Major League Rugby

[Mellsblue]

Schedule is out:

https://www.majorleague.rugby/schedules/

[Puja]

RUNY giving up early on the idea of fans coming to their games. Sensible approach, rather than trying to sell tickets and hoping, but it's going to be an expensive season if they can't get fans until late.



Puja

[Mellsblue]

RUNY giving up early on the idea of fans coming to their games. Sensible approach, rather than trying to sell tickets and hoping, but it's going to be an expensive season if they can't get fans until late.



Puja

The six season ticket holders will be gutted. Hopefully the authorities will be allowing spectators in to games by the start of the season.

[Mellsblue]

Don’t know why I quoted you. It’s not as if anyone else comes in here.

[Puja]

Don’t know why I quoted you. It’s not as if anyone else comes in here.

Because it's better than quoting yourself. You'll go blind if you do that too often. We do get an occasional visit from morepork to brighten our spirits and, even if we didn't, I still wouldn't regret Rowan having been given the boot.

It's going to be a weird situation when the league does restart. On the one hand, England allows crowds of 2k, but then again, England doesn't have a leader that is currently denying the coronavirus is even a problem. It could get much worse by the time Senor SaneButSenile takes office, despite the imminent vaccine.

Dallas are playing in a stadium that could hold 44,000 for their first season and LA at 77,000 Memorial Coliseum, so I suspect social distancing might not be a problem for them. The Freejacks are currently taking season ticket orders, despite being under the same restrictions as New York. So, no-one's got a clue.

Puja

[Puja]

Good synopsis of the schedule here: http://www.americasrugbynews.com/2020/1 ... to-expect/

Puja

[Puja]

Don’t know why I quoted you. It’s not as if anyone else comes in here.

RUNY are under new ownership: https://rugbywrapup.com/2021/01/rugby-u ... k-kerouac/

Puja

[Mellsblue]

And they’re not messing around:

[Puja]

Very useful signing indeed. Even at 36, he's going to add a lot, especially in teaching the youngsters. Didn't RUNY pickup a promising scrum-half through the draft this year?

They've also added Nick Civetta from Newcastle, which is a very good signing (if slightly lower key).

Puja


ETA. Apparently, they have 2 new promising young scrum-halves: https://rugbywrapup.com/2021/01/instant ... united-ny/

[Puja]

Dallas have pulled out of 2021 with the plan of having their debut in a non-pandemic 2022: https://www.dallasjackals.com/news/dall ... n-to-2022/

On the one hand, I understand the idea of, "You only get one opportunity to make a first impression," and understand them wanting to go straight in with a bang (plus they might have their city-centre stadium sorted out by then, rather than playing in a 44k baseball stadium because it's cheap), but on the other, this is not a good look 2 months from the start of the season and after signing a good number of players. Decision should have been made back in November at the latest.

Puja

[Puja]

A good article on behind the scenes at RUNY, especially the chaos that is convincing visa officials that Basteraud was quite good at rugby: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/ ... bastareaud

Lots of uncertainty about the new season - Dallas pulling out last minute, San Diego have announced they're playing all their home games in Las Vegas this year due to California COVID restrictions, Toronto still haven't announced where they're going to play with the border still closed. I'm hoping the owners have deep pockets - there's not exactly a good time for a global pandemic, but knocking out the 3rd and 4th seasons of a start-up league is pretty close to the worst.

Puja

[Mellsblue]

That was pretty interesting, cheers. That book will be worth a read. As for the US immigration system, watching from afar as my brother and sil wrestle with the system to obtain visas for jobs they already do whilst already in the country, and with the help of a huge multinational and a phalanx of lawyers, I can only imagine the fat Basta saga is in a very long line of very similar stories.

[Mellsblue]

[Puja]

LA are going big. They've confirmed that they're going to be the anchor tenant of the LA Coliseum for the next 5 years. On the one hand, it's an iconic LA venue and will get them more attention and attendance than playing from some podunk little stadium in Orange County would've done, on the other, it's 77k capacity, which is something of an ask for a new league where the highest ever attendance was 6,000. I'm assuming a lot of sheeting off will be going on.

They've also been signing strongly, with a lot of Yank talent being supplemented by the likes of Dave Dennis, Adam Ashe, Billy Meakes, DTH van der Merwe, and this week getting Adam Ashley-Cooper and Matt Giteau on 1 year contracts. Silly name or not, oversized stadium or not, they're ambitious and they're gonna be a real threat.

Puja

[Puja]

MLR releasing their own streaming platform which'll have all the games plus highlights, free around the world. Good idea, to my mind - at this stage they need eyeballs more than they need the miniscule amount of money that they'd get from giving ESPN and Fox exclusive rights to the games and this way they get to both have their matches on normal television and provide an easy in for anyone wanting to introduce a new fan to the game.

Only question is - will the quality be utterly horrendous? There was an interview with the league commissioner the other day where he was talking about needing to have a quality looking product and the fact that everyone's been investing in the backroom, so hopefully not. The highlights that have been on Youtube previous have varied wildly in quality, with some just literally showing the run in for tries (so none of the buildup or passing, just literally a player running over a line and putting the ball down).

Puja

[Puja]

Giltinis are now 2/2 after absolutely clumping Seattle by 50-27 (and it was 45-7 before a Seawolves rally in the second half). They're looking like a good bet for the title, with only San Diego looking like they can stand in their way.

I was uncertain about the Coliseum move, but it looks fantastic on television and it gives them an air of legitimacy that playing in a little stadium would not have. They're allowed fans in there from next week, so we'll see whether they can draw a crowd big enough to not be a pea rolling around in a bucket.

Streaming service is up, running, and looking good. It's called The Rugby Network, there are apps on Google and Apple, and there are full match replays of every game for free, as well as highlights, and magazine show. Worth a look.

Puja

[Puja]

JP Doyle has now become the best referee in America: https://www.rugbypass.com/news/jp-doyle ... e-rfu-mlr/

Puja

[Mellsblue]

Great appointment. Hopefully he’ll be involved in training, mentoring etc.
I’ll never understand why the RFU made him redundant. He was consistently one of the best refs in the Prem.

Hoping to watch RUNY tomorrow. First match of the season that is at a sensible U.K. time.

[Puja]

RUNY vs DC looked a quality game, despite having to play in New Jersey on a Yank football pitch because of COVID shenanigans. Put that in a proper stadium and you'd not be ashamed to show it to any rugby person.



Impressed by the quality of the highlights too. You don't always get that level of production and editing on BT!

Puja

[Mellsblue]

And so the US rise to the top of world rugby begins. Elite athletes just below NFL calibre moving to rugby should have the tier 1 nations worried.

[Puja]

And so the US rise to the top of world rugby begins. Elite athletes just below NFL calibre moving to rugby should have the tier 1 nations worried.

Eh. A 28 year old Tongan isn't the start of the avalanche and I'm not convinced that large scale adult crossover is possible. Houston had a similar project back when the league started and I don't think he's played a single game. Rugby is just too complicated to convert.

I think they need to get the sport as Varsity status in colleges and pick off the athletes earlier if they want to make anything from them.

Puja

[Mellsblue]

And so the US rise to the top of world rugby begins. Elite athletes just below NFL calibre moving to rugby should have the tier 1 nations worried.

Eh. A 28 year old Tongan isn't the start of the avalanche and I'm not convinced that large scale adult crossover is possible. Houston had a similar project back when the league started and I don't think he's played a single game. Rugby is just too complicated to convert.

I think they need to get the sport as Varsity status in colleges and pick off the athletes earlier if they want to make anything from them.

Puja

The first sentence was tongue in cheek. The second sentence was serious. When they can successfully move from American football to rugby football will be position dependent. The main point is if they start taking rugby seriously and players just below NFL calibre start thinking they can make some $$$ out of it then they could dominate.

[Puja]

And so the US rise to the top of world rugby begins. Elite athletes just below NFL calibre moving to rugby should have the tier 1 nations worried.

Eh. A 28 year old Tongan isn't the start of the avalanche and I'm not convinced that large scale adult crossover is possible. Houston had a similar project back when the league started and I don't think he's played a single game. Rugby is just too complicated to convert.

I think they need to get the sport as Varsity status in colleges and pick off the athletes earlier if they want to make anything from them.

Puja

The first sentence was tongue in cheek. The second sentence was serious. When they can successfully move from American football to rugby football will be position dependent. The main point is if they start taking rugby seriously and players just below NFL calibre start thinking they can make some $$$ out of it then they could dominate.

Have you seen what Glendale are doing with their time now that they've taken off from MLR in a huff? They've made the Colorado XOs, a team comprised entirely of basketball and gridiron players put into a full-time rugby environment. Whether they can make something of it, who knows?

https://thednvr.com/glendale-announces- ... o-xo-team/

Puja

[Mellsblue]

Interesting. I wonder how they’ll go.
I read something somewhere of a small programme, ie one coach with some spare time, at a US college that took basketball players who wouldn’t make it to the pros and tried to turn them into locks or backrow for the college rugby team. Iirc, there was some success. Obvs, no where near pro level.

It’ll be far more difficult to achieve with positions such as 9 or 10 but if they can get people playing rugby at a young age only to stop at college but then come back when the NFL doesn’t come calling....
If you think that Christian Wade is, at best, considered an average athlete at the running back position (his 40 yard dash at the combine was slow for the position) then imagine the type of athletes that could play rugby. George North would just be an average/below average ‘specimen’ in the NFL but he and his ilk are a bit of an outlier in rugby.
It’d pretty much be like Fiji, and it’s freak athletes, but with money in a country obsessed with producing elite athletes.

[switchskier]

Interesting. I wonder how they’ll go.
I read something somewhere of a small programme, ie one coach with some spare time, at a US college that took basketball players who wouldn’t make it to the pros and tried to turn them into locks or backrow for the college rugby team. Iirc, there was some success. Obvs, no where near pro level.

It’ll be far more difficult to achieve with positions such as 9 or 10 but if they can get people playing rugby at a young age only to stop at college but then come back when the NFL doesn’t come calling....
If you think that Christian Wade is, at best, considered an average athlete at the running back position (his 40 yard dash at the combine was slow for the position) then imagine the type of athletes that could play rugby. George North would just be an average/below average ‘specimen’ in the NFL but he and his ilk are a bit of an outlier in rugby.
It’d pretty much be like Fiji, and it’s freak athletes, but with money in a country obsessed with producing elite athletes.

Different types of athletes and training required though. American football requires huge amounts of power and burst in 10-20 second spurts. It doesn't require the same level of cardio to hit the deck, get up and go again repeatedly, plus handle the ball and make good decisions . If you tried to take football players and immediately make them rugby players then they'd struggle after 20 minutes and by the time their conditioning had adapted then they'd no longer be able to play top level football.