rossie wrote: Dragons beat bath 22-20 at home. Edinburgh well beaten at saints and Treviso hammered rovigo.

Glasgow lost by two to Quins....

Dragons beat bath 22-20 at home. Edinburgh well beaten at saints and Treviso hammered rovigo.

Cardiff blues beat sale sharks 45-24 last night on their new pitch. All seem happy with the surface .

Looks like Scarlets have signed NZ winger Frazier Climo from Taranaki. Won't be here for several weeks due to ITM commitments.
www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/Scarlets-snap...y.html#axzz2cmUzJOEk

salmson wrote:

Diom wrote:

rossie wrote: Rabo direct pulling out of sponsorship at end of season.

Yeah, Sky apparently have the TV rights for next season, and they want the advertising bucks to go to the Irish market. I'd say with Sky coverage they will probably be able to pull in a bigger chunk of change, but I will miss being able to watch the matches at home (I don't have Sky Sports).

Sky don't have exclusive coverage, and it's expected that almost all games will be covered live from next year.

Ahh okay... so how does it get broken down? Who gets what?

EDIT::
Found this post from ConnachtCows

ConnachtCows wrote: Here's how I hope it works out

Sky get first choice of the games each week. They go for one Saturday match each week, and five additional matches throughout the season. The five additional matches will probably be selected when the last set of dates are announced, so Sky can focus on battles for home semi finals
Sky are also forced to show at least one live match from each ground throughout the season.

Any other channels with rights, cannot show the game Sky are showing live, but can show highlights later in the day.

Sky will provide highlights to all the other channels, and vice versa, allowing Sky to have a recap show once a week.

No doubt Sky will come to Galway only for Interpros

Diom wrote:

rossie wrote: Rabo direct pulling out of sponsorship at end of season.

Yeah, Sky apparently have the TV rights for next season, and they want the advertising bucks to go to the Irish market. I'd say with Sky coverage they will probably be able to pull in a bigger chunk of change, but I will miss being able to watch the matches at home (I don't have Sky Sports).

Sky don't have exclusive coverage, and it's expected that almost all games will be covered live from next year.

Sky aren't title sponsors for the league though are they? Maybe BT Sport will take it on as a means of advertising on sky!

rossie wrote: Rabo direct pulling out of sponsorship at end of season.

Yeah, Sky apparently have the TV rights for next season, and they want the advertising bucks to go to the Irish market. I'd say with Sky coverage they will probably be able to pull in a bigger chunk of change, but I will miss being able to watch the matches at home (I don't have Sky Sports).

Rabo direct pulling out of sponsorship at end of season.

It sure is. Not so sure about 4g though. Don't know if that matters either.

The Sarries and Cardiff pitches are designed to take a regular stud, so you don't need to switch boots. As for Ireland, isn't the back pitch at the Aviva (where Lansdowne play) artificial?

rossie wrote: PIC of blues new pitch here. Hopefully it posts. Not very tech!

I guess Connacht will be the playing in the first competitive match on the new pitch. At least it will serve as practice for Sarries away. I suppose the main thing to get used to is the bounce of the ball. Will teams get much chance to practice in advance I wonder. Are there any 4G surfaces in Ireland. Do they need different boots?

Here is the latest from Ravenhill Ground...

PIC of blues new pitch here. Hopefully it posts. Not very tech!

rossie wrote: Edinburgh sign lh south arfican prop wicas blaauw.

Great name, he could really only be a prop or a Bond villain.

Edinburgh sign lh south arfican prop wicas blaauw.

Leinster were meant to have taken a look at him and were showing interest in him replacing Van Der Merve nothing came of it obviously either cause they decided to go with youth or the IRFU wouldn't sanction it. Can apparently play both sides of the scrum but primarily a LH