Why you would bother, I don't know.

Because it's one of the most incredible things I've ever read on this board.

How on earth you think a game held in London could be any sort of a judge of the popularity of the sport in an area that covers Gloucester to Penzance is beyond comprehension.

Because he/she/it is desperate for attention. Sadly nobody taught Barry/Katie/phipps the difference between people paying him/her/it attention for good reasons and people paying them attention for bad reasons.

Let him stick at it, it helps to keeps our thread at the top of the forum and most folk seem very supportive!

What do you reckon about what I said about Wembley then? Do you think that would work or do you think it would be better to play a high profile match down there before the WC? If so which?

If an RL fixture was played in the South West (Chorlton... the South West doesn't include London

) then I would like to see it played at the Rec in Bath.

See if it sells out a 12,000 capacity ground.


Which of course it won't.

I dont think so, the last time that it was tried in London it drew a mediocre 33,758, are you suggesting that crowd would somehow be doubled?

The Opening game should be in Northern England, for financial purposes alone. 33k on at the Olympic Stadium, Emirates or Twickers again would look terrible, whereas a sold out Eastlands would be brillant.

most people are very supportive because anyone who isnt an idiot can see the work done here is fantastic. To even get to this point, with the support already gained is a wonderful achievement and I think it would be a travesty not to reward Bristol for this. Good luck to Bristol, nothing but good will come of this, if we could get more people doing what has been done here, the game will be a lot healthier and the naysayers and trolls will need to find otherways to feel better about their inadequacies.

Id love to see the return of 'on the road' games and get a couple of SL games down in Bristol for three or four years and really give the game a kick start down there. Hopefully a couple of WC games is just the start of it.

Depends on how the 4 nations game at Wembley does this year. If we can get 40/50k+ down there for that game, then we should definitely start and finish the World Cup at Wembley.

An opening ceremony and a double header in front of a big crowd at Wembley will really start the tournament off with a bang, and get the momentum rolling for the rest of the tournament.

Fair point, Id definetly agree a big game needs to be played in London. Wembley is however a huge stadium and takes some filling. RFL would need to be confidant of 50k+ to consider Wembley, anything less than this and they should perhaps look at a smaller stadium, Emirates being first choice for me.

A packed Wembley would be a magnificant advert for the game though, i just dont think its achievable at this time.

Fortunately we have a chance to test the water this year with the 4 nations opener. If we do pretty well there, then we should definitely go for it. The RFL have a whole year to sell the WC as an event. They should have the times, dates and venues sorted by the end of this season and start the build up and sales for the WC the moment the 4 nations ends this winter. That should be plenty of time to sell enough tickets.

People will forget that Samoa v Tonga in Huddersfield only sold 3k tickets if 80/90k go to the opening match and final.

More news guys:

[url=http://southwest.theruaa1.miniserver.com/article/bristol-bid-gets-big-backing.htmlBristol Bid Gets Big Backing[/url



Also mentions Bristol City's announcement of the bid for which there will be a larger press release in the week.


@Chorlton RL
Wembley games would likely not help capture the South West audience, but if the RFL were willing to market it it, it could encourage people to support a Bristol game. Our main intent is to get local support on board via the many channels within the city.

Which, of course, shows you know nothing about the south west. Bristol is a working class port city, half as big again as Hull, a bit like Liverpool but with more jobs and money, which has two football teams and rugby union team, who pull around 45,000 a week between them. Bath is an upper-middle class small genteel spa city with one old-school union team in a crap ground they are desperately trying to get out of.

You'll be saying we should ditch Leeds in favour of Harrogate next.

The bid got a mention in Andy Wilson's blog on the Guardian: www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/20 ... urth-round Photo of members of the bid consortium, with representitives from Bristol City FC, Bristol Sonics and the RFL.

The bid got a mention in Andy Wilson's blog on the Guardian: www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/20 ... urth-round Photo of members of the bid consortium, with representitives from Bristol City FC, Bristol Sonics and the RFL.

No matter what anyone says for or against it I think the bid has been really well done, it's got lots of attention and I think they might get a game.

Lets hope not Jonny.

Do you have anything constructive to do with your time?

Since Barry 'disappeared' he's lost his touch.
I might start a fb group to bring back Barry, this phipps character is lame

Bazza at least had an amusing hint of irony behind his posts

- PHIPPS is just dull.

Closer to the 'heartlands', Kirklees has put their bid in:

[url=http://www2.kirklees.gov.uk/news/onlinenews/newsdesk/fullstory.aspx?id=3417Press release here.[/url

So Galpharm, Crown Flatt and Mount Pleasant would be the three grounds?

I'd say Dewsbury would hold 4k ish? And Batley 6 or 7k? Both tidy little grounds and in the heartlands, could be good choices for some of the smaller group games, get them filled up.

I think its great that towns have to bid for the right to host games. It should make them promote the games as they all know it will bring in extra cash to those towns via the hotels and ale houses.

Good point, it's in their interest to make a success of their event if they get given a game.

And Bristol are willing to make a success of it, so I'd argue this as the case for why Bristol offers something more than the Kirklees bid as an opportunity for RL.