Pro 12 looking at London Welsh and London Scottish joining

[Peat]

I just don't see where they'll get the fans from. Trying to carve out a fan base is difficult enough. The Pro12 will be an even harder sell to fans when the option of attending the Premiership is nearby.

There's over a hundred thousand people in London born in Ireland. Count in Scots, Welsh, and people who are English-born but define themselves as one of those heritages and you're maybe looking at a quarter of a million?

That's the target audience. People who'd genuinely prefer to watch a Pro 12 game over a Premiership game most weeks anyway. Throw in casual fans around SW London who fancy a game when Quins are away and there's something doing there.

 

[Amiga500]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/33347545

"I suspect the likes of Munster, Ulster, Glasgow and Edinburgh would rather fly into Heathrow than to certain other areas which currently participate in the Pro12, while Welsh fans would prefer to come to south-west London than perhaps go further afield.

Jumped up little s__t. When someone is inviting you into their home, you don't stand outside the door say some of the family are nice but some of them are d__ks.

If thats the attitude, he can f__k right off. It'd only be a matter of time before he'd be looking disproportionate payments for "being in London" or similar.

 

[Jerry Blue]

London Welsh and London Scottish joining the Pro 12 would be a good idea but they should both join as English franchises and not Scottish and Welsh. The only thing I would worry about is the finances of London Welsh in particular as the league doesn't need them going bankrupt! Plus the state of their grounds would also need to be examined especially Old Deer Park as it was obviously not good enough for the Aviva. Both teams could join with the Italians in the league, all the league needs to do is split into conferences and play 2 less games a year this would allow an extra playoff round as well and players would get more rest in what is a long season.

 

[ratsapprentice]

I can't see why it would happen - either the clubs attempt to garner celtic support by having Scottish/Welsh players, at which point the RFU says "**** off m8" - or they stay as English clubs and the PRL say "**** off m8" and the Scottish/Welsh support they are trying to garner say "**** off m8".

 

[goodNumber10]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/33347545



Jumped up little s__t. When someone is inviting you into their home, you don't stand outside the door say some of the family are nice but some of them are d__ks.

If thats the attitude, he can f__k right off. It'd only be a matter of time before he'd be looking disproportionate payments for "being in London" or similar.

Roff! He's right though...

 

[Feicarsinn]

Roff! He's right though...

Meh, I don't particularly like London. Rather a trip to Endinburgh or Galway any day of the week.

 

[goodNumber10]

Meh, I don't particularly like London. Rather a trip to Endinburgh or Galway any day of the week.

Don't lie...

 

[Bluemoon]

London is just a nightmare to travel to if you are staying overnight. I'd take a trip to Dublin over London for rugby, for sure.

 

[goodNumber10]

London is just a nightmare to travel to if you are staying overnight. I'd take a trip to Dublin over London for rugby, for sure.

Don't lie....

 

[ratsapprentice]

What you may not realise is that we make it that way on purpose... keeps the riff-raff out you see...

 

[Patchey]

What you may not realise is that we make it that way on purpose... keeps the riff-raff out you see...

This is like the Simpsons episode when Homer becomes a truck driver and discovers all HGVs drive themselves...

DONT TELL THE REST OF THE WORLD!!!

 

[Jerry Blue]

Unless it comes through an agreement that they won't launch a legal challenge if the PRL and RFU lock out the premiership. In the end though they have Celtic roots both clubs are English and should be treated as an English expansion of what is basically a franchise league. London would only be easier to travel to for the Welsh teams and you do wonder if the Celtic population living in London would support them.
Plus in Wales at least if London Welsh joined as a Welsh team then it would cause one hell of a storm as Pontypridd would protest vehemently and RGC 1404 would not be very happy either.

 

[Feicarsinn]

Don't lie...

I'm not? I don't like London.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

I'd recommend an away trip to a Connacht game over anywhere else in the league. You won't have a bad night in Galway and the local fans are absolutely mental but great craic! London couldn't compete for an away trip for a league game.

 

[Peat]

I think it's fair to say the only Irish/Scottish/Welsh rugby supporters hankering for an away day in London are those that live in or near London already. Everybody else will get all the trips they want to London anyway and would prefer somewhere more novel and less expensive. However there are quite a lot of the in or near London already.

It's also probably fair to say that no one gives a crap what the away supporters want. When LW's guy stands up and says the Irish/Scottish teams would probably rather fly to London than to Italy, it's because those teams can see their costs for those trips falling pretty dramatically.

Fans don't count, particularly when they're Feic.

 

[goodNumber10]

I'm not? I don't like London.

Arrogant!