How will the 2015/2016 club rugby season work?

Simple question really - with the world cup going on well into the standard season, how will the Pro 12, AP, Top 14 and European competitions work next season? Do they have delayed start dates or will they just carry on regardless?

Also, assuming that there will be some changes to the schedules, how do you see them impacting the success of your team?

I believe there will be 6 pro12 games during the wc. I'd say the ap will have to be suspended. Top 14 same as ever (without Mitchell and Giteau for toulon )

Possibly no Welsh home games in the first 6? Or at least none in Cardiff.

Last time the HC shifted to November. Probably the same.

AP starts first weekend after the pool stages finishes. Pro12 and T14 will probably start as normal.

According to RWC regs, there should be no Pro12 matches in Wales during pool stages - but they have been given dispensation and World Rugby has deemed Cardiff to be in England for the duration of the RWC.

So if the AP season is delayed does that mean it will finish later on too? Or will they just have to cram more games around the 6N?

RDW_Scotland wrote:So if the AP season is delayed does that mean it will finish later on too? Or will they just have to cram more games around the 6N?

LV cup has been dropped, which frees up the 6 weekends lost to RWC. It does however mean that more matches will be played during the 6Ns, but of course no AIs when we normally play two AP matches.

Ah I see.

So which teams do people think will cope best with the increased number of games without England players? Assuming England make it to at least the Semi-finals, that is a lot of games played without them.

From a Pro 12 point of view I can see the likes of Connacht doing well, as they don't have as many internationals. Glasgow are going to be completely shafted though - they will probably lose an entire starting XV for the world cup.

The other 3 Irish provinces will lose a lot of players too but have good squad depth to cover for it.

In Pro12 I think the sides with least Internationals will obviously try to make as much hay when the sun is shining as possible. They'll be season fresh and they'll give it a go to win usually unwinnable games or stack up more points than usual in winnable games. And of course I then think the old pragmatic sides with quite a few Internationals will try to stall any showboating by the opposition with spoiling, ruggedly defensive games designed to give as little as possible away.

I don't really think any of the League tables will look all that different to how they usually do when the dust settles and the WC is over.

T14 calendar is pure Poopie. Starts in 22nd of august with 3 rounds during clashing with 2 pre wc friendlies. Then 4th round just before the pool games and nothing during 1 month. t14 resumes at the same time as the QFs for rounds 5, 6 and 7 (same weekend as the final).
Basically a good quarter of the T14 is irrelevant. Then we have 2-3 rounds during the 6N and this year chef's special is a final on the 24th of june (in Barcelona) so basically none of the semi finalists players will be part of the Argentina tour...

.... in Barcelona?

Oh I do hope the French show for that

SecretFly wrote:.... in Barcelona?

Oh I do hope the French show for that

Good luck with filling up the nou camp on a friday...

whocares wrote:T14 calendar is pure Poopie. Starts in 22nd of august with 3 rounds during clashing with 2 pre wc friendlies. Then 4th round just before the pool games and nothing during 1 month. t14 resumes at the same time as the QFs for rounds 5, 6 and 7 (same weekend as the final).
Basically a good quarter of the T14 is irrelevant. Then we have 2-3 rounds during the 6N and this year chef's special is a final on the 24th of june (in Barcelona) so basically none of the semi finalists players will be part of the Argentina tour...

Got to love the French league eh. Never mind the fact that the 3rd biggest sporting event in the world is on, let's just crack on with our games regardless!

The fact that the final is so late that it impacts the French national team says it all really.

RDW_Scotland wrote:Ah I see.

So which teams do people think will cope best with the increased number of games without England players? Assuming England make it to at least the Semi-finals, that is a lot of games played without them.

For many it will depend on who makes it through to the knockout stages.

Taking Leicester, our front row resources look like they'd be threadbare after International call ups. However with Italy likely to miss out on the knockouts we will have Ghirildini and Rizzo back. If Samoa can't get past Scotland (or underestimate Japan these days) we will have Mulipola back.

Ayerza may be missing a bit longer given that Argentina should progress ahead of Georgia (another not to be underestimated), Tonga and Namibia. Then given the runners up of pool C (Argentina) will have QF against the winners of pool D which should be Ireland, who I'd back against Arg, but may be France, a more difficult one to call.

Fiji will need a miracle to get out of the pool of death so Goneva will be back.

Other than that Tigers will be missing both Youngs brothers, Cole and Manu if fit. Possibly Slater as well if he gets a chance in the warm-up games. Leaving a round 1 pack of:

1.Rizzo
2.Ghirildini
3.Balmain or Mulipola
4.Slater or Fitzgerald
5.Kitchener
6.Croft or Williams
7.O'Connor
8.Fonau

Our side will change a lot next season with new signings but that is basically a 1.Ayerza 2.Youngs 3.Cole front row away from being a 1st choice for many fans at the moment. Our depth in the front row will hopefully allow us to weather the absence of those three pretty well given most other sides with strong front rows will be missing key players as well anyway.

The backs at the moment are harder to call given we are hoping for another centre and full back to come in who may or may not be available during the WC depending on who we sign.

With absentees Saracens will likely look like

1.Barrington
2.Brits
3.Du Plessis
4.Itoje
5.Hargreaves
6.Wray
7.Fraser
8.Joubert


9.De Kock
10.Hodgson
11.Strettle
12.Tompkins
13.Streather
14.Ellery
15.Ransom

16.Gill
17.George
18.Alo
19.Rhodes
20.Hankin
21.Spencer
22.Mordt
23.Earle

Certainly will act as a leveller but will give some guys like Tompkins an opportunity with no Barritt or Bosch in the centres.

Sarries will have surely have Burger & Wyles available - unless you believe Namibia/USA will make the 1/4 finals.

Good chance that Hamilton & Ashton will not even be selected for World Cup.

Also Gill, thought he was leaving?

H Cup starts 2 weeks after the final if I remember right.

It is not just the late start that will play a part, it is also likely to be the fatigue at the end of the sesason. The players involved in the WC warm ups and then the tournament will end up playing solidly for 10 months, with probably only a couple of weeks off at the end of this season. That is going to be some ask and then lots of them will be going off on international tours at the end of the season. They will be on their knees!

whocares wrote:

SecretFly wrote:.... in Barcelona?

Oh I do hope the French show for that

Good luck with filling up the nou camp on a friday...

Cryptic, but I found what you were alluding to was this:

http://www.fcbarcelona.com/club/detail/article/camp-nou-to-host-french-rugby-final-in-june-2016

Great for rugby, but the reason given is a clash with Euro 2016 in France. Moved from France, and to a Friday on account of Euro 2016. Eh?