Spectator RL at any level is not a farce.
The governing body may be.

Personally, I got more excited watching the Aussies in front of a handful in Hull. Even allowing for the opposition, if I was a passionate fan, casual fan, new fan, sponsor, journalist or tea lady I'd have been wanted to see plenty more of [ithat[/i.

Compare and contrast to a full house at Huddersfield who, understandably, barely raised a murmur at the dire, predictable, bland, passionless dross England served up. Why would anyone be enthused by that? The tone was set for the performance by Wayne Bennett's pre-match BBC interview which was arrogant, rude, unpleasant, embarrassing and totally counter-productive. At a time when we are feeding off crumbs falling off the media table someone should point out his responsibilities to the British game. He might get away with it in the RL-friendly Australian press but we badly need to sell the game here, and the media could justifiably think "why bother?" .

Great Britain, Australia new zealand andvpng France or another international side with maybe a tournament to qualify as 4th team orca best of the rest team? ?

Continuity is key, as is success, win this or the world cup then there will be interest in the sport, unfortunately I doubt that the rfl will capitalise on that success let alone have anything in place for a tournament win

Quote ="Wires71"One of the key differences is that with RU the sport is [uactually played in the 4 separate countries![/u. England - www.premiershiprugby.com Ireland - www.irishrugby.ie/club/club_map.php Wales - www.wru.wales/eng/club/principal ... _clubs.php Scotland - BT Premiership www.scottishrugby.org/fixtures-r ... ion=116447 Whereas elite level RL is played in Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire and we can add Cumbria for the next level down. This is why it is a farce.'" I'm guessing the average Rugby league match attendances cant possibly be much lower than what Rugby unions elite level are serving up...? this is genuine from hawick's bt premier league game with the mighty Herriots.... if we cant match or beat this then we should give up. However getting Scots to be interested in Yorkshire lads masquerading as Scots in their national team jersey is much more difficult

Quote ="Wires71"One of the key differences is that with RU the sport is [uactually played in the 4 separate countries![/u. England - www.premiershiprugby.com Ireland - www.irishrugby.ie/club/club_map.php Wales - www.wru.wales/eng/club/principal ... _clubs.php Scotland - BT Premiership www.scottishrugby.org/fixtures-r ... ion=116447 Whereas elite level RL is played in Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire and we can add Cumbria for the next level down. This is why it is a farce.'" I'm guessing the average Rugby league match attendances cant possibly be much lower than what Rugby unions elite level are serving up...? this is genuine from hawick's bt premier league game with the mighty Herriots.... if we cant match or beat this then we should give up. However getting Scots to be interested in Yorkshire lads masquerading as Scots in their national team jersey is much more difficult

Quote ="the flying biscuit"I'm guessing the average Rugby league match attendances cant possibly be much lower than what Rugby unions elite level are serving up...? this is genuine from hawick's bt premier league game with the mighty Herriots.... if we cant match or beat this then we should give up. However getting Scots to be interested in Yorkshire lads masquerading as Scots in their national team jersey is much more difficult'" 241 RU clubs in Scotland. 4 RL Clubs according to scotlandrl.com/play/national_league. I admire the ambition of the vision of playing RL in all corners of the globe but we have been trying it for many years now. RL is very much like Hurling in Ireland. Established about the same time, rich history, passionate and large provincial support, Sky TV deal, exciting sport, 80K people attending the season final. Difference is the GAA does not appear to be attempting to spread the game into England, Scotland or Wales by creating bogus representational sides where there is no local interest.

Quote ="the flying biscuit"I'm guessing the average Rugby league match attendances cant possibly be much lower than what Rugby unions elite level are serving up...? this is genuine from hawick's bt premier league game with the mighty Herriots.... if we cant match or beat this then we should give up. However getting Scots to be interested in Yorkshire lads masquerading as Scots in their national team jersey is much more difficult'" 241 RU clubs in Scotland. 4 RL Clubs according to scotlandrl.com/play/national_league. I admire the ambition of the vision of playing RL in all corners of the globe but we have been trying it for many years now. RL is very much like Hurling in Ireland. Established about the same time, rich history, passionate and large provincial support, Sky TV deal, exciting sport, 80K people attending the season final. Difference is the GAA does not appear to be attempting to spread the game into England, Scotland or Wales by creating bogus representational sides where there is no local interest.

4 RL clubs in Scotland is better than 0.

At least it's a start, they should be helped with setting up new clubs as has happend in London, where while the professional club isn't doing too well, the amateur game is.

Id like to see England, Aus, NZ, France and PNG involved in every tournament with the 6th nation left to qualify.

Those five countries all have strong domestic leagues and have the potential to be competitive in internationals.

I think you misunderstood my point. No-one would reasonably denounce the formation of a RL club.

My point was aimed at the artificial, rootless, construction of a representative side of the country where the vast majority of the players involved were not born there. But the most telling fact is that very few people in those countries have any interest whatsoever in the game or those that represent them.

Hence you end up with the unedifying spectacle of watching home nations players who could not make the England side, play a meaningless game in which they are bound to lose, unless they play each other, in front of a derisory crowd and press indifference.

I would wager a bet...if your an England RL supporter, your father was not Scottish!
Likewise at club level, if I was born and raised in Wigan and my father was Wire born and bred, I wouldn't be chanting Wergun Wergun at the Piedome for sure.

Not sure you choose your club I think your club chooses you.

My Dad is a Wigan supporter born and raised in Platt Bridge.

There goes the old adage [i[uyou can chose your friends, but you can't chose your family.[/u[/i

mark_m, you have my sympathy









just a joke

.....And Italy defeat Russia in Leigh ! You couldn't make it up.

There's always one runt in the family. You'll come back to the true church eventually.

So that's why Italy played Russia in Leigh! I hear the church by Italy have never heard of Wigan.

Quote ="mark_m"Not sure you choose your club I think your club chooses you. '" On a slightly similar note www.slate.com/articles/sports/sp ... _ones.html

Quote ="mark_m"Not sure you choose your club I think your club chooses you. '" On a slightly similar note www.slate.com/articles/sports/sp ... _ones.html

Well that game OZ v NZ was superb.

and we get people on here saying how dull the NRL is..

Great wingers finish from Matty Russell...

Can't see how England will break through the Australian defence. I did like the way Bennett made it clear how dissatisfied he was with the performance though.

Tell you what Wayne Bennet comes across as an out-and-out [worst expletive you can think of and England are playing with the vigour and excitement of his interviews.

Is the word you're looking for "Australian "?

Poor old Wayne Bennett seems not only bored with English rugby he seems bored with life. Time to move on I think.

He doesn't seem particularly bothered bout us to be honest, but his experience and success is undoubted and he did say before the game that were a few tests short of where he wants us to be. He knows what's needed and hopefully how to get us there.

Look whilst we're outsiders against Australia and new Zealand were a lot closer to them bow than ever, we going each game with the abiliry to win and not just there to finish third.

But Bennett has a point England were hopeless.
Josh Hodgson has been outstanding in the NRL but in an England shirt he cant even pass properly from dummy half. He sums up everything that is wrong with this England squad, as does Kallum Watkins to be fair.

Watkins has shown nothing and I mean nothing to earn nor retain the jersey. his club team has finished at the end of the league, he's done nothing in that team and yet he has been rewarded with an England jersey. At least Ryan Hall has the good grace to play well in his England jersey.

Sam Burgess as Captain I'm sorry but he hasn't been the same player since he got stretchered off with a neck injury midway through the NRL season.

there are just so many players not following that old adage of you're only as good as your last game. Some think they are as still as good as the pundits were saying they were last year, the year before that, or the year before that one.

Bu I'm guessing Wayne Bennett picked em so its partly his fault.

...but is it partly WB's fault?
He has selected the best we have.
Can he do more?