Memo to PRO16: Dublin to Cape Town is 15 hours
If Coronation Street is our longest-running soap, then the PRO14 is doing its best to rival it. Its chequered history dates back nearly 20 years, starting with the four Irish provinces, the two Scottish franchises, and nine (!) Welsh teams. That rapidly became a league of 12 with the addition of the Scottish Borders franchise, and the Welsh participation being reduced to five, including the ill-fated Celtic Warriors.
Then in 2010, for reasons best known only to the organisers, they added the two Italian teams, creating an additional level of complexity in terms of travel, both for teams and supporters. That was when the PRO12 title was coined, in recognition of the fact that it was no longer purely a Celtic league. Then in 2017 that became the PRO14 when the South African scraps from the Super Rugby table were brought in.
Now we are reportedly going to have yet more nonsense, as it seems the two South African teams that joined might get the boot, to be replaced by the four South African franchises left out in the cold when Super Rugby is replaced by a TransTasman competition.
In last week’s paper Shane Williams welcomed the introduction of the
South African franchises, arguing it would be great to see the world champions’ players appearing on a regular basis in Wales, Scotland and Ireland, although he added an important caveat: every team would have to ensure that they had ‘access to their best players on a far more frequent level’.
That’s long been near the top of the list of the PRO14’s problems. The Irish provinces in particular prioritise Europe over the league, ‘resting’ their best players whenever Europe is on the horizon. Over here we moan when our club’s internationals are away with England, even though we know the clubs are being well compensated for allowing it.
Irish fans must be very tolerant indeed to accept that their province will field their second-string players on so many occasions. That’s OK against inferior opposition, but should one of the South African teams turn up with a full-strength side, then it might have to change, and that would have an impact on both the Champions Cup and Ireland.
The PRO16 would presumably have two eight-team conferences where each team play the other seven home and away – so far so good – plus a few random matches against teams from the other conference simply to make up the numbers and keep the broadcasters sweet.
They can call it a league, but it’s actually a contrived mockery of one, this time with an added complication – the flight time from Edinburgh or Dublin to Cape Town is 15 hours! In the post-Covid world is that really the way to go, and just imagine the cost involved in shipping 40+ people over that distance on a regular basis? They’d better have a damned good broadcasting deal available!
We now know the proposed Premiership schedule for completing this season. The logical thing to do would have been to ditch 2019-20, and start afresh in September, but I understand the financial imperatives at work. However, the reality is that player welfare has just been chucked out of the window.
In addition, squad sizes are generally smaller, and that’s what’s known as a perfect storm – fewer players, and an even tougher programme. Clubs need bigger squads, and there are loads of competitively priced players in the Championship who would love a crack at the big time.
The addition of half a dozen such players per club would probably cost less than some of the marquee players out there, and it would allow proper rest periods and squad rotation. An added bonus is that a lot of them would be English, and a number of stars would be unearthed.
The proposed schedule will wreak havoc on players’ bodies, and the likelihood is that the number of injuries will increase…and once this season is complete, then it’s very quickly back on the treadmill to start a compressed 2020-21!
The clubs, the increasingly detached PRL, and the RFU, need to get their heads together, and come up with a plan that delivers bigger squads, and some rules that protect players from themselves, and from head coaches desperate for results.