Wales doesn't have a big following for RL.

Hell, the game at the racecourse attracted 8,500, one of the smallest attendances of this world cup, it's not a pop at the Welsh, it's just stating that Cardiff was unsuccessful, would need about 200,000 hardcored Welsh RL fans, and the attendance to be the same.


Arguably, for fans in the heartlands, it's a VERY difficult place to reach, no clubs were running coaches, so access was either, make your own way there, get a train, which was costly really. I know Leeds decided to run coaches at the last minute, and a few private companies ran some, but i felt 45,000 was a great turnout considering the circumstances.

The event at Wembley was a far bigger event than the one at Cardiff, with more on the line and the four biggest teams in world RL in it.
Cardiff had far less on the line. Defeat was not the end of any side, and only featured two big teams with no momentum at this stage going into the game.

A completely unfair comparison, and what basically just looks like a chance to have a pop at the Welsh.

I'd suggest to the inability to capture the wider public in the "heartlands" reflected by not managing to sell-out at the (Manchester) Magic Weekend as very concerning.

I think if anything is to be learned, it's that double headers on FTA can be made into huge events, and the CCSF should follow suit immediately. Announce a neutral ground early, build the event and let tickets be bought before we even know who's playing.

Far better than the "let's wait and see... oh wait, the crowd is 10,000"

The thing with the Magic Weekend is that it can seem a bit like overkill to a newbie, whereas you might be able to make a bigger event out of say Wigan vs Saints and Warrington vs Widnes at Liverpool. Sometimes less is more.

Not that it bothers me as I love the Magic Weekend!

I agree, it's also harder to get newbies excited over a regular league game between 2 clubs they know little about and have little to no connection with. But anyone can get behind England without having to know much or anything about the game.