England star boots Leicester to victory over Cardiff
England fly-half George Ford scored two drop goals as Leicester Tigers powered their way past Cardiff Blues and booked their place in the European Rugby Challenge Cup quarter-finals.
Ford also converted tries by Simon Lewis, Jordan Olowofela and Ben White and kicked a penalty on his way to a personal tally of 15 points as the Tigers clinched top spot in Pool 5 with a game to spare with a 30-20 win at Welford Road.
The visitors got off to the perfect start when centre Josh Adams went over in the corner and Jason Tovey added the conversion, but Leicester flanker Lewis crossed to allow Ford to tie it up at 7-7 with 18 minutes gone.
Late replacement Ben Thomas restored the Blues’ lead five minutes before the break after accepting Rey Lee-lo’s offload, with Tovey obliging once again with the two extra points, only for Ford’s penalty to reduce the deficit to 10-14 at the break.
The home side took the lead for the first time within three minutes of the restart when full-back Telusa Veainu put winger Olowofela in and Ford added a fine touchline conversion, although a Tovey penalty squared it up at 17-17.
Scrum-half White restored Leicester’s lead with their third try of the game with Ford extending it to 24-17, and the England number 10 added two drop goals either side of Tovey’s second penalty to wrap up the win.
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I think you’re putting far too much stock in athletic ability. Totally different positions/roles and what I was getting at their relative performance in rugby is irrelevant, that they are world class athletes wouldn’t have an influence. People who never had what it takes to make it in rugby are key football players. This will be a completely separate and unique journey.
They get in far far easyier than others because of their commercial aspect (next thing there will be a PPP for Youtubers), but I think if they’re not cutting it after year they’d find it just as hard as anybody to get in. I followed Hayne a bit, but part of that was the clubs he chose as well. I doubt I’d be interested in doing it again.
Who Petaia, or LRZ?
Go to commentsYeah of course it can be, it manages a good commerical outcome when 100 million people are following it. I’m saying rugby is no where near even remotely close to getting the payoff you’re talking about, never mind the distinct lack of anyway to implement it.
So you’re going for the dirty approach. I’m not surprised, it’s the only way to easily implement it right now. I wouldn’t see the benefit to doing that myself. A draft, if purely feasible in it’s own right, doesn’t need to provide commercial benefit at all (if it works, that’s all it needs to do, as it no doubt did back in america’s heyday). But without the advantageous backing of sponsors and interest levels, if you pick the wrong method to implement it, like a dirty approach, you do potential harm to it’s acceptance.
The aspect’s of the approach you chose that I don’t like, is that the franchises are the ones spending the money of the U20’s only for there opposition to get first dibs. Personally, I would much prefer an investment into a proper pathway (which I can’t really see SR U20s being at all in anycase). I’m not exactly sure how the draft works in america, but I’m pretty sure it’s something like ‘anyone whishing to be pro has to sign for the draft’, and results in maybe 10 or 20% of those being drafted. The rest (that accumulative 80/90% year on year) do go back into club, pronvincial, or whatever they have there, and remain scouted and options to bring in on immediate notice for cover etc. You yes, you draw on everybody, but what is generating your interest in the drafties in the first plaec?
This is your missing peace. If some come through school and into the acadamies, which would be most, you’ve currently got three years of not seeing those players after they leave school. Those that miss and come in through club, maybe the second year theyre in the draft or whatever, aged 20/21, you’re going to have no clue how they’ve been playing. NPC is a high level, so any that are good enough to play that would already be drafted, but some late bloomers you might see come in NPC but then Sky’s not going to broadcast that anymore. So what’s generating this massive interest you’re talking about, and most importantly, how does it tie in with the other 7 clubs that will be drafting (and providing) players outside of NZ?
Is the next step to pump tens of millions into SRP U20s? That would be a good start for investment in the youth (to get onto international levels of pathway development) in the first place but are fans going to be interested to the same level as what happens in america? Baseball, as mentioned, has the minor leagues, if we use that model it hasn’t to be broad over the whole pacific, because you’re not having one draft right, they all have to play against each other. So here they get drafted young and sent out into a lower level thats more expansive that SR, is there interest in that? There would be for large parts, but how financially viable would it be. Twiggy tried to get a league started and NPC clubs joined. BOP and Taranaki want SR representation, do we have a mix of the biggest clubs and provinces/states make a couple of divisions? I think that is far more likely to fan interest and commerical capabilities than an U20 of the SR teams. Or ofc Uni fits a lot of options. I’ve not really read anything that has tried to nut out the feasability of a draft, it can certainly work if this spitballing is anything to go by, but I think first theres got to be a need for it far above just being a drafting level.
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