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Premiership versus Pro14 'Grand Final' looks hugely unpopular on Twitter

Sexton and Farrell exchange pleasantries (Getty Images)

With CVC potentially in a position to acquire both Premiership rugby and the Pro14, reports have emerged that a Grand Final could be played between the winner of each league, according to The Times.

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This is something that has been met with widespread opprobrium from fans, who feel that this is excessive in this day and age of rugby.

With international, European and domestic rugby, the main concern currently is that players are playing too much. An additional final would be overkill according to many fans, and unfair on the players.

Another match would also be incompatible with rugby calendars, particularly in years with British and Irish Lions series, where there is barely any time between the end of the domestic season and the start of the tour.

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Not only this, but this is a final that could undermine the Champions Cup final, or more likely, pale into insignificance compared to the European competition. Some fans envision this being nothing short of a friendly, where two teams may have already faced each other in a final.

For example, Saracens and Leinster could potentially meet each other twice in the finals if the system were in place this season.

This is what the fans have been saying on Twitter since the rumours of this match emerged:

https://twitter.com/maxtrail1/status/1118927998210625542?s=20
https://twitter.com/mxyzplx/status/1118931440899641345?s=20
https://twitter.com/aj_backrow/status/1118931947382812672?s=20
https://twitter.com/Ciaran_O/status/1118924220552163335?s=20
https://twitter.com/moffettAG/status/1118926589708787717?s=20
https://twitter.com/TomQuinnen/status/1118919511418253313?s=20
https://twitter.com/bigparahandy/status/1118933418547601408?s=20
https://twitter.com/samalexrogers/status/1118928263261368321?s=20
https://twitter.com/maxtrail1/status/1118928217606279168?s=20

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The consensus amongst fans is that this would just be a pointless exercise. The danger is that too many finals could dilute season finales that already are in place.

From both a fan and player perspective, this does not look like a popular proposal. As player welfare is increasingly at the forefront of rugby, a decision like this seems to ignore that completely. Players do not need another brutal final to contend with at the end of their season, and this is what many fans feel.

A lot of plans are being made for both international and club rugby at the moment, some which have been more popular than others, but this seems to be an idea that has been met with universal disapproval.

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Poorfour 1 hour ago
300,000 tickets sold and counting for 'era defining' Rugby World Cup

I suspect the major holdback is still for other unions to sell their tickets. One thing I did notice and didn’t know how to quantify is that the major areas of availability seem to be the standing sections in the grounds that have them.


If we assume that those are a) around 5-10% of the total tickets (a guess) and b) there are still around 10-15% held back, then 80% of the available seats would get us to c350k.


I agree with you that the 400k target is very attainable, and this article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/c9dqn0g2jdgo


reminded me that we have the Women’s Soccer Euros a month or two ahead of the RWC. A good run there could well stoke additional interest for the rugby, especially as the broadcasters and the sports themselves seem to be getting their act together in terms of promoting a summer of women’s sport.


But even without that, what’s clear is that the tournament has already met its planned sales and that the matches will be well attended, with the bigger ones almost certainly selling out. I imagine that financially we’re now well into upside territory.

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