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Thread: Indo Pacific league

  1. #76
    Champion MI5_Dog's Avatar
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    Further to that
    Why bother with PayTV at all. Jack Ma has the company that could offer this as an online subscription service. $x per game, $y per month.

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  2. #77
    Immortal Contributor shasta's Avatar
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    What Rugby has needed forever is FTA coverage. No new viewers no growth.

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  3. #78
    Rookie JPR's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by shasta View Post
    What Rugby has needed forever is FTA coverage. No new viewers no growth.
    Twiggy should talk to CBS who are taking over Channel 10. They have already said they want a Football code which will be free to air.

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  4. #79
    Champion MI5_Dog's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by shasta View Post
    What Rugby has needed forever is FTA coverage. No new viewers no growth.
    What this new competition needs to survive is money and if FTA can't pay as much for it as PayTV (or online subscription services) can then the economic reality is that it won't get on FTA.

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  5. #80
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    On media, I recall seeing a lot of "Kerry Stokes is on board" comments a few weeks ago, but never noticed any media confirmation or articles.
    Was this ever official, or just keen speculation that as a good Sandgroper he may have been interested?
    I would agree that with the type of international exposure the IPL will/could have that you should at least be in backroom conversations.
    This is why such things as the Weld Club came into existence...

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  6. #81
    Immortal GIGS20's Avatar
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    Wallabies such as Adam Coleman, Dane Haylett-Petty, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Billy Meakes, and Curtis Rona are almost certain to take up offers elsewhere instead of risking their international hopes by playing in Forrest's competition.

    So we know for sure Taf has said he's going overseas if the Force are boned, Has he made a public statement that I missed or is this list complete speculation.

    Adam and Dane, I can see might want to continue their Wallabies career.
    Taf falls under the Giteau law, so he won't give a crap where he plays, but from what I understand of the man, the likelihood of him voluntarily joining with the cesspit is pretty low.
    Billy hasn't really been in contention because everybody's barring up about Beale, especially since he completed a tackle!
    Curtis has so many other options open to him, I don't think the Wallabies jersey is the pull that some think it is.

    Again it all depends upon how they feel about the way things have been handled, but for most of the year they've been hearing the WA Media take on it, whihc makes it look like a fit-up from the beginning.

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  7. #82
    Veteran BLR's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GIGS20 View Post
    So we know for sure Taf has said he's going overseas if the Force are boned, Has he made a public statement that I missed or is this list complete speculation.
    This was pre new comp right? He seems to like it here, may stay on to give it a crack.
    Quote Originally Posted by GIGS20 View Post
    Billy hasn't really been in contention because everybody's barring up about Beale, especially since he completed a tackle!
    Wait, he made a tackle? This changes everything!
    Quote Originally Posted by GIGS20 View Post
    Curtis has so many other options open to him, I don't think the Wallabies jersey is the pull that some think it is.
    It is a pull of 'home' verse the Wallabies. (assuming eligibility will be barred in any new league) Considering he was played out of position in his first test and treated as one of the scapegoats for the loss, I wonder if he could be connecting the dots that no matter what he does he will most likely never get a go in the Wallabies over some of the poster boys, even if he plays a blinder. See: Scott Staniforth's misuse for the Wallabies after phenomenal seasons for the Force.

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  8. #83
    Champion MI5_Dog's Avatar
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    How would RUPA fit in to all this?
    If the ARU are part of it then they may have a say, but if the ARU are not part of it, i.e. it does not fall under their influence regardless of if they approve of it or not then what influence does RUPA have?

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  9. #84
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    Quote Originally Posted by MI5_Dog View Post
    How would RUPA fit in to all this? If the ARU are part of it then they may have a say, but if the ARU are not part of it, i.e. it does not fall under their influence regardless of if they approve of it or not then what influence does RUPA have?
    It would be dependent on their articles of incorporation dog, I would assume they are independent of the ARU,, otherwise their complete inaction would be even more suspicious. They could easily add the new competition to their purview through constitutional change, which only requires a passing vote at an agm

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    C'mon the

  10. #85
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    I think with this it could resemble the Japanese league - the standard is a bit lower, but a truck load of money has been pumped into it, so they do get some good imports there! May this could be the same, especially if they are able to raise enough money from the various investors, sponsors and tv rights.

    Quote Originally Posted by MI5_Dog View Post
    Just throwing some thoughts out into the wild.

    Are the teams in this new comp going to be privately owned?
    Forest's Force, Shanghai Alibabas etc. I'm sure there are Malaysian billionares and some in Hong Kong that may want to own their own teams.
    Is there a salary cap or limit on the number of 'marque' signings?
    With the amount of money that could be on offer it's possible that a lot of players could come back from Europe or move from NZ, Aus, RSA for big money.
    Will the TV rights be sold to Cable TV in China, Japan etc.?
    I'd imagine that the number of Cable TV subscribers (if such a thing exists) in China alone would outnumber those in Europe, RSA, NZ and Aus combined.

    People (mostly on other forums) keep saying that this comp won't get off the ground but if the money is there to pay the players similar to what they can get in Europe then this comp could destroy Super Rugby just by taking all the talent.

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  11. #86
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    Can Andrew Forrest pull off a rugby union miracle?

    Read more: http://www.afr.com/business/sport/ca...#ixzz4sK6hHXXi
    Follow us: @FinancialReview on Twitter | financialreview on Facebook
    by John Stensholt
    Crowds are falling and television ratings have plunged, but Andrew Forrest sure is keeping rugby union in the headlines.

    The billionaire Financial Review Rich Lister's announcement last week that he intends to launch an "Indo-Pacific" rugby competition has certainly attracted attention.

    It adds to what has been quite the year for rugby, including the drawn-out saga of which of the Western Force or Melbourne Rebels would be cut from Super Rugby – much to Forrest's chagrin it is the Force, hence the new competition – as well as legal stoushes, name calling and even a pending Senate inquiry.

    Yes, an inquiry into rugby's handling of the Force chopping and whatever other dirty linen Western Australian Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds wants aired. No senate inquiry for, say, the Essendon drugs controversy or any other dark days in Australian sport in the past decade, but one for rugby.

    Can twiggy pull it off?

    As for Forrest, big names like Chinese billionaire Jack Ma have been mooted as potential partners in his venture, officials in Hong Kong have reportedly been receptive to the idea and sources close to Forrest insist there has been a tidal wave of interest from potential players, coaches, broadcasters and sponsors keen to join the show.

    So can "Twiggy" pull it off? Can he really establish a sports league that is estimated to cost $20 million to run each year?

    His business history would suggest no one should write off the person who endured his fair share of failure before turning Fortescue Metals Group into a huge iron ore miner and made himself one of the wealthiest people in the country.

    He's also thrown himself headlong into causes such as ending slavery and many other philanthropic endeavours.

    The people involved

    For rugby, Forrest has already gathered a group of business identities and executives to work on the venture which in all likelihood will not launch until 2018 at the earliest.

    Forrest's steering committee includes Geoff Stooke, a long-time Western Australian rugby identity and managing director of Standard Wool Investments and former Wallaby and now Resolute Mining chief executive John Welborn.

    The venture, run day-to-day by executives of Forrest's private Minderoo Group such as head of investment John Hartman and Western Force CEO Mark Sinderberry, also has several former rugby and soccer executives working on the logistics.

    Among those are Stuart Taggart, a sports futurist who worked on the successful 2003 Rugby World Cup and the ill-fated 2022 soccer World Cup bid, and consultants Eugenie Buckley and Ian Alker, according to one organisational chart doing the rounds.

    Is there a market for it?

    The team will research the market, develop commercial opportunities and negotiate with potential coaches, players and venues.

    Forrest has plenty of business and political connections in the Indo-Pacific region himself, and has rightly identified the region as extremely fast-growing and increasingly affluent region.

    But the question is will people watch and attend rugby union matches in the markets the competition is said to be targeting: countries such as China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore Sri Lanka and Malaysia, for a competition that will be will run out of Perth.

    Jack Ma's Alibaba is spending $100 million to promote rugby in China and Hong Kong has long held a hugely successful sevens tournament. But the big unknown is whether crowds and television audiences would tune in for, say, a match between a Perth and Sri Lankan side or a clash of Singapore and South Korean teams.

    With six teams, the competition would need at least 150 players. To get the attention of sports fans across the region it would need to attract some very big names, both Australian and foreign.

    Not a rebel tournament?

    That could be Australians and others playing overseas in competitions in France and the United Kingdom, though wages are high there and Forrest's competition would probably have to pay a premium to get players to move to non-traditional rugby markets.

    There are also about a dozen or so Force players that are said to want to stay in Perth and potentially join the new venture, or have signed contacts with other Super Rugby teams but would stay in the west if there is a guaranteed team to play for.

    Forrest's people have been at pains since the announcement to stress the league would not be a rebel entity, so presumably it will need the imprimatur of both the Australian Rugby Union and World Rugby – as well as as the countries where teams would be based.

    There are big issues finding a spot in the rugby calendar though, with Australian players starting with Super Rugby in February and going all the way through to the end of November with the Wallabies tour of Europe.

    Perhaps the best Forrest could start with is a rugby version of cricket's now hugely successful Indian Premier League. After initial indifference from administrators, sheer weight of money has seen that tournament force the rest of the world to create a hole in the calendar in order to allow best players from everywhere compete.

    India is, of course, a cricket mad country though. Can Forrest do something similar with rugby? It will be immensely difficult. But then again so was establishing Fortescue as a mining giant. It will be fascinating to watch the billionaire pick up the rugby ball and attempt to run with it.

    http://www.afr.com/business/sport/ca...#ixzz4sK6WtQcl

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  12. #87
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    It's great to see positive stories on this. I saw an article in a Queensland paper saying they were interested in having a team. My hope is EARU isn't using this as an excuse for getting rid of the NRC and just riding on the coat tails of this!

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  13. #88
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    I believe Twiggy is possibly chasing a couple of big names like Dan Carter to help attract interest. Wonder if Gits could come into the mix, he's still a great player & is keen on getting back to Aus. Would have him over any of the bunch of cream puff Tahs Wallabies any day.

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  14. #89
    Senior Player Macattack's Avatar
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    It will be a bloody big challenge to make this new competition a success, the logistics in getting it up and running would be huge and then generating broad support in Australia will be more than challenging.............. However, if I had $6Billion I simply wouldn't accept failure, nor would I accept losing face to someone like Clyne.

    Plus having people like Geoff Stooke and John Wellborne involved will ensure oodles of rugby passion for it to succeed.

    Short answer, it will be tough, but not impossible. Go get 'em Twiggy and all those involved !

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  15. #90
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    ARU to consider Wallabies eligibility for Twiggy Forrest’s IPC players

    WAYNE SMITH

    The Australian Rugby Union has another weighty decision to make: whether to allow players who sign with Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s Indo-Pacific Championship to be eligible for Wallabies selection.

    Only those footballers playing Super Rugby, who have signed with a Super Rugby club for the following season or those overseas-based Wallabies who have played a minimum of 60 Tests can be selected for Australia.

    This was one of the items discussed when Forrest met Michael Cheika last week and while it is understood the Wallabies coach was generally supportive of the idea, he made it clear he wanted to see a definitive competition model before considering it.

    And as much as the ARU *defers to Cheika in matters relating to the national side, player *eligibility status almost certainly would need to be discussed and *approved at board level.

    Giving eligibility to Forrest’s players could potentially undermine the competitiveness of the four remaining Australian teams in Super Rugby.

    One of the main reasons for removing the Western Force was to improve the on-field performances of the Waratahs, Reds, Brumbies and Rebels. But if Forrest broadens his approach to attract players beyond the current Force squad — which may not happen this year because virtually all players are signed for 2018 — then it could start undermining the ARU’s position.

    The ARU remained upbeat about the prospects of working with Forrest and his IPC concept, though at this stage it regards the talks as preliminary.

    “Everyone is positive but at this stage we don’t know precisely what sort of competition we’re talking about,” an ARU spokesman said yesterday.

    The ARU is pushing for Forrest to take the National Rugby Championship and dramatically expand it, pushing its boundaries out into the Pacific islands and Asia, as outlined in T he Australian yesterday. But, yet again, there may have been some miscommunication between the two camps.

    It may well be that the IPC expands over time into that space, particularly if the NRC becomes the mainstay of any post-Super Rugby solution, but according to former ARU board member Geoff Stooke, now a key voice in structuring the IPC, Forrest is planning a credible six-team competition from the get-go.

    “The quality of the competition has to be such that viewers would rate it as the equivalent of the English Premiership or the French Top 14,” said Stooke. “It can’t be a lower echelon than that.”

    Clearly, the NRC is not yet up to that standard and while Stooke could see the IPC augmenting the NRC at some point, all the indications are that the IPC is aiming higher at a quality product.


    Forrest is scheduled to unveil more details about the IPC at a press conference tomorrow.

    Yet even if he can persuade the Force players to stick together (he met their Wallabies representatives over the weekend) the issue then will be whether he can populate the five other Asia-based teams with players of comparable ability.

    The other contentious issue is whether World Rugby gives approval for the IPC to go international. By happy coincidence, Forrest’s concept melds almost ideally with World Rugby’s plans to push into Asia — World Rugby’s chief executive Brett Gosper acknowledges that the Chinese Rugby Football Association expects to have one million players within five years — so there may well be some synergy in the coming years.

    For the moment, however, a World Rugby spokesman said the organisation would be guided by the ARU’s assessment of the viability and credibility of the new concept.

    Meanwhile, Cheika has responded to the Wallabies lineout winning only 64 per cent of their own ball against the Springboks by bringing Reds lock Lukhan Tui into the squad for Saturday’s Canberra Test against Argentina at the expense of fellow Kane Douglas.

    Tui was a standout performer in Brisbane City’s opening NRC match against the Fijian Drua but the consensus was that he was overshadowed by fellow Wallabies squad member Izack Rodda in the clash with Queensland Country on Saturday.

    It would not surprise to see one of the two Reds youngsters brought into the matchday 23 on the weekend, and maybe even into the starting XV. Certainly it is fair to say they have captured the attention of current starting lock Rory Arnold.

    “Absolutely, I’m looking over my shoulder at these young bucks coming through, pushing me for selection,” said Arnold yesterday.

    http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spor...ea63497aa4c5d5

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