Thank You...
Alas, of the 12,750 who attend this game, not many will return, as the apathetic nature of the antipodean requires a ground close to shepherds bush to have any chance of turning out on a regular basis. I see your point, in that, there would be an opportunity to get them interested in the stoop for future games, but when your average ozzy looks for twickenham and sees it's not on a tube map....well, let's say he aint going to have it!
So, we have the game at the Stoop and 2 things happen.
1. The BBC ITV and any other station will refer to the game being played at the HOME OF HARLEQUINS RUGBY LEAGUE.....therefore raising our profile and secondly, WE GET TO KEEP THE BAR MONEY!
Oh...thirdly and as happened this weekend. Whilst we had the occassional bitch about how far away TW2 was from town, we did give the majority the chance to find out for themselves. It is a 11 minute journey from Clapham and a 6 minute walk

Lazy ANZAC b'strds icon_cool.gif

But are those grounds available? soccer clubs do not want rugby played on their nice pitches in the middle of November and grounds of that size haven't been able to invest in the grass and all the stuff under it that places like Old Trafford have.

Like it or not, soccer clubs in the Premier and Championship don't really need our money any more

I don't care if Eng/Aus is played at the JJB, Belle Vue, Wembley or my local park - if I can afford it and can get there, I will be. The venue really does not matter - it's the fixture which gives it the 'big game impact.'

Saracens have been linked with a move to Fulham, but are staying at Watford for the time being [urlhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/my_club/saracens/7899104.stm[/url

gutter, what you have just said there is highly offensive...

call us whatever you want, but leave the soldiers who fought in 1915 alone.

Grounds of that size? Like the JJB and the Galpharm you mean?

Are they in London?

Why is that relevant? You claimed that grounds of the size I stated don't have good pitches and football clubs don't want rugby on it. You didnt say grounds of that size in London only did you?

Oh do follow the thread FFS, we were talking about the London match.

Just in case you are not aware, placed like JJB and Watford have pitches that are designed for dual sports and are harder wearing, there are not that many (if any) in London.

Football causes more damage to a pitch than rugby does

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I know that, you know that but soccer fans, players and managers who need something to blame their teams poor performances on are another matter...

it would have been an ideal opportunity to play one game in dublin.........

Would it? Why!?

Are you kidding?

quite simple really, to further encourage the growth and profile of the game in ireland.

are you thick????

Presume you mean the NZ-Aus game (be crazy to play an England game there) but, still, how exactly would that help? They barely turn out to see Ireland, given the chance, so why would they turn out to see two countries from t'other side of the world?

for god's sake did you read what i posted???

rugby league in ireland is on the up at present after the world cup, and what better way to capitalise on that by playing a high profile international in dublin.

I have followed the thread, but your the one who wasn't specific enough when talking about stadia. And I don't think the pitches will take too much damage from one extra sports game, so I don't think that the idea of pitches not been good enough for two sports is a bit silly

A foreign game with two foreign teams playing is hardly going to capture the imagination of the Irish.

What better way? A game featuring Ireland, probably against England. It would be stupid of the RFL to make England give up home advantage in a tournament like this, same for France. And NZ vs Aus won't draw a 5-figure crowd.

It's a non-starter.

Why not try and hold a game in the midlands there are 3 ideal venues with big capacities villa park,richo arena ( i think thats how its spelt )and walkers stadium its not far from the heartlands and would be home at a decent time with a mid afternoon kick off.

Would love it, myself.

Darlington FC's financial woes provide an ideal opportunity to stick a foot in the north east's door. The RFL should buy their ground and make it a regular home for England games.

Nice stadium but it's in the middle of nowhere, so I'd just hope the RFL would build a pub or two as well

Not really. How many games a year would it stage? Who would want to travel to Darlington?! Might as well just stick with the 25k stadiums we've got around here.