News: A Global Season?
pic courtesy Chris Hoddle
By Northampton Lad
June 11 2015
In the first of our summer articles, COYSDC contributor, Northampton_lad (Edward to his mates), gives his thoughts on how a Global Rugby Season might work...
A GLOBAL SEASON?
Time for rugby to look at its own integrity
Ever since the playoffs were introduced into the Premiership back in 2003, I have felt the league lacked integrity. The majority of seasons has seen the team finishing top of the league fail to win the playoffs, with the exceptions of 2006, 09,10 and 12, something that many fans believe is an injustice. Indeed, even when my beloved Saints won last year, it seemed that Saracens’ season had been robbed of recognition despite topping the league and reaching the European cup final.
Supporters of the playoffs argue that it is the only way for equality, that two matches at the end of the regular season to crown the champions is a fair way of deciding who were the best team throughout the whole year. I would argue there is a more decent way of deciding who were champions across a whole season - by choosing a champion that is top of the league without the interruption of internationals.
Indeed, one must also look at whether the Champions Cup is a fair competition with their best runners up concept to decide the seventh and eighth placed teams to enter the knock-out stage. The advantages of having an Italian side in your group are well known, with the chances of reaching the knockout stage boosted significantly. Whilst the focus of the article is based on northern hemisphere rugby, one only has to look at Super Rugby to see how supporters are dissatisfied with their competition - any team that avoids playing the New Zealand franchises has a greater chance of reaching the playoffs compared with those unlucky teams who end up travelling to New Zealand.
So how does rugby modify its existing competitions to integrity?
There are two points that I believe rugby should look at.
1. A global season to stop the interruption of internationals on the club game and
2. A look at football’s model.
Looking at football’s model, their competitions have complete integrity. The champions of the main leagues in Europe are decided by 38 matches across a whole season, often producing a thrilling title race with every match being critical to a team’s success in the season. For rugby, how many times after a loss has one thought “as long as we make the playoffs the loss is irrelevant”? It plays down the significance of each game.
Reaching the knock-out stages of the Champions League is based on how teams perform relative to their group, and has no influence of any matches taking place outside the group. The FA Cup also provides the excitement of a straight knock-out competition, something that rugby use to have which sold out Twickenham, but is now in the form of the no one cares LV Cup.
I would like to see rugby copy football’s model in terms of three competitions without international interruption - a Premiership with no playoffs, a European Cup turned into an FA Cup equivalent knockout involving all professional teams in Europe, and a Champions League style World club cup with top 3 clubs from each country qualifying on merit. Perhaps even a mini Europa League type cup could be set up for the next best three clubs from each league.
So how could a global season be implemented so that competitions are completed and players rested within a 52 week period?
Here is the global season I propose split into number of weeks required in a season:
Weeks 1 - 2: Preseason fitness training for all players
Weeks 3 - 8: 6 nations for international players with one weekend break in week 6, club players play pre-season matches.
Weeks 9 - 30: 22 rounds of league matches, winner decided by top of table
Weeks 31 - 36: 6 rounds European cup with FA cup style knock-out. Lower division clubs play rounds earlier in the season so that Top 14, Premiership, and Guinness Pro 12 enter in round 3.
Weeks 37 - 44: 8 rounds World club cup similar to Champions League, with top 3 from each tier 1 country and Japan qualifying.
Weeks 45 - 47: International tours
Weeks 48 - 52: Off-season
The above is a compact season that would need tweaking for Lions tours and World Cup years but would bring credibility to rugby. There should only be one window for international tours, rotating between each year as to which hemisphere hosts. The two test window system does not work as teams meet each other too much, shown by significantly below par capacities of Wales v South Africa, Fiji and Australia only attracting crowds of 58, 60, 55 thousand respectively.
The June test window also frequently involves reserve international players who would not make a World cup starting line-up and often fails to attract capacity crowds.
If rugby were able to implement a global calendar with suitable competitions, so many arguments that hinder the game (club v country, centralised contracts etc) would be solved. From our own perspective, who would not want to see clashes such as Northampton v Crusaders?
It is something I dream will one day come to fruition.
Northampton_lad
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If a truly global season is not on the cards then you need to keep the existing two international windows for touring sides, so that the Northern and Southern unions can each tour in their off-season.
The other thing I would take issue with is this...
Weeks 31 - 36: 6 rounds European cup with FA cup style knock-out. Lower division clubs play rounds earlier in the season so that Top 14, Premiership, and Guinness Pro 12 enter in round 3.
Can you imagine how difficult it would be for the travelling suppporters to organise accommodation and travel for overseas games if they had, at most, seven days notice of where the next game was going to be held?
the two week pre season in theory should be the same for each club and so some of the first games can be used. Also not every player will be involved in the International period and so they would have more time off.
One of the huge benefits would be an end to the "crunch" that top teams get when they might end the season with a series of must win games (semi-finals, finals, etc across several competitions)
I wonder if there would be commercial implications in having the AP and Euro comp together? Like for instance fans who might travel less because they can't spread the cost like they do now with several months in between the stages?
1. Saint Ted - I would say if the European Cup were properly structured like the FA cup, it is unlikely a non-proffessional team would get past the semi-professional sides, or the Championship sides. Indeed what I would recommend would be a round where the non World Club Cup sides entered into the competition (round 2), then the next round (round 3) would see the World Club Cup sides enter, similar to what happens in the League Cup in football where the Premiership sides enter in round 2, then the Champions League and Europa league sides enter in round 3.
2. fair_weather_fan - Perhaps 2 weeks is not long enough and maybe 3 weeks with one preseason game would be better. However I would argue that having fresh bodies for internationals means the likelihood of injuries such as torn muscles would be far less (I once tore my hamstring in the final game of the season just from not having enough recovery time). IMHO I feel international players should be missing preseason games rather than Premiership games.
3. Sarge - Rugby League implement a summer season very successfully. I would have to admit that later kick off times would be required, away from the 3pm traditional kick off time. Whilst this may not be popular, for me competition integrity is more important than kick off times. However I realise for a lot of people they would choose traditions over a format change.
4. Sarge and SaintEd - I wanted to write the number of weeks required for each competition, these do not have to be consecutive weeks. I would expect the rounds of the Euro and World Club cup to be spread throughout the season, not all put together in one block.
Personally, I would merge the country leagues and the European competition s. Have 3 'divisions' AP, Pro12 and Top14 (12), playing both inter and intra divisional games. Then the top teams in each division enter a QF and wild card knock out phase like the NFL. The NFL even try and equalise by 'handicapping' the intra games. It has shown time and again that having knock outs for both the leagues and euro concurrently makes too much of a demand on the top players. The French try to solve this problem by having such large squads but if every euro team did the same you would soon run out of players. Nevertheless even the mighty Toulon have their failures within the 2 competitions.
Incidentally, don't believe that, in general, the people of Wales have the money that us South of England people have to fill up the Millenium on a regular basis.
I'd agree with Sarge that for some countries expecting them to play at any time of day in their summers is unrealistic especially as the game grows in hotter countries with the Olympics.
The international rugby calender hasn't changed. Just that club demands have increased.
If all leagues only had 12 teams and 22 regular games a season with no play-offs that would knock 2 weeks off the Premiership current season. Then no Premiership games are needed on international weekends.
It would also be a fairly boring season. Currently there is plenty of variety and excitement. Internationals, Premiership, LV and European games intermingling. The proposed structure would be dull in comparison with competitions played in blocks.
Ultimately it looks like the leagues like the Premiership and Top 14 are on a collision course with the international game as the club game grow. There is no way I can see World Rugby agreeing to only 2 international windows.
Equally it's good for solutions to be put on the table and clearly is well articulated. So thanks for the article.
I think most people think that for player welfare the most top level games a player can play is not too many above 30, the higher the level the lower the number of games, so you have to accept that the international players will not be available for all domestic league games, eg a club does well in Euro & World 14games + 9 Internationals leaving 7 games in the league.
As much as some don't like the play offs PRL like the "big game" at the end of the season & the money earnt from it.
Clubs will not like a knockout comp as it could deprive them of home games,eg if you change LV & Europe to straight knock out & if drawn away & lose both 1st round games a club would lose 5 home games & only 11 home games losing almostb a third of what they have now. How does a club try to plan the finances around that?
You allow 3 weeks for International window with no allowence for traveling between hemispheres.
For a global season to work it would need a reduction in domestic games in the Nortern Hemisphere,hence why the Super15 dont play home & away.
And whilst the premier football league doesn't have play-offs, the other leagues do.
I fully accept the play-offs, but have always thought the table toppers should go straight into the final and play against the winners of second against third. The extra week of rest should give them a well earned advantage.
Not convinced by the idea of playing in the summer, we couldn't at Sarries with the athletics anyway.
If the southern hemisphere wanted to swap their season to suit ours, then fine!
First place team going straight to the final and getting a week off used to be the case - but it didn't seem to give them an advantage. I think that Wasps got two titles by beating Saints in the 2nd v 3rd playoff and then winning at Twickenham.
A lot of you say its too many games still and you are right if an international player plays for a successful club. However if you look at Man Utd's 08/09 season where they tried to win 6 trophies in a season, Sir Alex Ferguson had to play a reserve team in FA Cup semi-final (and did lose). But this is a good thing, it enables squad players and up-coming academy players to get game time. Perhaps there should be a maximum number of games a player is allowed to play in a season.
Farmboy you make some interesting points I had not considered:
1. The current system (Premiership, LV Cup and Heineken cup) guarantees a minimum of 17 games I believe (excluding preseason games which I have still included in the season, albeit during the 6 nations)? Whilst 11 home games is a drop of 6 home games, I think actually having competitions with full integrity is a better way to attract new supporters, sponsors and enable growth in the game. The current system clearly does not work as so many clubs fail to make a profit anyway.
2. I had not considered travel for changing hemispheres and agree that would require more time. Incidentally, I am not aware of how long players get off once the season is over but I think I may have exaggerated it here.
3. If you read supporters articles on the state of Super Rugby they are not happy about it. The competition has everything the unions want - a 16 week season (I think), domestically teams playing each other home and away and a certain number of games against teams from other countries. But it clearly lacks integrity and is why attendances have dropped and supporters are dissatisfied.
In my opinion, competition integrity is the key to making a successful sport grow and attract new sponsorship and supporters, people like fairness. A more extreme version of lack of integrity is athletics and cycling through doping. If people don't think it's fair playing field they are not going to watch it. And rugby (in my opinion), whilst growing slowly, could be doing so much better
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2015:06:16:17:54:22 by northampton_lad.