Scotland

[Graigwen]

Oh for fucks sake. I’m assuming the WRU panicked following the shut down of most other sporting events and didn’t want to the the odd one out.

That is my reading of the situation.

They could have justified postponing it a week ago, but I don't see a problem playing it today and saying no more games afterwards. Instead a middle course was found that satisfies no-one.

.

[Digby]

It would be nice if the Pro14 could continue behind closed doors. Better than nothing, at least there'd be TV revenue.

What's the split in revenue between TV and gate receipts? I know the English clubs would be massively averse to losing gate receipts, and even having to hand back season ticket money, when TV money isn't overwhelming as it is in football

[morepork]

Oh for fucks sake. I’m assuming the WRU panicked following the shut down of most other sporting events and didn’t want to the the odd one out.

That is my reading of the situation.

They could have justified postponing it a week ago, but I don't see a problem playing it today and saying no more games afterwards. Instead a middle course was found that satisfies no-one.

.

It's a public health response (belated) not a PR exercise. Get tens of thousands of people packed into a stadium for hours then release them all over the Isles on public transport. I don't think that makes any kind of sense.

[Sandydragon]

In which case why wait so long? Or why not play the game without spectators, like the U20s did last night? Removing the crowds would have been a mid way option that kept a few things normal, given that this will potentially last for months.

[Digby]

No chance they pick the option which costs them millions in ticket and beer sales

[Digby]

Oh for fucks sake. I’m assuming the WRU panicked following the shut down of most other sporting events and didn’t want to the the odd one out.

That is my reading of the situation.

They could have justified postponing it a week ago, but I don't see a problem playing it today and saying no more games afterwards. Instead a middle course was found that satisfies no-one.

.

It's a public health response (belated) not a PR exercise. Get tens of thousands of people packed into a stadium for hours then release them all over the Isles on public transport. I don't think that makes any kind of sense.

And yet so far that only not hasn't been a concern on the health front it's been a seeming aim in the name of herd immunity. They will surely be hoping that pays off with this virus, if they've just killed a bunch of people for no reason it is not going to be easy to walk back

[morepork]

How much directive has there been from the gummint? Infection data from China, Iran, Italy, and Spain make it pretty clear when you can expect the hospitals to be overwhelmed.

[Sandydragon]

How much directive has there been from the gummint? Infection data from China, Iran, Italy, and Spain make it pretty clear when you can expect the hospitals to be overwhelmed.

Their direction is not to go too hard on actions like stadia closures too early as it will lose effect later on. Government did not advise the cancellation of sporting fixtures, the governing bodies took that decision themselves.

Who knows who has got the science right on this. What I do know is that leaving the cancellation so late when little had effectively changed and some fans had already travelled or were travelling makes little sense. Looks like the WRU decided to be brave and stuck with the government advice then got cold feet when the rest of the sporting world decided to shut down.

[Numbers]

How much directive has there been from the gummint? Infection data from China, Iran, Italy, and Spain make it pretty clear when you can expect the hospitals to be overwhelmed.

The directive from the government is to stay at home and die from what I can discern, they have said not to go to the hospitals or GPs.

[Digby]

How much directive has there been from the gummint? Infection data from China, Iran, Italy, and Spain make it pretty clear when you can expect the hospitals to be overwhelmed.

The directive from the government is to stay at home and die from what I can discern, they have said not to go to the hospitals or GPs.

And yet we know people will go direct to their GPs and/or direct to the hospital, and then they'll blame the government for failing to slow/halt spread of the disease

[Sandydragon]

How much directive has there been from the gummint? Infection data from China, Iran, Italy, and Spain make it pretty clear when you can expect the hospitals to be overwhelmed.

The directive from the government is to stay at home and die from what I can discern, they have said not to go to the hospitals or GPs.

The current approach seems to be one of hope the numbers don't creep too high because it might cause bad impacts elsewhere. I find it odd that equally clever scientists oversee are coming to different conclusions. Are we being imaginative or are we prioritising poorly? Maybe once the modelling is published we will know more.

[Son of Mathonwy]

This government's instinct is to keep things business-as-usual if at all possible - even if a few more frail people die (they're a drag on the economy anyway). Same as their approach to the climate emergency.

[Son of Mathonwy]

It would be nice if the Pro14 could continue behind closed doors. Better than nothing, at least there'd be TV revenue.

What's the split in revenue between TV and gate receipts? I know the English clubs would be massively averse to losing gate receipts, and even having to hand back season ticket money, when TV money isn't overwhelming as it is in football

I don't know the split, but my thinking is as follows:

For the internationals, this is just postponement. Time will be found later in the year to hold these matches (unless this disease truly gets out of control).

For the league, I don't see how they can reschedule so many matches. Pretty soon these matches will simply be cancelled. So although the loss of gate receipts and food & drinks revenue is bad, at least a behind-closed-doors match can raise TV revenue. Better than no revenue at all.

[Digby]

It would be nice if the Pro14 could continue behind closed doors. Better than nothing, at least there'd be TV revenue.

What's the split in revenue between TV and gate receipts? I know the English clubs would be massively averse to losing gate receipts, and even having to hand back season ticket money, when TV money isn't overwhelming as it is in football

I don't know the split, but my thinking is as follows:

For the internationals, this is just postponement. Time will be found later in the year to hold these matches (unless this disease truly gets out of control).

For the league, I don't see how they can reschedule so many matches. Pretty soon these matches will simply be cancelled. So although the loss of gate receipts and food & drinks revenue is bad, at least a behind-closed-doors match can raise TV revenue. Better than no revenue at all.

TV companies might well say that's breach of contract and ask for their money back anyway, so it mayn't be clear they can access that revenue for sure

[Son of Mathonwy]

What's the split in revenue between TV and gate receipts? I know the English clubs would be massively averse to losing gate receipts, and even having to hand back season ticket money, when TV money isn't overwhelming as it is in football

I don't know the split, but my thinking is as follows:

For the internationals, this is just postponement. Time will be found later in the year to hold these matches (unless this disease truly gets out of control).

For the league, I don't see how they can reschedule so many matches. Pretty soon these matches will simply be cancelled. So although the loss of gate receipts and food & drinks revenue is bad, at least a behind-closed-doors match can raise TV revenue. Better than no revenue at all.

TV companies might well say that's breach of contract and ask for their money back anyway, so it mayn't be clear they can access that revenue for sure

Breach of contract for holding matches behind closed doors? Seems unlikely.

[Sandydragon]

If the government calls for abandonment of mass meetings and sporting events then the TV companies can shout all they want, the leagues aren’t liable.