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I actually hope the NRC stays a fairly grassroots connected competition and not too commercial. I'd like to see crowds and ratings etc improve - and I'm sure they will, but I like it as a semi-pro comp played at suburban grounds with cheap ticket prices. And I'd guess Buildcorp's clients and...

Getting in on the NRC from the beginning was a pretty good decision from Buildcorp IMO. They'll get significant benefit from sticking with it. Hyundai must have benefited a lot from their A League sponsorship. I think it'd be very high on the list of most recognised and easily recalled...

Out of interest what would be the extra cost for them to broadcast it as well and put it on a red button channel (assuming they didn't want to play it on one of their main channels)? They've done that with some of the FFA Cup matches.

My understanding is that Nine previously purchased exclusive rights. This time they haven't. Though apparently their deal will be reduced (by what amount who knows) if their 4 matches are simulcast. Fox already simulcast the AFL games that are on FTA. I think it'll be the same with the NRL.

Fox Sports will get all the games live and they'll pay for it. They would struggle to exist without rugby league. People that can afford it or are really big supporters will still get/keep Foxtel because it means they can watch every game they want to without ads - and in HD if they are willing...

Your first sentence is not arguing what I said. What I said is that the world cup makes more money with 20 teams than it would with 10. How the money is split is a completely different thing. In the case of the world cup, most of the money goes into developing the game around the world. In the...

Sure, they don't make any money from one off meaningless games against weakened opponents with players missing and a poor preparation. But as part of a genuine competition with those teams at full strength and with good preparations, and with matches played only in the commercial markets then I...

Not necessarily. It would depend how you structured it. You could have pools and/or host nations that change around. I'd love to one day see the Rugby Championship merge with the Pacific Nations Cup. Samoa and Fiji at full strength (which you only really see in a world cup year) are already...

Hopefully they'll get their act together. But if they did lose it I'm sure we could step in to host it at short notice!!

It's doubled, but so has what they're receiving. 4 live games per week instead of 2. So the value per game from FTA is effectively the same. No doubt Fox Sports will pay a decent amount on top though - even if they get less exclusive matches than now.

If we want to build it up we should stop diluting it by having a more historic/important trophy played partially inside and partially outside of it. I also think not having it every year would perhaps make it a bit more special. The Rugby Championship will most certainly evolve anyway. I...

Do you really think it hurt our lineout? We still had 3 jumpers - exactly the same as when we pick 1 of Hooper and Pocock and start Skelton in the row. The bigger factor is that Simmons was injured and that we had 2 new starting locks that were calling it in his place. Moore also didn't have his...

I think the laws are part of the solution - and so it's encouraging what's happening in the NRC because it addresses the primary frustrations with the game. I wouldn't be surprised if SANZAR uses some NRC variations in Super Rugby in the next couple of years and that may lead to some changes...

I think a problem is that no one really cares about the Rugby Championship trophy. That was effectively a RC final last night, but that wasn't the story going into the game because no one cares about it. That's a problem when the competition is so strategically important to Australian rugby.

Lealiifano has been named for the "World XV" against Japan next weekend (along with the likes of JOC (James O'Connor), Cummins, Naiyaravoro, Liam Gill and a few other Aussies).

Well he's apparently already signed for their team, but maybe it's not set in stone. You'd think it could only happen if the UAR change their selection criteria. They've said that from 2016 they'll only be picking domestic based players for the national team, but perhaps they will extend it to...

I don't see why Phipps should start again next week. I agree he has been good up until last night but he just had an absolute shocker. Not just a bad game, a memorably terrible one. And then the guy that came on for him won the game. There has to be a point where 1 guy plays himself out of a...

I find it weird the Melbourne ratings are so much lower than last year. And lower than those in Perth. Seems like a mistake.

Of the guys that played in this match the following are already signed for the Argentinian super rugby team next year: 15 Joaquin Tuculet 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente 10 Juan Martin Hernandez (don't think it's official yet but the French press have reported it) 9 Tomas Cubelli 6 Pablo Matera 5...

Great result for the Pumas! I thought they were looking really vulnerable going into the world cup, but things can turn around so fast. I think Matera makes a big difference for them. The Argentinian side will thrash some teams in Super Rugby.