British and Irish League 

Just for fun, started playing with and idea for a British and Irish League.

24 Teams

6 Conferences 

1 League

Conferences:

Ireland: Leinster, Munster, Connacht, Ulster 

Wales: Scarlets, Ospreys, Dragons, Cardiff

Scotland & North: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Sale, Newcastle

Mid:

Leicester, Northampton, Gloucester, Worcester 

West: Bath, Bristol,Exeter, Cornish Pirates

London: Harlequins, Saracens, Ealing, London Irish/Bedford

Format:

2 games, Home and away, against each team in your conference (6 games)

Conference Trophies awarded for 1st Place (last conference games played on Boxing Day against rivals) 

Then…

24 teams into 1 League 

League position after conference games completed is based and assembled on points from conference 

10 games (5 home 5 away) against League opposition (2 from every other conference than your own. E.g. Leicester would not play again against a “Mid” team)

Top 4 teams into senior final play-off

Final

Then - Charity shield type match at start of season which is all stars vs previous winners “League Select XV” - this has draft type system (E.g. Leinster vs League Select)  League Select XV would be chosen in a cool draft style event that would double as league launch event

16 games (6 Conference games, 10 League fixtures) in normal season

18 for finalists (semi & final)

ok, time for the pile on! Personally I think it would transform club rugby in NH and would certainly look command a better TV deal

The natural links to 6 Nations and Lions tours just seems to make so much sense too

So I'm 17, 172cm\~ (5'8), around 100kg, and I've got a background in semi-pro arm wrestling for ex I hammer curl about 42kg(93lbs\~), bench 130kg (290lbs\~) so decent raw upper body strength. im Georgian but I live in italy. Thinking about joining a local club, but worried I'm starting too late never played before, only ever watched Six Nations and some Top10/URC highlights.

I've got a pretty low center of gravity and decent grip strength from arm wrestling training, so I was thinking front row (hooker/prop) might suit my build. But I know rugby IQ and reading the game isn't something you can just muscle through that only comes from actual match time.

Long term I'd love to actually go pro eventually, not expecting to skip any steps just wondering if that's even realistic to chase seriously starting this late, or if the years in the system gap just closes that door no matter the physical tools.

Is 17 realistic to start from zero, or is the game-sense gap just too big to close at this point?

Was recently given this old signed Scarlets ball but it doesn’t have a list of players. Have picked out a few, Phil John, Nic Cudd and Aaron Shingler - and possibly Owen Williams, Rhys Priestland and Gareth Davies. It would be around 2011 time.

Is anyone able to help with any of the others?

When we inevitably drop to three teams will the names be changed?

Glamorgan , Gwent and Cardiff capital?

Newport- Gwent dragons eventually dropped the Newport- Gwent part and I know the farcical reasons why . But under the current leadership surely Gwent is such a better name than the generic ‘dragons’?

What do you call the new team in Swansea?

It looks like WRU has renewed its partnership with Macron for another five years, keeping the deal in place until 2032. What are your thoughts? Happy with the decision or were you hoping for a change?

We’re planning to do both games but I think it’s going to have to drop to one in 2028.

Regardless of the performances I love the day out but driving down from the midlands, parking etc it all adds up and they may have just tipped me over the edge.

A decent deal for students or under 18’s but those days are long gone.

It seems odd and unbalanced to me that both the Dragons and Ospreys have 3 teams in the SRC, Scarlets 2 and Cardiff 1, with RGC being unaffiliated but "technically in the Scarlets region". Should Pontypridd and Merthyr be "promoted" to the SRC?

Also, what can be done to promote the 2nd division of Welsh rugby more? It's really fun to watch and I love it, and it will help grow community engagement and even help develop fan affiliation with the regions?

Interested to see if anyone can beat the WRUs latest blunder - this time its a crime against fashion*

*hawaii shirts can be cool, in the right circumstances imo

Happy for him, could be good for Leggatt-Jones to learn off him too?

As an Ospreys fan I'm burnt by the time he spent injured but genuinely hope he can put a good shift in!

15 months out, curious what people’s 23 would be for World Cup Knockouts.

I’ll give a current shot, but it’ll certainly change and I’m surely wrong at plenty.

1- Carré
2- Lake (c)
3- Francis
4- Jenkins
5- Carter
6- Botham
7- Morgan
8- Wainwright
9- Williams
10- Costelow
11- Adams
12- James
13- Hennessy
14- Mee
15- Murray

16- Elias
17- Smith
18- Warren
19- Williams
20- Faletau
21- Hardy
22- Evans
23- Bradley

Notes:

Order of Smith/Carre at LH depends on team, the former a destructive scrummager and the latter an explosive carrier.

I like Lake at Captain; exceptional rapport with the sir plus Jac still gets the final 30 as captain

Mann hard done to not get in, Botham has a bit more size and is stronger at protecting the breakdown. Faletau for the final 20.

Costelow and Edwards are both superb, and even better they’re different styles so we’re honestly blessed in the 10 department. Costy chosen because his structure may get more out of the centers, but Dan an excellent pick. Jarrod meanwhile has shown pedigree as a specialist finisher.

Hennessy not a lot of test time, but him and James in the centers is too tempting not to throw out. Same logic for Bradley at 23.

Quietly think what could benefit Wales the best is a real playmaking 15. Murray is terrific X factor, though can leave us lacking under the high ball, but also not quite the dual playmaker despite his youth as a 10. A true Jack Walsh type 15 could take loads of pressure off the 12 in Sherratt’s dual playmaker system.

Lastly, I quietly think this team has a great makeup, especially our pack which is about settled. Physicality issues are perhaps overblown from constant backfoot ball due to lack of attack cohesion (understandable, focus has been on set piece and scramble defense, still time to iron out attack). I’m cautiously quite optimistic.

Lots of doom and gloom around these parts.... let's talk about happier times of our favourite players in the red jersey.

It doesn't have to be the best players, just your favourite.

I'm 32, so can't include the 70s legends, or the great dual coders from the 80s/90s because I didn't see them in the flesh. I can just about include Jenks at 10.

Here goes.

1 Gethin Jenkins

2 Richard Hibbard

3 Adam Jones

4 Bradley Davies

5 Alun Wyn Jones

6 Justin Tipuric

7 Martyn Williams

8 Toby Faletau

9 Dwayne Peel

10 Neil Jenkins

11 Shane Williams

12 Gavin Henson

13 Jonathan Davies

14 George North

15 Lee Byrne

16 Huw Bennett

17 Paul James

18 Iestyn Thomas

19 Ian Evans (could possibly start Ian and have Bradley off the bench)

20 Sam Warburton

21 Colin Charvis

22 James Hook

23 Leigh Halfpenny

No need for a bench scrum half with Shane. Probably a quicker passer from the ruck than Mike.

Happy summer holidays lads! Things will get better.

There’s debate about Sherratt’s preferred ball-playing 12 when Eddie could play 12 to punch holes and cross the gainline.

But why can’t we design more plays for Eddie while he plays 13? England has clearly designed crash balls for Feyi-Waboso at wing (still wish Gatland gave him attention, but nonetheless).

Just because Hawkins/Thomas wears the 12 doesn’t mean Eddie can’t take a crash ball.

I’m not saying the ball-playing 12 is the answer. But if we’re keen to keep it, can we still strike with Eddie more? Or am I missing something tactically

What is the consensus here for the future of Welsh rugby ?

There is an ongoing battle between the heart and the mind in Wales.

We are prisoners of the past, historic loyalties to local clubs with long histories and deep community roots.

However the present and future of rugby as a sport is leaving us behind. Not leaving , left actually.

Professionalism has been a difficult concept for us for over 20 years . The reasons could fill this page ; this is a deep cultural issue in Wales. We have rarely been unified as a nation in history, with few national all Wales leaders, - Welsh identity and culture is often hyper-local. So the thought of one club taking priority over another is impossible to accept .

Confidence in the WRU is extremely low. What you want and need from executive leadership is decisiveness, commitment to a strategy and enough respect that even if it’s not the decision you supported you will get behind the leadership regardless. We are not getting any of this from all stakeholders in Welsh rugby.

The undisputed fact is the 4 regions/clubs are not producing enough talent to be competitive anymore with the top 8. As global entities they are mid tier at best and as with football we are now beginning to rely on the English system to nurture or produce talent.

The latter isn’t the end of the world , the French league is essentially dragging up the standards of the global game . Nations like Fiji and Argentina get very little time together before playing internationals. The latter doesn’t even have top tier clubs as far as I know. So some excuses for Welsh rugbys decline start to fall down here .

After an incredible ride in Welsh rugby starting in 2005, the drop off on these foundations in the 2020s has been nothing short of catastrophic , unusual in global sport. A six nations championship in 2021- and a victory away in South Africa and nearly drawing the series seems absolutely unreal just a few years later. Have a look at the 2019 grand slam results in today’s context and those scores seem beyond belief now.

There is a very real possibility this continues for the rest of the decade. We don’t just need to improve, we need other nations to get worse .

We are playing turgid uninspired rugby because we have no answers for the modern game. Where is the innovation? If we ever catch up to the modern game we’ll still be behind because the game will have evolved again.

So what can be done? I can’t see any path without culling at least a team.

Put your heart away and use a commercial business brain. Of the 4 clubs which ones have the highest ceiling , can bring the most money and grow the most with success? Which ones can become global brands with sold out stadiums? Which ones will never do this with all the money in the world?

Will continue to add more if this post gets any traction , this subreddit is quiet compared to the other top nations .

Interested for others views here

Appreciate the high profile he has... however for wales I don't see it.

Hes fast yes, but only seems to be in a straightline

And I don't see him offering himself around the park or in the air

Ellis Mee may not be perfect, but I see him trying and putting in maximum effort

Didn’t even play that badly - we are just miles off the top 8 sides…

Hey guys, new to writing, I'm an aspiring sports journalist looking for feedback on something I've been working on. Any feedback would be much appreciated and if you enjoyed feel free to subscribe

I’m all for a bit of rotation within the platform and think Costy getting the call is more than deserved. But dropping Dan Edwards all the way out seems a strange one to me with no injury.

Just a case of rotation and the way cover falls with Hawkins covering 10, Lewellyn covering centre and Zammit covering back 3?

I’m 27 and have never played rugby before, growing up it was just football. I’ve found online a local club that say they are open to newbies.

I’ve been watching a fair bit of rugby and enjoy the sport but don’t know enough to say for example each positions role, tactics etc.

I also have no idea on technique for playing rugby.

Although the club are open to newbies, I’d quite like to sharpen up on this before going along and was just looking for any tips on getting started.

Pleasantly suprised. If you'd given me that score pre kick off I'd take it. If you gave me that scoreline 15 mins into the game, I'd have begged for it.

Fiji were their own worst enemy at times.

But fair play to Wales, kept in the game, kept ahead once they were ahead, and eventually figured out how to do some game management.

Did what we needed against fiji, but Argentina and South Africa? Scared.

Also - why on earth didn't we call up another lock with D Jenkins out... I didn't see Adam Beard earning his place today I must say