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#Post#: 136531--------------------------------------------------
Have Northampton lost out by producing stars?
DIR By: DOK
Date: April 10, 2025, 5:50 am
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In a league position of eighth after a season punctuated by
absences of players the club nurtured
HTML https://archive.ph/VrRX2
--- Quote ---
> It often goes like this: a strong academy group come together,
they win the league, a number of them get picked for England.
They then need either fresh, larger contracts — so they cannot
all be kept — or spend more time playing for their country than
their club.
>
> This is not new. Nigel Wray, the Saracens owner, used to
complain that his club did not reap enough benefits for creating
half of the England squad in the 2010s. And they broke the
salary cap to keep their squad thick.
--- End Quote ---
#Post#: 136534--------------------------------------------------
Re: Have Northampton lost out by producing stars?
DIR By: T-Bone
Date: April 10, 2025, 6:09 am
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It is mad that with so few league games and such long gaps there
are still league games clashing with international periods
#Post#: 136541--------------------------------------------------
Re: Have Northampton lost out by producing stars?
DIR By: Camquin
Date: April 10, 2025, 7:53 am
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Long gaps, just be glad you are not in the Championship.
#Post#: 136545--------------------------------------------------
Re: Have Northampton lost out by producing stars?
DIR By: KentQuin
Date: April 10, 2025, 11:06 am
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Yes they have. But this price of success isn't new.
Don't see the underlying issues being addressed anytime soon,
sadly.
#Post#: 136548--------------------------------------------------
Re: Have Northampton lost out by producing stars?
DIR By: Yareet
Date: April 10, 2025, 11:56 am
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--- Quote from: T-Bone link ---
>
> It is mad that with so few league games and such long gaps
there are still league games clashing with international periods
>
--- End Quote ---
I think I can make this work based on this season
A few assumptions I've made:
18 rounds of Prem plus playoffs and final
4 European rounds plus QF, SF and Final.*
4 Test matches in November to allow SH sides to come to Europe
6N in February/March finishing on Paddy's weekend which it seems
to do at the moment.
A week off for internationals either side of Test blocks
The PRC will need to be re-worked to fit the dates available as
there are 14 dates to potentially fill
The first games this season were the weekend of 30th August-1st
September. Starting then, play 8 rounds of Prem to the 20th
October.
Weekend of 27th October is PRC. The 4 weekends in November are
Tests and PRC. 1st December weekend is PRC.
Then 8 weeks of Prem from weekend of 8th December until weekend
of 26th January.
Weekend of 2nd February is PRC. Then 6 weekends of 6N (including
1 fallow week) and PRC. 23rd March weekend is PRC.
Last 2 rounds of the Prem then play off with the Final on Easter
weekend (that is luck more than judgement)
I currently have the following weekend as a rest week
pre-Europe.*
4 rounds of Europe from 4th May to 25th May (last round over a
Bank Holiday weekend works well)
First three weekends in June are the QFs, SFs and the final on
15th June (the weekend of this year's Prem final)
*As it's a bank holiday weekend, I'd be tempted to have some
rugby here. If the first round of Europe is played, the R16 can
be added back in for the late May Bank Holiday
Pros:
I like the idea of having Europe at the end and basing it on
this season's positions
Clubs have a game on almost every weekend from the end of August
to the end of May (bar the 2 Prem knockout fixtures and the 2-3
PRC knockout weekends)
Internationals should be available for every game. They won't
play every game as there should still be a 30-game per season
max but can be rotated rather than having to be rested en masse
There is a bit more of a cohesive narrative about each
competition
Cons:
The last two rounds of the Prem are somewhat cut adrift from the
rest of the season.
Or is this nuts?
#Post#: 136554--------------------------------------------------
Re: Have Northampton lost out by producing stars?
DIR By: deadlyfrom5yardsout
Date: April 11, 2025, 1:44 am
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Thoughtful contribution my Northern Mucker. Lets see what suits
the fans first, before bowing down to some Jonny come lately
broadcaster though.
#Post#: 136556--------------------------------------------------
Re: Have Northampton lost out by producing stars?
DIR By: Guildford Quin
Date: April 11, 2025, 2:48 am
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I like Yareet's suggestions above, particularly the reduction in
the 6N period. When England play 4 consecutive weekends for the
AI's and more at a RWC I've never understood why we have 2
fallow weekends during the 6N. I'm not sure it's helpful when
trying to encourage new supporters to the game that the momentum
of a competition is interrupted twice. If it was played over 5
consecutive weekends, it would encourage coaches to use players
from the wider training squad and allow for compulsory rest
periods and pre-tournament training without clashing with any
Prem fixtures
#Post#: 136557--------------------------------------------------
Re: Have Northampton lost out by producing stars?
DIR By: poorfour
Date: April 11, 2025, 3:00 am
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So my immediate thoughts are: how do you fit in the summer tours
and the mandatory rest period for internationals? If you can fit
those in, you may be onto something.
#Post#: 136561--------------------------------------------------
Re: Have Northampton lost out by producing stars?
DIR By: Spug
Date: April 11, 2025, 7:12 am
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Some sensible suggestions there, Yareet.
There seems to be quite a lot of chat at the moment about
playing the Champions Cup games in a block, in order to build
momentum etc.
It's a nice idea in theory but I can't help but think that the
logistics would be a bit of a nightmare for both the travelling
fans and, I imagine, the clubs.
Many of us travelled to Toulouse for a memorable weekend last
year but personally speaking there's no way we would have been
able to organise our trip with just a week's notice.
Factor in a potential SA side (ignoring the ridiculousness of
having teams from a different hemisphere in this competition)
and the issues for teams and fans are multiplied even further.
The FA Cup may have been diminished in value in recent times but
the timing of the rounds has been broadly left alone for decades
and nobody seems to complain that it lacks momentum.
It's likely there's no one solution that would satisfy everyone
but it would be nice if the fans were included in the
conversation!
#Post#: 136582--------------------------------------------------
Re: Have Northampton lost out by producing stars?
DIR By: Yareet
Date: April 12, 2025, 2:22 pm
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@neil quinnock, to be fair that's not my idea. I believe that a
fallow week is being dropped next year.
@poor four, my schedule finishes on the same weekend as the
2024/25 Prem season so fitting in tours as they are now should
be fine. I do take your point though (as it's usually my
argument) that a 4-week SH tour from mid-June takes you to
mid-July. The 10-week rest period means England players miss the
first 4-ish rounds of the Prem.
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