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#Post#: 143885--------------------------------------------------
Re: Tom Willis off to France again
DIR By: Brown Bottle
Date: October 21, 2025, 3:57 am
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--- Quote from: dr_miles link ---
>
> Even as a joke, this is one of the stupidest posts that I have
ever seen on here and you should be embarrassed.
>
--- End Quote ---
Indeed! I mean, who hasn't got a dishwasher these days?
#Post#: 143886--------------------------------------------------
Re: Tom Willis off to France again
DIR By: never sleep
Date: October 21, 2025, 3:58 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: dr_miles link ---
>
> Even as a joke, this is one of the stupidest posts that I have
ever seen on here and you should be embarrassed.
>
--- End Quote ---
Yes - clearly it was a joke.
My wife used to play womens rugby in her younger days and I used
to use this joke then (and I used to often get a slap around the
back of my head every time).
No - I'm not embarrassed. I am thick skinned and it takes a lot
to make me embarrassed.
I will be there on Friday night supporting our team again as I
do for all the women's home games (and as I do for all of the
Richmond women's home games as well.)
#Post#: 143887--------------------------------------------------
Re: Tom Willis off to France again
DIR By: MaidstoneQuin
Date: October 21, 2025, 4:02 am
---------------------------------------------------------
I think at least its good we know now, then at the end of the
season where we would have wasted playing him for the AIs and
6n.
I'll go for a team looking at current squad of
1. Genge
2. George
3. Stuart
4. Itoje
5. Chessum
6. CCS
7. Underhill
8. Illione
9. Mitchell
10. Ford
11. Roebuck
12. Ojomah
13. Lawrence
14. IFW
15. Steward (I'd prefer Carpenter if he was in the squad but
Marcus is wasted here and no other option unless its a winger
deployed there like Arundell or Freeman)
16. Baxter
17. LCD
18. Heyes
19. Coles
20. Pollock
21. Spencer
22. M Smith
23. Freeman
#Post#: 143889--------------------------------------------------
Re: Tom Willis off to France again
DIR By: Yareet
Date: October 21, 2025, 4:22 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: MaidstoneQuin link ---
>
> I think at least its good we know now, then at the end of the
season where we would have wasted playing him for the AIs and
6n.
>
> I'll go for a team looking at current squad of
>
> 1. Genge
> 2. George
> 3. Stuart
> 4. Itoje
> 5. Chessum
> 6. CCS
> 7. Underhill
> 8. Illione
> 9. Mitchell
> 10. Ford
> 11. Roebuck
> 12. Ojomah
> 13. Lawrence
> 14. IFW
> 15. Steward (I'd prefer Carpenter if he was in the squad but
Marcus is wasted here and no other option unless its a winger
deployed there like Arundell or Freeman)
>
> 16. Baxter
> 17. LCD
> 18. Heyes
> 19. Coles
> 20. Pollock
> 21. Spencer
> 22. M Smith
> 23. Freeman
>
>
>
--- End Quote ---
Carps has had an op unfortunately.
Don't want to assume anything so have you deliberately left Earl
out or forgotten him?
#Post#: 143890--------------------------------------------------
Re: Tom Willis off to France again
DIR By: MaidstoneQuin
Date: October 21, 2025, 4:27 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: Yareet link ---
>
> Carps has had an op unfortunately.
>
> Don't want to assume anything so have you deliberately left
Earl out or forgotten him?
>
--- End Quote ---
I personally want to test our strength in depth a bit more which
is why I want to give Illione and Pollock a chance to shine, and
also give CCS a chance to play 8. I imagine Earl will be the
test 8 though with probably Underhill at 7 and possibly Chessum
at 6 with CCS possibly at 5. I wouldn't be upset if he was 7
though over Underhill, but I think Sam is playing fairly well
#Post#: 143896--------------------------------------------------
Re: Tom Willis off to France again
DIR By: Rugbycat
Date: October 21, 2025, 6:55 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: never sleep link ---
>
> Yes - clearly it was a joke.
> My wife used to play womens rugby in her younger days and I
used to use this joke then (and I used to often get a slap
around the back of my head every time).
> No - I'm not embarrassed. I am thick skinned and it takes a
lot to make me embarrassed.
> I will be there on Friday night supporting our team again as I
do for all the women's home games (and as I do for all of the
Richmond women's home games as well.)
>
--- End Quote ---
Friday night will be interesting as Emily Scarratt has just
announced her retirement from playing, will be coaching at
Loughborough Lightning and working for the RFU, a brilliant
centre who found gaps to ghost through, in the same way as Will
Greenwood did.
#Post#: 143897--------------------------------------------------
Re: Tom Willis off to France again
DIR By: poorfour
Date: October 21, 2025, 6:56 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: QuincyJones link ---
>
> I haven't argued the women's game needs to make a profit - my
argument is that it needs to generate far more money than it
does. It's all the people bleating on about how women's rugby is
the most amazing investment opportunity since Amazon that talk
about all the profit it will make.
>
--- End Quote ---
It’s interesting that you draw a comparison with Amazon. Before
you did, did you bother to check how long it took Amazon to
become profitable?
England first offered professional 15-a-side contracts to the
Red Roses in 2019. In 2025, every game they played hit at least
breakeven, and the plan is to make £60m in revenue over the next
5 years. Last year’s PWR Final was also profitable (for the
first time), which is a good sign for the PWR as a whole.
It took Amazon 14 years to turn a profit, by the way, but in
that time they had no shortage of investors, because people
bought into the potential rather than the immediate
profitability.
I don’t believe that anyone - even me - is claiming that the
women’s game will be an immediate source of massive profits. But
it has a more sensible cost model than the men’s game, a
credible path to breakeven and is a relatively cheap way for
rugby to grow revenues and attract new fans because it sells
incrementally more tickets, more merch and F&B, and more TV
views while leveraging the existing infrastructure.
The alternative is to raise prices for the men’s game, or build
bigger stadia (and probably raise prices to help pay for the
capital outlay), because you can’t squeeze more games into the
year or more fans into existing stadia.
--- Quote from: QuincyJones link ---
>
>
> International men's rugby is (very) profitable in the UK. Club
rugby isn't, but as you say has enough wealthy owners who want
to back it. The women's game just leeches further off the back
of this. This is why the door is still open for R360 on the
women's side of things, because clubs and unions don't mind the
idea of someone else paying for the women.
>
--- End Quote ---
So, it’s okay for the RFU to subsidise an unprofitable club game
and rich backers to pick up the residual debt for 30 years with
no path to profitability in sight, but not for them to do that
for a women’s game that does have a credible route to
profitability and clear signs that it is achievable?
You do see how this could be seen as just a teensy bit sexist?
--- Quote from: QuincyJones link ---
>
> But if you look at international rugby in isolation... Men's =
hugely profitable
> Women's = money pit
>
--- End Quote ---
Factually incorrect, for the RFU at any rate.
Yes, other teams have not invested as much, or benefited as
much, as the RFU have - but the Red Roses are demonstrating that
there is a return on investment in both trophies and hard cash.
#Post#: 143899--------------------------------------------------
Re: Tom Willis off to France again
DIR By: Rugbycat
Date: October 21, 2025, 7:05 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Amazon lost about 3 billion dollars before making a profit,
Amazon have reinvested much of the profits they have made to
grow the company.
HTML https://www.marketwatch.com/story/inside-svbs-bankruptcy-startup-company-losses-have-threatened-the-financial-system-for-years-773240f6
Starting a business is a little bit more complicated and
requires a huge investment and a great deal of faith.
But I believe that rugby is about a lot more than money.
#Post#: 143900--------------------------------------------------
Re: Tom Willis off to France again
DIR By: Yareet
Date: October 21, 2025, 7:11 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: QuincyJones link ---
>
> This is why the door is still open for R360 on the women's
side of things, because clubs and unions don't mind the idea of
someone else paying for the women.
>
>
--- End Quote ---
Sorry, I missed this until P4's reply but I'd argue that the
facts don't back this up at all. From the statement from the
Unions:
--- Quote ---
> “Each of the national unions will therefore be advising men’s
and women’s players that participation in R360 would make them
ineligible for international selection.”
--- End Quote ---
I'd argue that's hardly the behaviour of a group happy to let
somebody else pick up the bill for women's rugby.
#Post#: 143903--------------------------------------------------
Re: Tom Willis off to France again
DIR By: JammyGit
Date: October 21, 2025, 7:18 am
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: Yareet link ---
>
> Poor Guy. Forever mistaken for Zach
>
--- End Quote ---
Woops. In my defence I was walking to the office and having a
conversation at the same time
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