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Ideas to improve the standard of rugby in the NH
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<blockquote data-quote="Macsen" data-source="post: 514922" data-attributes="member: 14190"><p>Thank you for all the replies; I'll try to deal with some of the individual objections.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I don't believe moving to summer would change it being a 'game for all shapes and sizes'. As we see SH teams that play in relatively good conditions all year round, such as South Africa and Australia, still have plenty of props. SA are actually known for their forward orientated play even though they play on dry, dusty pitches most of the time!</p><p></p><p>Also remember that playing in the summer wouldn't actually mean sunny weather and dry pitches. It's summer now and it's been ******* down across Ireland and the UK for more than a month. But playing in summer would mean there are less turgid, slow matches. There would still be arm-wrestling, just not so much mudwrestling.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Well the decision would have to be a financial and geographical one. There's no point basing it on performance since the makeup of the teams would probably change completely before the start of the competition. The teams that don't make it would continue to play in their respective leagues, just like the Air New Zealand Cup, Currie Cup, etc., and become feeder cup for the regional Super 15 sides.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>This has already been tried to some extent in Wales when the new regional clubs were created for the Celtic League. It's true that some refused to support the new teams, but the results speak for themselves – 3 Grand Slams and a WC semi-final, after three decades of limited or no success. They were controversial to begin with but the regions have long since won their place.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>It would have to be a western region against an eastern region, or Scarlets + Ospreys, and Cardiff + Newport. Of course you could just create new clubs and have these clubs remain in a Celtic league and become feeder clubs for the Super 15 sides. The other countries can figure it out for themselves.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The matches this summer suggest the gap is closing but it will be interesting to see if this continues or if it's just a blip because the SH sides are in rebuilding mode after the World Cup.</p><p></p><p>England in the early 2000s aside we've had over a hundred years of SH dominance. Narrow losses and a tie don't make much of a dent in that record. The NH needs to take drastic action if it wants to raise the standard and compete regularly against the SH teams. The SH international players play at a higher standard because they play against the best week in week out, not a few times a year in the Heineken Cup. Europe needs a top quality league rather than the comparatively low (and diluted) quality we see in the divided Celtic, English and French premier leagues. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Most NH and SH teams play each other at least once, if not twice, a year anyway. The only difference is that the summer and autumn matches would actually count for something.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Macsen, post: 514922, member: 14190"] Thank you for all the replies; I’ll try to deal with some of the individual objections. I don’t believe moving to summer would change it being a ‘game for all shapes and sizes’. As we see SH teams that play in relatively good conditions all year round, such as South Africa and Australia, still have plenty of props. SA are actually known for their forward orientated play even though they play on dry, dusty pitches most of the time! Also remember that playing in the summer wouldn’t actually mean sunny weather and dry pitches. It’s summer now and it’s been ******* down across Ireland and the UK for more than a month. But playing in summer would mean there are less turgid, slow matches. There would still be arm-wrestling, just not so much mudwrestling. Well the decision would have to be a financial and geographical one. There’s no point basing it on performance since the makeup of the teams would probably change completely before the start of the competition. The teams that don’t make it would continue to play in their respective leagues, just like the Air New Zealand Cup, Currie Cup, etc., and become feeder cup for the regional Super 15 sides. This has already been tried to some extent in Wales when the new regional clubs were created for the Celtic League. It’s true that some refused to support the new teams, but the results speak for themselves – 3 Grand Slams and a WC semi-final, after three decades of limited or no success. They were controversial to begin with but the regions have long since won their place. It would have to be a western region against an eastern region, or Scarlets + Ospreys, and Cardiff + Newport. Of course you could just create new clubs and have these clubs remain in a Celtic league and become feeder clubs for the Super 15 sides. The other countries can figure it out for themselves. The matches this summer suggest the gap is closing but it will be interesting to see if this continues or if it’s just a blip because the SH sides are in rebuilding mode after the World Cup. England in the early 2000s aside we’ve had over a hundred years of SH dominance. Narrow losses and a tie don’t make much of a dent in that record. The NH needs to take drastic action if it wants to raise the standard and compete regularly against the SH teams. The SH international players play at a higher standard because they play against the best week in week out, not a few times a year in the Heineken Cup. Europe needs a top quality league rather than the comparatively low (and diluted) quality we see in the divided Celtic, English and French premier leagues. :) Most NH and SH teams play each other at least once, if not twice, a year anyway. The only difference is that the summer and autumn matches would actually count for something. [/QUOTE]
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