Newcastle Sarries

[Mellsblue]

Luckily, the contract is signed for another three years.

[Puja]

Luckily, the contract is signed for another three years.

You've got to wonder to whose benefit - it's got to cost a significant amount to transport and stage and I can't see it turning a profit on the day. Maybe the hope is to sell more AP television packages in the US, but I can't see one game per year in one city making a dent in overall viewing figures. And, as I said earlier, it's a one-off event in a city nowhere near any of the new pro teams for Major League Rugby, so it's hardly benefitting US Rugby.

Someone, somewhere, is footing the bill for this, and whoever it is, they're getting utterly screwed.

Does anyone know if the three years have to be in Philadephia or can they move it?

Puja

[Raggs]

Falcons apparently told their season ticket holders that there's big money in it for them, so I guess not them.

[Puja]

I doubt Sarries would open their chequebook unless it directly benefitted them (and certainly not to benefit another AP side). And god knows PRL don't like spending money. I'm getting an awful suspicion that we're taking the (already pretty cash-strapped) USAR for a ride for no direct benefit to them. It does sound like the kind of contract that Nigel Melville would've signed up to when he was in charge of the Yanks.

Puja

[Mellsblue]

Luckily, the contract is signed for another three years.

You've got to wonder to whose benefit - it's got to cost a significant amount to transport and stage and I can't see it turning a profit on the day. Maybe the hope is to sell more AP television packages in the US, but I can't see one game per year in one city making a dent in overall viewing figures. And, as I said earlier, it's a one-off event in a city nowhere near any of the new pro teams for Major League Rugby, so it's hardly benefitting US Rugby.

Someone, somewhere, is footing the bill for this, and whoever it is, they're getting utterly screwed.

Does anyone know if the three years have to be in Philadephia or can they move it?

Puja

I believe it's in Philly for the three years.

[Timbo]

On a slight aside, attendances seem off across the board in the Prem at the start of the season. Exeter, Leicester, Northampton, Quins and Wasps all posting lower home crowds in the opening weeks than at any of their home Prem games last season.

[16th man]

On a slight aside, attendances seem off across the board in the Prem at the start of the season. Exeter, Leicester, Northampton, Quins and Wasps all posting lower home crowds in the opening weeks than at any of their home Prem games last season.

There's a drop in consumer spending across the economy. Rugby tickets are going to be seen as a luxury in that sort of situation.

[Digby]

On a slight aside, attendances seem off across the board in the Prem at the start of the season. Exeter, Leicester, Northampton, Quins and Wasps all posting lower home crowds in the opening weeks than at any of their home Prem games last season.

There's a drop in consumer spending across the economy. Rugby tickets are going to be seen as a luxury in that sort of situation.

There's actually a rise in consumer spending rather than a fall, though the rise is slowing. The wider economic worry there would be it's fueled by debt rather than earnings, the more local issue of what it does to consumer spending on such as rugby tickets isn't clear, though if anything we're seeing a shift from material spends to experience spends so that could be good news. There's also we're the season after the season after a home WC, and a home WC which built far less momentum in the game than was hoped for.

[Mellsblue]

Can't be bothered to do any research but could it be to do with whether they were or weren't televised?
As for Wasps, wasn't last season their first match at the Rioch and the abundance of free/cheap tickets that went with it?

[morepork]

Well this fell flat on it's arse. It was held at the same venue as the Maori team Vs. USandA a little while back. That game attracted a big crowd, but the Premiership game on Saturday had fewer people, to put it mildly. Trying to sell the club game head to head with college football over here is complete madness. Madness I say.

[Mellsblue]

McCafferty has already admitted it was a failure - he obviously didn't use that word. He says next season's match will be later in the season and will benefit from a bigger build up.

[Scrumhead]

I was listening to the Eggchasers podcast today and one of their ideas was that we'd be better off sending a 'Premiership Barbarians' or 'Premiership Dream Team' out to play the USA Eagles.

I actually thought that was a pretty good idea. At least they'd have a bit more of a vested interest in turning-up.

[Mellsblue]

That'd be just yet another game to tag on to the season. I'd love to the faces of the Lions board if they did send a Premiership Barbarians.......