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Rugby at St Mary's


Master Bates

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Great.

 

Lets f**k up the pitch..

 

Seeing we're incapable of stringing more than 2 passes together on the current billiard table surface, I can't see that that will matter a jot! Maybe you're worried it will effect our only chance of silverware (Groundsman of the Year)?

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Great.

 

Lets f**k up the pitch..

 

Weeeellllll.....

 

In theory (IF things go wrong in the next few days) by the time the WC comes along maybe it would help our Academy boys cope with playing on other pitches in the Salisbury & District League 3 on a Saturday afternoon.

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I have just walked past The Rec in Bath and the pitch looks better than St.Mary's.

 

PS. I know that the point was ground sharing, but there.

 

To be fair, rugby only pitches have more grass, so you can't really see any of the damage caused. Whereas joint-sport pitches obviously have to have the grass cut short for football, which can cause problems.

 

The Rec does look good, though.

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I can think of many grounds with a much higher capacity than ours, so whats the reasoning behind this? Dont get me wrong, it'd be great for the city, and it'd net us a few quid. Maybe it a regional thing, close to france and all that...

 

It will be a regional thing and the games hosted will not doubt feature some of the lesser nations, there would after all be no point in Japan playing Tonga on a 60'000 capacity arena much better to have a small ground full than a big ground empty.

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I can think of many grounds with a much higher capacity than ours, so whats the reasoning behind this? Dont get me wrong, it'd be great for the city, and it'd net us a few quid. Maybe it a regional thing, close to france and all that...

 

It's down to whether they would be able to sell tickets. Hampshire is a very 'rugby union' part of the country, if they played a game at the stadium of light, they might not get the same support, the same if they played in Sheffield or Leeds. Also transport links, if we had, let's say South Africa vs Fiji down here, most of the fans of those countries will be coming from, or into London, we're only an hour away.

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Damn i was hoping that it was going to say that London Wasps would be playing their home games at St Marys,Wycombe is a pain to get too.

 

Good news however,if confirmed.

 

 

Me too, Adams Park is a nightmare.

 

Rugby World Cup at St Marys - Bring it on :D

 

I've been getting a little disillusioned with football lately, (players wages, players falling over whenever an opponent comes within 2 yards of them, players arrogance, not to mention the whole SFC circus of recent months). I would love to see top class Rugby at St Marys . My 2 lads both play Rugby and love it and despite being ST holders it's been difficult to get them along to matches lately, especially the youngest one. He played at Adams Park recently in a half-time exhibition match and really enjoyed it.

 

Before the missiles get primed for launching I'm not advocating it should be Rugby played exclusively at St Marys, but a ground share would be good.

 

Tin hat on - sand bags filled. :)

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Me too, Adams Park is a nightmare.

 

Rugby World Cup at St Marys - Bring it on :D

 

I've been getting a little disillusioned with football lately, (players wages, players falling over whenever an opponent comes within 2 yards of them, players arrogance, not to mention the whole SFC circus of recent months). I would love to see top class Rugby at St Marys . My 2 lads both play Rugby and love it and despite being ST holders it's been difficult to get them along to matches lately, especially the youngest one. He played at Adams Park recently in a half-time exhibition match and really enjoyed it.

 

Before the missiles get primed for launching I'm not advocating it should be Rugby played exclusively at St Marys, but a ground share would be good.

 

Tin hat on - sand bags filled. :)

Totally agree. I wish that I could watch top-class Rugby down here. Suppose Quins is the easiest to get to though isn`t it?

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The IRB do a huge amount of work on expanding the game globally, as seen by their 7's series and the emergence of teams like Kenya.

 

Japan will probably be favourite as hosts for the event on that basis, although an English tournament will likely bring in more money as we have a larger base of fans.

 

Some of the minor teams will go through a qualifying tournament, looking at how they are building the regional stadiums, it would appear more likely that SMS would host something like Kenya v Uruguay than England v Australia, but going to see ANY match in ANY form of a World Cup IS a special moment and should be taken if the chance comes up.

 

It will also prove to be a feather in the cap for the City as a whole and HOPEFULLY for Saints with all the global coverage

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Massive potential for any new owners regarding rugby. Southampton Sporting Club comprising Saints FC and Saints RFC (Northampton won't like it). I think rugby could get good crowds.

 

I'm ready to be slated !!! :D

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I have just walked past The Rec in Bath and the pitch looks better than St.Mary's.

 

PS. I know that the point was ground sharing, but there.

 

The pitch at Bath receives much more sun than SMS's.

 

This is the same reason why the top pitch awards in the Premiership were constantly won by the likes of the Dell and Highbury with open corners rather than any stadia with encompassing bowls.

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I agree with Phil. Having watched the 7's tournaments years ago in Dubai and how it has expended to what it is today, anything that puts SMS on the map is a good thing for the club and the city! Plus there is a chance to see an entertaining match on the pitch instead of the usual tears and disappointment! (Only joking!)

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Great, so our pitch is to be ****ed up like the rest of the teams who allow that 'sport' to be played in their stadiums.

 

You appear to have missed the post about Swansea winning the Best Pitch award...

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I dont get who is saying that rugby will be allowed at SMS, seeing as at present there is no real owner of the stadium to agree to it.

 

Or are we to assume that the prospective new owners are not going to buy the stadium and that the talks with the council are already at such a stage that they feel its OK to give their backing to this?

 

Juts how Im reading it.

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I dont get who is saying that rugby will be allowed at SMS, seeing as at present there is no real owner of the stadium to agree to it.

 

Or are we to assume that the prospective new owners are not going to buy the stadium and that the talks with the council are already at such a stage that they feel its OK to give their backing to this?

 

Juts how Im reading it.

 

Very good point, Pancake!

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Whatever the rights or wrongs of whether rugby should be played at our stadium, this is a well-timed story as far as we are concerned. It can only serve to highlight the potential in terms of revenue generation that our stadium has. Got to be good for potential buyers.

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I dont get who is saying that rugby will be allowed at SMS, seeing as at present there is no real owner of the stadium to agree to it.

 

Or are we to assume that the prospective new owners are not going to buy the stadium and that the talks with the council are already at such a stage that they feel its OK to give their backing to this?

 

Juts how Im reading it.

 

Lowe probably agree to it sometime ago I would have thought it is unlikely to have happened recently

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Lowe probably agree to it sometime ago I would have thought it is unlikely to have happened recently

 

Im not buying that. Even if the previous board ha agreed to it, the Rugby FA (or whatever they are called) will still have to re-agree with the new owners.

 

If I agreed to allow some mates camp in my back garden then lost my house due to money problems, Im pretty sure the new owners wouldnt be very happy with my mates tearing up their new turf without asking for an "ok" first!

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Im not buying that. Even if the previous board ha agreed to it, the Rugby FA (or whatever they are called) will still have to re-agree with the new owners.

 

If I agreed to allow some mates camp in my back garden then lost my house due to money problems, Im pretty sure the new owners wouldnt be very happy with my mates tearing up their new turf without asking for an "ok" first!

 

I think you are probably wrong the RFU would have been working on this for sometime and would not have announced it without some firm commitment from SFC.

 

However I dont think the RFU are definitely going to get the world cup

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I think you are probably wrong the RFU would have been working on this for sometime and would not have announced it without some firm commitment from SFC.

 

But SFC dont own the stadium, that was SLH and they dont exist (really) any more...

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But SFC dont own the stadium, that was SLH and they dont exist (really) any more...

 

SLH then .

 

 

Somebody must have agreed it and I thought it was unlikely that any new owner would want to tear up the agreement and lose revenue

 

Read this

 

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/saints/news/4364286.St_Mary_s_confirmed_as_part_of_World_Cup_bid/

Edited by John B
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And wouldn't this be during the summer anyway?

 

Probably not - last few RWCs have been in October/November - the one we one in Aus was November 03 as I recall. Likely to be so they can play when they're earlyish in their season - couple of months in. Playing in June would conflict with the Lions tours and the Tri-Nations (Aus/NZ/SA) (I think), plus the injuries are more serious by the end of a rugby season, you would imagine.

 

Just checked http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_World_Cup#Tournaments

 

Apart from the 1987 (NZ) and 1995 (SA) - all have been around late September - mid Novemberish - the 2011 (NZ) will be Sept/October.

 

Hmm - that'll mean interspersing the games with Saints games (god willing we still exist then!). Presumably SMS would be hosting group stage games, unlikely 1/4 or semi finals would be there, that's what "Twickers" would be for.

Edited by stockportsaint
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