International Rugby

[Jon Crofts]

Time zones shouldn't come into it, the 6 Nations is reasonably easy to get tickets and travel to, having games in SA would be prohibitively expensive.
Keep it European or make the SpongeBob's play in Spain or Portugal.

[paul_e]

Is that from a doping standpoint ? I vaguely remember hearing of a High School rugby doping scandal there when I was out there about 10 years ago, but not aware of anything at senior level.

I wouldn’t necessarily have SA either, might as well make it a European thing, just throwing them in because that is apparently the way things seem to be moving.

Yep, widespread doping of teenagers that was definitely still happening a couple of years ago. I didn't fully aappreciate how big a problem it was until I watched an under17 game a few years back where an English schools select team were playing their SA equivalent and the difference was insane, one team looked like schoolkids, the other looked ready to be playing senior rugby and at least of a couple of the kids in that side have since come out as haing been on steroids at the time.

[nigel]

I like the idea of 2 leagues side by side as well, but you'd have the problem of not having a calcutta cup game every year (personally I don't care but a lot of people would be against that).

I don't want SA anywhere near it though, I'd rather we invited the US and Canada before we let SA get involved, in fact I'd be all for reducing the influence SA rugby has in the NH from where it is, not going the other way. I see them as little better than the Russian Olympic association right now.

No Calcutta Cup would be awful.
They would just have to play in the Autumn if drawn in a different league.

Inviting Canada or US is a decent call. Canada used to be pretty decent. Don’t know what they’re like these dsys

[LeeB]

I like the idea of 2 leagues side by side as well, but you'd have the problem of not having a calcutta cup game every year (personally I don't care but a lot of people would be against that).

I don't want SA anywhere near it though, I'd rather we invited the US and Canada before we let SA get involved, in fact I'd be all for reducing the influence SA rugby has in the NH from where it is, not going the other way. I see them as little better than the Russian Olympic association right now.

My brother's father in law was a director at Nuneaton for years, and his lad played for Leeds Tykes at the game was turning professional.
I was told of a player who played many times for England who was considered talented but too lightweight as a youth, and was shipped out to SA for a year to amend that, which it did, and this would be going back over 20 years now

[nigel]

Time zones, innit

SA might be southern hemisphere but they're European timezone.


As for other European rugby, there was a time a few years ago when half of the Malta national team were blokes from clubs around Gloucester

There was a Canadian rugby league team in the league over here.
How did that work out?

[paul_e]

I like the idea of 2 leagues side by side as well, but you'd have the problem of not having a calcutta cup game every year (personally I don't care but a lot of people would be against that).

I don't want SA anywhere near it though, I'd rather we invited the US and Canada before we let SA get involved, in fact I'd be all for reducing the influence SA rugby has in the NH from where it is, not going the other way. I see them as little better than the Russian Olympic association right now.

My brother's father in law was a director at Nuneaton for years, and his lad played for Leeds Tykes at the game was turning professional.
I was told of a player who played many times for England who was considered talented but too lightweight as a youth, and was shipped out to SA for a year to amend that, which it did, and this would be going back over 20 years now

There's loads of stories of players adding 2-3st in muscle over the course of 12months as teenagers and suddenly looking ready to step up when there were question marks before that. As I say, it appears to have been so widespread over such a long time that it's on a par with the russian doping routines.

[luke:lamf]

Fair enough, it does explain how they seem to have an uninterrupted supply of psychopathic locks who can bench press a bus.

[Jon Crofts]

6 Nations committee have issued a statement basically rubbishing the Daily Mail's story.
Good.

[paul_e]

Yep, great news, sadly coming shortly after Saracens are taken over by a new group with a heavy south african contigent.

[Jon Crofts]

I say good, they really do need to do something with or about Italy.

[nigel]

I say good, they really do need to do something with or about Italy.

I think Italy have looked pretty decent in games over the last couple of seasons, but they need to step out of the 6 nations to win some games.
Yes, they’d be winning games against lesser opponents, but they would get the winning mentality. At the moment they are, and always will be, plucky losers.

[Jon Crofts]

Dombrandt & Smith start as does Manu & Lawes as captain.

We should have way too much up front for the Welsh.

[paul_e]

Don't be so quick, rumours that Manu won't make it.

Interesting fact for this weekend, England and Wales both being captained by Saints players, neither of which are the regular club captain.

[PaulWinch again]

Yep he’s out.

[paul_e]

He just needs to retire now, his body has clearly had enough.