Winters coming;all inclusive rugby thread.

😆

Or Gethin Jenkins

Right enough Tom, you could name a number of mercenaries!!

He was the only one that I could think of? Any others in the Heine? Apologies too….I’ve spoiled a rather good joke!

Lee Byrne? Don’t worry about it boss. At least my beloved Ulster are through and have avoided a trip to France. Sarries can definitely be taken then we would have a semi in Dublin

Bit harsh to label welsh players mercenaries when you consider the tax breaks the irish players get. How Ulster cope with that remains a mystery to me though.

Not really AA. Mercenary is about right. Ulster are very good at raising revenue from gates, sponsorship and corporate events. Remember they are the only fully professional team in Norn Iron. Also a certain golfer who landed a decent gig with Nike last week gives them a bob or two 😉

Teams in the Rabo cannot compete with French or English wages,with the damage pro players inflict on themselves during an increasingly short career, they deserve every penny (or cent) Apart from Callum Clark, he deserves to have his bumhole heal over.
A-A; change of tact but do you teach in the private sector?

Absolutely agree DM, if I was a pro player with a family to look after you would have to go with the Euros!!
Racing are rumoured to be chasing Sexton very hard, Irish papers mentioned 800k Euro per year

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2013/0115/1224328850601.html

800k a year! But we all know he is only the second best 10 in the UK (behind A-A’s latest err..Great Mahogany Hope)Have the Irish not got a similar policy on foreign players to England on its way? Also Racing? Seems to be better clubs to go to,esp as he will start for the lions (Again,behind whoever is playing there for Wales.) Having watched C-A I also wish Hines would un-retire.

No Duckman the state sector.
Part of the reason few irish players are in France
http://limerickrugby.ie/news-427/Frank-Quinn-writes-on-Sportsperson-Tax-Relief—

behind A-A’s latest err..Great Mahogany Hope)Have the Irish 

Patchel is ginger!!!

Frankers – Member

Ok they missed a few kicks but also Tigers played well, Tolouse also made many mistakes which helped us

I didn’t think either side looked particularly good. I’d also echo that they were very lucky with kicks.

Tom B – Member

St Jonny was awful yesterday

He was indeed. Nothing to be worried about on that form and it makes you wonder why Giteau wasn’t pulled up to 10.

And why aren’t there any Welsh teams in the QFs?

–Carter to Toulon next season was being mentioned yesterday…..
–Also a certain golfer who landed a decent gig with Nike last week gives them a bob or two
–Racing are rumoured to be chasing Sexton very hard, Irish papers mentioned 800k Euro per year
I wonder why? 🙄

It’s only a few years since the Dragons couldn’t even afford a new kit for the season and had to rely on the previous year’s used kit.

BlindMelon, what will Ulster do when Ruan Pienaar is injured? Because, let’s face it, he’s the only player in the team who knows how to play winning rugby.

So what is the collective opinion on Wayne Barnes’ red card on the Racing 6?

I had to watch it 3 times before I spotted the knee going in and it didn’t seem to connect with anyone if it was even intentional.

Deserved card or a hasty reaction by Barnes which handed a QF spot to Munster, knocking Leinster out in the process?

My opinion was the latter.

BlindMelon, what will Ulster do when Ruan Pienaar is injured? Because, let’s face it, he’s the only player in the team who knows how to play winning rugby.

They will play Paul Marshall as they did during the AI’s and probably continue to win like they did in the autumn. I disagree that he is the only one who knows how to play winning rugby. He is a wonderful talent but we now have strength in depth and can win ugly up front or with a bit of style in the backs. Just look at the injuries we have at the moment: Muller, Touhy, Ferris, Bowe, Marshall etc and we are still winning.

SUFTUM

I should have phrased my question rather differently, BlindMelon, but I assume that you see the irony in saying this?:

BlindMelon – Member
Right enough Tom, you could name a number of mercenaries!!

when your main playmaker and star player is one of the same.

Although you might not be using it as an insult, it certainly sounds it.

Anyway, I’m in the unfortunate position of agreeing with Jon Humphreys.

“Our [Welsh] expectations are totally unrealistic. We are the least funded and yet we expect the most,” he said.

“Someone justify to me why we should be disappointed.

We have way less money than everybody else in the competition, that’s including the Italians… and we are upset about it?”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/21117021

Agreeing with Humphreys is a sign that I’ve lost any little credibility I ever had. Please shoot me someone!

I’m wondering why the welsh players maximising earnings are mercenaries whilst the irish players who do the same are not despite that just meaning staying where they are. Also what about Bowe?

Also what about Tommy “Subway Ad-whore” Bowe?

Indeed. He’s gone so far downhill since leaving Ospreylia…!

anagallis_arvensis – Member
I’m wondering why the welsh players maximising earnings are mercenaries whilst the irish players who do the same are not despite that just meaning staying where they are. Also what about Bowe?

Exactly what I got stroppy about.

Jeez, agreeing with Humph and AA in one day!! 😳 🙂

Anyway, if I was a rugby player and someone offered me a contract to play next to the Med I doubt I’d be thinking about it for too long even if the pay was exactly the same as I had here in Swansea.

I should have phrased my question rather differently, BlindMelon, but I assume that you see the irony in saying this?:

BlindMelon – Member
Right enough Tom, you could name a number of mercenaries!!

when your main playmaker and star player is one of the same.

Although you might not be using it as an insult, it certainly sounds it.

Jon you are absolutely right about Ruan, Muller John Afoa etc. My original joke was not meant to be an insult, apologies. What I was trying to say, badly, was that most of the Irish players seem happy to remain in Ireland rather than take a trip to France. Even with the players based in ROI and the tax rebate they get after 10 years they could still earn a lot more in another league. I’m not sure how this would work for the NI based players, I can’t sen HMRC having a similar set up. I was under the impression that an Irish provincial player with a national contract earned around 250k a year but perhaps it is a lot more than that.

So how can WRU encourage more Welsh players to stay in Wales?

Also what about Tommy “Subway Ad-whore” Bowe?
Indeed. He’s gone so far downhill since leaving Ospreylia…!

Give the lad a break, he’s not playing at the minute and needs to pay the winter fuel bill in this cold snap! 😀

Ooh Flashy is back!!

I agree John, I’d take a massive pay cut to play in Southern Frenchlandshire. As has been mentioned, early 30’s is pretty old for a rugby player these days. It’s not like they’re all coming out of it as millionaires (The top 1% may well do?). Take someone like Jamie Noon, he’s probably doubling his income in a warmer climate in the second half of his career. He’s still not going to be featuring in Forbes anytime soon though is he!

Give the lad a break, he’s not playing at the minute and needs to pay the winter fuel bill in this cold snap!

🙂

His ad really should just say, “POTATO! SANDWICH! POTATO!” instead, though! (One for DD if he’s reading! 😉 )

So how can WRU encourage more Welsh players to stay in Wales?

Move Wales to the Mediterranean!

CFH he has avoided rugby threads since Ulster won at Thomond last year!

Move Wales to the Mediterranean!

Coed y Brenin? With Pastis and a nice salade Niçoise at the caff? BRING IT ON!

Swansea is compared in some places to the Bay of Naples. (Mainly in the Italian restaurant in Mumbles…)

Ooooh and pastis…… I have an unopened bottle in the house. Seems a travesty not to have opened it but I haven’t drunk alcohol for a while now.

If we can attract people to Belfast then surely Cardiff and Swansea shouldn’t be too hard!

Interesting article about revenue from ERC

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2013/0119/1224329046459.html

Interesting reading, BM.

Quarter finals…… last season €420,000 would have been given to the Cardiff Blues for showing up (which is about all they did do)

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I’m pretty sure the reason the irish players have mostly stayed in ireland is that the pay isnt much diffetent. The pay in wales is a fraction. Bod for example had a number of bidding wars as Sexton is doing now. England players stay as they will mis out on the big sums they get for playing for england.

AA I was always under the impression that they got around 250k but I could be wrong.

Bod could have named his price back in the day I’m sure

You have to factor in the tax breaks too. I’m sure Ulster have to pay more but have much bigger budgets than the welsh teams for all manner of reasons.

Absolutely AA. Why don’t the Welsh regions have money from 6N and WC though

I don’t know how much truth is in it but the WRU have been accused recently of not passing money on to the regions. Hence the £3.5million salary cap, I’d assume.

(Must look into this more when I’m not in work..)

It’s not like they’re all coming out of it as millionaires

I know he straddled the amateur/pro days but I think it’s vaguely sad to see a player like Colin Charvis needing to set up a flooring business. (I don’t know why, I’ve got nothing against flooring businesses! I think I assumed that he had the chance to make more money than he actually did, if that makes sense.)

Too busy paying off the stadium and no one goes to see the regions play as they dont like them.

Flooring? It’s all heated wing mirror luxury for the flooring set, donchaknow.

no one goes to see the regions play as they dont like them.

That’s an interesting one isn’t it. (But true!)

The Ospreys still don’t feel like my club despite having season tickets for the majority of their existence, bumping into players and coaches regularly, having the players come into my kids’ school, etc.

They just aren’t the team I grew up watching.

The Scarlets, Blues and Dragons are exactly the clubs they always were though – the Scarlets even having the cheek to appropriate Llanelli RFC’s history when they are supposedly separate entities.

I didn’t know about Charvis! I’ll be honest it doesn’t bother me too much, they have an amazing life experience in a pro rugby career, so what if they have to join the rest of us in the real world. I think that it’s the ludicrous sums if money played to players that warm the bench for Man Utd reserves etc that really makes it seem unfair.

Can’t captainflasheart just give them all his pocket money? That’d see ’em right 🙂

I have to agree with you there Tom. 800k rumoured for Sexton pa. A lot of average footballers would earn that in a month