Good. Might as well enjoy it before the PRL change things.

It's definitely rattled theresgonnaebeashow's cage

the england side i'd love to see start in Paris

15. Brown 14, Ashton 13, Burrell 12 Eastmond 11 May 10 Ford 9, Care

1 Vunipola 2 Hartley 3 Cole 4 Launchbury 5 Lawes 6 Wood 7 Robshaw 8 Vunipola



the team i expect to see(same front 8)

15.Goode 14 Ashton 13 Twelvetrees 12 Barritt 11 Brown 10 Farrell 9 Dickson

Wonder if France will actually win a game before the final round of matches this year

who knows? they could well win all 5 games by 20 points, theyre talented enough

Sure they'll be desperate to put last years misery behind them. Start with 2 home games as well. No better way to get going than beat England at SdF then take on Italy.

THe problem with france started 8 years ago when they started paying massive wages employing mercenaries from the SH to play for their clubs and idiots to manage their national side a few years later. France's problems are caused by money. Luckily the president of the FFR is an honorable man and has stuck to his guns regarding the proposal for the chumps cup. Equally the WRU have told their regions that under no circumstances will they be allowed to be part of the WRU if the defect to the Premiership. Enter the IRB last week for the first time and they have backed up the Unions of europe save the RFU and said that the proposed chumps cup is a non run under any circumstances. Control of rugby will not be taken away from the unions. Add to this that independent figures show that rugby is simply not popular enough outside the 8 established elite unions to sustain privatisation of the top end club game. Furthermore add that England and France to a lesser extent are the only functioning privatised leagues in the world and you have a hell of a lot of real time statistics from the real world going firmly against the proposed nonsense coming from the few greedy inbreds at the top of PLR not to mention not one Union in europe backing them. The silence from their own Union is deafening. If they thought they could back the fools in the PRL and succeed they would have done by now. But rather than annoy them so close to hosting a world cup they have decided to keep quiet.

Oh there is more to come from this story for sure. 1st the PRL will absolutely not be playing european rugby next year. And to quote stuart lancaster 6 months ago! "this is disastrous, the Heineken cup is the closest thing we have to international preparation and is vital. They need to sort it out ASAP" Clever man! and a real rugby man. Bet that made the suits at the top of the RFU p!$$ themselves but again they have their hands tied. can't risk annoying the PRL pigs.

2nd
Not one union in europe is backing the PRL or even close to backing them! Why! because money talks!!! And if the unions lose their club teams they lose their money! So ye, money in the end has actually united european unions against the PRL and that unity is set to get even stronger as the PRL arrogantly tried to take over european rugby and control of how the rest of europe play and get paid! Laughable!

3rd
After next year a new deal will be done by the ERC to retain france and anyway they are legally obliged to play in IRB sanctioned events only. Sure they could go it alone, but they would not be part of the IRB and therefore not part of international rugby for their countries. Im sure the players will just love that. Meaning their contracts for both club and country are worthless. This will lead to the BT deal falling through because BT know that to make a return on their investment Re: the massive amount of cash they paid for the PRL rights. They will need a successful european tournament to broadcast and with the PRL teams out in the cold of europe thats a massive loss.

Oh i could go on and on. but the cold hard facts are there for all to see.

Show. it's always darkest before the light. Im sure some concessions can be made to get it all sorted out, Oh wait... all the demands of the PRL have been met except selling our souls and giving English premiership rugby the right to sell games to BT for every other country in europe! I really wonder on what planet they thought this was ever going to work for them!I guess you have to be a ruthless greedy f-ku-k ing git to understand them. Lucky rugby is mostly devoid of these types!

Lucky rugby is mostly devoid of these types!
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You sure about that Ding? PRL and WRR seem to have their fair share.

You'd expect it of these mongrel Anglo-Saxons I live among, and I suppose these Brythonic Celts are less reliable that us Goedelic Celts, you know.

Those oppressive English at it once again!

Aye Aristo, they are that.

Who ran the prediction comp on superbru last year? Was it Ding?

Think I was second last year got pipped to the title by someone

Aristodemus
I want to clarify that it's a very small few heading up the PRL who treat rugby as a business. I don't care who they are or where they come from. they are sc..um! Ask Show if the local games he attends have anything to do with business and exploitation? Real rugby men like Lancaster are sadly not in the power positions like McCafferty in the PRL. Alas! But make no mistake. my stance would be the same if they were Irish or scots or anyone else. Destroy the future of rugby for money. destroy grass roots rugby for money. Sell out the fans for money. They are not worthy to utter the word rugby.

RKW
yes i started a HC one this year also but its been a non runner. Perhaps i'll setup a 6 Nations league this year again. I think it was SARS who won last year? indeed he has an uncanny ability to pick games.

It was good last year, I enjoyed it. Mainly because I did quite well! I don't normally at prediction games.

SARS only won because I wasn't playing Ding to be fair

As for the HC, well it just isn't as important to English and French clubs as it is to the pro-12. To the issue's though, it was only after the French and English said they would leave that a fairer deal was offered and that is wrong. I said many times before that it is very complex and I have no idea what will happen but can only have faith that a deal will be struck. The English and French clubs are not happy as are the Welsh regions, this much is clear. I certainly don't want a super rugby style format because there is no way France and England will accept regions, it just won't happen. I don't see why they would want to integrate Scottish, Welsh or Irish clubs into the prem either. The league is already very successful (hence the Welsh regions really wanting in) and it would be to the detriment of many English clubs, it just makes no sense to me. So now the pro-12 is in trouble, the Italian sides and union will not continue the deal to pay for it and the Welsh would leave in a heartbeat if the prem will accept them.

From a personal point of view, I just want what is best for England, the prem and the NH in that order. I can accept that under the current format and the current rules that we won't be as successful in the HC as Irish and especially French clubs. Toulouse for example have a budget of over six times Sarries so it is no shock that they won that group. Leinster and Munster have virtually all the Irish squad paid for by the IRFU and a league they don't really care about, it is all for the HC. Do I want us to change so we compete more? No.

I can see this post might not be very well received by some but it is just how I see it

The league thing on superbru works great when you own team are doing well! Because lets face it, we don't bet against our own. So myself and SHOW were badly stung last year
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"I can see this post might not be very well received by some but it is just how I see it "

No aristo. It just shows that you are not well informed about what is going on in france et al as you might want to be. But as you say, your concern is with england only, so i suppose that is understandable. But lack of knowledge disqualifies you from making assumptions about the French Whose president said in a recent interview, that they got what they wanted and used the English and their demands as leverage against the ERC. So are the french happy? Now they are. Another nail in the coffin of the PRL taking over european rugby. And i would appreciate it if you would acknowledge that fact if you are going to talk about fairness moreover since they conspired to sell the TV rights of all 6 unions to fill their own coffers. But like you say your not interested in the others only England. Stuart Lancaster is interested in the others though. Can you explain that?
FYI
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-2537238/Stuart-Lancaster-says-England-World-Cup-hopes-suffer-without-European-rugby.html

He knows whats best for England. But you disagree.

Anyway. Im sorry if im harsh. I feel very strongly about this.

On the subject of the 6 nations league i will set it up and post the relevant links here. RKW perhaps you might amend you article with the details?

"On the subject of the 6 nations league i will set it up and post the relevant links here. RKW perhaps you might amend you article with the details?"

Once it's sorted I'll get the links up on the thread. Going to get a tournament preview up as well shortly. Hopefully before the weekend with a low down on all 6 teams plus their chances of winning the title.

They are not worthy to utter the word rugby.
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Aristo

They definitely are not worthy, but the fact is that they do, and they have the dosh to back them up.

If undermining, or even sacrificing, the 6N is what they feel they need to do to feather their own nests, then that is what will happen. It may take time, but it will happen.

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Aye Ding, no Tuilagis, just the occasional Boss, though he qualifies on the granny rule.

Now, isn't your new prop one of the Belmullett Ah Yous.

Yeah I know, we've got Visser, but he's moved up in world. Yeah, yeah, so has RAY. But apart from Visser, all our kilted Kiwis have had the daddy/granny rule - apart from that dodgy butcher from Bristol a while back.

Comment deleted by Site Moderator

Tuilagi moved to England while he was at school and has played ALL his competitive rugby in England, hardly a Richardt Strauss (just a jest you don't need to bring up English examples) I have said many times I dislike players switching nationality through convenience but it makes no difference. I seem somwhat alone in this. Anyway what I said had nothing to do with players.
You also seem to think that I am backing the PRL too, which I am not. Do I want the PRL running the European game? No. Is that clear enough?
Look, Ireland do things the way they want to and England do it there way. Leinster and Munster both have had and still do have many foreign imports though so I'm not sure what your point is. Why try and turn this into an English v Irish thing? Seems pointless and nothing to do with the subject.
I never said my only concern was England.

Here is what I said:
French, English and Welsh (regions) clubs were not happy with the HC format.
I don't want European "Super Rugby".
I don't want Welsh, Irish and Scottish clubs being added to the domestic league in England.
I am fine with it not being a level playing field in Europe (through our choice to place the domestic league over the HC).
French and English clubs value their domestic league higher than the HC.
The pro-12 is failing, the Italians will leave when the deal runs out and Wales want to too.
I don't know what the solution will be or if it can be found.

From a personal point of view:
I want what is best for England (which I feel the current prem and wage cap is). Take that as you will, I don't care, but not to the detriment of others though.
I want the prem to continue to be a success.
I want the NH countries to improve and compete with the big three.

I'm not talking about tv deals or anything to do with the power struggle with BT and Sky and the PRL or who runs the European competition.

Lastly, I know how serious you take it and genuinely seem to get upset at anything other than what you feel. I have refrained from posting for this very reason. You suggest I am ignorant and merely regurgitate the opinions of our media but I promise you most of what I read about rugby comes from another forum that is very international. I barely read our media. Perhaps this is somewhat why I seem the only guy interested in Super Rugby on here. Think what you will about me.

I never said Leinster and Munster fielding Irish players was a bad thing, I don't even know how you came to that conclusion.
My point was, for example, if Leicester and Northampton had 20 best players from the EPS paid for by the RFU, it would make them much stronger. It isn't a negative in any way. Just a difference in how things are done in our two nations.

mate read your own replies to me and you will see why i came the those conclusions. other than that im tired of pi $$ ing all over BS excuses for the deplorable behaviour of the PRL. I produce facts which get ignored. I see excuses for their behaviour based on incorrect facts and assumptions.

the situation is as it is. we are not going to change it here by arguing are we? We end up only falling out and to be honest i don't want that. So moving on.

Ding

It just a wee dig mate.

Like you, I despise this residency rule, which is a SH invention. I'm cool with the parent rule, and even the granny rule. Remember, I'm a Scot living in England with an English born son. I'd be mortified if he wasn't allowed to play for Scotland.

But I would exclude Visser, Ah You, Tuilagi, Vunipola, Vainikolo etc., all the way back to Ubogo, Ojomoh and Harriman.