It seems that Toulouse are going ahead with renovations at their ground, with a view to submitting an application to join SL in 2015.
Whilst it is obvios that their inclusion will help the French game significantly, this surely signals that there will be changes to the numbers
in SL for the next franchise period.
Different people have suggested that numbers in SL should be cut and assuming that Toulouse are not making this effort without a strong
likelihood of inclusion into the competition, how many teams will be inluded in the next round of franchises and who will/ should get the chop ?

Easy, kick wakefield or Cas out and put them in, whats the problem, Eddie Hemmings will tell you

Halifax finished their ground, it didn't do them any good.
Featherstone are doing theirs as are Batley, will it do them any good?
In theory a second French side following the success of Catalans makes sense, financially and for the overall good of the British game I'm not so sure.
The franchise system is so flawed its worthless and I can't see how Toulouse could be promoted after pulling out of the lower league structure.
17 into 12 won't go.

I still think there shouldn't be a French side in the Super League, I consider that that and removing P&R to be the two most ridiculous decisions made in recent RL history.
If they started at the bottom and fought their way up via P&R then I would be all up for it but to 'gift' a place to a team in a different country is just stupid on so many levels.

All i've heard is how the french games not been helped by having a SL side.


It may all be rosey with Catalans but the teams below in the french leagues seem to think its made the game weaker, a bit like in this country maybe.

The worry for all but the big clubs, is that IF another French team is included (and the French TV will probably make it too attractive to say no) than what will happen to the size of SL.
There are already voices within the game seeking a cull and the inclusion of another French team would cause this to be slightly more severe.
Equally, what about the likes of Fev and Halifax and the other Championship clube that mat be seeking promotion.
There really should be some clear strategy from the RFL as to their plans for the short, medium and long term plans.
I certainly dont want the situation that we had a couple of years ago, not knowing what was happening and finally, what would this do to Cas, who are unlikely to have made any changes to their stadium by 2015 ?

Definite no from me.

Leigh, Fax, Fev and Sheffield have all worked hard in the Championship and its a massive slap in the face
to them all if we put Toulouse in SL.

Agree, apart from being French, for whatever that's worth, they offer far less than some of the other teams mentioned. What financial incentive is there for English teams if they were to be admitted because it would have to be a bloody good one. Seems to me they're much better helping develop the French League there in.

I don't believe the RFL is interested if any SL club is french , english or chinese !
what does interest them is any club which can survive independantly without having to rely on a rich backer to prop them up - great credit to SoC & messers Glover & Hughes and the like but maybe a structured sponsorship financial set-up is a more secure bet for the RFL ?

Can the likes of Fev,Fax or Leigh and the rest offer better or at least equal financial stability as Toulouse ? Toulouse is a rich city with maybe more likelyhood of making a go of things in the SL ?

whether french SL teams are actually beneficial to the french LER is another question - the present FFR13 is not helping the french game as everyone seems to be awaiting the newly elected preseident to get things moving

... and what message does that send out to the likes of Fev, Leigh or Fax??
So what if Toulouse is a rich City, I fail to see what that has to do with anything?

Will we end up with more and French sides in SL?

The idea of another French side in SL should not even be mooted IMO!

what it has to do with is MONEY & INVESTMENT !

it doesn't matter if the club is french or english it's a question of viability and stability - how many english clubs offer that ?

the RFL would gladly entertain offers from Fev & the like if they believe the business plan is solid enough

Toulouse is a city with money and sponsors - if an english club can match the potential in Toulouse the I would prefer to see an english alternative any day

I fail to see what french clubs bring to s/l, the away support is none existant and on the other hand they are the longest and most expensive away trip for supporters and clubs. Feath,halifax,sheffield etc would bring far more away support and help with clubs finances,and the quicker we dump the franchise system and get back to promotion and relegation and let clubs earn their position the better.!!

correct another french club would just continue the decline in attendance figures

I hope the RFL aren't that stupid to see that

I don't believe the RFL have a dislike for clubs with a wealthy backer - quite the opposite in fact, they appear to court them and bring them into the inner circle.

For me, Toulouse would be a bridge too far, particularly if they were granted entry ahead of some English teams who've worked their backsides off to meet the criteria; the only way it could be done with any degree of fairness is to expand SL rather than reduce it, and I can't see the turkeys voting for Xmas in that regard.

Proves how important Newmarket is to is and how we need it ASAP. Everyone is assuming licensing is going to be scrapped with p&r coming back but ground facilities are still going to be a massive factor whatever some people say.

On the other side of the coin, would a successful Toulouse side increase interest the other side of the channel giving the French a derby match, hopefully making France become viable international opposition, something our game desperately needs in this hemisphere and making future rugby league world cups less of a joke competition and thus benefiting the game as a whole. Or perhaps we should just concentrate on putting an iron curtain up around the M62 and forget the crazy idea that we could ever expand our great game.

For Toulose to stand a chance without a rich backer they'd have to be at least pulling 10k, would they get anything like that, especially with the competition of a successful RU team in the City already.

London is a city with money and sponsors it does them no good.

The fact is if Toulose are rushed in without having the things in place to be able to survive SL it would be another disaster waiting to happen. What they don't need either is signing a ship load of antipodeans along with a few average French players and expect it to work. What they do need is a good core of French players who are of a good standard, a good youth structure to enable the club to maintain and prosper in the future and a good community and marketing side of things to get the fans behind the team. Even then are they more beneficial to SL than the likes of the teams already been mentioned?

quite right SC - 'a disaster waiting to happen' as you say but maybe the RFL are THAT desperate ? They don't see many GB alternatives maybe ?

' Desperate ' is exactly where our sport currently is, weak at almost every level

Don't want your sort spreading that sort of talk on here, the games thriving at all levels and franchising into SL is the future of our game.

Back to the VT you fiend.

Any club coming into SL needs managing carefully, regardless of where they come from.

Whilst I agree that there should be a pathway for Championship clubs, I also believe that a second French side would be good for the game.

It is vital that we build the international game. This needs more players coming through the Academy systems - here and in France - and you will only do that by having more clubs!

However, any change should be made over a 5 to 10 year period, not 1 or 2. And ultimately I think we should aim for a larger league without a full home and away system.

I also reckon that they're making a right old mess of the Academy system!

Not for the first time I appear to be in the minority!

The question is, if an additional French team is added to SL (and I have no problem with the idea itself), how will the make up and numbers in the league be decided.
Although our point of view may be selfish, our club was a victim of the cull before the inception of SL and at the previous round of franchises, due to the uncertainty over our inclusion we almost disappeared.
So for all supporters of saamaller clubs, expansion will have a detrimental effect and whilst this may be good for the long term future of the game, we have had a bellyfull of SL expansion as we are always in the firing line.
Ok, with the excellent work done by Mr Glover and James Elston, we are not currently in the bottom 3 or 4 weakest clubs in SL but, how many times can SL change its structure.
16 clubs down to 12 then back up to 14 and pressure to reduce to 10 AND include another French club and all of this in the space of 15/16 years.
Its no wonder that our sport struggles for sponsorship and kudos, we need stability and a sensible plan for growth.

I'm not saying put up a iron curtain around the M62 but another overseas club will just about kill the game off, are fans now expected to fly to away games

I believe the academy system is failing due to the lack of interest below it as for the International game we should concentrate on our own team not help the French

if they want to grow let them at their own expense

Some of the success at Catalans has to be attributed to the away supporter interest and novelty weekend away factor.
Will this be increased, shared or lessen by having a second French team?