Gosper faces angry backlash
REACTION: Look up the newly proposed World League in rugby on Twitter and the motherlode of comments will be severely critical.
This is so apparent that any positive comments by fans about the new 12-team league are almost impossible to find amongst the plethora of censure. There are a number of reasons for this, which range from player welfare, to the disregard of Tier Two nations, to the fact that this is just a scheme to make money.
In light of this criticism, World Rugby’s CEO Brett Gosper took to Twitter to say that fan research had been carried out, and they were “resoundingly positive about [the] concept”.
Very few fans believed Gosper, and demanded that this research is published:
https://twitter.com/Rreesrugby/status/1101137288527003649
https://twitter.com/LTUSM/status/1101132863704059904
https://twitter.com/thedeadballarea/status/1101132173212635136
https://twitter.com/HenryWindsor79/status/1101148852785172483
https://twitter.com/robruaryan/status/1101147266641993728
https://twitter.com/S7OCKY/status/1101146393840943107
https://twitter.com/IWasAPirateOnce/status/1101152686475489280
Questions have been raised as to who these fans are that support this new proposal, as they will not be members of Tier Two countries, rather the commercial backers of this new deal.
Furthermore, it is unclear as to what these fans were asked, as very few people believe that anyone would support a system like this.
Some have highlighted that the “major broadcast markets”, probably involve the USA and Japan, who are much richer and provide a much more lucrative prospect than Pacific Island teams or some European countries. This is why those two nations have been involved in this new league, in spite of Fiji being above both of them in the world rankings.
The general feeling is that this was something that may have started out as a good idea, and fans may have been proposed a question that seemed desirable for the globalisation of the international game. However, it now looks as though it will be wildly different from what any fan wanted, and it is a competition that will be tailored to the 12 wealthiest teams rather than the 12 best.
https://twitter.com/jrendell/status/1101135191194644481
https://twitter.com/DougProp/status/1101150944295833601
https://twitter.com/mulcs85/status/1101149841571360768
https://twitter.com/PMJPlod/status/1101145123465953280
https://twitter.com/SedatedFMS/status/1101142292440797184
https://twitter.com/thedeadballarea/status/1101132679037235201
https://twitter.com/hsthomas316/status/1101156355862339586
Many fans also raised the lingering questions to Gosper that have not been resolved. One main topic is the future of the Lions tour and how that is compatible with this new league. This is just one of many questions that are emerging in the wake of this news being announced.
Importantly, a huge number of fans reiterated to the CEO that they do not know a single person that is in favour of this new project, insisting how unpopular it will be.
https://twitter.com/mark_m_owen/status/1101133555386773506
https://twitter.com/EimzT/status/1101147680749830144
https://twitter.com/gavincfrost/status/1101149994369929216
https://twitter.com/Rich_Thom90/status/1101145235336454147
https://twitter.com/jamesrfisher/status/1101143539038253058
https://twitter.com/JohnCrees/status/1101155435334254592
https://twitter.com/sansom_tom/status/1101142034751111170
Very rarely has a new proposal been wholly criticised like this by fans, but this disapproval looks like it will continue to flood in.
