If Bristol are that keen then they deserve a game. If they market it properly, which I am sure that they will, then it has to be worth a gamble.

Yet you believe internationals are only allowed to be played in the 'heartlands'.

Well done Bristol. It will be a shame if they were to miss out on a game. They've shown how much they would like to showcase the tournament by putting a lot of effort into their bid. The more big cities interested in the game, the better.
How high is the interest for RL in Bristol incedently? Are they planning on entering the Sonics to Championship 1?

What do you define as not even close? It was 1,700 seats from a capacity crowd. I accept that perhaps a big game like Australia v. England in Wigan should have sold out but it was hardly 'nowhere near'. I suspect the reason a lot of people don't turn up are because of the prices. A Wigan fan will have to pay upwards of £10-15 more for the seat they sit in all season to watch England and I'm sure the negative connotations associated with the international set up at the moment (We'll never beat 'um, they're too good etc.) will deter people.

The bid in Bristol is well set up as has been mentioned and I believe they deserve a chance as long as the RFL market the game fairly and responsibly to set up a five-figure crowd and generate further interest.

Or perhaps fans are bored of going to the same old stadia in small northern towns and would fancy a change, perhaps an event, that isn't just your run of the mill turn-up-and-watch international marketing.

DW is closer than Wembley, but I'll be taking more people there than DW.

Completely agree with that post. I think people hugely underestimate what sort of effect there is for asking people to pay £40 for a seat that would normally cost £19 for a Super League game. The pricing structure certainly needs looking at as the only empty seats in recent Four Nations games have been for the pricy seats yet the cheap areas have been full.

Sonics are in the Championship review process. They are not jumping the gun. and are justly cautious to move at a pace that is manageable. That in itself is good evidence of how well run the club is.

Perhaps the most important developments are at Filton College. Technically it's a FE college, but it's training facilities are better than anything any SL club has access to (the words of the RFL head of performance). It is, for example, the HQ for the Kenyan Olympic team in 2012.

Filton has a championship standard stadium. It is one of 8 licence holders for the FA Women's Superleague (along with Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Everton...). When it started it's basketball club it was the first in Bristol. This year they won the National League (tier 2) and have 450 juniors registered.

Last month Filton appointed a Head Coach for a new RL Academy. They'll be in the Southern Colleges league next winter, and aspire to be in the NYL by 2013 and the SL Academy League by 2014.

Separate, but related, Sonics and Filton are in a partnership agreement which gives them the capacity to step up to Championship 1 when it's appropriate. Rhinos are also involved, at top level, and have staff on the ground in the SW.

If I was a betting man (ahem!) I'd put money on there being a semi-pro team of westcountry players before the end of the decade. The World Cup would really help, and might knock 2-5 years off the time line, but the development of the game is continuing regardless.