Rugby News from unexpected places

[WorkingClassRugger]

They love a good scouting day. I hope they play. Rugby is not the same as NFL in terms or raw metrics being an indicator of ability. Not saying it is direct for NFL but I have played with plenty of people who were great on the field and not blessed with notable speed/strength etc.

It's a selection camp for the College All-Americans. It's based around Rugby skills as much as athletic ability.

 

[Rugbynutter39]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-...usion-at-rugby-club-for-connor-whelan/9940622

Nice little story.....

 

[kiap]

Pretty good standard of rugby for the MLR final.

Evenly matched first half.

Glendale playing Seattle at a neutral venue at University of San Diego. Nice boutique ground.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

The Seattle Seawolves have won the inaugural MLR Championship 19 -23.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Pretty good standard of rugby for the MLR final.

Evenly matched first half.

Glendale playing Seattle at a neutral venue at University of San Diego. Nice boutique ground.

View attachment 10090

It's been a pretty good first season overall. Parity was fairly good across the league. Should improve again nwxt season with NY, LA and likely Ontario all coming online bringinh wven more talent that didn't feature thanks largely to geography and work. The salary cap will also grow by I'm predict at least doublr if not to $1m meaning players will be able to dedicate even more time to Rugby. Overall, the league is looking good.

 

[kiap]

It's been a pretty good first season overall. Parity was fairly good across the league. Should improve again nwxt season with NY, LA and likely Ontario all coming online bringinh wven more talent that didn't feature thanks largely to geography and work. The salary cap will also grow by I'm predict at least doublr if not to $1m meaning players will be able to dedicate even more time to Rugby. Overall, the league is looking good.

Yep. It's a better setup than our NRC. Player-wise maybe not quite yet, but with those budgets it won't be far away.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Yep. It's a better setup than our NRC. Player-wise maybe not quite yet, but with those budgets it won't be far away.

They seem to have a pretty solid business plan for the league. All the owners need to prove their ability to finance all costs for 5 seasons so it should be around for a while.

It also managed pretty solid ratings as well.

It's certainly a better model than the NRC. Would actually like to see it replicated here.

 

[Dan54]

So Seawolves won huh? Lol club aligned with Canterbury and Crusaders win the comp! Suppose we shouldn't be surprised!

 

[kiap]

So Seawolves won huh? Lol club aligned with Canterbury and Crusaders win the comp! Suppose we shouldn't be surprised!

No kiwi imports in the side though, as far as I know … unless they've gone native

• Twenty septic tanks
• A ship-load's worth (seven) are Canucks - chunk of the test squad
• Two Aussies (Tim Metcher, Peter Smith)
• A couple of lads representing Belguim and Korea
• One each of your obligatory Saffa, Pom and Fijian

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

No kiwi imports in the side though, as far as I know … unless they've gone native

• Twenty septic tanks
• A ship-load's worth (seven) are Canucks - chunk of the test squad
• Two Aussies (Tim Metcher, Peter Smith)
• A couple of lads representing Belguim and Korea
• One each of your obligatory Saffa, Pom and Fijian

Not one Kiwi. The Korean rep is actually American born and raised. Attended UoC Berkeley. Qualified for Korea via his mother. Matt Turner the Pom is actually another Saffer.

 

[Dan54]

No kiwi imports in the side though, as far as I know … unless they've gone native

• Twenty septic tanks
• A ship-load's worth (seven) are Canucks - chunk of the test squad
• Two Aussies (Tim Metcher, Peter Smith)
• A couple of lads representing Belguim and Korea
• One each of your obligatory Saffa, Pom and Fijian

lol no Kiap, wasn't suggesting that, just laughing that bloody Canterbury picked a winner....again. I know when they bought into the club earlier they were just assisting them with a bit of knowledge of running the team I think. Think they going to do player swaps in future at academy level.

 

[RebelYell]

Their investment was tiny though, right? Like 1 or 2% stake?

 

[Dan54]

Their investment was tiny though, right? Like 1 or 2% stake?

Yep think so Rebel, haven't really chased it up that much.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Okay. So Boston might be ready for next season and almost certain for 2020. Which is a bit out of nowhere. Not their interest but the advanced nature of it. But that's not the craziest revelations. Apparently there's interest from Las Vegas and wait for it. Baja. As in Baja Mexico.

 

[Omar Comin']

Okay. So Boston might be ready for next season and almost certain for 2020. Which is a bit out of nowhere. Not their interest but the advanced nature of it. But that's not the craziest revelations. Apparently there's interest from Las Vegas and wait for it. Baja. As in Baja Mexico.

That's interesting, though I doubt they'll expand into Mexico when there are so many more lucrative markets in the US and Canada. Boston would be good, seems they'll go from no teams in the North East to 4 within a couple of seasons. I think that's smart. Having teams clustered together in regions obviously helps with scheduling and reducing travel - as well as developing rivalries.

It seems like at the moment the biggest constraint to expansion is actually the number of players in the US of a good enough standard! I expect we'll see more and more SANZAAR players just beneath Super Rugby standard heading over there in the next few seasons.

 

[Strewthcobber]

That's interesting, though I doubt they'll expand into Mexico when there are so many more lucrative markets in the US and Canada. Boston would be good, seems they'll go from no teams in the North East to 4 within a couple of seasons. I think that's smart. Having teams clustered together in regions obviously helps with scheduling and reducing travel - as well as developing rivalries.

It seems like at the moment the biggest constraint to expansion is actually the number of players in the US of a good enough standard! I expect we'll see more and more SANZAAR players just beneath Super Rugby standard heading over there in the next few seasons.

With Twiggy Ball coming on board around that timeframe too the player market is heating up!

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

That's interesting, though I doubt they'll expand into Mexico when there are so many more lucrative markets in the US and Canada. Boston would be good, seems they'll go from no teams in the North East to 4 within a couple of seasons. I think that's smart. Having teams clustered together in regions obviously helps with scheduling and reducing travel - as well as developing rivalries.

It seems like at the moment the biggest constraint to expansion is actually the number of players in the US of a good enough standard! I expect we'll see more and more SANZAAR players just beneath Super Rugby standard heading over there in the next few seasons.

I'd say a Mexican team is a ways off. But it is interesting to see just how much interest there is. I've said previously that one of the biggest issues for the league won't be interest but managing that interest to ensure overall competitiveness within the league.

Regarding player depth. The league is working through that right now. It won't be too much of an issue with NY, LA and Ontario (which are apparently in the final stages of talks and look set for next season) as they bring in their own talent from their distinct regions but when the league grows to 16 and beyond is on their mind. Most of the teams have already announced and have either implemented or are starting to implement academy structures as well as youth development programs which should help address this as well as engaging more with the College side of the game.

They are also working through the foreign player limit. Most agree it should be higher at around 7 while some would like it to be open. We'll have to wait and see.

 

[Omar Comin']

With Twiggy Ball coming on board around that timeframe too the player market is heating up!

Yeah the global population of professional rugby players is going to increase pretty substantially over the next few years. I think it'll have a big impact on the competitiveness of a number of tier 2 and 3 countries and is part of the reason I would like to see the world cup grow to 24 teams in 2023 or 2027.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

I've just read a little tidbit from a FB friend of mine that's well connected within MLR (he is one of Houston's commentators and it heavily involved with the team) that the interest emerging from Mexico is legitimate and in the form of the owners of Mexican Soccer Club Xolos de Tijuana who play in the Mexican Premier League.

Also, in what likely confirms next years line up as 10 teams for MLR the Ontario Arrows have secured exclusive rights to operate an MLR squad in their market.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

There's also this. Which I happen to know is missing a few interested locations.

https://scontent.fsyd5-1.fna.fbcdn....=45106138fb14e57208445c746517120a&oe=5BDB7D6A