The Other Side(s) - Rival Team News

Kid A and Scarletnut are pretty good on how the budgets compare and there are very few who exceed Leinster, at the last time it was aired, iirc.

Edited by Eastern outpost - 20 May 2023 at 10:39pm

scarletpimp wrote: Wil Chips wrote: I would like La Rochelle to win this evening. Nothing personal on Leinster. I just like what La Rochelle are all about as a club. Are you joking WIll ?????????????????? Today was a SICKENING result, reminding us that just like football money can buy success ! Leinster compared to us have a huge budget(not many with less), but compared to La Rochelle, its puts even that in perspective !!! There is nor salary cap ,or restrictions in France, and until they introduce  one  ban the French from European rugby.  You cannot continue with the European playing field structured in the way it is, with different countries , with different rules. It will otherwise be just like man city winning the league every season. Toulon and La Rochelle winning reminded us of that correlation .

If this isn't satire then i'm generally worried.

The budget comps aren't easy for sure, but I don't see how they differ much in this case tbh.

I was focusing a little on the framework of La Rochelle.

-City of 75k residents right out in the West, with a rural catchment area beyond that.
-Steady and sustainable growth over a couple of decades.
-Club 98% owned by the fanbase.
-The town has a long history of being a little rebellious, and not too fussy about who with either!
-All matches at the 16,000 seat stadium sell out every week.
-Club President is in his 31st year in the role giving great continuity, and more importantly isn't one for headline grabbing.
-The Board ensure that recruitment (players and coaches) matches the core values of the club.

It's ultimately a community club, and I really like that.

As for Leinster, well the strategy over the last month was in stark contrast to this...
-Send a squad of academy and fringe players to South Africa in April to complete their URC fixtures ( coach didn't go either)
-Put a mostly 2nd string side out last week for the URC semi final play off v Munster, and lost.
-Lost yesterday.

Not won many friends there, and their fans might be a little miffed ( not that they would care of course).


Edited by Wil Chips - 21 May 2023 at 6:46am

To add to the above comment, and some others prior to that, the TOP14 has plenty of big industry/commercial sponsors as well as benefactors. The majority have plenty of local authority support, too - see what’s on their shirts/shorts. 

I wouldn’t be surprised if this did happen.  Having watched the whole match (what a great game between two great teams) it was clear that Leinster felt that they weren’t getting the calls from Pyper.  

A poster on the Clermont forum said the win was 15 against 18 (crowd, ref, TMO)

It’s as if Leinster have become so big they can’t put a lid on it. Can’t blame them for anything though, they’re not breaking any rules, they’ve got loads of money and they’re using it. It’s not their fault. If we were offered the same finances we wouldn’t say oh no thanks that’s not fair on the other teams. 

Me & Mrs EO survived a journey in a lift with just Sexton for company. It was in Paris before we beat them at their old ground. We’d unknowingly booked to stay in the hotel they used before every home match.

Edited by Eastern outpost - 21 May 2023 at 12:42pm