Yep, but it surely means the effect of expansion teams on the crowds in finals is being over exaggerated. The fact that were having this debate anyway proves that people have felt the need to side step the issue of Catalan's home crowds, which are larger than those of Fax, Leigh and Widnes the last time those three teams were in Superleague. Not to mention the excellent 18,000 crowd they got in Barcelona. Superleague was never intended to be the Yorks & Lancs League, it was founded with the intention of being a top level European competition.

And for the record, Toulouse should have to qualify for a grand final like everyone else.

We will see what difference it makes if Catalans get to another final. It will be worse than when London got to the final - half empty. There is no disputing that Catalans are a success. So i dont know why you are coming on here preaching?

Yes Catalan's are a success and do get the crowds to justifie them being in super League however Toulouse got 800 against Dewsbury on sunday which questions is super League big enough for 2 french teams?

Catalans are a great success and i applaud expansion when its realistic and when its beneficial to the `greatest game` but Quins and Crusaders are not and will never be a valid reason to keep the likes of Widnes (who should already be in SL IMO), Fax, Leigh and even Barrow (if they sorted the stadia) out of the top flight!

Hear hear.

That game in Barcelona is what the game of RL does best - exaggerate a crowd for the publicity.
Why?
Well when I was in Toulouse last year I met a guy from Leicester (an adopted Wigan fan) on our flight home to East Midlands airport and he went to that match and he said no way there was that many there he estimated 13,000 tops.
Good I agree but mostly freebies and people who went for the novelty of the stadium in most cases he said. Remember that first Paris crowd and their last???
I rest mycase.
Don't forget like the 2 Crusaders crowds so far you can print the number of 'issued tickets' even if they don't attend.
Maybe we should do it just inflate our crowds to 'tick the box', lots of people are doing it now.

Maybe not based on their results this year so far but at least it is in a heartland of RL.
Unlike Toulouse = RU country.

Widnes are great at doing this sort of thing

Didn't realise that mate tbh.
I guess that Catalans get rugby fans not just RU fans maybe???
It makes an even bigger mockery of letting Crusaders move to the north of Wales where its not even a RU hotbed its football.
I think putting another French team in SL would be a disaster as they cannot sustain two clubs in SL, there was not many people at the game in Toulouse last year if you took away the Fax fans.

Didn't realise that mate tbh.
I guess that Catalans get fans who are not just RU fans but rugby fans maybe???
It makes an even bigger mockery of letting Crusaders move to the north of Wales where its not even a RU hotbed its football.
I think putting another French team in SL would be a disaster as they cannot sustain two clubs in SL, there was not many people at the game in Toulouse last year if you took away the Fax fans.

am i missing something here? why don't Catalan and Toulouse get together to form a strong "french" league? they do nothing to enhance the England team and do i really care if France have a good rugby league setup?

Yes, your missing something. Two teams (the only two teams in France capable of going professional) cannot make a League. We have a Rugby League World Cup coming up in 2013, which will always been seen as a joke unless there are more competitive international sides.

So why not let their 'weaker' clubs do what we're doing and have unlimited imports to make their teams and thus leagues stronger. After all, it works over her, right?