The Exiles

Quote: proper "I don't want to seem like I'm singling you out this afternoon, but some of this is a bit odd.

I'm not sure it can be solely in the RFL's gift to fix the international game. Surely the other components in a "proper" 5 Nations would need to have their own governing bodies and federations.

It's a bit much to suggest that fans of Ireland, Scotland and Wales would use the trip to London as a holiday. What few there are will barely turn up to home games. How many people will actually watch Ireland v Scotland? How many free ticketed Welsh fans will pay to travel to away fixtures against the smaller nations when they can't get a decent turn out in Wrexham? We've tried parachuting an "eligible" team into these places for World Cups and the like before. It didn't work in terms of creating sustainable growth and didn't really create any interest outside celtic ex-pat populations in Australia.

We can't credibly (or financially) use Wembley as a home for international games until somebody can be fairly confident of a crowd there. Having failed to fill smaller venues in the heartlands in the autumn last year, you'd have to be a total nutcase to book England v Wales into Wembley. I'd love to see test matches back at Wembley at some point but there are some systemic problems to fix first'"

Don't worry, you aren't

Yes, that's true. But as the largest of the present governing bodies it would seem the RFL's brief to lead that. I don't suggest that this will lead to an overnight solution, but it's definitely a necessary part of that solution. For the moment I'd suggest that with the right publicity, in the right place (i.e. South Wales) then a welsh national fixture could attract a decent crowd. The problem with Wrexham is it's bloody miles from where most Welsh people live. Venues for international fixtures need to stop being chosen for the convenience of the people already watching the game, and start being picked to attract new fans.

Re: Wembley, again totally accept that. There should however be at least one game in every 5N played there-we can afford that. Elsewhere let's play at Wigan or in Leeds but not at Leigh or Salford- sheds in the middle of nowhere that sell our game short.

As for a team of eligible aussies, I do think doing that in its entirety would be a bad thing. I also think that having some players like that would be a good thing in terms of making those sides more competitive. It's great we've a number of welsh players coming through/signing from RU (something we should try and do more with) but getting the Masons, the Carvells, the Brierses and the likes of David Stagg playing for Wales will help raise their profile and stop blowout scorelines in matches that devalue the game.

ATEOTD the aim for growth in Wales should be at least two, if not three franchises. But there needs to be concentration & a team everyone can support first, before specific club allegiances are made. A Welsh national team playing big RL fixture against England, somewhere that can easily be watched, and not getting hammered can only be good for the uptake of our game.

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