A bit off topic but an article on Germany. You'd have to imagine the backing of a billionaire in German rugby might turn the head of Pro12.
"Muhammad Ali was reaching the end of his boxing career in 1979 when a marketing executive from Germany persuaded him to become the advertising spokesman for an obscure drink that was being launched in the United States. “I am the greatest, the whole world knows it,†Ali proclaimed, “but the day I stop boxing, Capri-Sun will be greatest.â€
It was a sensational coup. Within 15 years, Capri-Sun was the market leader in the US and by 2004 it had global sales of five billion drink pouches a year, appearing in lunch boxes and picnic hampers in 100 different countries.
That marketing executive was Dr Hans-Peter Wild, a Cambridge University graduate from Heidelberg, one of two rugby strongholds in Germany, who is now worth $2.7 billion [about £2.1 billion]. For the past decade, Wild has been bankrolling German rugby with similarly bold ambitions.
Having initially set up a foundation to encourage youth participation, Wild has now earmarked £30 million for high-performance infrastructure in Heidelberg, with a vision to create a professional franchise capable of competing in the European Challenge Cup and possibly the Guinness PRO12.
The target for the national team is for Germany to qualify for the 2019 World Cup and the 2020 Olympic Games â€" and then to start banging on the door of the Six Nations.
There is still some way to travel. Germany are ranked 22nd in the world and they were defeated 50-6 by Georgia, the standard-bearers for the second tier of European rugby, last weekend. But Germany have shown their potential with two notable victories this season, defeating Uruguay, who have appeared at three World Cups, 24-21 in November and then Romania 41-38 on February 11.
Germany’s belief is that, within a generation, they will not only be able to dance in the ring with the best teams in the world, but land punches too. “That is the ultimate goal,†Robert Mohr, the manager of Heidelberg’s Wild Rugby Academy, told The Times. “But nothing in our beautiful sport is straightforward.â€
Georgia’s efforts to gain entry into the Six Nations have been repeatedly and controversially rebuffed. However, the German federation (Deutscher Rugby-Verband) believes that it could prise open the door to European rugby’s most protectionist club because, ultimately, money talks.
KEY STAT
340,347
Registered players in England according to 2014 World Rugby figures
“If Germany had shown the same results as Georgia have, it would be easier for us to open up the Six Nations,†Manuel Wilhelm, sporting director of the DRV, said. “The German market, on a global scale, is just a different beast.
“I do not believe in Six Nations expansion but you need a relegation match between the last team of the Six Nations and the winners of the Rugby Europe Championship. You have to open up that opportunity to grow the global sport.
“Now we have to catch up with Georgia. Those results [against Uruguay and Romania] help to show us that we are moving in the right direction, that reaching a World Cup and Olympics can be a real ambition. The reaction to the Romania result in World Rugby and Rugby Europe showed there is a big interest in developing another major rugby-playing nation.â€
Germany have not always been international minnows. Rugby was established there before football, introduced to Heidelberg by students and in Hanover through the royal links with England that date back to George I in 1714."
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/germany-eyeing-six-nations-with-help-from-capri-sun-cf0lxrrll
