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Squad Size Limits

stus768

Bench Player
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Apr 3, 2010
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Torygraph reporting that prem clubs are going to have maximum squad sizes implemented. 35 plus additional u20s/academy players allowed. Gonna be a big change for some clubs.
 
Torygraph reporting that prem clubs are going to have maximum squad sizes implemented. 35 plus additional u20s/academy players allowed. Gonna be a big change for some clubs.
I might be being stupid here, but what's the point in that? With the amount of injuries, international rest etc and the need to rotate how is 35 really enough and why does anyone care if a club has 50 players as long as they are in the cap?
 
Yeah I don't get that?

Unless it's part of a large package of financial regulation, of which it's one part, it doesn't seem to make sense?
 

While some clubs who have traditionally carried small squads such as Sale Sharks and Northampton Saints would be unaffected by such a change, teams such as Bath, who have a total of 73 senior and academy players, and Harlequins, who have 47 senior players, would need to make significant cuts in the coming seasons.
The transition group would have its own salary cap while clubs would carry a further "rookie" class for Under-20 and Under-19 up to a maximum of 15 players.


Not sure how I feel about that tbh - on the one hand it's still a reasonable amount and multiple clubs operate under that limit, but on the other putting a hard cap on it feels odd. How many senior players play literally zero games? Just making more players unemployed and cutting down opportunities for slow starters to break through
Don't like the limits on academy numbers too - should be cutting down on paying mercs £1m a season not kids making £25k if we're trying to make clubs more sustainable
 
Yeah I don't get that?

Unless it's part of a large package of financial regulation, of which it's one part, it doesn't seem to make sense?
Does seem to be money/sustainability related - it's a suggestion from the government body that got involved after Worcester/Wasps went under
 





Not sure how I feel about that tbh - on the one hand it's still a reasonable amount and multiple clubs operate under that limit, but on the other putting a hard cap on it feels odd. How many senior players play literally zero games? Just making more players unemployed and cutting down opportunities for slow starters to break through
Don't like the limits on academy numbers too - should be cutting down on paying mercs £1m a season not kids making £25k if we're trying to make clubs more sustainable
If the cap goes up and squad size goes down that means it might bring more big name signings whilst keeping alot of EQP players coming through.

Sometimes the mercs on high wages are good and can bring the standard of the prem up, bring fans to the stadiums and good for younger players to learn off, but it can go too far so there needs to be hard limits on non EQP players in the squad id say.
 
Sounds stupid as ****
God rugby in this country is a mess.

Just why????
The RWC squad was 31 players for a fraction of the games that will be played in a season.

Why limit opportunities for players now that the league has shrunk

Also looking at wiki Sale is way over the limit and hardly a small squad as is Saints
 
When does it come into effect?

I think it's just a proposal by the sounds of it.
Would guess maybe in 2 years to allow Clubs to plan and give players notice.

I feel if you was to go through squad the players that will be most at risk are the U24-U20, which I feel should be the age group the RFU and PRL would want to protect.
The only way this makes sense is if there was a strong Prem 2 that those younger players could drop into.
 
Unless this is all part of a plan to get those 'squad players' to be playing in the new D2 thing (or whatever it's called).

Just talking saints for a second, we are already at a point where we are using those fringe players. We are using our 4 choice LH and our 5 choice lock already.

If you cut the squad to 35 you'll end up players academy players when they arnt ready or forcing half fit players to play.

Also what happens at clubs like tigers with two English locks? They have to miss some tigers games (maybe not a a many now) but surely that's unfair on them in that one position.

Just confused my the logic of this but really I get the impression the RFU will kill rugby in England in the next few years. It seems every single thing you hear and see is just terribly wrong and there is no good marketing around the game at all.

So sad.
 
"Capping the number of senior and academy players a club can carry was understood to be a key recommendation of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport advisers, Ralph Rimmer and Chris Pilling, who were appointed last summer by the government to create a more sustainable league after the loss of three Premiership clubs to administration last season."

Looks like it's being imposed from above, rather than anything anyone within the sport would ever come up with.
 
Unless this is all part of a plan to get those 'squad players' to be playing in the new D2 thing (or whatever it's called).

Just talking saints for a second, we are already at a point where we are using those fringe players. We are using our 4 choice LH and our 5 choice lock already.

If you cut the squad to 35 you'll end up players academy players when they arnt ready or forcing half fit players to play.

Also what happens at clubs like tigers with two English locks? They have to miss some tigers games (maybe not a a many now) but surely that's unfair on them in that one position.

Just confused my the logic of this but really I get the impression the RFU will kill rugby in England in the next few years. It seems every single thing you hear and see is just terribly wrong and there is no good marketing around the game at all.

So sad.
With the restriction to 18 league games per year, there is less impact from internationals.
Maybe having the Prem cup become a pre-season with fringe players playing for a full contract, with others 'farmed' to P2 clubs would incentivise players to perform in those matches to be contracted.
 
"Capping the number of senior and academy players a club can carry was understood to be a key recommendation of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport advisers, Ralph Rimmer and Chris Pilling, who were appointed last summer by the government to create a more sustainable league after the loss of three Premiership clubs to administration last season."

Looks like it's being imposed from above, rather than anything anyone within the sport would ever come up with.

How does cutting the squad make it more sustainable?
It's not like the cap will come down, teams will still spend up to the cap if they want.
 
How does cutting the squad make it more sustainable?
It's not like the cap will come down, teams will still spend up to the cap if they want.
It won't, it's a solution looking for a problem, being imposed by someone with neither knowledge of, nor skin in, the game.
 
Squad make up of 35 players + 15 academy players

What will the cap be? Will there still be the 1 marqee spot? And what is the breakdown of the cap between the 35 and the 15, who gets what proportion of the cap?

Looking on the brightest of sides here, and giving them way to much credit...maybe just maybe it could work.

Same cap with less players means some big names bringing in fans, EQPs are much more valuable because they play more for club with no international overlap and academy players get a real chance to break into the irst team earlier and if teams chose not to have these big names there squads will be much cheaper and sustainable for the clubs.

Really do want the prem cup to have selection rules meaning much have at least x amount of academy players in the 23, including the play offs.

Hell the prem 2 idea, just have a reverse second fixture so each team has a home game every week. Sure this is massively flawed idea(maybe my whole post is) but say Chiefs Vs Bath (Seiniors) then have a Bath vs Chiefs(Academy) fixtures on the same day(diff time) so fans have homes games every week.
Again rules on who can be selected for the academy games.

Im trying to look at this through a positive outlook and not all doom and gloom, whilst the current system is ok it has also let 3 prem teams go bust and others struggle so im not closed to new ideas. Rugby is broke but im not sure this will fix it.
 
Also looking at wiki Sale is way over the limit and hardly a small squad as is Saints
Think we'll see a lot of reshuffling of contracts and/or ***les

Our senior squad is 54 players, but that includes a lot of 19/20yr olds (like Asher, Alex Wills etc.etc.) - even regular starters like Roebuck and Carpenter could be classified as transition players
Gonna see players who deserve good contracts be kept on academy wages because clubs can't afford to have them be classified as adults

We have 11 fully pro academy players so you'd see 4 young senior players drop back to academy, leaving 50 senior which has to be 35 senior + 12 transition, so three players lose their livelihood and four get a paycut
 
How will this work for specialist positions. Say you take hooker. Do you only contract 3 senior hookers. And what happens if 1 or 2 get medium to long term injury. Some U20s are not ready for the attritional positions.

It is strange as other clubs don't do it in other countries so is this English leagues effectively handicapping themselves also.
 
Say you take hooker. Do you only contract 3 senior hookers. And what happens if 1 or 2 get medium to long term injury. Some U20s are not ready for the attritional positions.
Haven't read too much into it but presumably you'd still be allowed to make injury signings.
 
How will this work for specialist positions. Say you take hooker. Do you only contract 3 senior hookers. And what happens if 1 or 2 get medium to long term injury. Some U20s are not ready for the attritional positions.

It is strange as other clubs don't do it in other countries so is this English leagues effectively handicapping themselves also.
Thats a point tbh what is the breakdown of the squad as the academy players are essentially there to learn rather than be relied on in the first team.

So 35 man squad
Does that mean props who can cover both sides will be invaluable. Or Hookers like Thacker who play back row.

But what breakdown of the 35 would you have? Trying to think how England squads do it.
 


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