Rugby - Laissez la balle, Bleus!

[Caligastia]

Ok, it's France's turn.

[LDiCesare]

By solidarity with my outrage at the unbearably silly title of this thread, Serge Blanco has told the ERC that the French clubs wouldn't participate in next year's European Cup.
Considering the French clubs performance this year, it doesn't look like it'd change much, mind you.
Blanco is accusing the Rugby Union of not wanting to give some money to English clubs. Which has the effect of the French Federation not giving money to French clubs, since Lapasset said the FFR would give half of their stock in the ERC to the Clubs if others (Italy and England) would do the same. And only Italy did.
English clubs are supposed to meet next week if I understood well.

Blanco is saying that he wants stocks since the clubs pay the players, not the FFR, and says that the calendar next year is too heavy. In particular, a tourney late in the year after the world cup and the fact that the WC will last 7 weeks when it could last 5.

Another news of interest is that Argentina has been offered to play in Belgium should they be allowed to participate in the 6 Nations tournament. Now that would be interesting should that happen. Since most Argentinians play in Europe, it would be convenient for everyone but Argentinian fans who would have to rely on TV. If Argentina ever got to play international matches on a regular basis, I think they could definitely become a powerhouse, though I have lots of trouble understanding how they manage to get so good players with very little opposition at home. All their good players had to leave for Italy, France or Great Britain in order to become as good as they are now. But good they are indeed.

[Caligastia]

Originally posted by LDiCesare
By solidarity with my outrage at the unbearably silly title of this thread

Oops, I guess I should have read past the first paragraph of your last post in the previous thread.

Shall I get Ming to change it?

[finbar]

Yes!

And never let Havak near a French dictionary again!

I'd suggest LdiC's suggested:

Rugby - Laissez la balle, Bleus!

Just avoid les Bleues, as we don't talk a lot about women rugby here.

Well, your opponents do. If you get my drift.

If Argentina ever got to play international matches on a regular basis, I think they could definitely become a powerhouse, though I have lots of trouble understanding how they manage to get so good players with very little opposition at home. All their good players had to leave for Italy, France or Great Britain in order to become as good as they are now. But good they are indeed.

Now you know why the SH nations didn't want them in the Tri-Nations.

[ravagon]

Take a break for a while and you miss everything.

Frenchies quitting the heineken Cup. A big row in the UK over somebody's plans to reduce their national competition to 10 teams (Can anybody see Havak cheering on his new Coventry side? ) and now people are thinking of moving select S14 matches to Twickenham?

[finbar]

I'm boycotting this thread until the title is changed! In fact, the title has to make you wonder what Havak gets up to in French bars late at night.

[Havak]

Just avoid les Bleues, as we don't talk a lot about women rugby here.

Must…resist…mentioning…S14…

I would like to claim that the gender slip up was a deliberate attempt to be humorous – but I simply missed it.

I’m quite proud of my pidgin French - it has ordered me beer and food successfully throughout the country.

Then again this grammatical accident would not have happened if you chaps had sensibly accepted the queen as head of state in 1956 and merged with the UK.

The side benefit of that would have been you would never have cosied up with Germany and created this huge monstrosity of nearly 30 nations where my tax money seems to flow in a never ending stream towards Eastern Europeans and French farmers who both constantly complain that I don’t actually give them enough of my money – but I digress somewhat.

English clubs are supposed to meet next week if I understood well.

Premier Rugby (the clubs) are actually meeting the RFU tomorrow whilst the ERC is due to meet in February to negotiate a new accord.

In a nutshell the centre of the problem is that the cup ONLY makes money for ERC Ltd – a joint venture between the competing Unions – and the cup therefore does not profit the clubs in the same way that the commercial revenue distributed from domestic competitions does.

But instead of me trying to explain I pass over to Auntie Beeb.

What is the RFU's position?

The RFU is reluctant to agree to anything before it sorts out its own club v country issue.

The "Long Form Agreement", which sets out arrangements on player release between the union and the elite clubs, is due to expire in 2009, and the RFU will begin a four-month consultation process in February on the structure of English rugby.

But the current Heineken Cup contract, called the "Paris Accord", runs out in July 2007, meaning decisions will have to be taken on Europe before the future shape of English elite rugby, and the clubs involved, is known.
What do the English clubs say?

Under the Long Form Agreement, the clubs are bound to participate in RFU-sanctioned competitions until 2009 but Mark McCafferty, boss of Premier Rugby, has suggested a French withdrawal may change the conditions of the contract.

Leicester chief executive Peter Wheeler says a simple solution is for the RFU to agree now that any club playing in the Heineken Cup from 2009 onwards must be a member of Premier Rugby Ltd.

That would avoid any new clubs - possibly formed as the result of a new franchising structure for English rugby - being admitted to the competition at the expense of current clubs.

"Unless they [the RFU] want to nominate someone else to play in Europe, it should be quite easy either to sign up or give us assurances," Wheeler told the Guardian.

Executives from Tigers have been in a protracted dispute with the RFU since our last annual report was published containing comments from two execs that I felt were entirely accurate but that upset those in the RFU that were caught in the headlights by them.

This dispute nearly resulted in a situation where the RFU tried to launch a Franchise system of ten clubs that wouldn’t actually include Tigers (the biggest club in England in terms of revenue and support).

Now you know why the SH nations didn't want them in the Tri-Nations.

I thought that was because NZ thought they had a better chance of a Slam if they left Argentina in the cold?

Can anybody see Havak cheering on his new Coventry side?

Havak cannot! (although Jonno Junior is their player coach)

But it is worse than you think – the Midlands Franchise was probably going to Saints (Northampton). Our local rivals (though perennial under achievers against us). This is akin to the NZRFU telling Crusaders that they will be dropped from S14 and that all the support will be put into Hurricanes instead.

In fact, the title has to make you wonder what Havak gets up to in French bars late at night.

Drinking mainly.

Are you sure I cannot tempt you back – even by telling you that the disciplinary panel dismissed the charges against Forester as there was apparently ‘no intent’?

[finbar]

Have a look at a replay. There's bound to be one somewhere.

Now I'm going back into exile.

[Havak]

Le Francais de Havak est superbe n'est pas?

[Caligastia]

Ok, I put in a request to Ming for a thread title change. Why is Havak being blamed for this? LDiCesare was the one who made the suggestion.

[finbar]

Just as well you know what you're doing with IT. Presumably.

[Caligastia]

X post.

[Havak]

I have to take this one on the chin I am afraid - that thread title contained my pidgin French in all it's glory.

[Caligastia]

Oops, I didn't see the original post from you, just the one from LDiCesare.

[Caligastia]

It's safe to come back now finbar.