How do you know?

Ashton Gate.

In Bristol.



That is all.

Remember the 2000 world cup and what happened when we took games on the road to places that dont care about rugby league? We got crowds of 2000! 2000 for a world cup game, it was embarassing.

There is no point having games in Bristol, Gloucester, Cornwall, Wrexham, London or any other place where no one cares about the game. They need to be in the heartlands.

Why did you need to log out and log back in as someone else to say that?

Agreed. What a muppet, at least Barry was a funny persona

Is Bristol are willing to market this then I don't see why it's not worth a try.

We also got crowds of 2,000-3,000 in the "heartlands" of Hull and Cumbria whilst games in the "heartlands" of St Helens, Castleford and Widnes struggled to get more than 5,000. There are probably many reasons for that but RL fans in general are notoriously apathetic to international and representative rugby. If we can't be bothered watching games is it really a great loss to let another part of the country enjoy the sport?

The Bristol bid (and the bidding process in general) is addressing one of the key failings behind the 2000 WC and that is promotion. Bristol City, Bristol Rovers, Bristol Council and the local tourist authority is not going to throw money and effort at a venture if it doesn't think it can get a return - it is in everybody's interest to promote the game - unlike the previous WC where the only interest for many hosts was the size of the rent cheque.

Heaven forbid that we might attract a [unew[/u audience....

It's not about the RFL just dumping a game somewhere to try and attract a new audience; Bristol is actively bidding for this and will actively promote, not just the game, but Rugby League in the area too. Read the press release again - lots of avenues of support and schemes in place.

Name 3 rugby league teams in the area other than the Sonics that I might have heard of.

I can play along; Bristol Sonics "A" are represented in a West of England Division which is more "local" than the Midlands West division that the first team play in, with Wiltshire Wyverns (Corsham), Gloucestershire Warriors (Gloucester...) Swindon St George, and a bit further out but with a good profile, Oxford Cavaliers. Obviously they're not Super League sides but that's not the point, is it?

Gloucestershire, Somerset, Devon, Wiltshire... were all represented well in the County Championship Festival season launch on Bank Holiday Monday. Leeds Rhinos are growing a partnership with the region that will allow promising players to train with the Rhinos, support community RL events (Swindon cross-code RU vs RL earthquake relief event for example) and strengthen the profile of RL at universities, colleges etc. I wouldn't be so adamant that the region isn't ready for RL - the sport's been taking steps in the right direction for some time now.

Troll alert!

This moron should be banned ASAP.

I would also like to wish the very best of luck to Bristol and hope they succeed in their application.

The more people that witness our game the better.

I see your pigeon still hasn't had that wart removed from its a[ir[/ise

Shameless plugs: just a reminder that anyone in support of the bid can Like the [url=http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bristol-Bid-RLWC-2013/211448588873451Bristol Bid RLWC 2013[/url Facebook Page. It's also worth Following us on Twitter (see my sig) to keep up with updates on the Bid and South West news in general if you want to keep up with regional development. Updates coming after the Bristol City game tomorrow.

I'll be honest. If what you say is correct - and I can't be bothered to check it myself- it seems RL is better represented across your area than I thought.

I'm still not sure about Bristol getting a fixture.

They haven't had one for 100 years for a good reason.

Yeah - because we haven't tried until now

Fair play to Bristol. I say go for it.

Hundreds of years of interbreeding have taken it's toll on the population of 'Brizzol'. The locals main past time is fighting with the banjo playing residents of nearby Bath.

Some people say that if you look a Brizzolian directly in the eye you turn into one yourself.

Take my advice and give it the widest possible berth you can if you are ever travelling down the M5.

If Bristol are that keen then they deserve a game. If they market it properly, which I am sure that they will, then it has to be worth a gamble.

Well done Bristol, hope to see the Sonics in the Championship very soon, having a RLWC game there would be great for the sport, if we get around 10,000 their for a group game or smaller profile quater final then it would be excellent. Hopefully with all the backing the bid is getting this will happen.

Anyone who thinks this isn't a good move is deluded.

TEN THOUSAND???

For a Rugby League game?

In Bristol??




Oh my god.

Good luck to them. We really need to showcase this tournament to the whole country, not just the M62 corridor, and the RFL need to do everything in their power to make it work. Otherwise, sadly rah rah will leave us for dead in 2015.

Hundreds of kids in Cheltenham playing RL yesterday.... Gary Hetherington was there with Rhinos staff.... as was the RFL Performance Department... Lesley Vainakolo gave out the trophies.... main back page Photo story in today's Gloucestershire Echo, with a follow-up article tomorrow.... www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/ ... ticle.html www.southwestrugbyleague.com/art ... ccess.html press call for the World Cup Launch at Bristol City vs Hull City tomorrow lunchtime....

Hundreds of kids in Cheltenham playing RL yesterday.... Gary Hetherington was there with Rhinos staff.... as was the RFL Performance Department... Lesley Vainakolo gave out the trophies.... main back page Photo story in today's Gloucestershire Echo, with a follow-up article tomorrow.... www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/ ... ticle.html www.southwestrugbyleague.com/art ... ccess.html press call for the World Cup Launch at Bristol City vs Hull City tomorrow lunchtime....

www.bcfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0 ... 94,00.html Bristol City start publicising their involvement.... 15,000 average crowd, many times that follow the club...

www.bcfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0 ... 94,00.html Bristol City start publicising their involvement.... 15,000 average crowd, many times that follow the club...