Eddie Jones rugby and the Brave Blossoms

[Jets]

It looks like a good tournament. The addition of Canada and US will help both those countries.

 

[en_force_er]

There's a lot said about Canada and the US eventually becoming 1st tier nations via good professional set-ups. I don't think this is a pipe-dream but it's very ambitious.

I'd MUCH rather see Pro 12 teams in Georgia and Romania, these guys are already competitive 2nd tier nations and their proximity to Europe makes this possible.

Would they be able to match France's paychecks? No, but neither can Wales, England, etc. The reality is if these nations could get a Pro 12 team with 25 locals (plus some Russians, and aging players from the SH) and then have another 20 or so kicking around in the Top 14 then we'd see them becoming Tier 1 in a matter of years.

I don't understand why this isn't happening, the money isn't as high in Georgia/Romania but neither is the living costs. Run them as a cheapo development side like Connacht were and the way Wales is considering running the Scarlets or Dragons.

 

[JJJ]

Perhaps the impact of Brave Blossoms is lost in translation. It may have a stronger/better meaning in Japanese.

I know one of the original 4 kamikaze units was called the cherry blossoms. Maybe they're making reference to that.

 

[KevinO]

There's a lot said about Canada and the US eventually becoming 1st tier nations via good professional set-ups. I don't think this is a pipe-dream but it's very ambitious.

I'd MUCH rather see Pro 12 teams in Georgia and Romania, these guys are already competitive 2nd tier nations and their proximity to Europe makes this possible.

Would they be able to match France's paychecks? No, but neither can Wales, England, etc. The reality is if these nations could get a Pro 12 team with 25 locals (plus some Russians, and aging players from the SH) and then have another 20 or so kicking around in the Top 14 then we'd see them becoming Tier 1 in a matter of years.

I don't understand why this isn't happening, the money isn't as high in Georgia/Romania but neither is the living costs. Run them as a cheapo development side like Connacht were and the way Wales is considering running the Scarlets or Dragons.

I think this idea would be more realistic if the Italian teams were more competitive in the Pro12, they are still the easy beats. Maybe they should look at doing a conference system, otherwise they would really need to have to many games a season. I think the money being spent in the Russian league will help Georgia and Romania. They have 16 teams and I think they added a 3rd tier after the World Cup.

A joint league of Russian, Georia, Romanian and Italian sides could be a reasonable option, with the top 2 teams playing off against the Italian teams in the Pro12 to gain promotion. Or a division 1 and division 2 pro 12 with promotion and relegation possible for all teams involved.