I thought I might as well throw in my two cents about the PRO 14, as it'll now be called. First off, we should see some good games. The Cheetahs and the Kings aren't top teams in South Africa, but they aren't terrible either. South Africa has so many players, it's a just question of good coaching to put together decent sides. I'm not really saying good coaching is all that common though. Watching the Sharks, Stormers and Lions in action this weekend...omg the handling skills are just brutal! There's no lack of flipping huge forwards, and speedy backs, but their basic skills are woeful. In fairness, I've seen the Lions a few times this season where their handling was unreal, but not this weekend that's for sure!
So some good games then, but what about everything else? The home and away is a problem. If Munster want to fly to play one of them, that's a drive to Dublin, fly to the UK, fly to Joburg, then another flight to Bloemfontein (voted in the old Super 14 as the most boring city on the circuit by the players) ( That's where Rassie is from by the way) or to East London. That's going to take a long time, and is just about going to rule out away fans on either side.
Then there's the conference system, two blocks of 7 teams, who play each other home and away and then the other conference one. With Leinster and Munster in opposite sides apparently, that's one derby out the window.
Sponsorship? How's it going to work for Guinness? And harder now to find a common European/South African sponsor.
Overall, there's a few big flaws that are going to be hard to overcome...things could get messy!
It was good to see James Lowe in fine form on the weekend, he's going to be great addition for Leinster this season.
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