George Street-Bridge wrote:Obviously the WRU will strike as hard a bargain as they can - I'd expect us to if the boot were on the other foot - but I don't think they have any interest in squeezing us until the pips squeak.

They need County to be able to generate the income to pay the rent. It's not like, say, big a brewery setting terms which are so onerous a tenant can't make a go of a pub, and if they can't then some other hopeful will have a go, and after repeated failures they can always convert it to a house. It's either a revenue stream from County or no revenue stream at all.

I guess the WRU need to know whether they’d make more money from rent from Newport County and the food/drink sales from a minimum 23 games a season or putting down a 4g pitch and whoring it out left, right & centre & spending a whole lot less on the upkeep of an artificial pitch compared to what they do now.

Exile 1976 wrote:

George Street-Bridge wrote:Obviously the WRU will strike as hard a bargain as they can - I'd expect us to if the boot were on the other foot - but I don't think they have any interest in squeezing us until the pips squeak.

They need County to be able to generate the income to pay the rent. It's not like, say, big a brewery setting terms which are so onerous a tenant can't make a go of a pub, and if they can't then some other hopeful will have a go, and after repeated failures they can always convert it to a house. It's either a revenue stream from County or no revenue stream at all.

I guess the WRU need to know whether they’d make more money from rent from Newport County and the food/drink sales from a minimum 23 games a season or putting down a 4g pitch and whoring it out left, right & centre & spending a whole lot less on the upkeep of an artificial pitch compared to what they do now.

Precisely. I made the point on another thread, we are the only ones who need grass.

Exile 1976 wrote:

George Street-Bridge wrote:Obviously the WRU will strike as hard a bargain as they can - I'd expect us to if the boot were on the other foot - but I don't think they have any interest in squeezing us until the pips squeak.

They need County to be able to generate the income to pay the rent. It's not like, say, big a brewery setting terms which are so onerous a tenant can't make a go of a pub, and if they can't then some other hopeful will have a go, and after repeated failures they can always convert it to a house. It's either a revenue stream from County or no revenue stream at all.

I guess the WRU need to know whether they’d make more money from rent from Newport County and the food/drink sales from a minimum 23 games a season or putting down a 4g pitch and whoring it out left, right & centre & spending a whole lot less on the upkeep of an artificial pitch compared to what they do now.

I think that's a fair comparison. Indeed I believe it would be a neglect of their responsibilities if they weren't to look at it that way.

OLDCROMWELLIAN wrote:

Exile 1976 wrote:

George Street-Bridge wrote:Obviously the WRU will strike as hard a bargain as they can - I'd expect us to if the boot were on the other foot - but I don't think they have any interest in squeezing us until the pips squeak.

They need County to be able to generate the income to pay the rent. It's not like, say, big a brewery setting terms which are so onerous a tenant can't make a go of a pub, and if they can't then some other hopeful will have a go, and after repeated failures they can always convert it to a house. It's either a revenue stream from County or no revenue stream at all.

I guess the WRU need to know whether they’d make more money from rent from Newport County and the food/drink sales from a minimum 23 games a season or putting down a 4g pitch and whoring it out left, right & centre & spending a whole lot less on the upkeep of an artificial pitch compared to what they do now.

I think that's a fair comparison. Indeed I believe it would be a neglect of their responsibilities if they weren't to look at it that way.

Agree with all that. However there is a further point, that being primacy of fixture. Let us say Dragons do have a successful season. Let us say they have a home quarterfinal draw with Leinster. Let us say that BBC/RTE all have the game scheduled in for 4-00 pm one fine April Saturday.

And all that gets stopped because Newport County 16th in League 2 are at home to Grimsby, 17th in League 2 in an utterly meaningless end of season game.

Anyone who ever bought a house knows that you have lodgers at the start of the mortgage because you need them. When you don't need them the extra income is seldom worth the hassle.

In that situation Stan I would hope we would try our best to move our fixtureb

Gestures of goodwill go a long way

lowandhard wrote:

Exile 1976 wrote:

George Street-Bridge wrote:Obviously the WRU will strike as hard a bargain as they can - I'd expect us to if the boot were on the other foot - but I don't think they have any interest in squeezing us until the pips squeak.

They need County to be able to generate the income to pay the rent. It's not like, say, big a brewery setting terms which are so onerous a tenant can't make a go of a pub, and if they can't then some other hopeful will have a go, and after repeated failures they can always convert it to a house. It's either a revenue stream from County or no revenue stream at all.

I guess the WRU need to know whether they’d make more money from rent from Newport County and the food/drink sales from a minimum 23 games a season or putting down a 4g pitch and whoring it out left, right & centre & spending a whole lot less on the upkeep of an artificial pitch compared to what they do now.

Precisely. I made the point on another thread, we are the only ones who need grass.

I don't understand how rugby can be played on semi-artificial turf, there must surely be a safety issue with that?!

As the old saying goes "if there's no grass on the pitch, the game is off".

peppy56 wrote:

lowandhard wrote:

Exile 1976 wrote:

George Street-Bridge wrote:Obviously the WRU will strike as hard a bargain as they can - I'd expect us to if the boot were on the other foot - but I don't think they have any interest in squeezing us until the pips squeak.

They need County to be able to generate the income to pay the rent. It's not like, say, big a brewery setting terms which are so onerous a tenant can't make a go of a pub, and if they can't then some other hopeful will have a go, and after repeated failures they can always convert it to a house. It's either a revenue stream from County or no revenue stream at all.

I guess the WRU need to know whether they’d make more money from rent from Newport County and the food/drink sales from a minimum 23 games a season or putting down a 4g pitch and whoring it out left, right & centre & spending a whole lot less on the upkeep of an artificial pitch compared to what they do now.

Precisely. I made the point on another thread, we are the only ones who need grass.

I don't understand how rugby can be played on semi-artificial turf, there must surely be a safety issue with that?!

As the old saying goes "if there's no grass on the pitch, the game is off".

Loads of sides play on 3G pitches. Saracens, Blues, Worcester, Pontypridd and Merthyr off the top of my head.
Ponty's was/is terrible mind, lot of players have had awful burns.

peppy56 wrote:

lowandhard wrote:

Exile 1976 wrote:

George Street-Bridge wrote:Obviously the WRU will strike as hard a bargain as they can - I'd expect us to if the boot were on the other foot - but I don't think they have any interest in squeezing us until the pips squeak.

They need County to be able to generate the income to pay the rent. It's not like, say, big a brewery setting terms which are so onerous a tenant can't make a go of a pub, and if they can't then some other hopeful will have a go, and after repeated failures they can always convert it to a house. It's either a revenue stream from County or no revenue stream at all.

I guess the WRU need to know whether they’d make more money from rent from Newport County and the food/drink sales from a minimum 23 games a season or putting down a 4g pitch and whoring it out left, right & centre & spending a whole lot less on the upkeep of an artificial pitch compared to what they do now.

Precisely. I made the point on another thread, we are the only ones who need grass.

I don't understand how rugby can be played on semi-artificial turf, there must surely be a safety issue with that?!

As the old saying goes "if there's no grass on the pitch, the game is off".

Not heard of any issues with rugby being played on semi-artificial pitches (1 blade of 'grass' in 4 is plastic I believe), but there have been some concerns when playing on fully artificial (rubber crumb) pitches. Indeed there have been instances of players having to have hospital treatment for burns after playing on such pitches. Yet a number of such pitches are allowed in England, Wales and Scotland, maybe elsewhere also.

It's happening in football as well players having burn issues and infections in cuts etc

And reports have come out saying that there could be links to cancer from the old rubber tyres

But these days it seems everything is linked to cancer

Dragons' home match this Saturday has been postponed due to the forecast storm conditions

County Exile wrote:Dragons' home match this Saturday has been postponed due to the forecast storm conditions

I really don't get that how can you postponed a game on a weather forecast wouldn't happen in football or cricket

Good news for us mind

UPTHEPORT wrote:

County Exile wrote:Dragons' home match this Saturday has been postponed due to the forecast storm conditions

I really don't get that how can you postponed a game on a weather forecast wouldn't happen in football or cricket

Good news for us mind

Didn't this happen last weekend at Man City?

UPTHEPORT wrote:

County Exile wrote:Dragons' home match this Saturday has been postponed due to the forecast storm conditions

I really don't get that how can you postponed a game on a weather forecast wouldn't happen in football or cricket

Good news for us mind

Suspect it probably had something to do with the opponents Benetton having to fly in Saturday?

Called off for international call ups ?????

havent the Dragons got 4 in the Welsh squad? We called games off for this reason because we had a player who never played for us and kids

Dragons' postponed Pro14 match against Benetton has been rescheduled for Friday, March 6 with a kick-off time of 7:35pm