Quote Him="Him"Yep.
It's more than just looking at Union and doing what they do. For starters we can't do that. We don't have a Twickenham and we don't have a base in London and amongst a rich support base. We also don't have the media profile Union has and we certainly don't have the same sympathisers high up in media outlets and larger, richer, companies.
So we aren't starting from the same points and don't have the same capabilities or resources. That's not to say we can't learn from Union or can't do things better (we definitely can). But we could put the exact same people who market & run Union into League and they wouldn't have anywhere near the same impact.
What we CAN do is use the things from Union that would have an effect. The biggest change I think we need to make is to establish a regular international presence in London. Every time we play the Aussies or Kiwis over here there HAS to be at least one game in London. It's not a nice extra anymore, it HAS to happen. I'd then like to see all those who bought tickets outside the heartlands targeted with discounts and offers for other games and events in London or near where they live like other internationals, the Magic Weekend, Cup Final, Grand Final etc.
We also have to get some kind of regular international games every season. So that we know when they're going to happen. I understand we aren't going to get the Aussies and Kiwis coming over here every single year and they're even more unlikely to come mid-season. So we could setup a regular calendar with France and Wales. I'd suggest 2 Tests v France, 1 in England and 1 in France, and 1 game v Wales in England. (I'd also have Wales play France in France). That would give England 2 mid-season internationals every year in England. We'd know that they were definitely happening and we'd set the dates in the calendar so they always happened at the same time. Then everybody knows that every year we're playing France in early June etc etc.
Its not perfect but it's a start. And it gives France and Wales regular competitive games too.
And we have to realise that it isn't going to magically turn into Union-type highly attended internationals, we have to build over time. But if we never know if there's even going to be a game, never mind when and where, it'll never build. For instance I never even realised England were playing France before the NZ Test Series this year.
If we want to follow what Union has done then we have to do it our own way but we still HAVE to establish the international game as THE most important aspect of RL in this country, not an add-on to SL.'"
Great post. The thread has finally started 6 pages in.
A problem I think we have in RL is the constant chopping and changing of things. Domestically it's been the dropping of the Regal Trophy, to the change to the Summer, to the introduction of Super League, to the introduction of stupid animal names to clubs, to the re-introduction of the Play-offs, to the changing of the amount of teams in the P-os from 5 to 6 to 8 to 4, to having promotion and relegation, to not having it, to potentially having it with the Super 8s and Million Pound Game, to having The War of the Roses, to not, to having England v Exiles, to not...to Internationally with having a World Cup, to not having a World Cup, to dropping Great Britain, to then having the World Cup again, to talk of bringing back Great Britain, to having mid-season internationals, to not...
You cannot keep up with RL and all its changes all the time if you're just a casual or infrequent observer who could potentially be enticed to being a proper fan of the game. There's nothing you can set your calendar by and say "I'm looking forward to...happening in RL" because even regular RL fans couldn't tell you what's going on with any real conviction for the next four years.
Domestically we now have it bang on. But we must stick with this system for decades to come. Tweaks here and there, by all means, but stick with it. Internationally set a schedule. Stick with it. You're absolutely right; have mid-season internationals set in stone for years to come. Keep the World Cup (despite not even having a sponsor, the 2013 WC was the best I've ever seen), keep the Four Nations, bring back Great Britain test series, get Pacific Island and other European international tournaments going on too. And have a proper cycle for it all.
Having a settled calendar and cycle will make a huge difference.
Then we must start looking at expansion. The game is being played in countries you wouldn't normally recognise with either code of rugby. Scandinavia, Chile, Jamaica. What can we do here? Especially with Scandinavia. Football is big there but they don't have really big football clubs on the world stage nor do their international teams do a great deal and Union isn't big there. Norway Sweden and Denmark have a Nordic international competition, what's the funding like?where the development? How do we grow that?
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