Apart from the fact that there are buses to St. Helens, Wigan, Warrington and Manchester (or trains from 10 minutes away in Atherton, if you prefer) from Leigh bus station until well after the football has finished.

Sadly I have to agree. We have a great product marketed very very badly by the RFL, League fixtures clashing with Internationals, a cock up every time there is a Cup draw, massive gaps between Cup rounds, The game played under different points systems and even different names ; Super League and Rugby League, no effective PR and Media strategy, the list is endless. I can see the game just becoming more and more marginalised unless the governing body start performing. The International match should be given the priority it deserves or we will never put enough bums on seats to justify decent media coverage.

thats good for people who live in those towns and near a suitable bus stop.

You mustn't travel to many places if you rule out the possibility of having to change buses/trains in places other than your starting or finishing destinations.

dont take my comments so personally - i'm having a pop at Leigh.

This is about the general idea behind the RFL hosting a game that gives less than 30mins time ahead of an event that is of major national interest, not about Leigh lacking a train station.

Wherever it was played it would pose the same problem.

IT DOES HAPPEN IN RU. ENGLAND PLAY ON THE SAME DAY AS CLUB MATCHES. IT DOESNT MATTER BECAUSE REALISTICALLY ONLY A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE WOULD ATTEND THE GAME AT THE STOOP AND THE GAME AT LSV.

Correct! I think only football doesn't have top level matches played at the same time as internationals. Cricket's another which definately does! Easy to blame the RFL for everything though, isn't it.

Let's be honest, this is a game where people probably wouldn't have made a major effort to get to, England/USA or not.

There you have hit the nail on the head , as you will know , most of my arguments involve the RFL's attitude to the Championships , but in all honesty they dont seem to have a ' strategy ' for any part of the game except the euro/pacific cups and the quad nations , which I will admit they seem to have got right

The football should be showed on the big screen at the stadium after the rugby finishes. Might even make a bit of money out it from beer sales etc.

Current ticket sales stand at approx 6800

Thats what you get when the Loiners are in London on the same day.........We could ve sold out Old Trafford if the Loiners were `nt forced to travel south in vast numbers... Bad day for the goons from the RFL .

Good post.

Why is it.?

No I replied to your first paragraph which you knew did n`t you....

Especially when you consider that they showed the RU world cup final the other year after the Northern Union v All Golds Game at Warrington (although I've no idea whether or not anyone stayed to watch it).

I should have checked the prices i was goin g on last seasons for nations games where there were banks of empty seast in the most expensive parts of the grounds.

However my second point is valid about linking the international in with a couple of game sin London adn make it a day of RL. I am not sure why you have a problem with this.

For next year i would not be averse to Scorpions vs York, Cusaders vs Wigan and England vs France at the Gnoll or somewhere else in SW

We clearly don't take the International seroiusly so when there's about 9000 fans there and the game gets ignored by the media, will there by lots of head sctching and wondering why?

why play an england france game in wales? i thought they had their own team now?

Because if Scorpions and crusaders were playing at the same time it would attract Welsh fans. england vs Wales would be too unequal at the minute.

Yea or we could have
England vs France in Wales
Wales vs Ireland in Scotland
Doulble header Scotland vs Lebanon and Italy vs Serbia in Ireland

Did you organise the 2000 World Cup?