Jon Newcombe
@RugbyTimes
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Freelance rugby journalist/graphics producer/founder of , loving being back in the West Country after many years away
Wiltshire
Joined March 2010
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Italy go above Australia in the rankings for the first time ever!
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Exclusive … Ealing and Doncaster have failed with their promotion application. Wait for it … on capacity
Grounds for appeal surely!
Another slap in the face for the Championship
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Bristol and Exeter meet on Tuesday in what could be a curtain raiser for the
@premrugby
final. It’s only 10 years since they were the top two ... in the Championship
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Well done to
@ExeterChiefs
for the swift and decisive action they have taken towards rooting out the racist idiot who shouted abuse at Ugo Monye. The incident was captured on CCTV and evidence sent to the police
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3.5k crowd at
@CoventryRugby
for their home game v Donny. Entirely off their own backs, too. You could easily see them match the average crowds of some Prem clubs if given similar levels of support
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Mystery donor stumps up the £1,760 required to cover the 12 ex-Yorkshire Carnegie players’ unpaid medical bills. Good news for all concerned.
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Massive news from the RFU that Ealing or whoever wins the Champ won’t be prevented from going up if they only have a 5,001 capacity ground
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At next weekend’s matches, inc England v Ireland, fans will be asked to applaud at half-time those volunteers, staff, administrators, players and coaches who contribute to grassroots rugby up and down the country, in a bid to show the RFU there’s a wider game beyond Twickenham.
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Am hearing that Jersey’s players woke to a text message from the club,
sent at 5.30am telling them to come down to the club for a 7.30am meeting which is when the bad news was delivered.
Players and staff must be broken that it’s come to this.
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For the £160k a year they get, wouldn’t it be an option for Champ clubs to stick two fingers up to the RFU and breakaway and try and strike their own TV deal and sponsorship?? It’s not like the bar has been raised v high!
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I don’t often post stuff on here about family but I’m immensely proud of my 18yr old son who’s just got an apprenticeship in traffic planning in Bristol. For a kid who was designing intricate road maps on the beach on holidays aged five, it’s the perfect job
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Kyle Sinckler to Bristol Bears looks very likely I’m hearing. Imagine if they ever manage to persuade Ellis Genge to return home. What a front row that would be
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Anyone else subscribe to the theory that the RFU have done a secret deal with PRL to slam the door shut on the Champ and ring-fence by the back door?
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The RFU Championship Clubs’ statement released just now:
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Re Wasps and Worcester being sent down to the Championship. If they retain their P shares this would result in another Saracens type season but with two horses not one racing for the title. No one seems to have considered what Champ clubs think about this, or worse consulted them
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You can understand why
@RichmondFC1861
feel aggrieved at going down when Hartpury boosted their squad with Gloucester players and Yorks Carnegie bought themselves out of trouble with cash they didn’t have. Meanwhile, Richmond are the only Champ to run a profit
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People say the gap between the Champ and the Prem is too big nowadays but if Doncaster, for example, spent £30m they didn’t have, would the gap be as big or would there even be a gap at all?
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Being told that Worcester owe HMRC £6million in unpaid tax and that new investors are being sought with current owners losing interest.
As for Wasps, this month’s wages safe but uncertainty after that.
Troubled times in the Prem.
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Anyone else think the 10k ground capacity entry criteria is totally unnecessary? At least three Prem clubs easily avg < than that, and have done so for a long time. I’d rather see a week-apointed 5k ground like
@DoncasterKnight
packed to the rafters than 1/2 full football stadia
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145
I’ve heard of at least five players who’ve signed/going to sign for Prem clubs directly from the Champ in the last week. But it’s not seen as a fertile breeding ground for players by the RFU???
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BT should buy rights to the Champ, the double-legged final will be the big ticket in town as they’ll be so much riding on it
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Making the step up -
@jerseyrfc
@markovich1957
players who've signed for Prem clubs direct from the Island in recent years
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People suggesting
@Champrugby
has added no value to the
@premrugby
are neglecting the fact lots of players have been developed in the second tier.
@jerseyrfc
alone have contributed 21 players to the Prem in their days as a Champ club.
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With the Championship promotion race so tight you’d think it would be prudent for the RFU to announce the outcome of the applications of Ealing and Doncaster so that people know who’s playing for what.
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Ealing are not eligible for promotion for the Prem (unless they appeal and win the appeal) because they have failed to provide evidence they meet the ground criteria. Bet all the players, coaches and staff not to mention
@PremierSportsTV
and
@btsportrugby
are chuffed!
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Hearing rumours that a Champ club (doesn’t take a genius to work out) is prepared to offer a LI forward, not a regular starter, £80k/year. Will rugby ever learn?
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Sam hearing he’s got tickets to the big West Country derby thanks to
@gloucesterrugby
customer services team and
@NMcLemon
@louis5haw
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I’m hearing from a good source that Ollie Hassell-Collins’ move to Leicester is now a done deal but Ben Loader has re-signed with Irish
#rugby
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In 3 of their 4 games this season Bristol have failed to score a point after halftime
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At this stage of RWC 2017, the average winning margin was 44 points. For
#RWC2021
, after two rounds it’s just 21 points. It shows how much more competitive the Women’s game has become thanks to investment from World Rugby and the Unions
@dominicrumbles
@bondkaren76
@AliDonnelly
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Today is
#WorldDownSyndromeDay
This is my son Sam, an absolute treasure.
Don’t get me wrong being a parent of a child with complex special needs comes with many challenges, especially as he also has autism, but it has enriched our lives in lots of ways too.
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Our young Sammy is not so young anymore. 16 years old today. Cake was delicious 🎂
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And to cap it all, Portugal are up to a record high of 13th in the world rankings
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@christinetalbot
@MWatts3376
@Tesco
That’s lovely. And a very belated thanks for your act of kindness at a cafe in Wetherby a long while back when you gave up your table so me and my son, Samuel, could sit down for lunch.
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So brave of the RFU to grant Donny’s application for promotion when they’ve got no hope of going up this season!
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The Championship Clubs respond to Bill Sweeney’s comments:
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Star-studded Saracens shipwrecked by Cornish Pirates' set-piece power
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RFU saying Champ clubs have been fully involved in discussions over the new Pro Game Partnership contradicts what I’ve been told. Champ DoRs only belatedly invited to a tick box meeting at Twickenham on 10 Oct at two weeks’ notice
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I understand the big Champ meeting with the RFU is today. Amongst many things, I’d be asking why the Super 6 in Scotland can get a sponsor and live coverage but the Champ can’t.
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Well done
@SaleSharksRugby
and
@Saracens
for raising awareness of
#DownSyndrome
day later this month, and
@andNickMullins
and
@btsportrugby
for beautifully explaining the odd socks initiative
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Today is World Down Sydrome Day. It is celebrated on the 21st day of the 3rd month to represent 3 copies of the 21st chromosome. I only recently found out that there only around 40-45,000 people with DS in the U.K.
Sam says “cheers”
#DownSyndrome
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No wonder the Championship isn’t seen by the RFU (wrongly) as a breeding ground for the Prem when Prem clubs continue to plunder the South African market. There’s probably more South African players in the Prem than the Pro14, even with their two franchises
𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙇𝙚𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙏𝙞𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪...
Welcome to the
#TigersFamily
, Cyle Brink! 👊
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While the English Premiership shrinks, a U.K-led group are planning to buy an LA Rugby franchise in the MLR. Former World Rugby TV exec Martin Cross and well-known figures associated with the Prem among those involved
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Tough day yesterday saying goodbye to my sister. One positive was it brought family and friends together and she’d have loved that
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@jimhamilton4
Showing my age now but the cool kids used these back in the 80s with their favourite band’s name and logo daubed over the front with tippex as the undercoat
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I wonder what Cecil Duckworth and John Brain, two men of real integrity but sadly no longer with us, would have made of today’s events. First I heard of £ problems was only in May. Things have spiralled out of control v quickly and we all know where the fault lies
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@benjaminryan
came across this while doing a clear out. A lot has happened in the last 10 years!
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I’m hearing the RFU cuts have been drastic in the community game: All RDO & CRC roles being made redundant. 40 new roles which will be advertised on Wednesday but 189 jobs will be going nationwide so there will be 24 coaching jobs across 4 areas nationwide
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Another example of a player using the Championship to help get his career back on track
📝|
@henrypurdy_
agrees long-term contract after blistering start to
#BristolBears
career 🔥
Full story 👇
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Bath fans can’t complain about the effort there, the officiating though …
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What an amazing result by
@CornishPirates1
always threatened to be a banana skin for Sarries. A real shot in the arm for the Championship.
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Result of the season?
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Looking forward to working at my second Rugby World Cup with a great group of people
@ITVSport
as a statistician/editorial support
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Yorkshire Carnegie spends money they haven’t got in a desperate bid to stay up one season, then sack their DoR at Xmas in a desperate bid to stay up the next. Not a great way to operate IMO
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Happy 18th birthday to my eldest. Doubt the beers will last long
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Give the entertainment we’ve had this weekend, please can we have the cancelled Prem games played over the next fortnight? (If Europe is suspended)
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Doncaster bring in Sir Ian McGeechan as DoR and mentor to head coach Joe Ford
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@WaspsRugby
V sad what has happened to Wasps but how ironic that an ex-member of the Prem elite should blame the one thing (ring-fencing) that they once so actively sought for their failure to get investment. It shows how well Champ clubs are doing at surviving under such constraints!
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Ospreys win away in France in the European Cup for the first time since 2008. Terrific display v the French champions Montpellier
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I’ve said it before, & I know it’s radical, but it’s time to unite the codes & make rugby a properly national game. It makes no sense to have 2 pro versions. I dislike aspects of RL & I know plenty of RL fans dislike lots of aspects of RU, but can either afford to stay apart?
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The shirts were baggier and the collars definitely bigger but can you name the captains in this pre-season photocall ahead of the 2003/04 season?
@premrugby
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I know I’m a bit of a Champ nause but the Bristol v Worcester playoff final was amazing. 59-58 on aggregate
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Sad news for those who’ve lost their jobs and care about the development of talent in the county
Yorkshire Carnegie's illustrious academy disbanded after double whammy of RFU cuts and loss of Leeds Beckett partnership
| Exclusive by
@RugbyTimes
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Biggest news story this season ... club that consistently flirts with relegation supports no relegation.
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Interview with former Leeds Tykes owner Paul Caddick in today’s
@TheRugbyPaper
admitting that changing the club’s name to Yorkshire was a mistake
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The relegated team from the Premiership won’t have it easy,
@ealingtfrugby
mean business on and off the pitch. This new stand can be extended either side. The other pic is of their 4G training pitch next to the main one. Impressive
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Champ clubs have basically said thanks but no thanks to Prem 2
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James Percival had some powerful things to say when I spoke to him for
@TheRugbyPaper
incl. a great line from Deano
@markismith50
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Phil Davies tells me the club plan to change its name back to Leeds Tykes but not before the end of the season (presumably due to RFU regs/branding)
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Glad to be of assistance:
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Lots of good people have lost their jobs today at Wasps. I hope they’re not out of rugby for long
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A place in the top 10 of the world rankings is Italy’s prize if they get at least a draw. They’ve not been that high since March 2013
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Top 5 RWC shocks in PD since rankings began (2003)
1.RWC 2015: 🇯🇵 (13) 34-32 🇿🇦 (3) - 12.97pts
2. RWC 2023: 🇫🇯 (8) 23-24 🇵🇹 (16) - 12.38pts
3. RWC 2019: 🇫🇯 (10) 27-30 🇺🇾 (19) - 11.24pts
4. RWC 2011: 🇫🇷 (5) 14-19 🇹🇴 (13) - 11.09pts
5. RWC 2015: 🇬🇪 (16) 17-10 🇹🇴 (11) - 6.34pts
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Newcastle and Bristol winning away, Richmond beating Ealing, L Welsh getting promoted. Lots going on outside the 6 Nations.
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If ever there was something to support a change in the format of European competitions, it’s the mad fact that Bath could lose this weekend and still qualify for the ECC knockout stages with one point 🤷♂️!!
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This was shared on Facebook. It was written by Dean Koontz 40 years ago. The book is called The Eyes of Darkness. Spooky!
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Bet the likes of Ealing, Cornish Pirates, Cov and Donny are thinking we couldn’t do any worse than this when watching Worcester ship another shedload of points
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A very brief but enjoyable trip to Ireland. Love the RDS Arena
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Special needs teachers deserve a massive pat on the back for the joy they help to bring to students during these difficult times
@westoaksleeds
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A shout out to Neale Harvey who is taking a well-earned sabbatical from rugby writing as from today. Over 800 editions clocked up since we first worked together on Rugby Times in September 2002!
@RUWCOfficial
#rugbyunited
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Earlier in the week I was told it was 100 days to go to the Prem final. It feels like 100 days since the last game!! The structure of this season (in the Champ too) is a bit of a joke and must be putting clubs under even more financial pressure
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