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It's a TV / PR / sponsorship thing. If you accept that, the vast majority of decisions are understandable.

There's a lot to unpack here, which is made all the more difficult by the lack of paragraphs. In the majority of cases, it works as long as the benefactor(s) / sponsor(s) continue contributing. There are plenty of examples of what happens when the money is no longer there. Best case scenario is...

They don't get a handout, they get a payment for granting access to England players and a contribution towards the costs of running an academy. Given that a league that only a few years ago, the Premiership had plans to expand to 14 teams and is now down to 10 (including a team that failed to...

I agree with the sentiment, but without knowing the circumstances, this take seems pretty harsh. I would imagine that in the vast majority of cases, opportunities like this arise because a sponsor / sponsors put their hands in their pockets to cover the flight, provide the accommodation and...

They didn't need to physically build a ground to meet the MSCs, because they acquired it. I imagine that they had to build the rest of the infrastructure that I would associate with being Premiership ready (coaches, backroom / medical staff, etc).

To get treated differently to the rest of the English game and get more free handouts. How would increasing the disparity between their free handout and the partial travelling costs that the other 2000+ clubs in the union receive make it fairer? It exists. It's just that nobody since Bristol...

I think that's a good shout. I listened to a podcast with their Head of Recruitment Alex Shaw. He has a strong background in talent ID. I just looked at their list of backroom staff, I'd be surprised if they're not the only side in The Championship with a dedicated Head of Recruitment, let alone...

I'm not so sure. I had a quick look at their Facebook page, which mentions signing 3 new assistant academy coaches, including Craig Newby, which doesn't seem consistent with tightening the purse strings. They announced the signing of an ex-GB sevens and Sarries player today, so I wouldn't be at...

The points gap in the final between the top two and third spot seems to confirm my gut feeling that it's a two-horse race between Stoltman and Hooper at the moment. While the organisers' obsession with Atlas stones continues and while Tom's static strength continues improving, you've got to...

It would depend how it's done IMO. Taking Doncaster as an example, if they applied for and were granted a franchise in a new franchise-based league and continued playing as Doncaster Knights at Castle Park, then I'd agree with you. Hopefully, in order to be granted a franchise, teams would have...

That was my first reaction when I read Evans' statement. It sounds pretty far-fetched that after spending decades moaning about the RFU and their support for level 2, Evans would think that they will do his bidding within 2 years in order to make this "Sunset Plan" work. That's my understanding...

That's reductio ad absurdum as I suspect you are aware. At no point have I said that this is some sort of silver bullet, but I don't see why it wouldn't be a small step in the right direction to improve viewer engagement. Given the low price point, my guess is that expenditure would be worth it...

You've just described me watching a Premiership match. What am I doing wrong? I wasn't suggesting that the under eights should be doing it on a Sunday morning, or even "semi pro" teams. Maybe I'm missing something, but I can't see why the cost of doing this should be too onerous for a...

...engaging, with no possible downsides, particularly given that the alternative is often the bizarre situation where a side has XV players all called *Insert Sponsor's Name Here*. If anything, in this day and age, I think it makes rugby look amateurish not to have them there. Objections strike...

Initially, I thought that the impact of 2,000 extra seats is small beer in the grand scheme of things, but a bit of fag packet maths suggests that the extra revenue it would generate is not insignificant. TBH it all strikes me as posturing to make excuses to make whatever changes generate the...

It's not a level playing field for those already on all time lists who didn't have to opportunity to use them. I guess there have been other similar innovations in the past, but it sticks in the craw a bit.

I think so. Franz Steyn wasn't a million miles away, but retired in 2022, so missed out on any chance of a third final.

I said the same about Grenfell Tower.....still waiting!

You're not. I'm just questioning his player-of-the-tournament credentials. Other than turnovers, he was one of the better back-rowers in the tournament, but not miles ahead of the competition.

In which case, he had one game in which he was outstanding in winning turnovers and only averaged one per game in the other four matches. Still an impressive return, but it doesn't speak of outstanding performances across the tournament to put him into POTT contention IMO, particularly given...