Why this constant knocking of the new club. Yes there were definitely over 5thousand paying supporters, and a very good sign was the take up of business suites. There will be more their for the Saints game going by the talk in the Valleys this morning, It was also good to see a number of coaches which had brought in supporters outside the Bridgend area. Rugby is the basic sport around here and RL is also being taught. I see the WRU are responding by getting junior rugby going in Maesteg. I don't mind union knocking league, but I do object to supposed league fans having a go.

[uWelsh Rugby Attendances:[/u

Magner's League:
Cardiff 7,603
Scarlets 6,436
Ospreys 6,127
Dragons 6,112

Crusaders 5,272

Brilliant effort!

It was and we had a write up that featured earlier in the sports pull out in the Wales on Sunday then the Scarlets game. Oh and we had the front and back cover. All good coverage.

i love it when there is a success story in rugby league! and the celtic crusaders are going to be the biggest success story of this season! no matter what happens!

i cant wait to make the trip to watch wigan and look forward to meeting some of the most gracious rugby fans in the world!

and can we swap duggan for mathers?

Looking at those figures , then it is an excellent effort , hopefully many will return and be rewarded with a few wins later in the season

Look forward to seeing you down here. It's only small but friendly enough and surprisingly cheap in some of the town centre pubs as Hull found out last weekend.

Duggan for Mathers?

Nah.

Well, I'm really pleased you got such a good turnout on your first home game in SL. It's great news too that you're getting good coverage locally and that there is some real interest in what is happening. I hope the club can build on that over time.

I'm really looking forward to my first trip to Bridgend. I can only afford about two away games this season and the Saints match with Celtic is one I just can't miss!

You'll enjoy it.

The facilities aren't that great and not a JJB or KC but the fans are friendly enough and you can get a good drink and a bit of food in the surrounding area or head to cardiff if you want a bit more and the big city night out.

Hey, I'm a Saints fan. You wait until you have the joy of a visit to Knowsley Road. Whatever factilities you have down there will be luxurious by comparison!

I'm really looking forward to the visit.

I like the old grounds though. At least they have a little character.

The new grounds are soulless in comparison and don't have a unique feel at all.

oh and if anyone knows of any good hotels around pontypool? let us know

[url=http://www.skirridmountaininn.co.uk/This one[/url is near Abergavenney rather than Pontypool but if you're looking for somewhere with a bit of character you won't go far wrong

excellent crowd for your first home game, when you play the likes of saint's w***n leeds and hull kr then i am ure you will nudge double figures. well done to all concerned.

Can somebody recommend a good doctor.

I've just fallen off my chair at work and think I've damaged my coccyx.

seriously your club should be applauded, the marketing appears to be paying dividends......

I've been to the ground twice before (Hull vs London 2005, Celtic vs Oldham 2007) and two things I didnt notice then but did on Saturday:

1) How superb the atmosphere was. I dont just mean crowd noise but the whole event.

2) How bloody awful the view is from the side terrace unless you are at the front or are about 6ft5. At 6ft, I struggled to see quite a bit of the game, nevermind my girlfriend who is 5ft1



Not wanting to start off the same boring argument but I enjoyed everything, from the trip down, before and after the game, and the game itself much more than any of those clubs who got rejected (although haven't been to Toulouse, I have been to the others at least twice, Widnes a few times more) and some of the current SL clubs (Salford, Wakey, Bradford for eg. I hopw to visit as an away fan for many years to come

That's true. It's a pity the new stadiums haven't been able to capture some of the old grounds' atmosphere. I love being really close to the action, as we are at Knowsley Road, and there's always a feel of being part of a crowd even when our turnout would shame my grandparents (both avid fans of Saints who used to tell tales of 30,000 crammed in and sitting on the roofs, etc). If Brewery Field is anything like KR for being close to the action and cosy then there will be a great atmosphere there. I just wish that could be combined with nice, warm places to sit and have coffee/beer/food!

Well done to all concerned - Really feel that Pontypridd is ripe for RL takeover as well. Get them in NL2 @ Cardis Rd immediately and then the expansion is on its way.

Oh you're close to the action alright.

In fact I've been checking the Super League websites stats page to see if they have actually credited me with an assist in the build up to our second try.

Let's not run before we can walk.

Let's attempt to get an established SL club, such as Catalans have, before talking of introducing an NL2 club. We're still to discover fan base numbers etc for this coming season and don't think, at this early stage, an NL2 club could be sustained.

you can't say it's not a good idea though. in a few years to have 2 teams from wales in RL competing will be an awesome achievment and one i think will work

It would probably work in the long run but at the moment when Crusaders are trying to build a fan base I think that comes first before thinking of a second team.

In the future maybe but we're only in our first month of Super League as a club so need to check after we have been in the league for 3 years then think about it then in my opinion.

give them a chance they havent got one yet or are you going to place another nrl team in sl

You may find that the two go hand in hand. As local interest grows a second team may grow naturally with it or if interest sparks first in playing the sport the local supporters may grow from that. It sounds like Celtic is making a local impact, though, which at this stage in proceedings is a good thing and I hope you just keep on building steadily from here on in. What you really want is a loyal fan base with the fairweathers/those who can't afford regular commitment coming and going to add to the numbers for the bigger games or those which are more emotionally charged (ie whoever your biggest rivals turn out to be over time).

Totally agree.

I think the rivals will be Quins over time being the two Southern British clubs in Super League.

Although we have built up certain degrees of rivalry with Fev and Widnes so would be good to get either of them in the cup and put them back in their place.