TODAY
has been a bad day for the
forces of Aye Beenism – the ranks of those who have fought against
Super-6 since TCD sprung the concept of the new competition on the
2017 SRU AGM.
I
was initially sceptical, but, I have been convinced of the new tier
of competition's merits. And, notwithstanding my belief – three
franchises in Edinburgh is a basic and fundamental flaw in the
concept, I wish it and the six teams well.
And,
it is going to happen, since, this afternoon the SRU published the
fixtures for the inaugural season, which will run from November to
March, before the six clubs move up a gear to take on their six
nominated Welsh rivals in the new cross-border competition in April,
May and possibly June, 2020.
In
addition to the publication of the fixtures, the SRU
was able to publish further details of the broadcast deal for S6,
which will see one match per week streamed live on the BBC
Scotland Sport
website and on their own SRU
TV.
They
have chosen a cracker to kick-off the TV coverage, with Ayr
and Heriot's
renewing their
rivalry, in the first televised match, which will kick-off, at
Millbrae, at
2pm
on Sunday, 10
November.
These
sides of course, last met in their back-to-back finals at the end of
the season, with Ayr winning the Tennent's
Premiership Grand Final
at Millbrae, before
going on to complete a League and Cup double, by virtue of Frazier
Climo's touchline
penalty, with the final kick of the Tennent's
Scottish Cup Final, at
Murrayfield.
Quality
rugby is almost guaranteed when these keen rivals clash, so this one
ought to set the bar high for the matches which follow.
The
SRU and
BBC Scotland have
handed the production contract to Glasgow-based QTV
Sports, an
Ibrox-based company with an excellent track record in covering a
range of sports from archery to yachting.
The
full domestic fixture list reads:
ROUND
ONE
Friday,
8 November:
BOROUGHMUIR
BEARS v STIRLING COUNTY
Meggetland,
7.30pm kick-off
Saturday,
9 November:
SOUTHERN
KNIGHTS v WATSONIANS
The
Greenyards, 3.00pm kick-off
Sunday,
10 November:
AYRSHIRE
BULLS v HERIOT'S
Millbrae,
2.00pm kick-off
(live
on TV)
ROUND
TWO
Saturday,
16 November:
AYRSHIRE
BULLS v BOROUGHMUIR BEARS
Millbrae,
3.00pm kick-off
STIRLING
COUNTY v SOUTHERN KNIGHTS
Bridgehaugh,
4.00po, kick-off
Sunday,
17 November:
HERIOT'S
v WATSONIANS
Goldenacre,
2.00pm kick-off
(live
on TV)
ROUND THREE
Friday,
23 November:
BOROUGHMUIR
BEARS v HERIOT'S
Meggetland,
7.30pm kick-off
Saturday,
23 November:
SOUTHERN
KNIGHTS v AYRSHIRE BULLS
The
Greenyards, 3.00pm kick-off
Sunday,
24 November:
WATSONIANS
v STIRLING COUNTY
Myreside,
2.00pm kick-off
(live
on TV)
ROUND FOUR
Saturday,
30 November:
HERIOT'S
v STIRLING COUNTY
Goldenacre,
2.00pm kick-off
AYRSHIRE
BULLS v WATSONIANS
Millbrae,
3.00pm kick-off
Sunday,
1 December:
BOROUGHMUIR
BEARS v SOUTHERN KNIGHTS
Meggetland,
2.00pm kick-off
(live
on TV)
ROUND FIVE
Saturday,
7 December:
SOUTHERN
KNIGHTS v HERIOT'S
The
Greenyards, 4.00pm kick-off
Sunday,
8 December:
WATSONIANS
v BOROUGHMUIR BEARS
Myreside,
2.00pm.
STIRLING
COUNTY v AYRSHIRE BULLS
Bridgehaugh,
2.00pm kick-off
(live
on TV)
ROUND SIX
Saturday,
14 December:
HERIOT'S
v SOUTHERN KNIGHTS
Goldenacre,
2.00pm kick-off
AYRSHIRE
BULLS v STIRLING COUNTY
Millbrae,
3.00pm kick-off
Sunday,
15 December:
BOROUGHMUIR
BEARS v WATSONIANS
Meggetland,
2.00 kick-off
(live
on TV)
ROUND SEVEN
Saturday,
18 January:
STIRLING
COUNTY v HERIOT'S
Bridgehaugh,
4.00pm kick-off
Sunday,
19 January:
WATSONIANS
v AYRSHIRE BULLS
Myreside,
2.00pm kick-off
SOUTHERN
KNIGHTS v BOROUGHMUIR BEARS
The
Greenyards, 2.00pm kick-off
ROUND EIGHT
Saturday,
25 January:
HERIOT'S
v BOROUGHMUIR BEARS
Goldenacre,
2.00pm kick-off
STIRLING
COUNTY v WATSONIANS
Bridgehaugh,
3.00pm kick-off
Sunday,
26 January:
AYRSHIRE
BULLS v SOUTHERN KNIGHTS
Millbrae,
2.00pm kick-off
(live
on TV)
ROUND NINE
Friday,
14 February:
WATSONIANS
v HERIOT'S
Myreside,
7.00pm kick-off
Saturday,
15 February:
BOROUGHMUIR
BEARS v AYRSHIRE BULLS
Meggetland,
3.00pm kick-off
Sunday,
16 February:
SOUTHERN
KNIGHTS v STIRLING COUNTY
The
Greenyards, 2.00pm kick-off
(live
on TV)
ROUND TEN
Sunday,
1 March:
WATSONIANS
v SOUTHERN KNIGHTS
Myreside,
2.00pm kick-off
STIRLING
COUNTY v BOROUGHMUIR BEARS
Bridgehaugh,
2.00pm kick-off
HERIOT'S
v AYRSHIRE BULLS
Goldenacre,
2.00pm kick-off
(live
on TV)
PLAY-OFF GAMES
Weekend
of Friday 20 – Sunday 22 March
1
v 4
2
v 3
5
v 6
FINALS
Weekend
of Friday 27 – Sunday 29 March
winners
of 1 v 4 v winners of 2 v 3
losers
of 1 v 4 v losers of 2 v 3
5
v 6 second leg
The cross-border fixtures with the six Welsh Premiership clubs will be arranged and announced later. These games will take place during April, May and possibly into June.
You say, "The SRU and BBC Scotland have handed the production contract to Glasgow-based QTV Sports", however according to The Offside Line, it is the SRU who are footing the production costs of this extravaganza.
ReplyDeleteAnd in fact, reading the SRUs own PR blurb, we find that "Scottish Rugby has commissioned specialist sport production company, QTV, to produce its broadcast of Super6".
So here's a question you can pose to your pals inside the Super 6 tent, whose budget is footing the cost of the broadcast production - Rugby Development or Performance Rugby?
Now let's think, what else happens at 2pm on a Sunday afternoon - ahh, Womens league games, youth league games.
ReplyDeleteWell done Super managing to get those fixtures out a couple of days after the AGM. Must have a been a busy Monday getting that all done.
ReplyDeleteI do have to contest a couple of isuses AA
No one said this wasnt going to happen or indeed stop the whole thing. The questiosn are about viability and impact on th wider club game
You say they have chsoen a "crasker" for the opneing game - how do you know this?? The squads are still being announced so we have no idea if this contains the cream of scottish rugby or not.
As to the schedule - a Friday (pro game anyone?) A Saturday - mm wonder what else happens then? And a Sunday to run straight into the Womens game.
Clubfan - I have covered every Ayr v Heriot's game at Millbrae for the last five or six years, and have yet to see a bad or boring game between the sides. The opening S6 game might, sadly, prove to be a stinker, but, based on the past record of games between the sides, I am sure it will be a very good game.
Delete