Please, buy a calendar…and a phone

Is there a grand conspiracy against fans who enjoy rugby from both sides of the equator?

If you don't enjoy reading a good rant, look away now.

Sometimes I get the impression that there is some kind of grand conspiracy against fans who enjoy their rugga from both sides of the equator.

In some sort of genius stroke of television programming (I know, sarcasm is no one's friend) the Heineken Cup Final and the Super 14 semi-finals will be played on Saturday…at the same time.

The epic in Paris kicks-off midway through the Bulls v Crusaders 'was-it-a forward-pass' rematch and finishes deep into the Waratahs visit to Newlands.

Apart from the fact that it makes life very difficult for rugby journalists and their websites – there is only so much space on a front page – such a clash also means that the respective tournaments will miss out on harvesting new fans from across the ocean.

Call me crazy, but as far as I know, the calendar is not a new invention. Surly this kind of ridiculous double booking could have been averted. It's an old problem and our cries for a properly organised global calendar are well documented.

For all the flak we give those round-ball chasing, hair-do preening pretty boys from that other football code, they do seem to run a much tighter ship when it comes to marketing their game to a global audience.

It would be unthinkable for, say, the FA Cup Final and the Champions League semi-final to be screened at the same time. It just doesn't make sense to have two brilliant competitions compete with each for an audience.

Our comments section has never lacked for rants from die-hard southerners sending in snide remarks about 'boring' rugby up North or the northern lot banging on about basket ball scores down South, but like most mudslinging, hemisphere-tunnel-vision stems from ignorance about the game in faraway lands.

What better way to attract new fans to your competition than by allowing them to watch your showpiece matches?

With the likes of Byron Kelleher, Shaun Sowerby, Daan Human et al. on show for Toulouse in Saturday's Heineken Cup Final, there is room for the growing interest in the European game to bloom down South if given the proper air time.

The Bulls-Crusaders game will feature a host of the world's best players and its staging in Soweto is an historic first. I don't care if you live in Belfast, Bristol or Buenos Aires, it'll be a cracker to watch.

But forget having the best of both world. Alas, fans will have to choose.

It's hard to imagine in this age of technology and communication that these clashes could still happen.

Was it assumed that one of the Super 14 semi-finals would take place in Australasia? Or did SANZAR simply not bother checking the northern calendar and hence to failed to notice the Final in Paris has been scheduled for over a year?

Likewise, could the H-Cup Final not have been scheduled for Sunday with the Amlin Challenge Cup on Friday? Did the European organisers not spot the clash with the Super 14 play-offs or did they simply not care?

We'd like to see a little more communication and cooperation between the powers that be in the respective hemispheres because when fans are denied the opportunity to expanded their rugby horizons, everyone loses.

So here is plea on behalf of the world's rugby fans to those who have control of our weekend's at their fingertips. Buy a calendar…and a phone…and start using both!

By Ross Hastie