were the highest-placed team not to qualify for the tournament.

London Irish were punished after missing a deadline to pay players and staff or complete a takeover.

Owner Mick Crossan and a US consortium have been unable to reach a deal and the west London club has subsequently filed for administration."

[pharvey]

Some great rugby coming up in the next few months with the lead-up to and ultimately the RWC

First off, the U20's Rugby World Championship (and Trophy): -

"The World Rugby U20 Championship and U20 Trophy return in 2023 for the first time since the pandemic. South Africa will host the 12-team U20 Championship from 24 June to 14 July, before Kenya stages the U20 Trophy, featuring eight teams, from 15-30 July."

I'll certainly be watching a few of the Championship matches as there's been some great games at this level in the past and also a chance to see some players for the future.....
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Groups: -
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Fixtures: -
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* All Times BST

Rugby Championship 2023: -

This could be interesting with the run-up to the RWC - what squads/players are going to be utilized, how many fringe players will be involved? I very much doubt any "new tactics" will be on show!!

Fixtures: -
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[dtaai-maai]

Thanks, Pete, good to know. Sky or BT?

[pharvey]

Thanks, Pete, good to know. Sky or BT?

The Rugby Championship will be on SKY "GO" - so I'll be using the usual suspects. Buffstreams has been good of late (have been watching HD Streams of F1... Though it's probably a limited audience ).

The U20's will be a mix and match - more so on local channels such as S4C for the Welsh matches (I can send a dictionary if needed ). There's normally a YouTube Channel covering it but I'll need to have a look through.

Some info also here: - https://worldrugbyu20game.com/

[pharvey]

No, not April 1st and not a joke...... At first I thought it was in support of LGBT!!

Gloucester Change Name of Famous Ground

"Gloucester Rugby are changing the name of their famous ground Kingsholm to Queensholm to celebrate their women's team reaching the final of the Premier 15s, which is being staged at the venue this Saturday.

Gloucester-Hartpury Women, with 16 Welsh players in their ranks coached by Swansea native Sean Lynn, are in the final of England's top women's domestic league for the first time, and will face Exeter Chiefs."

But it is just for 1 week https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rug ... g-27152570

[dtaai-maai]

Well, it's not as if anyone would take the piss...

[pharvey]

So Well, the U20's Rugby World Championship kicks off this weekend - my usual "go to site" for fixtures is currently showing all matches aside from Wales vs NZ (on S4C) as not being televised... Obviously BS, so a quick search on the usual suspects closer to the day will be the best option

England U20 vs Ireland U20 is undoubtedly the pick of Round 1 (12:30 KO - BST). Wales U20 vs NZ U20 will unfortunately be a tad one-sided.... The Baby Blacks will have had a long journey after all

[dtaai-maai]

So, the U20's Rugby World Championship kicks off this weekend...

So...? SO...????? Et tu, Pietro. That's like a dagger to my heart... <sigh>

[pharvey]

So...? SO...????? Et tu, Pietro. That's like a dagger to my heart... <sigh>

So, Well, the U20's Rugby World Championship kicks off this weekend

[pharvey]

Didn't get to see the England U20 vs Ireland U20, but I thought it was going to close and likely the pick of Round 1.... 34 vs 34 and a sending off probably didn't disappoint!!

As for Wales U20 vs NZ U20, WOW!! Incredible first half from Wales, going in 3 tries to 1 and 19 -5 UP!! Unfortunately, the first 20 minutes of the 2nd half was a whole different story..... The Baby Blacks taking a 27-19 lead. Fair play though, we didn't give up and despite some decisions not going our way grabbed a fourth try and close the gap to within 7, earning us a very much unexpected 2 Bonus Points!! We are still in it!!

[dtaai-maai]

... despite some decisions not going our way ...

What, AGAIN??? Astonishing.

[pharvey]

... despite some decisions not going our way ...

What, AGAIN??? Astonishing.

It always happens DM - you're just another blinkered non-believer!! Good God man!!

Having a closer look, I see the Lillywhites were also trying to gain an advantage over Ireland....

[pharvey]

The "Old Guard" are certainly dropping like flies from the Welsh RWC Squad..... Sad to see, but time has to move on and we need to look to the future. The mantle needs to be passed and fringe players brought in. The U20's and Grassroots rugby also need far more support both technical and financial.

Ken "The Sheriff" Owens pulls out of the Wales RWC Squad following the retirements of Alun Wyn Jones, Tipuric, Baldwin and Rhys Webb. Due to WRU rules, others left out due to plying their trade outside Wales and without the minimum Caps include the likes of Hawkins and Cory Hill.

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rug ... s-27199636

With the financial crisis in Welsh Rugby, there is talk of a "merger" between Cardiff and Ospreys. Being a supporter of Welsh rugby for many years, I can say that this would be a take-over by Cardiff and the Ospreys would cease to exist. Many, many would be against this but the cold truth is that rugby in Wales cannot sustain 4 Regional teams.....

Perhaps we need to look again at East (Cardiff, Newport Dragons) and West (Llanelli Scarlets, Ospreys) and perhaps a third team in the North of Wales (very unlikely). Support is very "tribal", so supporters would certainly have a dim view of any takeovers or mergers.

Expect to see many more players leaving Wales with their international futures very much in doubt under the current regulations...... A very sad state of affairs.

Ho hum

[pharvey]

PeteC has resurrected the the Superbru Championship Rugby Prediction League. As per an earlier post, R1 kicks off on July 8th with South Africa hosting Australia and New Zealand travelling to Argentina to take on the Pumas

We're at 8 players at the moment which is probably a Full House. I'll post updates as the tournament progresses - will be interesting this year leading up to the RWC.... As a useless piece of information, the last time the "Blackness" won the Rugby Championship/Tri-Nations in a RWC year was 2007.

[pharvey]

Just as a heads up for Round 2 of the U20's Rugby World Championship...
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[EDIT] All Times Shown BST

Not being biased, but I hope Cymru kick @rse!!
[EDIT 2] France vs NZ could be quite a match!

Buffstreams and the Usual Suspects seem to be showing - Proper TV (S4C) obviously reserved for the "professionals"

Some good stuff in Round 1, give it a go for R2!!