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Rugby 2020: No Gatland or Schmidt

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    #76
    Originally posted by Sporting View Post
    I came across a recent Sunday Times article by rugby correspondent Stephen Jones in which he defended Saracens to the hilt. I'm wondering if anyone more in the know here has any idea of whether his is a maverick view, if he's always sided with the corrupt, or what?
    He's just a twat.

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      #77
      No, because the rules are taken very seriously by everyone concerned (and have given rise to a whole profession of "capologists" who understand all of the rules' intricacies, which differ significantly from sport to sport).

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        #78
        The closest thing I can think of involves, you guessed it, the Patriots. The main TB12 fitness woo woo center is at Patriot Place, the shopping mall around the stadium which is owned by the Patriots. Since Brady routinely signs team-friendly contracts, the conspiracists have the Pats secretly funneling money back to TB through players using it or them getting cheap rent or whatever.

        I suspect it's pretty well above board though, since the Pats clearly have a target on their back and the league has never seemed very interested.

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          #79
          Latest twist in Saracens salary cap scandal threatens a descent into pure farce

          https://www.theguardian.com/sport/bl...droidApp_Gmail

          Nothing positive in this article. Finally.

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            #80
            The Premiership has announced Saracens haven't met the cap*, and will be relegated.

            * - inferred as it doesn't quite say this directly!
            Last edited by Janik; 18-01-2020, 19:57.

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              #81
              https://twitter.com/chjones9/status/1218621673856995328

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                #82
                Fuck 'em. They knew the rules, threatened legal action to get the cap increased, flaunted it and were utterly unrepentant when caught, and then broke the rules again. I feel sorry for the fans, especially the old, old school ones.

                Sometimes cunts get pulled up on their cavalier behaviour, so it's nice to know that Nigel Wray's name will forever be associated with the man who broke Saracens.

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                  #83
                  Tony Rowe not holding back there on the extent of the cheating and the covering up that continues.

                  I hope none of their players go out on loans but actually leave.

                  I've said this before but now's the time to ring fence the league.

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                    #84
                    Exeter could be playing Saracens in the quarter finals of the Champions Cup, that should be interesting.

                    That's Saracens who'll still be in breach of the salary cap.

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                      #85
                      Salarycens were 14-0 up after 12 minutes against 14 man (temporarily) Racing but have now been torn apart by Russel and Vakatawa to trail 17-21 with 5 minutes left of the first half. Still could go either way though.
                      Last edited by Ray de Galles; 19-01-2020, 13:43.

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                        #86
                        Monde has a piece today noting how the Top 14 clubs are increasingly finding themselves unable to compete simultaneously in both Europe and domestically.

                        Stade Francais and Stade Toulousian each find themselves outside of the top six playoff places halfway through the season, while Lyon and La Rochelle, much better placed in the league, exited the group stages without fanfare (LOU even managed to gift Benneton Treviso their first European win in five years).

                        Monde believes that "big" clubs are increasingly privileging the group stages in Europe give the real challenge of qualification, while taking comfort from the fact that Castres won the title last year despite having finished only sixth in the regular season.
                        Last edited by ursus arctos; 19-01-2020, 13:55.

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                          #87
                          Will Skelton (on for The Good Vunipola who has broken his arm for the third time, sadly) has been red carded for a vile, scumbag hit on a Racing player - late, no arms, shoulder landing on the chin and deliberately lined up. Should be a lengthy ban too.

                          Comment


                            #88
                            Originally posted by Ray de Galles View Post
                            Will Skelton (on for The Good Vunipola who has broken his arm for the third time, sadly) has been red carded for a vile, scumbag hit on a Racing player - late, no arms, shoulder landing on the chin and deliberately lined up. Should be a lengthy ban too.
                            Is Skelton a dirty player or just plain stupid? The no arms shoulder tackle, like Rhys Carre got banned for last week, has to be more severely punished. I've not seen this one but it causes concussion that can end a career.

                            It's simple, any tackle that results in a blow to the head is an automatic red but it's not being enforced. Slap a 10 game ban on it, not this nonsense of x weeks, and it will stop.

                            Comment


                              #89
                              This was a very dirty hit, way worse than Carre's last week with no room for debate about it (even from the rabidly pro-Saracens BT commentators) and with what looked like absolute premeditation.

                              Sadly Salarycens kicked, harried and pressured Racing in to submission in the second half, won 27-24 and look to have qualified for the quarter-finals unless Gloucester can cause a massive shock in Toulouse.
                              Last edited by Ray de Galles; 19-01-2020, 15:44.

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                                #90
                                It should be said that the game looked deadlocked at 24-24 until Saracens got the benefit of some decisions that ranged from very questionable to downright wrong - despite video evidence.

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                                  #91
                                  Fuck, LRZ has just hobbled off injured for Gloucester with the 6N two weeks away.

                                  Comment


                                    #92
                                    Horrendous challenge. Late and high.

                                    Please feel free to embed this properly.

                                    Edit: Thanks ursus arctos
                                    Last edited by Antepli Ejderha; 19-01-2020, 16:40.

                                    Comment


                                      #93
                                      This one doesn't seem to be geo-blocked

                                      [URL="https://twitter.com/rreesrugby/status/1218894634417623042?s=21"]https://twitter.com/rreesrugby/status/1218894634417623042[/URL]

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                                        #94
                                        I'm wondering why Saracens haven't been kicked out of the Champions Cup for their salary breach.

                                        Comment


                                          #95
                                          Is there a salary cap for the Champions Cup? I'd be surprised. I doubt that Saracens have breached any Champions Cup rules. It'll have been up to the English governing body to submit entrants based on a set criteria and once that's done, it's done.

                                          Comment


                                            #96
                                            Now Saracens have accepted relegation what's to stop them resting their key players in league games and keeping them fresh for the cup. Other clubs can't really afford to do so if they are challenging for play-off or qualification places and it seems like an unfair advantage.

                                            Comment


                                              #97
                                              This article (and his couple of follow up tweets) are very good ;

                                              [URL]https://twitter.com/jonathanliew/status/1219352827258118146?s=21[/URL]

                                              "From the Champions League to Test cricket to Team GB: where money flows success often follows. But as a country we don’t really like to talk about that. We don’t like to talk about the ways in which financial clout can tilt the playing field, stockpile talent, buy political influence and favourable media coverage, hire batteries of lawyers to deter legislation and squash competitors."

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                                                #98
                                                That's an excellent piece of writing.

                                                There are parallels, perhaps, with the trials of Team Sky, that other feelgood British success story whose massive budget, lack of transparency and casual attitude towards sporting ethics were elided by an unquestioning media and a wider lack of curiosity.
                                                This is also spot on from the piece.

                                                Comment


                                                  #99
                                                  Stephen "twat" Jones' highly stupid reasons why Saracens have been hard done by:

                                                  "...no one implicated in imposing the punishment...expressed concern about the ill effects of relegating the national team's core, or the effect on the Saracens academy, the most successful production line for English rugby talent."

                                                  "Relegation is now decided. All the energy, panic, bigger crowds and drama are now drained away. Most of the rest of this season will be as dull as ditchwater."

                                                  "Last week, we read about 10 different estimates of how far Saracens were over the salary cap. In the world of secrecy you can make up your own figure. The real problem for the club's rivals was that the savagery of the original punishment was not enough. It did not kill them off."

                                                  "Saracens infringed the salary cap which deserved, say, a 10-point penalty."

                                                  Comment


                                                    Oh and the headline:

                                                    "Goodbye to all that/This is the end of the greatest club team ever"

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