quoting the official team list the 12 were :

Biennes,Olari,Ormeno,Planas,White ( mum is french), Gout,Maria, Tisseyre, Ansleme,Larroyer & Faure

is that good or bad ?

Your ' report ' suggested that the players with ' English ' names were the stand out players for Toulouse , I was just checking that there were actually some real genuine French players on the pitch

no bad performances but Craig Cook stood out at hooker and Nicholls was influential though ALL the lads did well - the unsung heros are Faure,Tisseyre,Gout,Planas,Olari,Maria,White (who saved two tries) etc etc but never get the praise despite putting in their shifts - it's the same with all teams i'm sure ?

I will answer the question for you. Its good

just seen the attendance for the blockbuster at The South Leeds Stadium = 606 !!! now that's what I call impressive for a championship match ! Probably didn't even cover the costs of the electricity for the floodlights !
Even the weakest LER teams get more than that ! ASC v Limoux attracted 7000 the other week !

Mount Pleasant was a bit better with 1400ish though...

Is Olari Russian or something? Remember there was somebody a few years back called Olari who played in France but was Russian born

Niet mate - mind you,i'll try a few words in russian at the next home match and see if he responds,ok ?



what's "you're like a fookin' donkey Olari" in russian ?

You're любит fookin' осел Olari"

danker shoen amigo

606 is nearly twice what they got against Workington (379), how they can run a club and hire the stadium with those figures I'll never know.

that's incredible ! how on earth can they justify a place in the Championship?

[size=150606 is disgraceful for a championship game in the M62 corridor[/size

is it not ?

True, but how are they meant to attract new fans?

Halifax target the kids, go into schools, have a child friendly mascot (Halicat) ect, same as many other clubs. But Hunslet is a small part of Leeds, a city home to one of the most successful RL sides of the past how many years? So when Kids decide they want to watch some RL, its obvious they're going to want to go and watch the Rhinos.

They justified their place in this league by winning their respective division and earned promotion. Unlike other teams in this division.

They were accepted into this division because they were the best team in the French leagues. No simple achievement. Although I agree that they should have been made to go through Champ 1.

My comment was not aimed at Toulouse just aimed at the flippant comment from the Toulouse fan about the justification of one team in this division over another.

They'll probably fetch more away fans to games than the combined French contingent put together.

i'm not at Toulouse fan - i'm a Saints fan (since 1967) ok ? but essentially i'm an RL fan ok ?

TO13 is the nearest RL club to me which represents a seven hour round trip for each home game which enables me to see a good level of rugby IMO with TO plus all the other Championship teams that come down.If I can be bothered to follow RL travelling long distances each time surely the locals can be expected to make some kind of effort to travel a few miles in your part of the world ?

my comment wasn't flippant,as you put it - I stated a fact which was that 606 for a Championship game is unacceptable IMO especially when certain C1 fixtures attracted many more spectators ie Donny.

Hunslet & York earned their right to play in this division and full credit to them but it doesn't warrant certain other posters criticising french crowds when the so-called english heartland clubs can't get their own act together.

Could you afford to go to Toulouse every other weekend?

The only reason tolouse are in this league is becuase sky want to try and get them in super League for Expansive Rugby, Remember they should have been down in championship one already, Oh but no they dont have to get releagated because of RFL politics, Would toulouse get the crowds then ?. Would the RFL have paid for Championship 1 clubs to travel to france, Somehow i think not. You cant go judging other clubs when Tolouse are getting a easy ride of the RFL with their double standards.

I agree entirely mate - i'm not here to defend TO13,just stating a fact about an attendance figure that's all.If you find 606 acceptable for a match in the second tier of uk RL then fine.
The french LER often get crowds far superior to the Championship but what does that help prove ?
The RFL want 'expansion' because they believe it is the way forward - I don't make the rules any more than you do.I believe they shouldn't have be exempted from relegation FWIW.
If you have a gripe with the system then have a go at the RFL,and don't whinge to me ! I'm not the whipping boy for french rugby......

I dont personally think 606 is an acceptable crowd figure for the second tier of rugby league, but then again I dont think 1900 is an acceptable figure for the first tier of rugby league (rfl obviously do). It will be interesting to see the crowd figure for Friday nights game Crusaders v Catalan.

could be a new all-time low figure ?

FWIW the attendance at the Catalan v Crusaders in february pre-season friendly was 5000 plus - which was great.This included about ten Cru fans.

It's comparable to the shocking figures produced by some clubs in our elite competition.

in other words - our great game is in a right "two and eight " !

At some levels yes. SL is probably OK as a 12 team comp. The struggle to get out of the M62 corridor still remains and simply planting clubs in areas where RL isn't viable isn't working. Areas outside the corridor will only be attracted to RL if it is seen as a strong sport, both attendance wise and financially in the current heartlands.