Quote Gaslight="Gaslight"=#8000FF...apparently news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_l ... 509461.stm Most of that is pretty rubbish, why does the league need them other then "expansion"? '" Expansion is reason enough all by itself. Without expansion, RL would be a small-time, regional game lacking any national resonance whatsoever and wouldn't deserve to be covered by the national media or shown on conventional broadcast TV. With only 3 of 14 SL clubs outside the north, the game still has some way to go to deserve the spotlight most of us want it to have. I don't envy Richard Lewis trying to convince the government to shelve the recommendation to de-list the Challenge Cup.

Quote Gaslight="Gaslight"=#8000FF...apparently news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_l ... 509461.stm Most of that is pretty rubbish, why does the league need them other then "expansion"? '" Expansion is reason enough all by itself. Without expansion, RL would be a small-time, regional game lacking any national resonance whatsoever and wouldn't deserve to be covered by the national media or shown on conventional broadcast TV. With only 3 of 14 SL clubs outside the north, the game still has some way to go to deserve the spotlight most of us want it to have. I don't envy Richard Lewis trying to convince the government to shelve the recommendation to de-list the Challenge Cup.

Is it though? RL is a small-time, regional game lacking any national resonance whatsoever and isn't covered by the national media or shown on conventional broadcast TV. RL is all those things and a small presence in London does not transform RL into some kind of nation spanning colossus.

Is the presence in London vital to the Sky contract, does anyone really know or are you just presenting theories? As far as Quins are concerned I think they should be given as much help as they need to becomes sustainable, along with other clubs but I'm not convinved that they are as important as some here make out, other than they are members of the RL family and we want everyone in that family to prosper.

Curling gets a fair amount of national tv coverage and that is very much a regional sport. Ski Sunday gets aired nationwide and that does not even cover a regional sport in the UK it's all foreign, but that doesn't seem to be a problem.

I reckon there is a more even spread of Brits who going skiing, than there is spread of people who watch/play RL.

The importance to the Sky contract may be over egged, but their importance to the game overall is not.

The London club, in whatever guise, is an outlet where the young players in London who play League can target as a realistic opportunity of developing a career. Without that top flight club in their region there is the potential they will be lost to the game or choose to take up Union.

With RL needing a larger base of home produced players, to bolster the domestic League and also the International sides, can the sport afford to abandon such a potentially large player pool that’s available in the South East.

They should be given help to aid with the promotion of the club. If it’s up front and transparent then I’m sure many fans of the traditional clubs would accept that.

I reckon there's a more even spread for people who take part in match fishing, but that doesn't get a highlights programme on BBC.

I never suggested that a small presence in London transformed RL into some kind of nation spanning colossus. What I did say was, "With only 3 of 14 SL clubs outside the north, the game still has some way to go to deserve the spotlight most of us want it to have." In short the game needs more expansion, not less. It's entirely conceivable that 3 out of 14 won't be enough to stop the Challenge Cup de-listing going ahead. 1 or 0 out of 12 would be a no-brainer.

The presence in London was a condition of the first SL contract with Sky, in a real sense they were the first franchised club. Some believe that requirement's been dropped, but it's hard to imagine that Sky would pay as much for the rights as now without it.

It's interesting you mentioned curling and skiing getting more coverage. They might be small in the UK but they're both bigger internationally than than RL: neither one relies on tiny island nations with heritage players to make their international competitions look better. They're both in the Olympics too.

Sky bought it all, didn't they?

I think the issue here is development of the game, which certainly should be supported in the South East. I think that the problems in that area are not related to providing a career for the elite few players but more having enough amateur and junior clubs for the vast majority of players. There is a huge amount of work going into schools in that area, but I had a discussion a few weeks ago with someone on here (apologies can't remember the name) who was concerned that the effort he was doing in his school would produce rewards for the local RU club, that had very recently sent in a coach to work with the kids. I said he should get kids signed up to his local RL club youth section, his reply was there wasn't one.

Now if that is the case then really what is the point, kids want to play games and they will pretty much stick with the first club they go to and they will be RL for life. If there are not enough youth teams to join then all of that work is a waste of time. Elite players will find a way to the top, they will be scouted by other clubs or move up North which is all of two hours away.

So, I'm not even convinced that Quins are vital for player development. This is not a downer on Quins as I said before I would like to see them thrive but in response to the OP I don't really see that they are in any way more important than any other team in SL.

I couldn't tell you.

The importance that Lewis attaches to a SL presence in the capital is quite correct, I'm just not sure that quins are the ideal 'set-up' to fulfil the requirements.

To promote a sport that has never been particularly popular down there is a losing (but definitely necessary) battle in the first place, but IMHO there's simply too many obstacles standing in Quin's way.

For starters not only are they based in deepest darkest union territory, but to position them on the doorstep of their national stadium in a community steeped in union history, is just bizarre. If the idea behind that is to attract union fans to our code, why adopt the name, ground and colours of a famous union club and instantly alienate any potential support from their rivals??

Also I'm not convinced a 'leafy suburb' which is a good half hour away on the train from central london, is the best place to base London's only professional SL club.

I do understand that there is a certain amount of stability gained by the club from being involved with Harlequins, and I also agree with previous posters who have said that the constant name changing and ground moving makes it impossible to get a foothold, but if the RFL are serious about having a well-supported SL club down there, they need to make sure every detail is geared towards attracting support, and quins just isn't.

Exactly!! We're 1 or 2 games into the season and we're already the worst team in the competition??? I don't think so! Look at the stadium Quins play at - one of the top 3/4 in the league. Go somewhere like St Helens and you don't even have a roof or sink in the toilet! Then you add the mass development of numerous junior teams in the Capital and surrounding areas...Quins are up there with the top few teams on their community work.

So Quins have lost (with 70% of their first choice team missing) the first couple of games and sit at the bottom of the league. I don't really think this constitutes Quins being the worst team overall if you're looking at Licence renewals in Super League.

In fact, only crowd numbers are the main issue.....that and Ian Lenegan doing sweet FA to sell his shares in the club. Other clubs have large crowds but face equal problems elsewhere in their Licence renewal bid...