Part of the problem is costs have increased whilst wages, especially in the north, haven’t.
I used to go to Wembley as neutral, maybe not every year but regularly. I can’t justify it now. I used to be able to get a return train ticket for £35 when I booked well in advance. Now it’s at least double that. With increases to other prices a day out that used to cost me around £70-£75 a few years ago is now closer to £150.
When other bills etc at home are rising I can’t justify spending that every year when it’s not my team playing. Certainly not on top of Grand Final (which is prioritise going to over the Cup Final), Magic Weekend and internationals.
Unfortunately we’re trying to get more out of the same people.
I don’t see low Cup Final crowds as a sign the game is dying at all though. As others have said there are far more RL events than there used to be and the Cup Final has been usurped by the Grand Final which is an unqualified success.
I do think we aren’t linked up enough as a sport though. We should be aligning the entire sport at all levels toward these big events. Getting pro, semi-pro and amateur clubs all involved in selling tickets and travel for them.
When I played local RU, my local club had a link to England RU and was actively selling tickets for the next Twickers game and was taking a minibus full of people. Maybe only 14 or 15 people but if every amateur club did that you can add a few thousand on.