Don't want to be a spoil sport... But the sharks win isn't a real trophy

Forum » Rugby » Don't want to be a spoil sport... But the sharks win isn't a real trophy

May 25, 2024, 09:50

Let's just take a moment. Well done sharks, you showed up with your team and your best and did what you should have done all season, winning. 

Gloucester is not the best English team and didn't put up much of a fight. 

Masuka continued to play brilliantly. However, in the final quarter the old habits came back and that is slipping tackles. Culprit number 1, Mpimpi. 

What does mean is that the Saarks have secured their championship spot. 

A bit cheeky given that who ever finishes 8th in the URC will not qualify. 

This is another example of the URC has too many meaningless matches as the mid table battle would have been interested. 

I'm not sure how the URC rank their teams? Does the play-offs even count towards seeding.

For example, what if the lions makes the Semi. Would they be seeded as 4th? 

Anyway, just hope the sharks can work on their squad in the off season and get ready for next year. 

I really want all the SA teams to dominate the URC and for them to be the top 4 teams. 


May 25, 2024, 11:41

Agreed but the Sharks put themselves in that position by being shit for sometime - they seem for the most to have turned the corner.

They will be even better next season with the additions of Esterhuizen, Emmanuel Tsituka, Jason Jenkins, Nyakane and Hendrikse

At least they won the Challenge Cup final anything less would have been unacceptable given the squad they have

May 25, 2024, 12:44

A bit cheeky given that who ever finishes 8th in the URC will not qualify. 

This is another example of the URC has too many meaningless matches as the mid table battle would have been interested

How so?

May 25, 2024, 16:03

It's not the best of trophies, but it's real enough.

May 26, 2024, 07:30

This cup feels like a participation trophy then actually real one. 

There are only 4 cups that counts

  1. World cup
  2. Championship 4 nations / 6 nations
  3. European champions cup
  4. URC cup
This one doesn't fit

May 26, 2024, 08:30

Think the Top 14 would disagree with that.

May 26, 2024, 08:50

TOP 14, Premiership and Super Rugby...but I get his point WRT challenge cup.

Mid doable 2nd Tier comp.

May 26, 2024, 10:53

I do believe there should be an A and B league in the URC. With only 12 teams. 

I also think that they need to stop mixing cups and league games because we saw what the bulls did and we saw what Leinster does every season. They bank on the championship cup but haven't really been able to crack it in the last few seasons. 

Agree that the top 14 is right up there and based on the fact that the last 3 finals a french team won with Leinster being the runners up. 

So Top 14 is probably the best league. The French also have a very decent D2 league with promotion and relegation. They have the money and they have the fans. 

I think the URC need to split into two leagues and invite Portuguese, Romanian and Georgian professional teams. There should be relegation with no play-off games. Just a straight basement battle. 

There should be a league phase in the season and then followed by champions cup knock out rugby.

It would be so much better and easier for fans to follow. Big teams can send their academy players out on loan etc. 

But we need a change in world rugby 

May 26, 2024, 14:18

So the Cup was for entry into the champions League? It’s a bit confusing.

May 26, 2024, 16:36

Lets see some real rugby, bring back the Super 16 with 4 teams from RSA, Oz and NZ with a Pacific Island team, one from Fiji and Argentina and perhaps one of the top teams from the USA and Canada.

Tired of watching Mud Island games.

The Springbok/All Blacks and Aussie games always attracted supporters and filled the stands.




May 26, 2024, 18:04

So the Cup was for entry into the champions League? It’s a bit confusing.

No, it was  simply a second tier tournament for teams who hadn't qualified for the Champions Cup. A few years back they added that the winner of it gains entry to the Champions Cup to make it a more worthwhile tournament to win.

Tired of watching Mud Island games.

Least we have consistent electricity

May 26, 2024, 19:48

I don't get the URC hate. I'm loving it.

SR was okay but it was bent as all hell and the times were shyte.

With URC, it's a wide range of sides with a bigger skill gap. But that allows for games like the one the Sharks lost at home to the Italians. Any way you slice that result, it was great for the game. The administration of the competition is top notch, the refs absolutely down the line, and the Euro teams are far more similar to the Saffas in how we respect the game than NZ or Oz.

A lot would have to go wrong for me to want to see us back in SR.

The English premier league(football) is a comp with a bunch of teams and massive skill gap between the bottom and top sides. And it's the most watched sports league in the world(I think). Which does fly in the face of shrinking the competitions down to 8-12 sides.

May 26, 2024, 19:52

And let's remember that that Saffa rugby needs cash. Which is exactly what this competition is brining.

https://www.unitedrugby.com/latest/news/urc-rising-record-tv-audience-single-round

"The United Rugby Championship has set a new all-time record audience with a global viewership of just under 3 million tuning in across Round 8.

Following on from last season’s record viewership for a single campaign (37.4million) fans are continuing to watch the United Rugby Championship in greater numbers as the tightest race for the Play-Offs has begun.

Coming off the back of two record rounds of attendance in R8 and R9 (held over December and January), the league’s total viewership for the season is also tracking at double-digit growth thanks to new rivalries, the league’s level of competitiveness and the jeopardy attached to the Play-Off race.

Additionally, at the mid-season point 51% of URC games have resulted in a winning margin of 7 or less points which is up from the season averages of 34% in the past two years.

In figures verified by Nielsen audience data, a total of 2,978,611 tuned in across Round 8 where some of the URC’s biggest derby matches took place.

Games in Limerick and Cape Town drew the greatest interest during Round 8 with the Cape Town clash between the DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls totalling 685,243 viewers across all territories.

Not far behind that, the Irish derby match-up between Munster and Leinster on December 26 drew an audience of 639,343 across all territories – the game also drew a peak live audience of 537,300.

Between Rounds 3 and 9, five of those weekends accounted for at least 2.5million viewers each, ranking them amongst some of the highest viewed in the league’s history.

The addition of Sky Italia to the URC’s broadcast partners has also brought with it a welcome increase of viewership of the league’s Italian teams. Benetton have seen their audience grow by 129% and Zebre Parma are up 39%.

The growth in TV audiences is matched by an increase in attendances to date while the league’s social media following has also grown by 9% since the beginning of the season.

Martin Anayi, CEO, United Rugby Championship, said: “More people than ever are watching the URC and that sustained and rising interest is brilliant news for our teams and the wider game of rugby. We’re thrilled to hit this milestone in a year where we have had a wide range of positive metrics to celebrate. Our league has never been as compelling and through the work of our teams and broadcasters we are seeing attendances and audiences grow in tandem.

“To see almost 3 million tune in over one round is incredible and sends a really positive message about the appeal rugby has in an incredibly competitive entertainment industry when fans have so much choice when it comes to what they watch. I’d like to also thank all of our broadcast partners who continue to produce such high-quality coverage and collaborate with each other, it’s clearly making a difference.”"

 
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