Quote: Saddened! " It's the pinnacle of rugby in either code as pointed out by Brian Carney on Sky, so why we can't get 50,000 along to it I'll never know.
'"
fwiw - my view.
-Sat 8pm is a terrible slot (I would guess Sky forced the decision?)....20 million people have plans to be down the pub and 20 million are watching X-Factor & Strictly with their family.
-Stoop perceived as harder to get to than other venues (wrongly)
-District line was down that weekend.
- Aus/Kiwi market in London is smaller than norm due to recession (fewer temp jobs and many taken by Eastern Europeans)
- most of my antip mates in London are middle class RU fans and much more inclined to follow the Wallabies.
Once those 'excuses' are out of the way - the marketing drive didn't start until two weeks before the game (after Grand Final) as far as I can see.
Aus/NZ arrived in London the weekend before making press coverage minimal until final week. Even then it was sh*t.
So many people have already made plans by this time. Cripes, most of my mates are booked up for the next 8 weeks, let alone 2.
I was at the Aus v Barbarians game at Wembley last Dec and about 35k tipped up & it was still a good atmosphere. Booking a larger venue for this 4N's game would've (imo) ensured a much bigger crowd due to perceived ambition.....though it was a fantastic atmosphere at the Stoop.
