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Magic Weekend

druzik

druzik

Juniors
Messages
1,804
Just heard that Scotland is confirmed for next years MM, and a option on a third year.
 
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St.John

Juniors
Messages
263
cumberlandsashes81 said:
Ah yes... Dublin would make sense. There's been talk of a championship team being based in Ireland so it could be good timing in 2011.
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This sort of idea has been knocking around since the first time in Cardiff, but I think it's a red herring.

Cardiff got the games because they approached the Super League with some cash to take a round of matches there when the Challenge Cup moved back to Wembley. It wasn't really much at all to do with the Crusaders, that was more of a happy coinncidence.

Edinburgh likewise. There have been rumours of a Scottish interest in entering a team in the lower ranks of the pro game in the UK, but that's not really anything to do with the Magic Weekend.

The game is advancing in Ireland, but if the weekend goes to Dublin it won't be in an attempt to bolster a pro / semi-pro Irish team.
 
cumberlandsashes81

cumberlandsashes81

Bench
Messages
3,625
St.John said:
This sort of idea has been knocking around since the first time in Cardiff, but I think it's a red herring.

Cardiff got the games because they approached the Super League with some cash to take a round of matches there when the Challenge Cup moved back to Wembley. It wasn't really much at all to do with the Crusaders, that was more of a happy coinncidence.

Edinburgh likewise. There have been rumours of a Scottish interest in entering a team in the lower ranks of the pro game in the UK, but that's not really anything to do with the Magic Weekend.

The game is advancing in Ireland, but if the weekend goes to Dublin it won't be in an attempt to bolster a pro / semi-pro Irish team.
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It's a bit like the Sharks playing games in Adelaide - it's for the money not because anyone's creating a franchise there.

These kinds of "happy coincidences" are useful when trying to set up a pro team, though.
 
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St.John

Juniors
Messages
263
cumberlandsashes81 said:
Interesting that Brian Carney has been involved in the broadcast... Is he still playing Union?
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He seems to be, according to this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Carney_(rugby)#2009

Brian made a try scoring debut for the Barbarians against the Scarlets on January 31st 2009. He participated in the Dubai World Cup Sevens as part of a 12 man Irish squad, finishing up as joint top Irish try scorer with 3 tries. Though in a tough pool stage including Samoa, Australia and Portugal, they did manage to defeat Australia 24-21, with Brian getting a try. He scored 2 more tries in the Bowl Semi-Final win over Hong Kong. They went on to lose 14-17 to Zimbabwe in the Bowl Final for an overall ranking of 10th, but by beating Australia showed that Ireland have the class to compete with the best. But it must be said that since signing with Munster Brain has not made many appearances. It seems he is a talent wasted by his home province and country.

I really like Carney, I think he's a promising addition to the Sky commentary team.

Edit - "home province?" I thought he was a Leinsterman.
 
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St.John

Juniors
Messages
263
cumberlandsashes81 said:
It's a bit like the Sharks playing games in Adelaide - it's for the money not because anyone's creating a franchise there.

These kinds of "happy coincidences" are useful when trying to set up a pro team, though.
Click to expand...

Oh absolutely - there's been quite a lot of positive coverage of the sport in Scottish media as a result of the weekend. This is something that becomes very glaring when you set up initiatives like this; otherwise oblivious media outlets become quite complimentary towards the game.

It's crazy that a bunch of clubs with no connection to Scotland will probably end up with bigger crowds there than any club RU side in Scotland this year.
 
cumberlandsashes81

cumberlandsashes81

Bench
Messages
3,625
St.John said:
I really like Carney, I think he's a promising addition to the Sky commentary team.
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He's been great this weekend. He was fantastic on the Footy Show while he was out here - clever and humourous...

Not that I want to be a code warrior on this forum but it's a bit strange for a current union player to be part of Rugby league broadcast.
 
cumberlandsashes81

cumberlandsashes81

Bench
Messages
3,625
St.John said:
Oh absolutely - there's been quite a lot of positive coverage of the sport in Scottish media as a result of the weekend. This is something that becomes very glaring when you set up initiatives like this; otherwise oblivious media outlets become quite complimentary towards the game.

It's crazy that a bunch of clubs with no connection to Scotland will probably end up with bigger crowds there than any club RU side in Scotland this year.
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One of the nice things about the coverage of the weekend has been the number of children and families you can see in the crowd.

For a country like Scotland that is so used to seeing the secular hatred of an Old Firm derby this must be quite refreshing to see fans of all clubs mingling in a friendly manner.
 
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St.John

Juniors
Messages
263
cumberlandsashes81 said:
Not that I want to be a code warrior on this forum but it's a bit strange for a current union player to be part of Rugby league broadcast.
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Fair point, but I have no objections - I don't think it's the same situation as other losses to the code. I think he was just homesick and wanted a break. I think his heart is still in RL, but RU is more convenient for him at the moment.
 
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