Quote Codarmysaint="Codarmysaint"When NZ won the world cup, all we heard from everyman and his dog was how RL will explode in NZ and participation numbers will rocket!
Well it hasnt happened, Rugby is still king in NZ so when is this explosion going to happen?'"
Patience is a virtue my friend. NZRL have been in disarray for years but have now turned the corner. They have a Business plan in place, turned a profit last year and once Auckland play ball with the zones and funding, they will start to get more work going.
At under age level, the game would seem to be quite healthy (2,500 turned up to see a schools final here in Wellington last year) and with the All Blacks imploding/salavating over French or Japanese contracts and jumping ship, together with the probability of the Springbox winning the RUWC next year......League will continue to grow.
As with the London issue in Superleague.....these things take time. The current crop of U20's that originate from these shores look OK and they were all born when there was only 1 sport in this country. Now there is Basketball, soccer & League as alternatives and NRU have been very very very slow to react. Also, the RUWC is, as is it always is, an elite show.......with your average fan having no chance of seeing their own team and paying through the nose to see ANY game........
