I am planning to support Toulouse as my second team next season who is with me!!!!! Fixtures below. www.therfl.co.uk/~therflc/fixtur ... ague&id=89 I am trying to drum up some support. God knows even a mailing list. Let me know if you are interested

I am planning to support Toulouse as my second team next season who is with me!!!!! Fixtures below. www.therfl.co.uk/~therflc/fixtur ... ague&id=89 I am trying to drum up some support. God knows even a mailing list. Let me know if you are interested

Would I be right in thinking you support a SL side?

I can certainly see myself at a few TO games next year.

I support a Superleague side and have also supported a number of national league sides. My main side are the Saints but i have also followed teams like Prescot and Chorley. I am not a lover of Superleague but Rugby League

I would love to see a few Tolouse games myself.

im supporting Blackpool and Toulouse................On days when Widnes are not playing. I plan to go and give Toulouse mty support also

Hopefully I will be at the Toulouse games as well, am helping them out a bit when they are over here.
There are a few detractors saying that they shouldn't be in the league, but many said that about the Dragons eh ?

But they were entering a competition to stay in that competition , not to get out of that competition as soon as possible

Slightly different

Toulouse will be judged on their results, I would say, and the fact that thier ground and business plan stand the test of time. At the moment, Wakefield, Castleford& even St Helens, don't have a divine right to be in Super League on current criteria, as their grounds are not up to standard. If Toulouse do acieve the goal of Super League,they have the
backing from the City, for a new ground, and the opportunity to ground share with Toulouse Rugby Union, which has a 30,000 capacity. Time and results will judge them, I would think. Surely it's the goal of every team to better themselves and play at the highest levels?

being used to help prepare a club/team for entry into SL when many of the clubs in the championship are struggling financially

That money could be put to better use than travel/accomodation costs

In the long run the money that Toulouse will bring into rugby league -- by being in France, and by being in the fourth biggest city in France, by being in a city that has significant industry, and by being in a city that has a famous rugby reputation -- will exceed the small amount now being given to them by a factor of 10 or more (ie by 1000%). Toulouse has a target population base of more than a million, plus Airbus Industries and lots more. Leigh, Halifax, Whitehaven and Widnes do not.

Rugby league in France yes

As for the rest , if that is the case , what the hell do they need us for ?

Simple question

Sorry, I don't understand your question.

Could you please reformulate it more clearly?

Simple if all this is true , why do they need to join the Championship ?

And if they do why do they need susidising to afford it ?

Why do they need a relegation exemption ?

If they have all things highlighted above they should not need any help

Simple

Or are you saying that Widnes , Leigh and Halifax will somehow make more income from thier inclusion , if that is the case then would you like to explain how exactly ?

Also what extra income will the clubs in Championship one who will not play them get ?

I dont want some hairy fairy ' extra profile ' rubbish , I want something specific and tangible

Toulouse need to join the Championship to show that they have the junior development and crowd support development on the way up (the former they already do quite impressively) and to start to bring their name to the broader French public via TV coverage (which they will now have via Orange).

Toulouse need relegation exempton because they are a development club.

Because of the current financial crisis Toulouse are in no position to get any more external sponsors, which is why they need an RFL subsidy. Hopefully by 2011, when their application for Super League is being processed, the economic crisis will be over and they can get major sponsor support from the Toulouse business and industrial community. These potential sponsors dwarf anything that the English clubs can tap into. If Toulouse succeed in the Championship, and can get the big local sponsors on board for their Super League application in 2011, then they will be a much more powerful force in the Super League than the obscure English clubs, and also in developing the game's support base in France -- which is in the interests of the game.

Many international corporations sell more of their products in Toulouse than in Widnes, Halifax, Leigh and Whitehaven combined, and hence are more interested in sponsoring a competition that has Toulouse in the roster than in one that has the English heartland mini clubs in its place.

The other English clubs can each add little to the spectator support base of the game as a whole, nor to the specific and financially valuable international game (which means dollars for the game through the RFL TV contracts, and through better crowd attendance at internationals).

So they are in the 4th biggest city in france [ bigger than any british RL playing city except Quins but they dont draw large support



And most of the people in that city and France have not heard of them



And yet they are a ' development ' club



So because of the ' credit crunch ' they cannot get sponsors but might do in 3 years because they are playing Widnes/Batley and Halifax



You admit it is all about getting them in SL to benifit the international game



You also point out that it is all about bringing new bigger sponsors to SL



So basically it is all about getting them up to speed and to increase thier profile and sponsorship potential in readiness for entry into SL

They are struggling to get decent sponsorship at the moment because of the financial situation but this obviously doesn't affect british clubs and spending a small fortune on travel and accomodation is a good idea

So once again what exactly will any british clubs Leigh/Fev or Rochdale/Keighley get out of thier inclusion ?

One last question , how long have they been playing proffessional RL in Toulouse to make them a development club ?