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Rugby News from unexpected places

WorkingClassRugger

WorkingClassRugger

Michael Lynagh (62)
neilc said:
A good overview from the Guardian of the start of the MLR season focused on the Houston vs New Orleans game and the realistic approach that Houston are taking to building their community:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...a-gold-glendale-austin-san-diego-seattle-utah

Interesting that New Orleans got the win, I thought it was suggested that they were less likely to be a strong competitor but a great start from them.
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They've shown an immense level of improvement since their first game against Glendale where they looked well out of their depth. Watching the Seattle/San Diego game on FB at the moment. Seattle are going to run away with it unless SD can sort our their scrummaging.
 
WorkingClassRugger

WorkingClassRugger

Michael Lynagh (62)
Dallas have just been announced as entering in 2019. The official 9th team in the MLR. Heavy hints that its backer may be Mavericks owner and noted Rugby supporter (and billionaire) Mark Cuban.
 
Omar Comin'

Omar Comin'

Chilla Wilson (44)
WorkingClassRugger said:
Dallas have just been announced as entering in 2019. The official 9th team in the MLR. Heavy hints that its backer may be Mavericks owner and noted Rugby supporter (and billionaire) Mark Cuban.
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That's awesome, having a guy with Cuban's profile involved will be a huge PR boost to that team and the league in general. Good to see such a strong presence in Texas too, hopefully a strong rivalry develops between the 3 teams there.

Looks like Seattle are already too big for their stadium.
 
WorkingClassRugger

WorkingClassRugger

Michael Lynagh (62)
Omar Comin' said:
That's awesome, having a guy with Cuban's profile involved will be a huge PR boost to that team and the league in general. Good to see such a strong presence in Texas too, hopefully a strong rivalry develops between the 3 teams there.

Looks like Seattle are already too big for their stadium.
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Starfire can be expanded to 7000 if needed. Which could very well be the case next season. I've had clarification on Cuban. He's interested but wants to see it flesh out a bit more in regards to this season (progress through the weeks) before coming on board. Either way, big news for the league.
 
Omar Comin'

Omar Comin'

Chilla Wilson (44)
WorkingClassRugger said:
Starfire can be expanded to 7000 if needed. Which could very well be the case next season. I've had clarification on Cuban. He's interested but wants to see it flesh out a bit more in regards to this season (progress through the weeks) before coming on board. Either way, big news for the league.
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A part investment in a MLR team would be chumps change for Cuban, he's worth $3.7 billion. What would it cost him, $1 million? Hopefully his decision criteria isn't too strict given he's supposedly a big fan of the game and his influence could make a significant difference.

Are any other new teams (in addition to New York and Dallas) likely to be confirmed for next season? Canada really need a team or two to join asap.
 
WorkingClassRugger

WorkingClassRugger

Michael Lynagh (62)
Omar Comin' said:
A part investment in a MLR team would be chumps change for Cuban, he's worth $3.7 billion. What would it cost him, $1 million? Hopefully his decision criteria isn't too strict given he's supposedly a big fan of the game and his influence could make a significant difference.

Are any other new teams (in addition to New York and Dallas) likely to be confirmed for next season? Canada really need a team or two to join asap.
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It's expected that the Ontario Arrows will be announced pretty soon after the MLR first season wraps up. Chicago is also a possibility. I know there is a group looking at Boston as well but they are unlikely before 2020.
 
neilc

neilc

Bob Loudon (25)
WorkingClassRugger said:
It's expected that the Ontario Arrows will be announced pretty soon after the MLR first season wraps up. Chicago is also a possibility. I know there is a group looking at Boston as well but they are unlikely before 2020.
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I hope they grow the comp carefully and make sure that they are building the base well. What I liked with the Houston guy quoted in that Guardian article was he said they were directly tied to the grassroots and the local clubs and juniors with the aim being to build a groundswell of kids and get more people into the game, rather than just looking at getting numbers along to their matches.
 
Spieber

Spieber

Bob Loudon (25)
Watching NOLA v SaberCats replay - French ref didn't help continuity with his whistle-blowing - will not appeal to US fans. Was interested to see from FB comments that viewership was quite global (Canada, Belgium, Spain, Croatia, Fiji, Dubai, HK, England, Ireland, NZ, & Bungendore on the southern shores of Lake George - SaberCats' 5/8 Sam Windsor's hometown).
 
RebelYell

RebelYell

Arch Winning (36)
Which Aussies are playing, besides Tim Metcher (Seattle) and Sam Figg (Glendale)? I've seen Nathan Charles retweeting quite a lot of content about MLR...
 
Omar Comin'

Omar Comin'

Chilla Wilson (44)
Spieber said:
Watching NOLA v SaberCats replay - French ref didn't help continuity with his whistle-blowing - will not appeal to US fans.
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I'd actually expect that a referee in love with his whistle would matter least in the US - so long as there's still some decent action between the stoppages. Baseball and NFL are both very stop start, and NFL is refereed to the letter of the law. Basketball is obviously a lot more continuous, but there's no shortage of whistles and free throws in that game either. So sport fans over there are a lot more used to high referee involvement than say the typical soccer fan in the rest of the world.

Though it'll be interesting to see if the MLR look to experiment with any law changes going forward.
 
WorkingClassRugger

WorkingClassRugger

Michael Lynagh (62)
neilc said:
I hope they grow the comp carefully and make sure that they are building the base well. What I liked with the Houston guy quoted in that Guardian article was he said they were directly tied to the grassroots and the local clubs and juniors with the aim being to build a groundswell of kids and get more people into the game, rather than just looking at getting numbers along to their matches.
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They have enough interest and committed parties to go to 12 by year 3. Which is when they'll assess the overall competitive mix and investment in the league before mapping out their move to 14 then 16. From discussions I've had, once they hit 12 they'll slow the growth for 2 to 3 seasons before adding two at a time until they reach 16 and then they'll put a freeze on it for a few seasons beyond that. This is of course going from current levels of interest and investment.
 
WorkingClassRugger

WorkingClassRugger

Michael Lynagh (62)
RebelYell said:
Which Aussies are playing, besides Tim Metcher (Seattle) and Sam Figg (Glendale)? I've seen Nathan Charles retweeting quite a lot of content about MLR.
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I'll do my best.

Houston - Sam Windsor and Matt Trouville.

NOLA - John Stapleton

Glendale - Luke White and Sam Figg

San Diego - none

Seattle - Tim Metcher and Peter Smith

Austin - Tim Fitzgerald and Sione Fangaiuiha

Utah - none.
 
WorkingClassRugger

WorkingClassRugger

Michael Lynagh (62)
Spieber said:
Watching NOLA v SaberCats replay - French ref didn't help continuity with his whistle-blowing - will not appeal to US fans. Was interested to see from FB comments that viewership was quite global (Canada, Belgium, Spain, Croatia, Fiji, Dubai, HK, England, Ireland, NZ, & Bungendore on the southern shores of Lake George - SaberCats' 5/8 Sam Windsor's hometown).
Click to expand...


Funnily enough. Most Americans weren't all that bothered by the refereeing. Well, from the ones I've heard from.
 
Brumby Runner

Brumby Runner

Jason Little (69)
Sam Windsor was one who got away. Had a solid NRC as I recall where he looked like a No 10 who could develop to Super standard. Not your usual schoolboy star who can't cut the mustard when they play with adults.
 
Brumby Runner

Brumby Runner

Jason Little (69)
So, another 5 or so good years. Nothing to be sneezed at BH.


EDIT : And if 27 is some sort of measure of the end of a No 10's career, why haven't we yet seen the end of one Bernard Foley, who some would argue is still trying to learn how to be a Super Rugby level No 10.
 
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