And you continued in another post
“ Yes you are right they DO play Rugby League in Canada. I should have originally stated they don't play Rugby League in Canada beyond an ad hoc social level, and a few low level internationals.
I was wrong to post that original comment.”

A BC organized league that has sustained and grown for 9 years and is now expanding into the women’s game is not an “ad hoc social level” organization. It is a grass roots expansion of the game in Canada. Exactly what is needed to grow and expand our great game. As is the now true diversity of the players who take part in the game all across Canada (the majority of which I am confident are not Australian in BC, though of course some do play the game they love). BC’s men’s representative team head coach is not an Aussie and the team again represents the diverse backgrounds of BC (as it should). I would also suggest you take a look at where the Canadian women’s team is ranked in the world to get an idea of if the game is growing over here.
For what it is worth, I do not support the return of TWP into Super League in 2021, but I also do not support incorrect information about my game, my Province and my country being used to bolster that opinion. (and yes I am both a proud British and Canadian Citizen)

So I'll continue in this post., set out for me then the plan to develop the game of Rugby League in Vancouver towards the possible addition of a Vancouver side to add to Ottawa and New York towards the Transatlantic vision Mr. Perez still harbours, then set out for me th likely response from Rugby union in Vancouver? Will they encourage and accommodate RL expansion there?

Why would I do that. I have never stated at any point that that is likely to happen.
What already does exist though is a British Columbia representative team that plays other Provinces across Canada, a growing grass roots club game, and two women’s teams that supply a good number of women in the 4th ranked women’s team in the world.
I have shown that your original statement about Canadian Rugby League and your subsequent dismissive statements were not correct, though you talk as if you know everything about the game over here.
Oh and re Rugby Union “encouraging and accommodating” expansion, well since some of the league teams train and play at Union club grounds, I would say so far it’s not a problem.

See, when Donnyman is presented with facts he has no answer lol

To be clear, I’m not taking sides in what I can gather is a long standing feud(s) between poster(s) that have been been on the VT way longer than myself. I just don’t like “Vancouver being dealt with” by someone who clearly doesn’t know much about it.
And I will say again, I do not support the reinstatement of TWP to SL in 2021.

Well said VL....

I know the same as you that Canada is a Rugby Union country and they are happy to accommodate league at amateur level if enough people want to play that as well or instead of Union. They don't have the apartheid system we suffered here for years. Maybe if I had said they don't play Rugby League in Canada to "any great level" in B.C. (do they??) it would have been a bit more accurate. Of course it's accommodated where the game is amateur, it happens here now, but at the higher level the point remains that Union will seek to ensure that any Rugby growth to semi-pro or pro level is Union growth. You don't harbour thoughts of a Vancouver Wolfpack R.L.F.C. do you?

That would be good, IF there was support for the community game in the Midlands and further south the the M25. IF the RFL were serious would would give grants and assistance to build RL in schools using ETP and then help people set up clubs further south. The problem is that the ones moaning about TWP and New York have the same though process on anywhere south of Doncaster. Hint hint.

I certainly don't and I'll think you'll find it difficult to get some one to even admit it, there's a difference between a team located in Britain and one that is located a quarter of the way around the planet

Troll Troll



You probably don't know just how much Rugby League took from Sports England over the years to expand outside the M62 where Odsal is just about the centre point of. All of it totally wasted, all the kids they hoped to convert are all back at their Union clubs. No need to reply.....

I'd like to see the facts on junior participation. I suppose it's impossible as many juniors try all sorts of different things. Anyway, as I've said before, Lamport Stadium should not have been allowed into SL. Just read on the TW website that a journo wrote that they could become the first globetrotting sports team on the planet, I never want a globetrotting sports team to exist.

If you go far enough back, you may remember the boom in Welsh Junior RL when Celtic Crusaders came along. A significant number of actual clubs were formed accordingly. Leighton Samuels money eventually ran out and Crusaders fell from grace, which led to the demise of the senior club an then the junior game.

The TWP site has been garbage from start to finish with all sorts or rubbish being peddled, they are just having a laugh now.. The reality is investment in RL needs to be in the right places, not the wrong ones. Had Argyle come to Wales or London he would have got somewhere.

But in any event he'd still have jumped ship once his chance to be an owner in the NRL came along.....

This is Donnyman lol

You'll be due a name change soon surely

Is it trolling again? What do you think it is?

Actually yes I do but not playing in a UK competition. For me, the way forward for RL in Canada is to continue to grow the grass roots game and develop a North American semi pro league. That has just been unfortunately made a little harder by the complete mis-management of TWP. The early years of TWP were going in the right direction but the last championship season and jump to super league lost the original plot. It went from a dream to introduce the game to a wider Canadian audience and help develop a grass roots platform for the next generation, into one rich mans ego tool.
As for Canadian Rugby Union, it is of course more established In communities here than RL as it has been here so much longer, but it is horribly run for the most part from a national and regional level (though some of the local clubs themselves are fantastically run by passionate volunteers). As such I disagree that that they could stop the growth of amateur or semi pro rugby here. They simply are not organized or strong enough. But as you say, you know the same as me so why am I telling you that.
Oh and be careful saying Canada is a Rugby Union country. It’s an Ice Hockey country.
Also a good part of the 4th ranked team in the world in women’s rugby league would strongly disagree with your proposed alteration to not playing at “any great level”. But you have failed to acknowledge at all that I have talked about the success that has been the growth of Canadian Women’s Rugby League.

I wonder who'll be first, Donnyman/Jean, or Steph/LeBron

Great post. but please get Vancouver into the UK league. I love the place. Arguably the most spectacular place I've been. Wonderful. You are correct though; grass ruby league is key. In every place.

Donny already has.

Apologies. I acknowledge this achievement, maybe a womens world cup one day?

I cant keep up with who's who, who was and who will be next

Agree with most of his, except the last part. The game will clearly shrink, even if just because people are scared of catching the virus. (look at Hull/Salford today). BUT as discussed elsewhere we must have a plan to get RL into schools,, into the community and into into the main stream media.

Six years ago or so, and again two years ago I advocated that the Challenge Cup final should be the week before schools finish for the summer,. This so that the top layer of Wembley can be filled with school and community club trips. CHEAP tickets for schools could easily fill that top layer, and what better way to get more youngsters engaged in our wonderful sport? How many kids from places like Workington, Newcastle, Doncaster Mansfield, Cornwall, Norfolk, Birmingham would ever go to that game without such plan. Even if we only took kids from 'RL towns, we could engage literally 10s of thousands of kids, teachers and parents. Start with Cumbria?

Guess when the game was due to be played this year?

That is how we will stop RU gobbling up all of the kids.

OTTAWA 2021 Transfers

Gains

Player ..... Club ...... Contract Date
France Louis Jouffret Featherstone Rovers N/A July 2020
England Tom Gilmore Halifax N/A August 2020
Wales Matty Fozard London Broncos N/A August 2020
England Ted Chapelhow Widnes Vikings N/A August 2020
England James Chapelhow Widnes Vikings N/A August 2020
England Sam Wilde Widnes Vikings N/A August 2020
Rep of Ireland Pat Moran Widnes Vikings N/A August 2020
France Gavin Marguerite Catalans Dragons N/A August 2020

Try-outs for Canadians to come in September to make the squad up with the promised mix.

I don't think he was correct in anything. Now he's been caught out on the rubbish about how strong RL is in Canada he's disappeared.

OTTAWA (TWP mark 2) were promising a hefty number of "Canadians" in their squad and now we see Perez backsliding before a ball is kicked.

He's on about "Talks" and "trials" with Canadian players, but probably predictably he now forecasts that he "thinks we will have three to five Canadians in our (Aces) squad. That's a comedown from early talks of ten players and you can be sure if nobody pulls him up he will only go with three. just as a token.....

Shades of TWP who had Ngwati, Burroughs & Eichner in 2017 but hardly gave them a game before sacking them off. Ottawa are as phoney as this "Jack Burton" creation introduced into the thread to troll. If you really think grass roots is the key go and ring Perez and let him know

Meanwhile there are still three consortiums in the running to buy Toronto, including two from North America.