Canadian rugby

[TheStroBro Profile]

I get that the USA/Canada Union crowd are upset that they can't match the Wolfpack's star power and publicity, but the reaction to it should be striving to meet the same standards, not minimize the efforts of the Wolfpack and Rugby League. If SBW had signed for Seattle's MLR franchise you would all be hailing it as a game changer for the sport in North America.

Actually no. I've definitely got serious questions about why teams are signing the likes of Bastareaud and Nonu. The league doesn't need stars that no one knows. This is not like Soccer where a Beckham or Zlatan will actually raise the profile of the league in the US. There aren't "millions" of fans. We're in a weird place, we have to build our own market. Unsustainable contracts are just that, unsustainable.

[Armchair Fan Profile]

French Barbarians to play Canada next July 4 in Montréal:
https://www.lerugbynistere.fr/news/les- ... kS0kn4GEbE

[Was_a_Kat Profile]

I get that the USA/Canada Union crowd are upset that they can't match the Wolfpack's star power and publicity, but the reaction to it should be striving to meet the same standards, not minimize the efforts of the Wolfpack and Rugby League. If SBW had signed for Seattle's MLR franchise you would all be hailing it as a game changer for the sport in North America.

I'm pretty ambivalent.

I'm not really big on stunt signings. I've seen them in the CFL, I know MLS has had them, and the Mets signed Tebow. They always seem a tad desperate. They don't make a sustainable impact in my opinion, but if some rich guy wants to cut the cheques I don't really care.

The MLR is actually a NA venture, and if SBW signed I would be worried about it creating instability. Ultimately MLR needs to build slowly and credibly.

[grande Profile]

French Barbarians to play Canada next July 4 in Montréal:
https://www.lerugbynistere.fr/news/les- ... kS0kn4GEbE

I'm pretty excited about this. First time Team Canada has played in Montreal, I'm pretty sure.

[Return_of_BG_97 Profile WebsiteYIM]

I get that the USA/Canada Union crowd are upset that they can't match the Wolfpack's star power and publicity, but the reaction to it should be striving to meet the same standards, not minimize the efforts of the Wolfpack and Rugby League. If SBW had signed for Seattle's MLR franchise you would all be hailing it as a game changer for the sport in North America.

I'm pretty ambivalent.

I'm not really big on stunt signings. I've seen them in the CFL, I know MLS has had them, and the Mets signed Tebow. They always seem a tad desperate. They don't make a sustainable impact in my opinion, but if some rich guy wants to cut the cheques I don't really care.

The MLR is actually a NA venture, and if SBW signed I would be worried about it creating instability. Ultimately MLR needs to build slowly and credibly.

As someone who has followed MLS for a while I have mixed feelings about the "stunt signings"

But I will say David Beckham coming to MLS did wonders for them. It brought in a lot of attention and publicity that wasn't there, and made MLS the next "coolest" thing in America. It completely changed the way the league operated and how it saw itself.

[Was_a_Kat Profile]

I get that the USA/Canada Union crowd are upset that they can't match the Wolfpack's star power and publicity, but the reaction to it should be striving to meet the same standards, not minimize the efforts of the Wolfpack and Rugby League. If SBW had signed for Seattle's MLR franchise you would all be hailing it as a game changer for the sport in North America.

I'm pretty ambivalent.

I'm not really big on stunt signings. I've seen them in the CFL, I know MLS has had them, and the Mets signed Tebow. They always seem a tad desperate. They don't make a sustainable impact in my opinion, but if some rich guy wants to cut the cheques I don't really care.

The MLR is actually a NA venture, and if SBW signed I would be worried about it creating instability. Ultimately MLR needs to build slowly and credibly.

As someone who has followed MLS for a while I have mixed feelings about the "stunt signings"

But I will say David Beckham coming to MLS did wonders for them. It brought in a lot of attention and publicity that wasn't there, and made MLS the next "coolest" thing in America. It completely changed the way the league operated and how it saw itself.

Thanks for that.

The thing is Beckham (and his wife) were celebrities beyond soccer. SBW is nothing like that, and even rugby people are split on how they view him.

I will say that you could not invent a better sporting name than "Sonny Bill Williams".

[Return_of_BG_97 Profile WebsiteYIM]

I get that the USA/Canada Union crowd are upset that they can't match the Wolfpack's star power and publicity, but the reaction to it should be striving to meet the same standards, not minimize the efforts of the Wolfpack and Rugby League. If SBW had signed for Seattle's MLR franchise you would all be hailing it as a game changer for the sport in North America.

I'm pretty ambivalent.

I'm not really big on stunt signings. I've seen them in the CFL, I know MLS has had them, and the Mets signed Tebow. They always seem a tad desperate. They don't make a sustainable impact in my opinion, but if some rich guy wants to cut the cheques I don't really care.

The MLR is actually a NA venture, and if SBW signed I would be worried about it creating instability. Ultimately MLR needs to build slowly and credibly.

As someone who has followed MLS for a while I have mixed feelings about the "stunt signings"

But I will say David Beckham coming to MLS did wonders for them. It brought in a lot of attention and publicity that wasn't there, and made MLS the next "coolest" thing in America. It completely changed the way the league operated and how it saw itself.

Thanks for that.

The thing is Beckham (and his wife) were celebrities beyond soccer. SBW is nothing like that, and even rugby people are split on how they view him.

I will say that you could not invent a better sporting name than "Sonny Bill Williams".

Also, more importantly, it's not like there is likely to be a serious professional competition for mungoball in Canada coming anytime soon. Toronto Wolfpack are very much a local niche and the Canada Rugby League team isn't exactly a beacon of success (they can't even beat Jamaica or the USA and I don't think they've been in RLWC for a while). They're just there to bring in money from Toronto and not much else.

I think the more accurate analogy here would be bringing an NFL team to London and have them sign past their prime but once big free agents, and even then I think the NFL is a bigger brand in Europe than any rugby league competition in the Americas (though I'm biased, I'm an NFL fan and have met plenty of Euro NFL fans).

[rusty_lock Profile]

I get that the USA/Canada Union crowd are upset that they can't match the Wolfpack's star power and publicity, but the reaction to it should be striving to meet the same standards, not minimize the efforts of the Wolfpack and Rugby League. If SBW had signed for Seattle's MLR franchise you would all be hailing it as a game changer for the sport in North America.

Actually no. I've definitely got serious questions about why teams are signing the likes of Bastareaud and Nonu. The league doesn't need stars that no one knows. This is not like Soccer where a Beckham or Zlatan will actually raise the profile of the league in the US. There aren't "millions" of fans. We're in a weird place, we have to build our own market. Unsustainable contracts are just that, unsustainable.

Exactly... I believe that that was a significant part of the NASL downfall back in the 80's.

[snapper37 Profile]

Whats next for us?

[RugbyLiebe Profile]

The league doesn't need stars that no one knows. This is not like Soccer where a Beckham or Zlatan will actually raise the profile of the league in the US. There aren't "millions" of fans. We're in a weird place, we have to build our own market. Unsustainable contracts are just that, unsustainable.

Exactly... I believe that that was a significant part of the NASL downfall back in the 80's.[/quote]

Some people might say, that the stars in the NASL still lead to the growth of soccer in the USA the MLS is now profiting from. I don't think many people in the US knew who Pele or Beckenbauer are, when they moved there.
Somebody has to do the marketing. World Rugby is totally incapable of growing the game outside of its own Commonwealth mindsets.
I see where you are coming from though.

[grande Profile]

Is there any word as to where this summers ARC games will be played?

[Chester-Donnelly Profile]

Does the Canadian Rugby Championship still exist?

[grande Profile]

Does the Canadian Rugby Championship still exist?

I haven't heard of any "official" cancellation, but the tournament wasn't run in 2019, and I haven't heard anything about 2020, so I'm assuming it's dead.

[Was_a_Kat Profile]

Since the RWC disaster, has RC communicated anything indicating a plan for change?

Seems like it’s just business as usual. U20s going to Portugal with a huge travel party.

No overhaul, no direction, no changes at the top. But hey, they helped with sandbags.

[grande Profile]

https://rugby.ca/en/news/2020/01/rugby- ... d-winnipeg

July 4 - Montreal vs French Barbarians

July 11 - Halifax vs Italy

August 22 - Calgary vs Brazil

August 29 - Winnipeg vs Chile

I'm glad that they're spreading the games out more, but bummed I probably won't be able see any games this year!

[LittleGuy Profile]

Matt Evans retired today, not really a surprise, he was having a hard time cracking the Cornish lineup as of late. I think this reduces the number of Canadians in the RFU Championship to two. I think it's only Beukeboom at Pirates and O'Leary at Nottingham right now. Evans was a solid player in his time with Canada, looks like he'll continue to be in the game via coaching etc.

http://www.americasrugbynews.com/2020/0 ... uLcXYHfu78

[jonny24 Profile]

All rugby suspended as per Rugby Canada and the provincial unions.

[LittleGuy Profile]

Brett Beukeboom retired today, was going to at the end of the season anyway apparently. Somewhat surprising, he was only going to be 30 next year, he could have done another couple of years and he did have a contract with Pirates. Perhaps those rumoured cuts to the RFU Championship would have put his spot in jeopardy.

With his retirement, I believe that Shane O'Leary is now the only Canadian qualified player playing in all of England.

[TheStroBro Profile]

Brett Beukeboom retired today, was going to at the end of the season anyway apparently. Somewhat surprising, he was only going to be 30 next year, he could have done another couple of years and he did have a contract with Pirates. Perhaps those rumoured cuts to the RFU Championship would have put his spot in jeopardy.

With his retirement, I believe that Shane O'Leary is now the only Canadian qualified player playing in all of England.

He'd be a great signing for an MLR team.

[Chester-Donnelly Profile]

Brett Beukeboom retired today, was going to at the end of the season anyway apparently. Somewhat surprising, he was only going to be 30 next year, he could have done another couple of years and he did have a contract with Pirates. Perhaps those rumoured cuts to the RFU Championship would have put his spot in jeopardy.

With his retirement, I believe that Shane O'Leary is now the only Canadian qualified player playing in all of England.

He'd be a great signing for an MLR team.

Maybe as a player / forwards coach.

[LittleGuy Profile]

Brett Beukeboom retired today, was going to at the end of the season anyway apparently. Somewhat surprising, he was only going to be 30 next year, he could have done another couple of years and he did have a contract with Pirates. Perhaps those rumoured cuts to the RFU Championship would have put his spot in jeopardy.

With his retirement, I believe that Shane O'Leary is now the only Canadian qualified player playing in all of England.

He'd be a great signing for an MLR team.

Agree, who knows maybe he'll reevaluate at the beginning of next season or be coaxed out of retirement.

[jonny24 Profile]

The original suspension of rugby, which was until April 11th, has been changed to "indefinitely" with review at June 30th.

[snapper37 Profile]

Anybody with any inside on who RugbyCanada is going to vote for? Beaumont or Pichot?

[Canadaman Profile]

Rumour is that they will vote for Beaumont but it is not 100%, the board is split.

[jonny24 Profile]

So some provinces are starting to release road maps for "opening up" , but I haven't kept with all of them. Have any made mention of when amateur sports get to start up again?

It's awfully hard to google since I just get endless articles about the NBA/NHL. I can live without watching, but I gotta play some rugby!