Five Simple Steps to Improve the RaboDirect Pro 12

[Feicarsinn]

Five Simple Steps to Improve the RaboDirect Pro 12


The Celtic League is, quite frankly a disgrace. For a league that contains the majority of four of the six top teams in the Northern Hemisphere, as well as some excellent foreign imports, the quality of product offered up to the punter is abysmal. While I'm not saying that there isn't some good rugby to be found by watching the likes of Ulster, far to many games are of a poor standard with second string sides playing out desperate matches in front of half empty (if we're lucky) terraces. For an Irish, Italian, Welsh, or Scottish rugby fan this should be entirely unacceptable.
The Celtic League is run by the 4 unions involved, namely the IRFU, FIR,SRU and the WRU, and thusly the primary goal of the competition is to provide the unions' national teams with a high quality of player, who has been exposed to a good standard of rugby. This obviously contrasts with the French Top 14 and the Aviva Premiership, both of which are run as private entities by the clubs involved, however this is no excuse for the disparity in terms of product quality we're seeing. By no means am I saying that every game in France and England is of top quality, but take a look at a round of games in either country's top tier and you'll see packed stadiums, with two teams giving everything for a win. While obviously there are some things that Celtic Rugby Limited and the unions involved have no power over,such as the seemingly unstoppable decline of the Scottish game and the issue of relegation, here are 5 measures which would go a hell of a long way toward enhancing the Rabo Pro 12:

• Make Heineken Cup Qualification Dependent on League Position.
  
  

Of all of the items on our list, this is probably the most topical. As most of us know, the French and English clubs have been banging on for ages about the fact that the Celtic and Italian franchises are guaranteed qualification for the Heineken Cup while they have to slog it out on two fronts, to the point where the competition's future is now in serious doubt. The Celtic unions are resisting, mainly due to the fact that it could mean a significant loss of revenue, especially for the Scottish and Italian sides, who one would imagine would be hit hardest. However, in the long term both the Rabo Pro 12 and the unions would benefit from introducing some form of merit based system. If Heineken Cup spots are up for grabs you'd expect to see an increase in the amount of importance the franchises would give to the competition, culminating in a higher standard of play. A higher standard of play means a better product for the punter, greater crowds and therefore generating more revenue for the franchises and in turn the unions. A better standard of competition would hopefully also improve the performances of the 4 national teams, that being the exact train of thought that lead to the inclusion of the two Italian sides in the competition in the first place.

• Sort Out Central Contracting for the Welsh Franchises.

The talent drain out of Wales over the past two or three seasons has been staggering. The loss of players of the calibre of Lee Byrne, James Hook, Gethin Jenkins, and now Jamie Roberts amongst others has been hugely detrimental to the Welsh sides and as a result the competition as a whole. If the Welsh franchises are unable to retain these players in Wales then the WRU must intervene, simple as. While any potential deal will no doubt involve compromise on both sides, on issues such as player availability and the cost of these contracts,if nothing is done then the situation will only worsen. The exodus will continue, crowds will further drop as the fortunes of the Welsh sides decline and less and less money becomes available to try andretain the talent still in the country. Sorting this issue out will benefit the entire league.

• Move Edinburgh out of Murrayfield.

No doubt some wont see this as a major issue, but the situation occurring at Edinburgh can be seen as a symbol of all that's wrong with Scottish domestic rugby. What should be their marquee team plays in front of a minuscule crowd in a cavernous arena about ten times larger than they'll ever seemingly need. While the sport is obviously in trouble in Scotland at the moment, Edinburgh and the SRU are doing themselves no favours here. By having the games in Murrayfield, it is ensured that there will be zero atmosphere at games. Hardly the best way to attract new fans and sources of income. Edinburgh's highest recorded league attendance is a respectable 12,534 for the visit of Glasgow in December 2008, so one would imagine that a stadium of in or around twelve thousand would be more than sufficient. Easter Road, Meadowbank, Myreside, Sighthill and Tynecastle have all been proposed as possible venues in the past, with Meadowbank possibly being the best potential site. Whatever site the SRU do eventually decide to go with, we can only hope that the do it quickly, as it remains unlikely that Edinburgh can establish themselves once more as a credible contender for the league with such paltry attendances.

• Find an Adequate Television Partner.

Oh for the days of Setanta Sports. Whatever you say about the commentary, they provided all the games, in their entirety, in once place and at an affordable rate. These days, if you want to follow your side through the league then you're going to have to tune into about 6 different stations, most of which you wont have reliable access to,and they're as often as not in a language you don't speak. This can turn even the most ardent of supporter off the competition. When the current television deals expire, Celtic Rugby Limited needs to look at getting an umbrella deal for the home nations, preferably with Sky. Make it easy for the average Joe to find the matches and all of a sudden you see increases in viewing figures. That means a stronger negotiating position when you go back to the table again. And hey,there's every possibility that better television coverage will attract more punters to the grounds.

• Create a Viable Reserve Competition.
  

One of the big problems the Celtic League teams suffer from is the lackof a credible reserve competition. This means that in order for reserve players and up and comers to get any game time they must either play in the league itself, or for the amateur and semi-pro sides that exist below the franchises in each country. Sure, the Irish and Welsh sides get some chance to blood players in the British& Irish Cup and LV Cup competitions respectively, but these usually only give a handful of games and if we're being honest are relatively half baked efforts. The Scottish and Italian sides have access to nothing of the sort. Were the Rabo Pro 12 to have a reserve competition running in parallel to the main league, in a similar manner to the reserve league in England and the Espoirs competition in France, there'd be greater game time for reserves and youths,meaning there'd be less need for the disruption in squads that plagues the league. Less disruption, better product.
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[dullonien]

Agree with all of them except the tv part. I refuse to pay a subscription for 100's of tv channels I do not watch. I simply don't watch live tv any more, and cannot justify the cost just for rugby purposes. Having the Pro12 on free to view channels is important imo. I also find S4C's rugby coverage easily the best available, with good informative commentary, and don't want to see that all but disappear.

I do realise that if an offer comes from Sky or BT that the BBC cannot compete with it may very well change, but I really hope it doesn't. Are the television rights sold as an entire competition or per country? i.e. do the WRU negotiate a deal for the Welsh regions separately from the rest etc.

I certainly think that a reserve competition should be created that directly follows the format of the Pro12 itself. Then again, the clubs in Wales for example won't want to see themselves devalued further, so this will never happen.

 

[Thingimubob]

Good blog, but one point. I would despise it so much if Rabo games end up with Sky. I understand your point in the fact that games are spread out all over the shop on different regional channels (BBC 2 Wales, S4C, BBC NI, BBC ALBA and RTE are the main ones I think) and could be confusing for some fans to find., However, from a Welsh perspective ,one of the very positive things about the Pro12 is how easy it is to watch your team play on BBC 2W and S4C, and more importantly, it's free. Its a pity that some games have been fairly dire recently, but dunno if a TV deal could change much of that. On another note, losing the Welsh regional games would be hugely detrimental to S4C as a channel, they get quite a lot of viewers on there to watch it, would be sad to see that go away.

 

[LittleGuy]

Excellent write up Feicarsinn, I was just thinking of the Edinburgh situation the other day. A perfect example of a switch to a smaller stadium working well exists in your current locale of Montreal. The local Gridiron team the Alouettes used to play in a cavernous and awful stadium(Olympic Stadium) and after having problems booking it years ago moved a couple of games to a much smaller stadium Molson Stadium(at McGill).

The difference was astounding, crowds of 20-25,000 in Olympic Stadium looked terrible and had little atmosphere but the move to the smaller venue caused sellout after sellout and all of a sudden the Alouettes were the hot ticket in town. They still play some of their major matchups and playoff games at the bigger venue but they'll never go back their permanently. In fact there is a trend in North American stadia these days thats seeing stadiums/arenas with slightly smaller capacities then years gone by (Dallas' new stadium is a huge exception to this). It frequently creates better sightlines for the crowd, and ticket prices can go up if the smaller venue continues to be packed week after week.

Also greatly agree on the European qualification idea, it would create a lot more late season excitment in the table especially in the mid table with teams who are just out of reach for the playoffs still making a push for Amlin and Heineken cup spots. The TV issue dosen' treally effect me here, all the games are on the same network, though that network very rarely shows games that are in welsh/gaelic and when it does I instantly mute the commentary.

 

[McTallshort]

on the point of Edinburgh would it not be a more positive step to play some games in the border clubs? Ok when playing Glasgow or Munster etc try for the big crowds but how many pay to watch them play the Dragons/Zebre/Treviso? I think playing these games at places like Melrose would generate more interest in the traditional Scottish rugby heartland and get more people at the grassroots of Scottish rugby supporting the "big" region in the capital.

Also Scottish clubs do play in the British and Irish cup....

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

The biggest issue facing the Pro 12 is that people constantly talk it down. France and England have huge TV markets and thus TV rights for their competitions are massive. After paying through the nose for Top 14, Premiership rights etc, why would the rights holds talk those competitions down? They need subscriptions to keep going. More often than not, the rugby played in the Top 14 is appallingly boring (kickathons) and the Premiership isn't much different. I do believe having some sort of more meritocratic qualification for the Heineken Cup will help the Pro 12s image and should see the media to look at it in a better light.

Agreed about the Welsh regions being a mess right now. Does anyone think the WRU are secretly happy about this? If the regions keep losing players, they'll be forced to look to the WRU for help and central contracting will come in through the back door.

Yep, Edinburgh need to get out of Murrayfield. I suppose their issue is that the SRU own Murrayfield thus it doesn't cost them much money to keep it open for Edinburgh games. If they rent another stadium, it may cost more than it's worth in the short term at least. Glasgow are on the right track now having moved to Scotstoun. Hopefully Edinburgh also find a more appropriately sized stadium. In the region of 10,000 would be ideal.

I disagree about TV partners. From an Irish perspective, Setanta Sports was brilliant. What it lacked was exposure to a large audience. RTE and TG4 may not have the same level of live coverage but they're available to the masses. For a growing sport, that's invaluable. Out of 22 league games each season, Leinster will probably be shown 18 times or more. That's far better than what Sky can provide. I'd prefer for TG4 to be cut out of the next TV deal because they're atrocious but a combined RTE/TV3/Setanta deal would be brilliant. RTE stick with one big game per weekend and the rest are divided up to the other broadcasters who also get deferred coverage.

I'd love a viable reserve league but wonder whether or not it's economically viable. As I see it, the B&I Cup gives each Irish province 5ish games. Home and away interpros are another 6 games. They generally each play a couple of challenge games against touring teams from Tier 2 nations and against the Ireland u20s. That's 13 A games per year. Is there really need for much more when the AIL and Pro 12 also afford fringe players game time? I'd like to split the season whereby the As are active until the end of December upon which point the players either play AIL rugby, earn loan moves the the Championship or feature more in the Pro 12.

 

[psychic duck]

I agree about the league position thing.

That would make some matches which are dead rubbers now far more important and give teams more to play for. For example already this season, Edinburgh, Cardiff Blues, Treviso, Zebre, Connacht, Dragons all have nothing to play for.

I reckon more fans would come and watch a "winner qualifies for the Heineken Cup match" rather than some humdrum 6th vs 7th match which means little at the end of the season.

Also I think that they need to sort out the IRFU player welfare thing, I don't like seeing games like the Munster vs Ulster last week. The Irish provinces dno't get enough of their internationals in the league. Leinster took like 4 weeks to get their top players to play for them this season.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Also I think that they need to sort out the IRFU player welfare thing, I don't like seeing games like the Munster vs Ulster last week. The Irish provinces dno't get enough of their internationals in the league. Leinster took like 4 weeks to get their top players to play for them this season.

I agree but the length of the season mitigates against this. Take a player like Jonny Sexton for example. He's Ireland's number 1 flyhalf so he's likely to start 10 tests per season. He has at least 6 Heineken Cup games on top of that. Then there's 22 league games. All together that's 38 fixtures he can fulfill before even looking at Pro 12 and Heineken Cup playoffs. I believe 30 games is the most you should ask a player to play unless you're trying to break him. Rotating the team in the Pro 12 is the easiest way to do this. I completely agree that interpros have been devalued and would like it if they were played between full strength teams.

In my opinion the only way to address squad rotation and understrength teams is to cut the number of games. Doing so under the present format would be financial suicide- teams need gate receipts to fund wages. That's one of the main reasons I'd be interested in exploring the possibility of a large European League with no relegation and end of season playoffs to determine a winner. If TV and sponsors stump up the money for a league with less games and higher quality, it'd be a no brainer and ease a lot of the sports problems.

 

[Feicarsinn]

Okay, fair enough on the TV issue. I can see where you guys are coming from, but I'm just saying that the current set up has very little hope of attracting the casual fan. Perhaps a compromise would be to actually have a decent highlights show made by the league, that could be shown in each of the four countries, in a similar manner to how the Champions League Magazine operates, of not slightly different in terms of content.

 

[Thingimubob]

Similar to Scrum V you mean? Not a bad shout actually, Scrum V is always a good watch.

 

[Amiga500]

Perhaps a compromise would be to actually have a decent highlights show made by the league, that could be shown in each of the four countries, in a similar manner to how the Champions League Magazine operates, of not slightly different in terms of content.

Why does RTÉ only show "against the head" during the internationals?

There is a ready made highlights show that is on a Monday night... with the bloomin money the clowns are getting paid, ye'd think they'd see the obvious. Surely the rights they have already include highlights?!?

 

[Peat]

I think Snoopy said everything I wanted to, both in terms of quality and economic realities behind A leagues and Murrayfield.

Everything can be improved, but the Pro 12 throws up watchable rugby with fantastic TV coverage, along with a strong HEC challenge plus the dominant NH international side of the last five years or so. It could use a bigger fanbase and more competitiveness between the top and bottom half of the league, but in general, it's a good product.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Everything feic said and the Irish Player Welfare programme needs to be stopped as it is totally uneffective. If Ireland were winning 85-90% of their games it would be fine but the truth is that our national team is slightly above par at best. If Irish teams did play their top sides every week it would encourage other sides to do the same and lucrative T.V deals will be struck (I realise their is a lot of anti-sky but I'm talking solely for growth of league purposes). This will leas to teams having more money salary caps would be raised and you could see big names from abroad being attracted to the league.

The league also needs to be worth something to the teams and not as back up to the HEC and if only 8 teams were certain of a HEC position (8Eng, 8, P12, 7Fra + Amlin winner) there would be much more to play for. The unions are literally sitting on a gold mine and don't realise it.

As for a reserve league, maybe an LV cup style competition would work better (3 groups of 4 split into 2 groups of 6 after matches games played midweek) it would also get midweek television for BBC, RTE, S4c etc...

With more money the exodus of players would stop (hopefully it doesn't start for Ireland) and the league could become the top league in Europe.