European Club Rugby
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I watched the Stormers-La Rochelle game from Cape Town over the weekend. The main (controversial) point in this match was the influence of the home TV producer who showed head-on-head contact on the big screen which caught the attention of the ref. While the correct decision was eventually made you can clearly hear Christophe Ridley say everything had been checked off by the TMO prior to this. This resulted in a La Rochelle try being disallowed, and eventually the Stormers scored late with a clutch sideline conversion from Libbok to win the game with time up.
WR needs to sort out the correct procedure ASAP as it's not the first time this has happened in SA. I've no idea why the TMO wasn't shown the video footage first.
I can only imagine what ROG had to say post-game.
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Was at the Quins game yesterday, I have never been in a stadium live and seen a team play as well as Toulouse did. They were magnificent. Huge power, work off the ball, pace, offloads, just absolutely class. Their fans were a joy too. Quins were good in patches but just couldn’t keep up with the intensity. Cadan Murley looked injured in the warm up, can’t believe he got through as long as he did and was on crutches at the end - weird decision by the Quins coaching staff to play him. Oh and Ramos is a dick
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Was at the Quins game yesterday, I have never been in a stadium live and seen a team play as well as Toulouse did. They were magnificent. Huge power, work off the ball, pace, offloads, just absolutely class. Their fans were a joy too. Quins were good in patches but just couldn’t keep up with the intensity. Cadan Murley looked injured in the warm up, can’t believe he got through as long as he did and was on crutches at the end - weird decision by the Quins coaching staff to play him. Oh and Ramos is a dick
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@Dodge said in NH club rugby:
Oh and Ramos is a dick
Is that because he attacked Smith? Because if so, I'm surprised it took this long and I like him even more now.
@Bones said in NH club rugby:
@Dodge said in NH club rugby:
Oh and Ramos is a dick
Is that because he attacked Smith? Because if so, I'm surprised it took this long and I like him even more now.
If I was Smith I’d head to Super Rugby
He’d excel
Once games turn Test like, he becomes anonymous
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@Bones said in NH club rugby:
@Dodge said in NH club rugby:
Oh and Ramos is a dick
Is that because he attacked Smith? Because if so, I'm surprised it took this long and I like him even more now.
If I was Smith I’d head to Super Rugby
He’d excel
Once games turn Test like, he becomes anonymous
@MiketheSnow he'd have to play for the blues.
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@Bones said in NH club rugby:
@Dodge said in NH club rugby:
Oh and Ramos is a dick
Is that because he attacked Smith? Because if so, I'm surprised it took this long and I like him even more now.
If I was Smith I’d head to Super Rugby
He’d excel
Once games turn Test like, he becomes anonymous
@MiketheSnow said in NH club rugby:
@Bones said in NH club rugby:
@Dodge said in NH club rugby:
Oh and Ramos is a dick
Is that because he attacked Smith? Because if so, I'm surprised it took this long and I like him even more now.
If I was Smith I’d head to Super Rugby
He’d excel
Once
games turn Test likehe gets coached by the England set up and stifled by their game plan and insistence on playing Farrell as well, he becomes anonymous.Sorted.
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@MiketheSnow said in NH club rugby:
@Bones said in NH club rugby:
@Dodge said in NH club rugby:
Oh and Ramos is a dick
Is that because he attacked Smith? Because if so, I'm surprised it took this long and I like him even more now.
If I was Smith I’d head to Super Rugby
He’d excel
Once
games turn Test likehe gets coached by the England set up and stifled by their game plan and insistence on playing Farrell as well, he becomes anonymous.Sorted.
@Catogrande said in NH club rugby:
@MiketheSnow said in NH club rugby:
@Bones said in NH club rugby:
@Dodge said in NH club rugby:
Oh and Ramos is a dick
Is that because he attacked Smith? Because if so, I'm surprised it took this long and I like him even more now.
If I was Smith I’d head to Super Rugby
He’d excel
Once
games turn Test likehe gets coached by the England set up and stifled by their game plan and insistence on playing Farrell as well, he becomes anonymous.Sorted.
He went AWOL last weekend playing for the Mighty Quins
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@Catogrande said in NH club rugby:
@MiketheSnow said in NH club rugby:
@Bones said in NH club rugby:
@Dodge said in NH club rugby:
Oh and Ramos is a dick
Is that because he attacked Smith? Because if so, I'm surprised it took this long and I like him even more now.
If I was Smith I’d head to Super Rugby
He’d excel
Once
games turn Test likehe gets coached by the England set up and stifled by their game plan and insistence on playing Farrell as well, he becomes anonymous.Sorted.
He went AWOL last weekend playing for the Mighty Quins
I’m not saying he is the messiah, I have concerns that he still tries to “make things happen” when under the cosh and there’s nothing on. But and for me this is a bigger but than Kim Kardashian’s, is that he gets selected based on his game and then is not allowed to play that game.
See also: S Barnes, A Old, D Cipriani, C Hodgson.
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The URC derbies starts this weekend. Stormers vs Bulls will be massive in Cape Town. Yesterday already 30,000 tickets sold. Bulls the favorites. Jake White did some great shopping with the likes of Willie le Roux, Wilco Louw & Akker vd Merwe.
R8 – Friday, December 22
Glasgow Warriors v Edinburgh | 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA / 21.35 SA | Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
Ulster v Connacht | 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA / 21.35 SA | BBC NI, TG4, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
Saturday, December 23
Zebre Parma v Benetton | 13.00 IRE & UK / 14.00 ITA / 15.00 SA | ITA, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
DHL Stormers v Vodacom Bulls | 17.00 IRE & UK / 18.00 ITA / 19.00 SA | SuperSport, Viaplay, Premier Sports
Tuesday, December 26
Cardiff Rugby v Dragons RFC | 15.00 IRE & UK / 16.00 ITA / 17.00 SA | BBC Wales, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
Scarlets v Ospreys | 17.15 IRE & UK / 18.15 ITA / 19.15 SA | S4C, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
Munster v Leinster | 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA / 21.35 SA | RTÉ, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
Saturday, January 6
Cell C Sharks v Emirates Lions | 15.00 IRE & UK / 16.00 ITA / 17.00 SA | SuperSport, Viaplay, Premier Sports
R9 – Saturday, December 30
Benetton v Zebre Parma | 13.30 IRE & UK / 14.30 ITA / 15.30 SA | ITA, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
Edinburgh v Glasgow Warriors | 15.00 IRE & UK / 16.00 ITA / 17.00 SA | Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
DHL Stormers v Cell C Sharks | 17.00 IRE & UK / 18.00 ITA / 19.00 SA | SuperSport, Viaplay, Premier Sports
Monday, January 1
Ospreys v Cardiff Rugby | 15.00 IRE & UK / 16.00 ITA / 17.00 SA | BBC Wales, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
Dragons RFC v Scarlets | 17.15 IRE & UK / 18.15 ITA / 19.15 SA | S4C, Viaplay SuperSport, Premier Sports
Leinster v Ulster | 17.15 IRE & UK / 18.15 ITA / 19.15 SA | RTÉ, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
R8 – Friday, December 22
Glasgow Warriors v Edinburgh | 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA / 21.35 SA | Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
Ulster v Connacht | 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA / 21.35 SA | BBC NI, TG4, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
Saturday, December 23
Zebre Parma v Benetton | 13.00 IRE & UK / 14.00 ITA / 15.00 SA | ITA, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
DHL Stormers v Vodacom Bulls | 17.00 IRE & UK / 18.00 ITA / 19.00 SA | SuperSport, Viaplay, Premier Sports
Tuesday, December 26
Cardiff Rugby v Dragons RFC | 15.00 IRE & UK / 16.00 ITA / 17.00 SA | BBC Wales, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
Scarlets v Ospreys | 17.15 IRE & UK / 18.15 ITA / 19.15 SA | S4C, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
Munster v Leinster | 19.35 IRE & UK / 20.35 ITA / 21.35 SA | RTÉ, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
Saturday, January 6
Cell C Sharks v Emirates Lions | 15.00 IRE & UK / 16.00 ITA / 17.00 SA | SuperSport, Viaplay, Premier Sports
R9 – Saturday, December 30
Benetton v Zebre Parma | 13.30 IRE & UK / 14.30 ITA / 15.30 SA | ITA, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
Edinburgh v Glasgow Warriors | 15.00 IRE & UK / 16.00 ITA / 17.00 SA | Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
DHL Stormers v Cell C Sharks | 17.00 IRE & UK / 18.00 ITA / 19.00 SA | SuperSport, Viaplay, Premier Sports
Monday, January 1
Ospreys v Cardiff Rugby | 15.00 IRE & UK / 16.00 ITA / 17.00 SA | BBC Wales, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
Dragons RFC v Scarlets | 17.15 IRE & UK / 18.15 ITA / 19.15 SA | S4C, Viaplay SuperSport, Premier Sports
Leinster v Ulster | 17.15 IRE & UK / 18.15 ITA / 19.15 SA | RTÉ, Viaplay, SuperSport, Premier Sports
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I’m not saying he is the messiah, I have concerns that he still tries to “make things happen” when under the cosh and there’s nothing on. But and for me this is a bigger but than Kim Kardashian’s, is that he gets selected based on his game and then is not allowed to play that game.
See also: S Barnes, A Old, D Cipriani, C Hodgson.
@Catogrande said in NH club rugby:
I’m not saying he is the messiah, I have concerns that he still tries to “make things happen” when under the cosh and there’s nothing on. But and for me this is a bigger but than Kim Kardashian’s, is that he gets selected based on his game and then is not allowed to play that game.
See also: S Barnes, A Old, D Cipriani, C Hodgson.
Very true
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Marcus Smith looks like he'd enjoy playing in a good SR team.
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The URC has been very close this year.
At the halfway mark.
https://x.com/topofthemoonGW/status/1742195557035106477?s=20 -
The URC has been very close this year.
At the halfway mark.
https://x.com/topofthemoonGW/status/1742195557035106477?s=20@OomPB said in NH club rugby:
The URC has been very close this year.
At the halfway mark.
https://x.com/topofthemoonGW/status/1742195557035106477?s=20I’ve been enjoying it
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The URC has been very close this year.
At the halfway mark.
https://x.com/topofthemoonGW/status/1742195557035106477?s=20@OomPB It's the same in the Premiership. 3 points separate the top six teams. Anyone's to win (or lose) at this stage.
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Crowd attendances should be compared to 4 years ago, not one year ago.
Lead up to world cup year very different to post world cup. Have a lot of premiership fans in my circle and none of them have been to any recent games. I would argue being down only 1200 on average compared to last year is pretty good.
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Crowd attendances should be compared to 4 years ago, not one year ago.
Lead up to world cup year very different to post world cup. Have a lot of premiership fans in my circle and none of them have been to any recent games. I would argue being down only 1200 on average compared to last year is pretty good.
@MajorRage SA crowds has been good specially Cape Town averaging close to 40,000 over the festive season. Summer rugby in it second year and it look good. The URC has improved a lot since last year. All the teams raised the bar, lots of talk about the Saffer and Irish teams but the Scots, Welsh and Italy teams are much more stronger. I love the URC. It is something special.
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@MajorRage SA crowds has been good specially Cape Town averaging close to 40,000 over the festive season. Summer rugby in it second year and it look good. The URC has improved a lot since last year. All the teams raised the bar, lots of talk about the Saffer and Irish teams but the Scots, Welsh and Italy teams are much more stronger. I love the URC. It is something special.
@OomPB said in NH club rugby:
@MajorRage SA crowds has been good specially Cape Town averaging close to 40,000 over the festive season. Summer rugby in it second year and it look good. The URC has improved a lot since last year. All the teams raised the bar, lots of talk about the Saffer and Irish teams but the Scots, Welsh and Italy teams are much more stronger. I love the URC. It is something special.
If that is the case and from the few games I have watched they (the Welsh teams) must have been diabolically bad last season, especially the Scarlets.
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Attendance record broken as URC sets all-time high for a single round
Another new record has been set by the Vodacom United Rugby Championship on Saturday with the league setting an all-time high for single-round attendance.
The 19 703 fans who attended the final game of Round 8 in Durban, where the Hollywoodbets Sharks took on the Emirates Lions, pushed the total for the round to over 135 747 which surpasses the figure of 123 207 set in R11 last season.
This comes off the back of a record 1.6 million total attendance for the 2022/23 Vodacom URC season which also saw the highest-ever crowd for the league’s Grand Final (56 334) while an all-time high of 37.4 million watched across the campaign.
The first seven games of R8 were played across the Christmas weekend with Vodacom URC champions Munster selling out 25 600 against Leinster, last season’s beaten finalists, DHL Stormers, attracted 39 925 for their derby with the Vodacom Bulls, Glasgow Warriors sold out their first leg 1872 Cup clash with Edinburgh while Zebre Parma recorded their largest crowd for a league game in Parma since 2014.
In addition, Cardiff Rugby put up the sold-out signs for the game against Dragons, a close to capacity crowd took in Connacht’s visit to Ulster and Scarlets had a season-high number of fans in to add their voices to the West Wales derby against Ospreys.
Commenting on this latest milestone, Martin Anayi, United Rugby Championship CEO, said: “This is a major positive not only for the Vodacom URC but for the sport of rugby. Our clubs are innovating and collaborating to grow their crowds and attract new fans to rugby and this fantastic achievement speaks to their work throughout the season.
“Fans are turning up more often across Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa and Wales because of the engaging match-day experiences at our clubs and the competitiveness and jeopardy of the Vodacom URC. I would also give great credit to our broadcast partners who understand how vital kick-off times are in allowing our teams to maximise their attendances and create memorable occasions.
“We’ve seen great drama across the festive season and it’s very encouraging to see the interest in Vodacom URC continue to grow in what is shaping up to be our best season yet.”
All eyes will now be on the final fixture of R9 which will be played on 27 January where the Vodacom Bulls host the Emirates Lions at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.
The standing total for that round is 119 414 and a crowd beyond 16 334 would break this latest attendance record yet again.
R8 – Attendance by fixture
Ulster v Connacht: 15 365
Glasgow Warriors v Edinburgh: 7 172
Zebre Parma v Benetton: 4 701
DHL Stormers v Vodacom Bulls: 39 925
Cardiff Rugby v Dragons RFC: 12 000
Scarlets v Ospreys: 11 282
Munster v Leinster: 25 600
Hollywoodbets Sharks v Emirates Lions: 19 703
Total attendance: 135 747
Previous best single round attendances:
123,307 – Round 11 of the 2022/23 season
121,117 – Round 21 of the 2017/18 season
117,448 – Round 10 of the 2022/23 season
