Quote: wrencat1873 "
The one certainty is that having one FT pro side in France + Toulouse, isn't ever going to allow them to compete with the big boys.
For this to happen, there would need to be 5 or 6 SL standard clubs over there, which, quite frankly, is never going to happen.
I do like the idea of English clubs "twinning with the French though and in the long term, with better coaching and development, their game would improve and more importantly, the number of potential SL players would increase, which could only be good for the sport.
It makes sense to build on something that currently exists, rather than planting RL clubs in no mans land or, halfway around the world'"
Well the Dragons aren't in the academy league anymore so there's no pathway for players to Superleague via their own backyard. Currently the Dragons have 12 English and Aussie players in their team and are chasing Wigan cast-offs as they head for a wholly non French team. They do not seem to have any regard for their original mission which was to be the conduit for the best players in France to professionalise and thereby make for a professional French International side.
Therefore there is no actual point to them any more, but its very kind of you to suggest that whilst Catalans stop bothering with French players somehow English clubs have to do this work for them? I note (as always) another of your interesting points that it may need "5-6 SL clubs in France" to get the game cooking there, both the development of players and a TV deal no doubt.
Takes me back to when Perez said that there would also need to be 5-6 north american clubs in Superleague to get a NATV deal and spark the grass roots there too.
How we fit 10-12 Superleague clubs from France and America into SL I dunno. Maybe we should stop being so insular and selfish? I say scrub Superleague and go for a Franco-American league
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