if they do go back into the championhip for 6 years i dont think they will survive

The scarlets used to do 1 round of union there in the celtic league but crowds were poor they have been poor at times for league. unfortunately there is no appatite in wrexham

Manufactured synthetic contrived Rugby League clubs that get hot housed into areas of this land that have never even heard of RL let alone have any interest in it are doomed from the start.

Maybe now the mentally challenged gifferes at Red Hall will realise that their recourses will be better spent nurturing our great sport in its heartland instead of trying polish a turd.

And the danger is that here, in its heartlands, where it is barely supported anyway, it will languish and die a slow death hastened only when players leave for more lucrative contracts in RU. The RFU got to the professional party late but stole the show from us years ago.

…and, IMO of course, that’s exactly why the limited recourses that the RFL have at their disposal should be aimed at rekindling interest in this sport where is has a sustainable chance of growth.

Rugby League in its ‘heartlands’ is far from reaching saturation point. Interest breeds interest – how many of us were introduced to RL by a friend or family member? I’m guessing all of us.

The RFL need to be looking at ‘Recommend a Friend’ or ‘Free for a Friend’ schemes instead of trying to generate interest from scratch.

When its basing itself in small towns in a very limited area of operation and generating sub-7000 crowds, whether heartlands or not, its not going to command the big money that Sky can offer and will go the same way as UK Ice Hockey and Basketball, a niche market only for those who are dedicated to the sport, not for casual observers and certainly not in sufficient numbers to justify a prime slot on Sky Sports One, when that sponsor goes then start ringing the bell because its over then.

That’s the scary thing about professional RL in this country. It is the sports Pay Masters that will decide if or when RL will die on its ar[size=100s[/sizee. If they pull the plug then, although the sport will survive, it won’t have the cash to keep its best players and we’ll be back to those semi amateur days where your post match chats with the players will be more about negotiating the price of a new patio than how the game went.

Which is exactly what will happen, almost instantly, if we give up on the likes of Crusaders and Quins.

Quins may be a necessary evil to appease our Pay Masters by having a presence in our capital but Celtic was a total ‘none-starter’ from the offing.

It’s another failed experiment that will inevitably simply serve to embarrass our sport further.

Sponsorship cash = performing monkeys? Maybe a bit too far but would I rather watch top class RL that has to constantly suffer humiliation or semi-pro, parochial, low attendance RL?

Honestly…??? I’d have to think about it.

I don't even care anymore. We've fought this long enough. If we're going to continue trying ot expand and failing then it's probably time to merge the two games and play a hybrid version (which of course would ultimately be closer to RL).

It's a shame but I do think what you propose is inevitable. It will take longer thanks only to the NRL continued success.
It makes me laugh how much the media is raving about England's performance in th RU international last Saturday. It was pretty good for RU match but one try from a pass after being tackled to the ground and another we see all time in RL were hardly worth so much hysteria.
However RU has that greater dominance certainly at the prestigious international level and that won't change. The irony of the mediocre or more mature ex RL players making it "big" in the high profile England and NZ RU sides is not insignificant.
In another 100 years our descendents will be praising the sport's governing body for the bold and dramatic move of reducing the total number on the field to just 13 whilst increasing the difference in scoring for a try. The little provincial game played in the old working class regions of the Northern mill towns will be long forgotten.

This is what Sky has wanted all along.
Beware Greeks bearing gifts.