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#Post#: 108189--------------------------------------------------
European finals 2024
DIR By: Adrian
Date: April 25, 2023, 6:31 am
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HTML https://www.epcrugby.com/2023/04/25/tottenham-hotspur-stadium-to-stage-2024-epcr-finals/
As the 2023 Heineken Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup
approaches the closing stages, with four sensational semi-finals
taking place this weekend, EPCR is pleased to announce that the
2024 edition of the EPCR Finals Weekend will take place at
London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
With a capacity of 62,850, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is the
largest club football ground in the English capital and offers
world-class facilities for fans, teams, broadcasters and media.
The London 2024 EPCR Finals Weekend will take place on Friday 24
and Saturday 25 May...
#Post#: 108337--------------------------------------------------
Re: European finals 2024
DIR By: Kermitpower
Date: April 30, 2023, 1:00 am
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On the plus side, it's better than the absolute farce that is
Leinster playing at a supposedly neutral venue for a final
having potentially (depending on how the URC run in goes) played
their last 6 home fixtures there!
On the minus, Spurs seem to have shoehorned 62 thousand seats
into a 55 thousand seater stadium. They missed a trick in not
getting the place sponsored by Ryanair!
#Post#: 108369--------------------------------------------------
Re: European finals 2024
DIR By: Quinky
Date: May 1, 2023, 7:48 am
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Should be plenty of time for the railworkers to organise a
strike for that weekend.
#Post#: 108372--------------------------------------------------
Re: European finals 2024
DIR By: Camquin
Date: May 1, 2023, 9:17 am
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Don't you mean Underground workers?
The French and Irish fans will not be coming by rail.
#Post#: 108374--------------------------------------------------
Re: European finals 2024
DIR By: Quinky
Date: May 1, 2023, 9:50 am
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--- Quote from: Camquin link ---
>
> Don't you mean Underground workers?
> The French and Irish fans will not be coming by rail.
>
--- End Quote ---
You think French and Irish people won't travel to London by
train? Or that only French and Irish people will be attending?
#Post#: 108375--------------------------------------------------
Re: European finals 2024
DIR By: Camquin
Date: May 1, 2023, 10:13 am
---------------------------------------------------------
The latter, or rather, predicting their clubs will be in the
final.
What odds on Leinster v Toulouse, anyone?
But I suppose a lot of the Dublin fans could take the ferry and
train.
#Post#: 108376--------------------------------------------------
Re: European finals 2024
DIR By: Quinky
Date: May 1, 2023, 10:29 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: Camquin link ---
>
> The latter, or rather, predicting their clubs will be in the
final.
> What odds on Leinster v Toulouse, anyone?
> But I suppose a lot of the Dublin fans could take the ferry
and train.
>
--- End Quote ---
Maybe there are Irish and/or French people in the UK who might
go to the game? And maybe people of other nationalities will
attend?
#Post#: 108396--------------------------------------------------
Re: European finals 2024
DIR By: barnesman
Date: May 2, 2023, 7:24 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: Kermitpower link ---
>
> On the plus side, it's better than the absolute farce that is
Leinster playing at a supposedly neutral venue for a final
having potentially (depending on how the URC run in goes) played
their last 6 home fixtures there!
>
--- End Quote ---
I'm no Leinster supporter (quite the opposite actually) but ...
The EPCR final isn't meant to be a neutral venue. It's a
destination fixed in advance and originally it was meant to be
Tottenham this year but they withdrew when the soccer season was
delayed by the soccer world cup (I believe). Not sure how many
venues offered to replace them.
Also, Dublin has only had 3 finals (10, 20 and 24 years ago),
yet there have been 13 Irish finalists. Cardiff has hosted 7
finals; 1 Welsh finalist (in the first year). Edinburgh 3
finals; 0 Scottish finalists. England 8 finals; 15 finalists.
France (and Spain) 6 finals; 26 finalists.
Also, Ulster in 1999 is the only Irish province to have played a
final in Ireland.
So not really a farce that Leinster should play a final in
Dublin after playing 6 away, including Sarries in England and La
Rochelle in France.
Yes, it's extraordinary that they are playing all those URC and
EPRC knockout matches in Dublin IF IF IF they get to the final
of the URC, but:
- the rules of both tournaments reward the highest-seeded teams;
seems fair
- the URC is spread over 6 nations and 2 hemispheres, so the
final has to go where a finalist is - otherwise nobody would
travel to attend
- I think Leinster only play Munster, their most attractive EPRC
group match and any Irish province in the early EPRC knockouts
at the Aviva (not much different from Quins using Twickenham ?)
so the RDS is their home
- there is no larger rugby stadium in Ireland; should the URC
and EPRC shoot themselves in the foot in these challenging
financial times and give revenue to the GAA to use Croke Park or
Cork (assuming they were available) instead of earning more to
share out amongst all participants ?
So not really a farce that they have so many home matches. It
has never happened before. No chance of it happening again for
10 years (will they be able to beat the 6 English regions by
then ?!). Extra pressure on them to perform. Any weakened team
could easily lose to the Natal Sharks or Glasgow/Munster. And
finally, they've used about 60 home-grown pros and academy
players this year to earn those home advantages - it's quite
nice that 60 players and 60 families see about 30 of those
players play knock-out rugby at home. Special days which I don't
think we should begrudge them this one season.
#Post#: 108507--------------------------------------------------
Re: European finals 2024
DIR By: Kermitpower
Date: May 5, 2023, 3:53 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: barnesman link ---
>
> I'm no Leinster supporter (quite the opposite actually) but
...
>
> The EPCR final isn't meant to be a neutral venue. It's a
destination fixed in advance and originally it was meant to be
Tottenham this year but they withdrew when the soccer season was
delayed by the soccer world cup (I believe). Not sure how many
venues offered to replace them.
>
> Also, Dublin has only had 3 finals (10, 20 and 24 years ago),
yet there have been 13 Irish finalists. Cardiff has hosted 7
finals; 1 Welsh finalist (in the first year). Edinburgh 3
finals; 0 Scottish finalists. England 8 finals; 15 finalists.
France (and Spain) 6 finals; 26 finalists.
>
> Also, Ulster in 1999 is the only Irish province to have played
a final in Ireland.
>
> So not really a farce that Leinster should play a final in
Dublin after playing 6 away, including Sarries in England and La
Rochelle in France.
>
> Yes, it's extraordinary that they are playing all those URC
and EPRC knockout matches in Dublin IF IF IF they get to the
final of the URC, but:
> - the rules of both tournaments reward the highest-seeded
teams; seems fair
> - the URC is spread over 6 nations and 2 hemispheres, so the
final has to go where a finalist is - otherwise nobody would
travel to attend
> - I think Leinster only play Munster, their most attractive
EPRC group match and any Irish province in the early EPRC
knockouts at the Aviva (not much different from Quins using
Twickenham ?) so the RDS is their home
> - there is no larger rugby stadium in Ireland; should the URC
and EPRC shoot themselves in the foot in these challenging
financial times and give revenue to the GAA to use Croke Park or
Cork (assuming they were available) instead of earning more to
share out amongst all participants ?
>
> So not really a farce that they have so many home matches. It
has never happened before. No chance of it happening again for
10 years (will they be able to beat the 6 English regions by
then ?!). Extra pressure on them to perform. Any weakened team
could easily lose to the Natal Sharks or Glasgow/Munster. And
finally, they've used about 60 home-grown pros and academy
players this year to earn those home advantages - it's quite
nice that 60 players and 60 families see about 30 of those
players play knock-out rugby at home. Special days which I don't
think we should begrudge them this one season.
>
--- End Quote ---
The final IS supposed to be a neutral venue!
The prior knock out stages go with home advantage to the highest
seed, but the final does not.
You could make an argument for saying that Twickenham wouldn't
be a neutral venue if we made a final there, but even with 2
home games a season there now, it's a million miles away from
the Leinster advantage at the Aviva!
There are Leinster players like Dorris who've played more home
games at the Aviva this season than they have the RDS, and
that's not including the Ireland games they've played there.
We'll know by tomorrow evening whether Leinster will have played
their previous 5 or 6 home games there, but whatever way you
look at it, that quite simply is nothing but a home game for
them. Sure, Twickenham might give Quins a psychological boost,
but play as often as Leinster do at the Aviva and you're well
beyond that and into actually having a rugby advantage, as
you've nailed down the kicking distances, you know where the
wind is going to swirl and so on.
Someone did an analysis of home vs away games in the history of
the Six Nations and determined that home advantage is worth an
average of 9.8 points.
I'm sure you wouldn't argue that the Aviva is anything other
than Ireland's home stadium, so how can it be anything other
than a home stadium for Leinster as well, given that they will
have played more matches there?
Either Leinster shouldn't play there, or the final shouldn't be
played there.
#Post#: 108508--------------------------------------------------
Re: European finals 2024
DIR By: KiltedQuin
Date: May 5, 2023, 5:42 pm
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It’s not the Final that is the issue. The venue is set over a
year in advance so if you’re good enough and it’s in your
country/city you’ll get some advantage.
The Leinster issue is the semi which should be held at a neutral
ground in the country of the top seed. Hence La Rochelle playing
the Chiefs in Bordeaux. As Leinster use the Aviva for all their
big games it is hardly a neutral venue. In fact they may have
played nearly all their European games at the Aviva this season.
The match should have been played at another venue in Ireland;
Thomond or the Kingspan perhaps.
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