Rugby Union

[GCT_89]

Just curious to see if anyone on here follows the Rugby Union as well as League??

Any chat on upcoming Union* games can be had here...

(*yawn-ion as its often referred to on here)

NOTE: Please keep the Union bashing to a minimum...lol

[Hail Sezer]

Yeah I do. Its been my #1 passion my entire life, only to be overtaken by the nrl about 3 years ago.

Played it since I was 4 also

[Toads]

Should be a good game tonight. Qld Reds are taking on the Waratahs in Sydney.

[GCT_89]

Waratahs vs Reds
ANZ Stadium, Sydney. Saturday March 1, 7:40pm (6:40pm qld time)

http://resources2.news.com.au/images/2013/09/25/1226717/809906-rugby-waratahs.jpeg VS http://resources1.news.com.au/images/2013/09/25/1226717/809949-rugby-reds.jpeg

Head to Head:
Waratahs 7 Reds 13 Draw 1


Teams:

Waratahs
1. Benn Robinson
2. Tatafu Polota-Nau
3. Paddy Ryan
4. Jacques Potgieter
5. Kane Douglas
6. Stephen Hoiles
7.Michael Hooper
8. Wycliff Palu
9. Nick Phipps
10. Bernard Foley
11. Peter Betham
12. Kurtley Beale
13. Adam Ashley-Cooper
14. Alofa Alofa
15. Israel Folau
RESERVES
16. Tolu Latu
17. Jeremy Tilse
18. Sekope Kepu
19. Will Skelton
20. Patrick McCutcheon
21. Brendan McKibbin
22. Rob Horne
23. Matthew Carraro

Reds
1. James Slipper
2. Saia Faingaa
3. Greg Holmes
4. Rob Simmons
5. James Horwill
6. Ed Quirk
7. Liam Gill
8. Jake Schatz
9. Will Genia
10. Quade Cooper
11. Dom Shipperley
12. Anthony Faingaa
13. Ben Tapuai
14. Lachie Turner
15. Aidan Toua
RESERVES
16. James Hanson
18. Jono Owen
17. Ben Daley
19. Ed O'Donoghue
20. Beau Robinson
21. Nick Frisby
22. Chris Feauai-Sautia
23. Ben Lucas

[GCT_89]

Should be a good game tonight. Qld Reds are taking on the Waratahs in Sydney.

Yes, should be a good game indeed.. Sort the boys from the men for this years conference title....

[DIEHARD]

Oh I think the chief anti union agitant is me. So if I behave we should be ok.

[TITAN PETE]

Don't mind it as a fill in for the no1 game & obviously I'm a Tah's fan , haven't had much to cheer for lately but I did enjoy the flogging they gave the Reds tonight :D

[GCT_89]

Don't mind it as a fill in for the no1 game & obviously I'm a Tah's fan , haven't had much to cheer for lately but I did enjoy the flogging they gave the Reds tonight :D

Yea in a normal world I'd be a Tahs fan also... but as it stands i know a few of the Reds boys so was hoping for a win tonight...

got flogged...unlucky...izzy is a freak izznty....:helpme:

[DIEHARD]

I used to like players like Ben Tune and David Campese.

[GCT_89]

Whenever I'm watching any different sports, I often look at individual players and imagine how'd they'd go in opposing codes...

Watching Izzy tonight was like a real life version of my imagination... He is definitely not wasted in Rugby...
One player I was watching tonight was Kurtley Beale, imagine him at Fullback or 5/8 in League....

[CoastSportsFan]

What would Izzy have left to prove in RL anyway? He's basically done it all so you can't blame him for wanting new challenges in another code. I'm sure he'd like to play the 2015 WC for the Wallabies.

[Smakked]

I am a union fan also, both NRL and Union on par with my support.

Reds fan, disappointing game last weekend.

[GCT_89]

Good win on the weekend for the Reds up at Suncorp in a game that had 8 tries scored...

Brumbies and Western Force got up too...

[ozynorts]

Yep I watch both as well. One of the good things about that is of there is a crap game on in one code I can swap to the other and watch that instead.
Go Reds

[GCT_89]

Some great games last round...
Beale and Folau are killing it for the Tahs...
Beale would fit in well in the NRL, behavioural problems makes him a likely suitor for the Titans...lol

[DIEHARD]

Rugby Australia blows its Fox Sports broadcast deal
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/

Fox Sports is set to walk away from rugby union, ending a 25-year broadcasting partnership that began when the game turned professional.

Months of talks between Fox Sports and Rugby Australia came to a halt on Wednesday, and the struggling code will likely have to make a deal with Optus.

Sources revealed RA chief executive Raelene Castle and Foxtel boss Patrick Delany have not spoken face to face in weeks, although emails had been traded.

The stunning development puts major pressure on rugby, with the game needing an extraordinary new deal to stay afloat.

The existing television deal, signed in 2015 and running through to the end of this year, was worth a total $285 million, giving RA $57 million a year.

However, that deal was bolstered by investment from Britain’s Sky Sport, who added millions to show southern hemisphere rugby. Sky has now pulled back on their level of interest.

Fox Sports and Network Ten are the domestic broadcasters, with Fox showing all Super Rugby games and both screening Wallabies Test matches. With Fox out of the equation, the most likely outcome is for RA to sign a deal with Ten and Optus, who would show Super Rugby on subscription as they do the English Premier League football.

Fox Sports is owned by News Corp, publishers of The Australian. With News Corp’s backing in 1996, rugby went professional and Fox Sports broadcast the first season of Super Rugby, and the partnership with the game has continued unabated until now.

Signs of unrest emerged last year when RA failed to finalise their television deal for 2021-25, despite partner nations New Zealand and South Africa signing theirs.

In attempting to gain more money for rugby, Castle refused Fox’s initial offer, which is when Optus emerged as a candidate. Problems were clear when just before the season kicked off last week, Fox released highly respected rugby commentator Nick McArdle and former Wallaby Drew Mitchell from their roster, and cut their weekly rugby show.

The first round matches averaged just 33,000 viewers last weekend, down 19 per cent on round one last year and more worryingly, games with Australian teams were down 35 per cent.

In their attempt to pitch a multi-layered package, RA has blocked Fox Sports’ offer to broadcast the Shute Shield and Queensland Premier Rugby this year. The Sydney club competition, owned by Club Rugby TV, is broadcast by Channel Seven, who are paid by Sydney Rugby Union to show the match of the round each Saturday.

Fox Sports offered to pick up the $300,000 annual fee to show Shute Shield matches and Queensland club rugby games, with Seven — who have the rights until the end of 2024 — agreeing to the proposal.

But RA want club rugby as part of their entire package and blocked the move, presumably so if they could not make a deal with Fox Sports, they could sell it to Ten and Optus.

Club Rugby TV can either sell to Fox Sports or RA, at which point Castle can take RA’s broadcast package to the open market.

An RA spokesman said the package would go to the market within a fortnight.

“Rugby Australia’s preparations for the next five-year rights period have led to a key focus on creating alignment across the rugby competitions in Australia,” he said.

“Our strategy is to provide an integrated whole of rugby presentation to our fans and, importantly, we are confident that there is real interest from the market in this content. We are preparing to take the package to market early this month.”