Why do clubs want to play their fixtures abroad?

Saracens have now had two recent requests to play a home match somewhere other than England. These ‘away day’ fixtures against Munster and Edinburgh both came to light recently as having failed in the pre-planning phase. I know they are nomadic at the moment, but why oh why do they do it?

Giants Stadium, NY: One of the proposed venues

‘New Markets’

New York was one of the proposed venues for a fixture against Munster. It seems far too simplistic for a man of Edward Griffith’s intelligence for this ‘tap into the large Irish community’ argument to be the only string to the bow but I’m struggling to find the real appeal of such a proposition outside of that. Yes there are lots of people of Irish decent in New York, but most have never been to Ireland, let alone partake in what is the 3^rd/4^th choice sport in their nation of heritage. If only there was a significant Irish community in North London with continuing connections with the old country to tap into to?!

Also, most of this community have probably ‘gone native’ in terms of US sports with a choice of two basketball teams, two gridiron teams, two baseball teams as well as three ice hockey teams to choose from. Throw in major league soccer team and the competition is hot to say the least.

On another note, what about the home fans who don’t get to see one of the greatest European rugby sides that has ever existed take on Saracens. Surely those who can’t afford a Ryanair ticket to the colossal international hub of Limerick deserve that at least. No, let’s give this massive fixture to a nation that supposedly has been a ‘sleeping giant of the game’ for so long it should be checked for vital signs.

Edinburgh sensibly rejected Saracen’s offer to play in Cape Town out of commitment to their fans, which is very admirable. Also, Edinburgh would know that it was highly unlikely their loyal fan base would even contemplate going that far as an away fan. Going to Cape Town would be an unknown quantity in terms of its effect on their players, and why leave yourself exposed to such risk? The aim is to win this competition, not just exhibit the game.

Biarritz accepted in principle the offer to play Saracens, but consider their position compared to Edinburgh. They would probably have at least some away support but all their costs were going to be covered by the ‘home’ team, they have a poor record in England and probably thought playing in South Africa would at least pose more of ‘wildcard’ as an event than a crappy rainy day in West Watford which may not have played into their hands as much.

What games can we sight as good examples of matches played outside of their countries of origin? Well there are two of note, the 2010/11 Heineken Cup quarters finals played between Toulouse and Biarritz at the San Sebastian in Northern Spain, and the Perpignan vs Toulon game held at the Olympic stadium in Barcelona. I’m not going to describe what happened, just watch the video the the right and judge for yourself how successful these were.

They were successful because they played on long-standing tribal/nationalist emotions and were perfectly judged in their execution. New York and South Africa would have none or very little of that.

What else have we got in the way of defense of the concept. Not much, but we have an example of how it can be rubbish. LV Cup, Harlequins vs Wasps, January 2011. A match in a make-shift stadium in the grounds of a hotel. A match that so few people had faith in that they wouldn’t risk a premiership game being played out there. This just smacked of a favour (or contractual obligation) to Quins’ main sponsor, Etihad.

Please please can we stop this mucking around with fixtures, Brussels is far enough and even that I’d find hard to defend as a venue choice. Let’s keep fixtures in their rightful countries or there is a danger of missing out of every conceivable chance to anchor clubs to a community and creating a genuine connection between followers and the clubs they may grow to love. I love the fact Saracens are a progressive club, but maybe they should settle in one area before trying to grow other fan bases and also look after their existing one.