BULLS-S***??? | CHAMPIONS CUP "DISRESPECT"?!?!

A story reported ahead of the Quarter Finals suggested the Bulls could be investigated for fielding a weakened team in their game in Northampton. What do YOU think?

[@nealfeely4183]

I have NEVER posted any comment on anything on the 'net but after seeing this I couldn't resist. Honestly Tim, you are without a doubt the best rugby pundit around; you have such a balanced, sensible view which is sorely lacking pretty much everywhere these days. You need to get into rugby administration quickly, we need guys like you to replace the old guard of Beaumont and co!

[@louiserasmus8421]

Amen to that

[@leratokhoele6556]

I'm a black SA woman who's a big rugby fan living in Mpumalanga- I genuinely appreciate you and your channel!!

[@richardprinsloo2012]

Which town in Mpumalanga, Lerato?

[@richardprinsloo2012]

Reason I am asking is I grew up there, just for interest sake.

[@leratokhoele6556]

Mpumalanga is a province where there is the Kruger National park- so the town I live in is White River- so you pass White River to get to the Kruger National Park ( where you would find the 'Big 5')..so come back and visit home😉

[@petrusmare7789]

Awesome Lerato🎉

[@MickJaggerr1]

I’m a white dude living in England, who grew up in rural iKomani.. I appreciate you too …. I’m visiting SA now… and dam my heart missed my fellow black people so badly 😢

[@michaelsaayman2802]

Tim I think you the best rugby analyst on KZbin. Your honesty and sense of reasoning is refreshing. Best wishes from George(city) South Africa

[@johntroy-bh5ho]

They should be thrown out of the competition. Why did they apply to enter it in the first place if they are not going to compete properly?

[@michaelsaayman2802]

@@johntroy-bh5ho Why not throw out Leinster and Gloucester too as they did exactly the same thing. I am a Stormers fan not a Blue Bull but if you going to be fair then be fair to all

[@celticfc1916]

He went into details about squad numbers time and time again. but never went into detail about why they basically gave up this game except for travel reasons. Why join in the first place if you know the distance from A to B. URC has accommodated this by making teams tour and fair for all involved . Talks about South African clubs new to this competition, so they are not interested yet. Does he realise what he is saying. They are also new to the URC. I agree with the comments on player welfare, but that's just moving the goalposts, which is a general problem all around .

[@mickeymouse-xr9gy]

@@johntroy-bh5ho How are they not competing "properly" Effing arrogance of NH is unbearable.,

[@southy238]

@@michaelsaayman2802 What?????

[@andrewd762]

Always great to watch someone discussing and debating something they're passionate about. Keep up the good work and hope your channel grows. All the best from a Cape Town rugby lover.

[@WhyUbrown]

Leinster put 90 points on a Montpelier team few years back. No one was calling for France to get kicked out of the comp

[@ciaranbrk]

But they were calling from Montpelier to be investigated I know because I was one of them I was disgusted that they sent a week and team to a champions cup game. The prize money for winning the champions cup needs to be improved so teams prioritise it.

[@WhyUbrown]

@@ciaranbrk Yeah they were calling for Montpelier. But not France.

[@ebw9802]

I was at that game, it was like a training run

[@clementbatut4053]

Maybe because France actually is in Europe, and there isn't à ten hours flight from here to other countries. And then french clubs got à lot of trophies in both champions and challenge cup. On a side note the investigation threat is so stupid, there is nothing to investigate. It all happens in plain sight but the organisation must accept that this is a consequence of à greedy decision that makes no sense trying to act as if south africa was a european country

[@fergalbannon4614]

Typical Saffer response. No one has called all teams to be kicked out. Just get your fuckin priorities straight.

[@koosvanderwat998]

Hey Tim, thanks for bringing clarity on the real issues in rugby. Thanks for always staying fair, objective and passionate.

[@rooftile883]

Thanks, as a South African you make me feel better. I was initially very disappointed with Jake's team choice and thought that I would prefer the team to be competitive in both competitions in stead trying to win the one competition and abandoning the other.

[@zpopinfresh]

I have seen several of your takes on rugby stories, so far that I consider you the voice of reason amongst the click-bait crowd. Well rounded and knowledgeable response, the internet thanks you.

[@pammarsh101]

Perfectly said.

[@geoffhiggins742]

Clearly it's a matter of priorities The Bulls have prioritised league over cup... clearly. Adding the South African clubs to a European competition was logistically, ridiculous. However a team's coach can pick whatever team he wants to. If he's happy to send a team to England to have their arses tanned, that is his choice, and his alone.

[@coatknight]

I don't think it was a mistake adding the South African teams but it has certainly highlighted what was a logistical problem before that has never been addressed. Sort the timing of the competitions and this problem will go away. Let the different league competitions finish and then do the EPCR.

[@dillanarendse9730]

JW’s poes and your’s too. SA comes first and as a Stormers supporter, clearly CC would mean more and is a more realistic opportunity to bring silverware back to South African shores.

[@coatknight]

@@dillanarendse9730 well you are clearly not a classy individual.

[@wlk2408]

@@coatknight I agree but it is even simpler than that. Just leave two weeks between Champions Cup playoff games and all this will go away.

[@jacqloock]

Logistical difficulties by their nature are amenable to solution or at least amelioration, bigly, by better… logistics. An overnight flight in business class on a Saturday/Sunday or charter flights are but two possible improvements. You do not have the first clue how absolutely awesome these competitions are going to be when the SA clubs get to 80% of what they have traditionally been. They are currently an empty shell of their former selves due to exploitation by the Antipodean Krays and the pandemic and mass exodus. You’ll see 4000 at Loftus every week.

[@johannmalan2994]

If the coach think it's time to rest his top players it is right to do so, these players is just human and needs rest. Rassie did this last year , if I remember right against Wales. He achieved 2 things out of it, he did build depth in his squad, and his top players got a bit of well deserved rest.

[@PeterDouglas-wd5fx]

And you can't build depth without squad rotation. Look at how many times the All Blacks, for instance, pick the same 15 or 23? Hardly ever; but they have a great many players who've experienced the squad environment. When a player is unavailable it's a problem more easily overcome. It's a squad game these days

[@ryanfulton2247]

BRILLIANT!! Level-headed and unbiased reasoning. You understand rugby and have zero axe to grind and no grudges. Great how you point out the blatant hypocrisy. 👏 👏👏 Love it - what a breath of fresh air.

[@andrewelliott4111]

Yet again spot on! Love your analysis. Have a lekker time when you here in South Africa. ✌❤

[@antonielaing]

Awesome channel. Started following you last year during the RWC. Can't fault you on any point made during the video. As a Bulls supporter, I too was disappointed in the team sent to England. I knew there was an almost 0 percent chance they would win and didn't even bother watching the game. I also recognized that the game wasn't really important. For the Bulls, the URC is way more important. Not just on a prestigious point of view, but financially. The Bulls have a chance to acquire a home Semi-Final and even Final in the URC. That would be a major cash injection. Winning the Champions Cup Quarter wouldn't net any money for the Bulls, as they'd travel for the Semis and Final if they won those respective games. For the European fans that might be annoyed by us. Give us a few more years. Once we acquire enough funds to build better 40 man squads, we'd be able to take both competitions more seriously. And we're getting there. In a year or two, we might even be able to afford some non-washed European players.

[@Tyson8887]

Brilliant channel. Just found it , thanks for taking your time to break down games . Agreed 110% about its unfair to criticise the bulls as its bonkers there player work load . Look i bet on Northampton to score over 33points at even money, i was fully aware of the bulls team coming to play . Anyway ill be watching more to see your takes on how gmes might go .

[@robertcarter9350]

Always a very well balanced viewpoint from this gent. Kudos.

[@keithdomoney1374]

Very well put, thank you for the honest and well thought out analysis of this issue. Spot on.

[@jan-gertnel4556]

Love your commentary and all the fair points that you have raised.

[@victordastile5204]

Lyon sent a weakened team to SA last weekend and there was no noise abt it.

[@seanofarrell8896]

That's my point to it has happened alot even before sa clubs joined sa bashing I call it . I'm a leinster fan saying this

[@jc15394]

I agree, Munster fan here and it’s only an issue because its an SA team doing it and they have the most reason to do it.

[@MickJaggerr1]

Love this channel. Always balanced in your thinking and reporting. Keep up the good work

[@douglasdejager8450]

Totally agree - sensible views! I'm enjoying all the new content and different kinds of videos, all short but with enough detail and goodness. Thanks Tim. Hope to see you in SA. Keep it up.

[@dhirshg]

I am a South African Sharks fan and gosh your channel sets the standard mate - 100% neutral and unbiased. I would have loved the Bulls to go for gold in the Champions Cup though!

[@conneltheunissen2997]

As usual a well balanced and unbiased commentary. Keep it up Tim

[@johnsmithwinkwink1704]

You hit the nail on the head, a team must select 41 players for the tournament before it started so who the hell can tell the coach which of the 41 players he must select. IT'S MADNESS.

[@seanofarrell8896]

I find it stupid that they are investigating the bulls over the 2nd team thing other teams did it over the years lots of teams did it once the format was changed good example Gloucester 2nd string v leinster in one season and montpellier did it lyon did it to. Dropping rd of 16 would have helped

[@croissants1280]

Were those weakened teams at the knockout stage of the tournament or the group stage when the weakened team was effectively out of the competition anyway?

[@CharlLeRoux]

@@croissants1280 Maybe a new rule is needed to say when it is allowed and when not?

[@khethokuhlemvelase9822]

Its the NH media just reporting nonsense to paint the Bulls in a bad light. These journalists ignore all the reasons jake white said motivated this squal selection. And now EPCR is allowing themselves to be influenced by these bias journalists. Jake said he had injured players he couldn't select. These journalists honestly expected him to play injured players!!!!?!!! Player safety and welfare is not being respected by these journalists and EPCR Jake white was well within his right to rotate his squad

[@derekallan1341]

and Lyon to SA 2 weekends ago

[@OscarOSullivan]

Leinster in the 2023 URC semi final

[@cosmic_diver]

So now the competition administrators now are the team selectors? Thanks mate, great video again. Sometimes it really seems like a witch hunt for SA teams or national team approaches. It's the right of a coach to choose the team they want. The travel is intense, but then the Super rugby travel was even worse because of the time difference. It's time the administrators stop interfering with the game in general.

[@CF-ib7be]

You're bang on Tim with your points. Thanks for this interesting video.

[@tonyjohnson1504]

Tim, for goodness sake keep going your analysis and comments are spot on all credit to you looking forward to seeing you break 100,000 subscribers 👍

[@donaldpinkus5284]

As usual such a well balanced analysis you are the best at this.

[@martingavin3147]

Totally agree

[@stevemorgs8771]

100% agree, up to the coaches to manage their squad/team. The suits are getting involved too much now, changing rules to mend the rules they changed.

[@pammarsh101]

Excellent discussion Tim. Thanx for being transparently perfect.

[@Kiwias]

I really enjoyed your take on this and it focuses on the key issue of player welfare, a key reason I don’t support the plans for a world club championship.

[@ingridsweeney1787]

Hardly watched rugby before I discovered your channel. Luckily it was before the World Cup. You make everything easy to understand and you cut through the cr@p

[@Oakeybloke]

Well said Tim, love the passion in your voice mate.

[@tallshort1849]

Perhaps having teams in a league that's halfway around the world might not be the best idea

[@timbaker4253]

You’re a rare voice of reason. Love your presentations.

[@shaunswart9857]

As always a very thoughtful and proper analysis done.

[@MartensAD]

Very well explained. I agree with your points 100%. It's up to the organisers to produce a schedule that does not force teams into decisions like this. Bear in mind that it is the first year that SA teams have competed in the CC. Hopefully lessons are learned.

[@christokapp597]

Spot on Tim, thank you for your balanced view and input.

[@shayhalpenny8826]

Great video Tim, I fully agree with the decision Jake took. And, for a 2nd string team they showed up and went toe to toe for the first half. Then angry warthog certainly wasn't laying down! As a Leinster man, I love having SA teams in both competitions. We should plan better for their travel!

[@bmulman]

Great take always Tim, agreed with all you said. I would add that if the EPCR wanted more respect for the comp they would sort out the scheduling and not tell SA sides they can't have a home Semi or final.

[@aaronnaidoo1]

Wonderful analysis Tim. You really are a master of your craft.

[@johnmellitchey6625]

Thank you for a sensible and logical analysis and zero bias.

[@MariusLouw-ff6bg]

Hello Tim. What a great view! Let me talk for myself, the fact that we will never have a home semi or final is also why I do not care about this competition. I understand that is the stipulation for whatever reason. That alone makes this a low priority for me. We(Bulls) have anyway a bad travelling record. So yes, we will target competitions were we can host local games. And I agree 100% with what you said. Thanks for a great channel.

[@user-vh9yr5mk5p]

Alot of other teams have rested alot of players during the comps... alot of Euro teams send their weak sides to SA...so I can't see what the problem is...we gave our mid level team a go and our Boks etc a rest...🤷🏼‍♂️ Comes down to management.

[@olglez9230]

Disrespectful? Well what's the alternative? Sending players half way across the world who are already half beat and exhausted ? You're right Tim, there's a lot of talk about player welfare but no actions. I'm beginning to really dislike the Champions cup. It's a confusing poop stage system with far too many games with teams competing from as low as 8th from 10 in the Premiership, so it hardly feels prestigious. Plus we've had too many repeats of pool games in the last 16. It should be reduced to 16 teams and just have a quarter final, which would perhaps eliminate these issues

[@ianjacobs2998]

Tim what a great analysis 👏👍👌The best podcast!!!

[@brucebeath9548]

I agree with your summary totally. Just look what a trip down to South Africa did to Rochell last night being wiped by Leinster.

[@peterbritz620]

I agree totally with you Tim. Your insights are out of this world. Rugby is definitely at the heart of your program. The best Rugby program by far. Thanks

[@etiennetavitian3361]

Every coach has to think these matters thoroughly. I’m a Toulouse fan, and when I look at their schedule, one weekend after another: • Champions cup, quarterfinal against Exeter • Top 14 against Toulon (currently 4th, 9 points behind) • Top 14 against Racing 92, currently 3rd, 8 points behind) • Possibly semifinal of the champions cup against the Harlequins • Top 14 against Stade Francais, currently 1st (3 points ahead) • Top 14 against Montpellier, currently 13th in the relegation zone (so, difficult game in Montpellier) • Possibly final in Tottenham against Leinster or Northampton • Top 14 against La Rochelle (currently 5th, 9 points behind). Antoine Dupont will miss this one, playing for the HSBC 7ns in Madrid. • Top 14 against Lyon Then, if Toulouse is still in the two first of the Top 14, a weekend to rest before semifinal and final (otherwise a quarterfinal to play). I don’t understand how the players can do it…

[@coatknight]

Exactly, the inclusion of the SA teams just highlights what was a logistical problem before which can be addressed if all organizers involved would amend the calender for all the competitions.

[@Bystander.13]

Solid point! SA had Super Rugby, cut them a gig. Great post.

[@keithonlife]

Great consequences TIm !! Great video .. again !! 👍

[@wilmotsolomons8100]

Tim you and Big Jim the best of the rest. Great stuff ...Hope too see you soon Boks vs Ireland 🏉

[@mikolaj83]

Well said, Tim. 👏🏻

[@markmim5676]

Hey Tim once again a measured, refreshing and reasonable review. Everyone that loves rugby would have liked to see the best possible Bulls side. SA teams are going to need time and money to build strong enough squads to compete on 2 fronts. Even more importantly they need the flight sponsors to at least have direct flights to major capitals instead of numerous connections which is crazy

[@pauljohnson8302]

EPCR far from blameless on other issues: 1. Pool seeding into last 16 draw frankly pathetic, with 6/8 fixtures repeated from pool stage. 2. Semi locations (in particular Toulouse/Exeter v Quins) really really poor.

[@Chris____zzzzz]

I agree. Also, the fact that they are playing in the final at Tottenham Stadium is weird. Why play a rugby final in a football stadium? Especially at Spurs 🤢🤮 (Although that might just be the Arsenal fan in me)

[@jmurphy9657]

The first seems so amateur. Who thought repeat fixtures would be acceptable, especially so many of them .

[@jmurphy9657]

Add to that, more generally, that the fixtures for the group stages disproportionately disadvantage some teams. Leicester at home to Stormers or Sale away to the Stormers...the single result doesn't give a fair reflection of teams standings.

[@jinksy2468]

The greatest sport and greatest club championship deserves the greatest stadium. Tottenham's stadium is the best in the world whether you like it or not. Football stadia have larger capacities and more facilities, get over yourself lol ​@@Chris____zzzzz

[@francycranc]

Bang on, made me see it very differently actually. Valid, thoughtful points.

[@gavinwhindus2932]

I love your balanced argument it always fair!! I am not a Jake White fan but he has obviously chosen the URC over the EPCR!!

[@joeritchie2]

Thanks for this level-headed commentary.

[@user-no4kz9zm4c]

Totally agree thatinvestagating the Bulls is going to be a waste of time As you said Its upto the coach which players he plays in which matches

[@patrickfarrell5092]

Tim, all your points are excellent 👏👏.

[@john9508]

You are spot on Tim. They say it is too much travelling etc and yet there are no complaints from Edinburgh who played 2 league games in SA the other week before playing the last 16 game at home before having to travel down again for the 1/4 final. They have travelled around 30,000 miles in the last month.

[@NickSchoonwinkel]

Very nicely put Tim, I agree with you.

[@orlandosadie6283]

All fair comments Tim. You should apply for Bill's position as soon as it becomes vacant in the next century

[@corcaigh]

Words of wisdom as always

[@abrahamhenn767]

Hi Tim, an honest and correct assesment.

[@TP1988]

I hadn’t thought of it, but your point re: 41 nominated players is bang on. They nominated their CCup players, done. Anything else is subjective

[@markclements6046]

One again Tim, youve made good points , there's been enough said about the travelling arrangements through the media from the likes of highly respected coaches such as Rob Baxter ,however there is in my opinion a way round this , have a northern hemisphere section of the Champions Cup, four groups of four teams and have a southern hemisphere section of the Champions Cup too , while the northern teams play their games as two in January, two in April and two in May, the southern hemisphere teams could play their six qualifying games during time of the 6 Nations, this qualifying section could be hosted one year in South Africa and the following year co-hosted between Australia and New Zealand and so on , not only would this let the South Africans play their derby URC games on the same weekends as the northern hemisphere teams play their Champions Cup qualifying matches, it'd let the South Africans have something like a six week break over the Christmas period, the month of June could be a Champions Cup finals series, teams playing two matches against teams from the other hemisphere with the best four teams marching on to the semi-final stage, I also believe that the semi-finals should be played as a double header at a host stadium with the final at the same venue the following weekend, this would great for any host city such as Dublin, Cardiff or Edinburgh etc for tourism and so on and of course this would see the already established Champions Cup become the World Club Cup in our crowded fixture schedule, the URC in my opinion should also have a host venue for their semi-finals and final with again the semi-finals as a double header and the final at the same stadium the following weekend, this would avoided the travelling fiasco of a team travelling to South Africa for a semi-final then back to Ireland for a final, the best four teams going to a host city would also generate plenty media attention, a bit like the publicity and tourism that a host Super Bowl city across the pond, anyway once again brilliant video Tim and keep up the good work mate 👍

[@warreng4438]

South African rugby fans now see the URC in the same regard as they did Super Rugby... There are no derbies in the Champions Cup, it has a rather stop/start calendar and the travel factor when combined with the URC makes it unrealistic to prioririse both, see Top14 or the Premiership for equivalence.

[@LittleBigMediaCo]

Except that we would be earning about R200m a year to playing Super Rugby, instead of paying R429m a year to be in the URC and the Challenge / Champions Cups. That's a R600m+ a year swing. A full 'second team' of 23 players for each of the 4 franchises at R3m per player could be covered with less than half that amount, and bringing back many of our players from overseas clubs with that sort of carrot is very doable. Problem solved ... no more 'disrespect', much stronger South African teams, while simultaneously weakening many of the overseas teams.

[@rothnieoosthuizen3728]

​@@LittleBigMediaCo first time I've seen this take on the issue. My understanding was that going to Europe was financially advantageous for SA. Seems to correlate with many of our players returning over the last couple of seasons. Also, playing in front of full stadiums in Europe as opposed to half empty ones in Aus and Nz, makes me doubt. Can you point me to a place to learn more about your stance? Would be an interesting read.

[@Chris____zzzzz]

@@LittleBigMediaCo Yeah, I seriously doubt that it was financially better for SA teams in Super Rugby. I was under the impression that the contracts (e.g. broadcasting revenue) SANZAAR decided on were especially shit for SA teams.

[@driesdiamond5016]

@@LittleBigMediaCo south Africa are buying their way in to be a shareholder and will start revenue sharing from the next broadcast deal onwards, in which case they will probably make more than in Super-rugby. South Africa leaving super-rugby also really hurt Aus and NZ as the revenue share was a straight division, even though SA generated the most revenue

[@pierre-emmanuelrichard9324]

Then don't take part.

[@markpattison6031]

Bud, you talk a lot of sense, 100% agree with you. It’s great having all of those rugby competitions, but this is very hard on your players. I’d also like to highlight the quality of attacking rugby that that weekend team played and if the strongest team had been fielded, I bet they’d have played that more traditional forwards focused, controlled game. Maybe they’d have won, but not as entertaining.

[@CraigWedge]

Spot on! Thanks Tim👊🏻

[@WalterWhite-sm2dr]

Bulls played Leinster away, came home and played Bordeaux then have to travel back to play North Hampton and next week play minster back in Pretoria … 4 weeks back and forth … Jake did what he had to do….. I remember last year Leinster sending a 3 rd side and got creamed by the Bulls for 60 points….

[@BootsontheTable]

Great points well made Tim. Simple answer is to get Andy Goode to pick the sides not the coaches 😅

[@lonwabiso1]

We really starting to get the competition and forcing our teams onto a similar super rugby problems. Most of our teams our building bigger squads specifically for this. Thanks Tim.

[@damienduff6457]

Could listen to you all day Tim. Good man.

[@danstancombe3806]

At first I thought they completely completely disrespected the competition. But then you look at the logistics involved. A Saturday early afternoon kick off against Lyon. Then they had to wait 24 hours to see who they’d be playing in the quarters. I actually think Jake white is perfectly within is right to do this, I think the fault lies within the organisers of the competition. A simple change would be making the knockouts more spaced out. Even an extra week between games would solve this problem. This is poor from EPCR in my opinion.

[@coatknight]

Agree. Real solution is changing the calendar so the various competition do not overlap.

[@user-hx8cq4yt2l]

I agree & well done for not jumping on the bandwagon. Easy to bash the Bulls on this one, but very complex situation

[@stephanvandermerwe1711]

Well said!!👏👏

[@mikecasey218]

Your comments are spot on..

[@gavindoyle692]

The simple solution, Tim, is to go back to the old Heineken Cup format. Groups of four, then straight into the quarter finals. Get rid of the Round of 16. And then space out quarters, semis and the final well apart so that teams have enough time to organise travel arrangements. We had a great tournament till the English and French started demanding changes and messing around with it. It is definitely not the fault of the South Africans.

[@mikewillemse3761]

the competition is great ... the scheduling of the games is the problem,,, why do the URC teams need to play home teams twice?... there is just too many high stake game at the end of the season and the teams cannot keep up and perform at the level we as spectators expect.

[@oj4249]

Also it’s our second year meaning we can only host home semi finals next year and we only get the cash next year. These first two years were great for learning. Look at the sharks that have to host their opponents next at Twickenham because of the rules. Much easier to travel from England to France (Quins vs Bourdoux) then South Africa to France for example.

[@coatknight]

Also easier to yrvale with direct flights which the Euro teams do while the SA teams have multiple stops via the Middle East.

[@davidaaron1026]

Well said - choices made within rules. Don’t disrespect any teams 23.

[@ritchiebirnie6124]

I could not agree more. Well said

[@brucehome6635]

Empty words. This is so true. I still feel that we need to complete one comp before the next begins. Doing this will negate having to prioritize one tournament over another. I would live the Bulls to be competitive across all competitions.

[@Wolf-hh4rv]

Jake is still building his team. Jake decided that URC is more important to him right now. The Bull’s have ambitions to win the European Cup. But maybe 2 years from now. Jake has made no secrets about his plan to build a decent team and step by step become a dominant side “like Leinster”

[@Greg-ql8yt]

It’s a sad place where the URC is a greater ambition. 28-22 at half time shows what could have been if Jake was confident.

[@Shenderson3003]

While I don't think that South African teams should be playing in European competitions, this story is blown widely out of proportion! Would anyone have cared if Northampton played a B team in this game? I doubt it

[@quaziforus]

Very astute Tim

[@angiehuyser9282]

Well said Tim!!!

[@jontheb123]

Well said Tim. I fully agree.

[@WondersUnearthed]

As a saints fan i spent money tonight expecting to see us play a team full of sa internationals in a huge quarter final at home. Instead it felt like a pre season game. This cup is supposed to be the pinnacle of club rugby and the bulls playing a B team undermines the integrity of the tournament

[@coatknight]

It sucks for spectators but you'd have known this if you paid attention. Don't blame the Bulls, or French teams or any or other team that has done this, blame the organizers of the various competitions for what has always been a ridiculously disjointed schedule. Having the SA teams just highlight how absurd it has actually always been.

[@Kransduif]

As a bulls fan I totally wasted my time watching half of the game. I can understand why you are disapointed. Jake White trying to be a smart ass. Play your best team. Doesnt matter if you lose the game and maybe the next game as well. People pay money to see the best teams play eachother and then they get this crap

[@StaalBurgher0]

SA teams are not even receiving URC broadcast money yet. Once SA teams are at 80% of Euro budgets it will change. Then the moaning will be about something else 😂

[@ericguillerm5152]

You are right once again

[@geoffreystrydom8361]

Well said Tim.

[@readesiun988]

The URC teams also have to fly to South Africa and play Champions cup, it has always been hard to play both competitions at the business end.

[@driesdiamond5016]

They only do so once though and only for two weeks. The Bulls have been up to Europe and back five times now after this weekend

[@rothnieoosthuizen3728]

​@@driesdiamond5016so what is the solution?

[@driesdiamond5016]

@@rothnieoosthuizen3728 the tournament's need to stop overlapping. But that is a big ask since top 14 is played over something like 28 or 29 weeks. Also, perhaps some games can be played in Dubai when SA teams are involved, and lastly, SA needs to revenue share so that they can charter jets to fly players overnight and direct without stopovers. It would also be better if SA gets shares in the URC. On the Bulls' last overseas leg, the flew 27 hours to Wales and 28 hours back. Ons landing they had to play Lyon, and then they had to fly up again. Crazy. Last thought, maybe they reduce Heineken cup to 16 teams, and start with a round of 16 double round. But they won't make the games less because of revenue considerations.

[@user-sd3hb6ru1w]

The simple fact is the addition of South African teams to the competition has been an expensive, unnecessary and pointless venture that has totally failed. I know it’s early days but there is no debate that there is immense quality in the South African teams, but they don’t seem to have bought into the tournament and I’m not sure why they still bother! Also, the simple logistics of playing in Europe or Africa, with little preparation time, was never going to be realistic anyway

[@brandonstclair898]

We’re in the 2nd season. How is it a failure if SA teams made it to knock out, and finals. I’d rather say they should look at the scheduling of knock outs. This weekend was evidence of it

[@user-sd3hb6ru1w]

@@brandonstclair898 Because full strength SA teams should smash opponents such as Northampton. We are not seeing the real SA teams and the fans aren’t turning up in numbers on home soil either. Leaves me wondering why they are in the tournament. Surely it’s a further financial burden?

[@ivorforrester8757]

Tim, this is the video where you crossed the line from great rugby pundit to rugby guru. For me, you are now in the same stratosphere as Squidge, who has occupied that space alone. I say that with the greatest of respect, it is meant as the highest compliment.

[@brendonschlebusch7954]

Can't argue with your points here, Tim.

[@jj12313]

I don't know why they would prioritise the urc over the Champions Cup. I always thought that the reward for doing well in the league was a chance to play in the Heineken / European Cup. I think it's a really interesting decision. I would love to know what they see as being the possible rewards for winning the URC.

[@Laurentus]

Simply a case of pragmatism. Would have probably lost anyway because of the sheer mess of traveling.

[@Zomo1553]

I mean they've probably just decided they have a higher chance of winning the URC than CC, which is fair enough, especially if they can get home semi finals (I hope they don't as a glasgow fan)

[@LittleBigMediaCo]

LOL, seriously? Do you think teams run on the side-show or the main act? Any chance you were in charge of finances at Worcester, Wasps or London Irish ... you seem like a candidate?

[@Zomo1553]

@LittleBigMediaCo I Just understand that the South Africans about winning, but they are also smart with hoe they approach it. The advantage that the South African teams have at home cannot be understated, but the same is seen in their away games. In the URC if they win their last game they'll have a home semi final and have a much higher chance on winning. They also have to travel halfway round the world but I don't think that's an excuse, just means they do have to prioritise the star players

[@LittleBigMediaCo]

@@Zomo1553 I wasn't responding to your comment, I was responding the original comment by the JJ Smith clown. I understand 100% why the Bulls sent a reserve team.

[@philennis1545]

Totally agree, if the team is picked from a pool of agreed players i.e. from the 41 named squad, then there is no foul. Want to make it tougher on players and coaches - then reduce the named pool. But if the squad selection is within the rules of the completion - that's not the teams coaches problem.

[@richardredmond1463]

Great take

[@gs8494]

In most sports with knock out competitions this is a thing, while you can argue the logistics of the comp regarding SA teams being in it, to investigate them for it is just ridiculous.