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I think you're also significantly overestimating how many people are actually connected to and identify with club rugby. Many rugby fans, particularly the 'casual' fans who actually make up the bulk of numbers, couldn't give a shit about established prem clubs. Unquestionably, the number of...

The same premiership that has seen several clubs collapse recently?

8-10k crowds are no where near enough to sustain 'the highest level of Australian rugby', as you are proposing

So, sweet fuck all then?

Except that it hasn't As has been said in a few posts, it's giving T2 nations a stable platform for growth and improvement. If they were bundled in with T1, at this stage, it would be a bloodbath.

No doubt, but I recall him costing us a few. Purely from the 'discipline' perspective, it's irrelevant how many he won us.

Agreed - although, removing Tupou, Zander, and Daugunu from the equation probably takes out a not-insignificant number of penalties over recent seasons.

I wouldn't be surprised if this isn't necessarily an accident - if they can go H2H and beat the 7s comp in attendance / viewership (probably not difficult), that's probably a very modest metric for 'success'

Ultimately though, there's a very high likelihood of blowouts in most T1 v T2 matchups, which doesn't benefit fans, the teams involved, or rugby in general. As Adam said, the biggest positive of this is the challenger series providing more structure and opportunity for T2 nations - hopefully...

So are we assuming we'll get mid-week games with the fuller schedule?

Isn't that the present state of the game though? Aside from the occasional game against 'fringe' teams (Fiji(?), Tonga, Samoa, Japan, Georgia, Portugal, etc.) the 10 'established' T1 teams only really play each other

That is the presumption

Headphones and cranked volume you can make it out. The "8s onwards" is misleading - I hear it at ~11 sec just before they switch to the blindside, which is what I believe Bongi is trying to alert his team to

It was a pretty clear plea from BOK to not take action into his own hands, which is understandable imo. BOK did also follow up with an "I'll be on it" directly after

Eh, sometimes you just mishear things. Given the context we've seen / heard in the video, I'm not sure it would've been where my head went, but at least the confusion is understandable.

If I understood correctly from the article, I don't think they're asking for it to be perfect, but have concerns around the 'bumpiness' of the pitch - understandably, this isn't ideal for a sport where the ball spends a large amount of time rolling across the ground. Also an increased risk of...

Some suggesting it was actually "wyd / wye kant" - meaning 'open side'. Given the tone, repetition, and context, I think it's pretty clear that it's a misunderstanding of the highest order. I'd be pretty shocked if WR (World Rugby) take any action following the investigation.

Not a great start. A bit of a cop out for a professional sporting org to be, in part, blaming the lack of rain