Easter fixture congestion...

[SuffolkTiger]

Good to hear that the RFL have reviewed this and will do something different next year due to concerns over player welfare.

What seems to be going under the radar, however, is that a very similar plan to what the clubs have just experienced has been put in place for the August Bank Holiday weekend.

- As part of a 5 match schedule on Thursday 25th we travel to Wire & then play Salford on Monday 29th (followed by Leeds away 5 days later)
- Worse than that is Wigan play Saints on Friday 26th & they both then play again less than 72 hours later.

We all know it's a World Cup year which puts a squeeze on the calendar but surely the RFL could have either:

- Started the season slightly earlier
- Scheduled some fixtures on the weekends of 6/7/8 May (Challenge Cup semis) or 27/28/29 may (Challenge Cup final. The teams not involved in these 3 games have no fixtures.
- Scheduled some fixtures on the weekend of 17/18/19 June when England play Combined All Stars. No other fixtures are scheduled.

perfect planning prevents p....................

[Tigers1926]

The rfl must be the worst governing body of any sport in this country..

[Tamworth Tiger]

Good to hear that the RFL have reviewed this and will do something different next year due to concerns over player welfare.

What seems to be going under the radar, however, is that a very similar plan to what the clubs have just experienced has been put in place for the August Bank Holiday weekend.

- As part of a 5 match schedule on Thursday 25th we travel to Wire & then play Salford on Monday 29th (followed by Leeds away 5 days later)
- Worse than that is Wigan play Saints on Friday 26th & they both then play again less than 72 hours later.

We all know it's a World Cup year which puts a squeeze on the calendar but surely the RFL could have either:

- Started the season slightly earlier
- Scheduled some fixtures on the weekends of 6/7/8 May (Challenge Cup semis) or 27/28/29 may (Challenge Cup final. The teams not involved in these 3 games have no fixtures.
- Scheduled some fixtures on the weekend of 17/18/19 June when England play Combined All Stars. No other fixtures are scheduled.

perfect planning prevents p....................

Mental!

[heritage1926]

They can keep the Easyer fixture on the weekend next year. All they have to do is play games on the Saturday and Sunday like a normal round and show 2 live games on the Saturday and then 2 live games on the Sunday. Everyone wins then.

[pat]

They could have not had the loop fixtures this year.

[casjunction]

Rugby and the following never appear in the same sentence.
Planning.
Organising.
Proactive.
Sensible.
Astute.
No doubt others can add to the list.
The growing number of litigants siting health issues and the financial implications are hard to ignore.
Rugby's a collision sport and players need to accept the potential health implications.
However the ridiculous schedules compound this exponentially.
Tired players carrying injuries having to play to maintain their income becomes an inevitability with 3 games in a short space of time.
Then there is the potential reduction in attendances and income.
There needs to be a flexible solution by using the freed cup weekends increasing the length of the season.
The loop fixtures not popular but do generate much needed income.
So it will be interesting to see what happens.
A simple logistical exercise but done neutrally.