Quote ="Chorlton RL"I don't really see why this match is on Sky anyway. Seems like RL pandering to an organisation who can't be doing with us again.
I'd much rather see the Salford-Manchester or Huddersfield-Bradford Varsities or Loughborough-Carnegie on Sky.
For me Loughborough and Carnegie would be best. Oxbridge do have great academic achievement, but Loughborough are the two centres of sporting excellence for higher education in this country.'"
I can understand where you are coming from but you have to understand that showing this match has more to do with Sky -v- BBC profile and raising the image of RL than the actual quality of the game itself. Graduates of Oxford / Cambridge (or any University for that matter) will always follow how their former Univeristy is performing and for these 2 particular Universities the Varsity matches hold a particular significance. SKy are not able to show the Boat Race or the RU Varsity match so they have gone for the next best thing in their opinion, the RL Varsity match and piggy backed it on their Super League coverage. My moving the match from its traditional home of Dear Park to the Stoop, Sky are able to double up the coverage by holding a televised Varisty match on Thursday (a quiet sports night on TV anyway) followed by a televised Harlequins SL match on friday (no need to move broadcasting equipment). Easy win from Sky's point of view.
Th bonus from an RL point of view is that former Oxford / Cambridge graduates might watch the match out of curiosity. Given that probably a higher proportion of these Universities graduates end up 'movers and shakers' in the private and pubic sector it is good to appear on their radar. Whilst the crowds are still small the standard of footy is improving (although it now needs Cambridge to step up to the plate). Who knows, over time, former Oxford / Cambridge Blues might prefer to entertain their associates at the RL match rather than over the road. Now I'm not suggesting the RL will ever be as big as the RU match (128 years of history versus 31!) but increased exposure to curious viewers can only be a good thing, exposure that the sport is unlikely to get from Loughborough -v- Leeds Met.
On a seperate issue, I think that the University Championships / Final should also be shown on TV. The games are fantastically competitive and what better way to develop an interest in the game outside of the heartlands than by showing U21 sport on TV. RL clubs are croping up at Universities all over the country (I see Essex and Exeter have teams). It would make business sense for a university to get exposure by getting TV time from its 'successful RL team' (providing this is not at the expense of academia al the USA). WHo knows, a move like this could mean we get a march on other sports such as RU for once.
