Quote: Dunbar "Slightly off topic from the BBC but still media
I read the free ‘Sport’ mag they hand out in London (maybe elsewhere) a few weeks ago before the 4 Nations started and they had some bit about it feeling a bit like ‘after the Lord Mayors show’ of the RU World Cup etc etc
Today the piece was all about how McNamara’s men had beaten the world champs (and in more style than the soccer lads bored the Spanish into submission at Wembley). The best bit was about the League boys putting the feel good factor into English rugby after the English debacle in the World Cup... made my day'"
Great coverage in there today. The Editor (Simon Caney) has mentioned RL quite a bit since the Wembley game. In his editorial he says that he gave Tompkins one of his 10 nominations for SPOTY, describing him as a "wonderboy" and "thrilling to watch". And the article you refer to as well, essentially putting tomorrow night's game forward as the highlight of the next 7 days of sport, is very encouraging.
I think this goes to show the importance of events like the Wembley double header in terms of spreading the word. Although they do carry RL in here (previously they have interviewed Roby and Peacock off the top of my head) the coverage during the 4 nations has been very positive and suggests to me that a genuine interest now lies behind it.