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Apparently the SunWolves will name their squad at the beginning of December. Tanaka is staying with the Highlanders. Seems strange to me. He'd be a certain starter at the SunWolves. And if he didn't want to stay in Japan he'd probably start for a few other Super Rugby teams as well!

Hopefully that happens. But there's been talk about professional leagues starting in America for the last 5 or so years, probably more, and they keep getting pushed back and pushed back. A super rugby franchise or two would probably be better for strengthening the national team than a...

I think it might undermine them to show live Super Rugby games, but not the NRC. There wouldn't be a single person whose primary reason for owning Foxtel is to watch the NRC so they wouldn't lose subscribers if 1 game per week was shown on FTA. The positive is that maybe some of the people that...

Well Shute Shield is on FTA and I don't think it would bust the top 20 figures for Foxtel if it was on it either. Surely a similar deal is possible for the NRC given it's a higher level national competition and with (hopefully) more potential for growth.

I was referring more to the hundreds of thousands of people in England that attend English soccer games (not just the Premier League) between 3 - 5pm on Saturdays. And the many more who watch streams of the games, listen to commentary on Radio or follow the scores on shows that cover it (all the...

Of course the NZRU and ARU have a lot of bargaining power. The tournament wouldn't happen without Australia and New Zealand. The All Blacks have thrown their weight around before and got their way. It's not about money, the bargaining power comes from success and the importance of the teams to...

So why are the Euro16 finals all being played at 9pm? I think it's ridiculous to be honest. The difference in ratings between 4pm and an evening kick off would not be substantial in Europe (an evening kick off may even do better). Yet they will be substantially lower in Australia and New...

Why should superstitions come into it? It's a business matter. The ARU and NZRU would benefit from the big matches being played later regardless of whether they made the finals or not. The more people watching, the better for rugby in our countries. And as the two most successful countries in...

Surely the biggest motivator for kick off times for any major tournament is TV ratings. We certainly saw that in 2011. Why is 4pm such a better time than 7 or 8pm? I highly doubt it's because of Dr Who! Dr Who can be taped or delayed, sport needs to be watched live. In the afternoon it clashes...

Well it would be fine for South Africa, but surely given history the chances of Australia or New Zealand making the final was always pretty high. I just don't understand the motivation for a 4pm kick off. Surely it's not even perfectly ideal for European TV networks, given it clashes with all...

I know prime time is a bit earlier there. I've lived in the UK and a lot of big sporting events are played in the afternoon on weekends. I guess, when it gets to this time of the year it does start getting dark pretty early and so most people are indoors. But surely there wouldn't be any less...

Maybe, but that'll be before. Pretty sure the kickoff is at 3am our time, which is 4pm in London.

Anyone understand why this is being played at 4pm local time, and not say 7pm or 8pm? 4pm means it clashes with English Premier League games, which you'd think would cost viewers, and obviously it's going to cost millions of viewers in Australia, New Zealand and parts of Asia being played in...

Lobzhanidze was great for Georgia, and as the youngest player to ever play in the world cup I think it'd be pretty cool to see him win. That said, Milner-Skudder has gone from a no-name to a potential World XV selection in one season.

Fox can keep exclusive access to Super Rugby. But it wouldn't harm them in any way if 1 game of NRC each weekend was on FTA.

1. Japan will be added to the Rugby Championship 2. USA will be the biggest improvers over the 5 years and will make the 2019 quarter finals 3. Super Rugby will expand to at least 20 teams 4. Spain will qualify for the 2019 World Cup 5. Australia will win the Women's Sevens Olympic...

So, Folau has been pretty poor against both Wales and Argentina. Clearly not quite right. Do we risk a 75% fit Izzy when Beale is in such good form? I'm really not sure. I have a feeling Hooper is in for a big game in this final. He's been solid in this tournament but hasn't had a really great...

Yeah, I think it was a great performance. We kept one of the best attacking teams in the tournament tryless, the team that carved up the best defensive side in the 6 Nations last week. And they threw a lot at us. 13 clean breaks to 7. We scrambled amazingly well and were clinical when we had our...

We have a tendency to give away more penalties as we go so hard at the breakdown and push the boundaries. They also had more possession and dominance at the scrum until all the replacements were on. I don't think it's fair to say they were in the game due to Barnes. They were in the game cause...

Then have the NSW double header in week 1 and the QLD double header in week 2 (or another week). The NRC needs some 'events' IMO. At the moment it really just has the QLD derby that has any little bit of event status.