Magners League finally get serious.

[Prestwick]

<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/7584397.stm" target="_blank">BBC: Magners League to adopt Play Offs
</a>
Playoffs finally come to the Magners League! Hurrah!

 

[Sir Speedy]

RAWR! I saw this earlier but the damn glitches won't let me post a topic... AKNFAONFIAN

Sounds good; I've always supported the idea of play-offs... We should have more exciting end-of-season matches now...

Oh, as a side point, ITV4 are showing highlights of ALL Guinness Premiership matches next season. YAYAYAYAYAYYAYAYYAYAYAYYAAYAYYYAYAYYAYY

 

[steynboi]

k man why not itv3 stupid freaks.

 

[Cymro]

The playoffs will have its pro's and cons!

 

[An Tarbh]

Won't do anything for the Magners League as far as I'm concerned, all it does is add to the fixture congestion, all it means is that the bigger teams won't put in the effort throughout the season to win the league rather they'll put in enough to get a top 4 spot. What's the point in calling it a league if it's going to be decided in this manner.

 

[feicarsinn]

of course you know this means munster will scrape into 4th place and then win the bloody thing <_< oh joy

 

[Thingimubob]

Yup, it's gonna really help teams like Munster and Cardiff, who don't seem to win the League, but tend to finish in the top 4 (Both have for the last 3 Seasons), but if a team does what Leinster did this season, and builds up a big lead with soem superb performances, then cock up in a play-off/final, then it's gonna seem kinda sad.

 

[Sir Speedy]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Thingimubob @ Aug 28 2008, 06:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Yup, it's gonna really help teams like Munster and Cardiff, who don't seem to win the League, but tend to finish in the top 4 (Both have for the last 3 Seasons), but if a team does what Leinster did this season, and builds up a big lead with soem superb performances, then cock up in a play-off/final, then it's gonna seem kinda sad.[/b]

Tough. If they aren't good enough to win when it counts, then that's too bad... imo.

 

[An Tarbh]

The point of a league is that it generally has the most consistent team winning the championship not a team that can be average for the most part and pull out a couple of big performances at the end, that's hardly fair. There's been too much tinkering with the Magners League to give it any credibility, they'll probably make some more daft changes in a couple of seasons. I just hope with this playoff system that it's run like the Super 14 with the number 1 seed getting the chance of a home final, but the ML chiefs seem to be eyeing up a grand final day out so it looks like that's off the table.

 

[Prestwick]

I disagree with that statement. The playoffs have made the Guiness Premiership more competetive since they have been introduced. Remember, you can't win the league if you're just average for most of the season and finish up outside of the top four!

The idea of the playoffs is to offer other teams a chance of being able to challenge for honours. Competition for those four places amongst the GP teams was absolutely breakneck and intense last season, all season. At the end of the season, there was barely ten points seperating the top eight teams. Wasps were absolutely incredible last season after suffering quite possibly the worst start next to that of Saracens and Northampton in previous seasons. To climb back all the way from the bottom of the table all the way to winning the league, you simply can't do that by simply being "average".

Just give it a go for a couple of seasons, it's revitalised the GP and I daresay it'll do the same for the Magners League.

 

[redunderthebed]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Sir. Speedy @ Aug 29 2008, 03:05 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Thingimubob @ Aug 28 2008, 06:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yup, it's gonna really help teams like Munster and Cardiff, who don't seem to win the League, but tend to finish in the top 4 (Both have for the last 3 Seasons), but if a team does what Leinster did this season, and builds up a big lead with soem superb performances, then cock up in a play-off/final, then it's gonna seem kinda sad.[/b]

Tough. If they aren't good enough to win when it counts, then that's too bad... imo.
[/b][/quote]

Indeed a sign of a great team is the one that wins when it counts.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Prestwick @ Sep 6 2008, 03:58 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

I disagree with that statement. The playoffs have made the Guiness Premiership more competetive since they have been introduced. Remember, you can't win the league if you're just average for most of the season and finish up outside of the top four!

The idea of the playoffs is to offer other teams a chance of being able to challenge for honours. Competition for those four places amongst the GP teams was absolutely breakneck and intense last season, all season. At the end of the season, there was barely ten points seperating the top eight teams. Wasps were absolutely incredible last season after suffering quite possibly the worst start next to that of Saracens and Northampton in previous seasons. To climb back all the way from the bottom of the table all the way to winning the league, you simply can't do that by simply being "average".

Just give it a go for a couple of seasons, it's revitalised the GP and I daresay it'll do the same for the Magners League.[/b]

I agree with mr prestwick on this one i'm yet to see a sport where finals are a bad thing they add excitement to the game bring increased money in and encourages competition and for regions to take it seriously because not only do they have HEC to make money they also have the finals.

Well done magners league its funny as a Australian Rules fan that finals are a new thing for magners league your about 100+ years behind us!. :lol:

 

[3FEATHERS]

Seems like opinion is divided on this but i think generally its a good thing.It will mean more pressurised winner takes all games and this can only be good for our top players,instead of often meaningless end of season games.

 

[shazbooger]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (An Tarbh @ Aug 27 2008, 10:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

What's the point in calling it a league if it's going to be decided in this manner.[/b]

My thoughts exactly, maybe they just need to call it something different. The Magners Superbowl, or Magners Championship. Either way, the best team should be the one that finishes top at the end of the regular season fixtures. Thats what a league is all about.

Falling in a distant fourth and still been given a chance to win the overall league ***le doesnt seem right to me, and given the impact that domestic leagues are having on the SH tours every year, I dont see how adding on an additional two-three weeks to the calendar makes any sense.

However it could lead to some pretty nice end of season fixtures.

I'll reserve judgement and see how works out but I'm sure we'll all be complaining in the end.

 

[edinburgh_gunner]

I'll just chip in with my two pence here:

Play offs are great for making end of season games more exciting, and they'll maybe bring a bit of extra cash into the league but that's really it.

A league is a league, the team on top at the end of it should be crowned champions. End of.
We could bring back the Celtic Cup, or perhaps use the top 4 to play for a seperate trophy. How would Leinster have felt if they had had to go through the play offs last season, even though they were the best team in the league by a mile over the season, just for a team liked Edinburgh to come in and play well for 2 games and take it? It's not really a measure of a teams abillity over a season is it?