Wigan supremo Ian Lenagan, the smartest and most personally accomplished of the Super League owners, has predicted that Catalans, Toulouse, Toronto and New York will all be in Super League within the next five years. He has also suggested that Perth might join Super League if the NRL don't create a franchise there. www.illawarramercury.com.au/stor ... n-the-nrl/

Wigan supremo Ian Lenagan, the smartest and most personally accomplished of the Super League owners, has predicted that Catalans, Toulouse, Toronto and New York will all be in Super League within the next five years. He has also suggested that Perth might join Super League if the NRL don't create a franchise there. www.illawarramercury.com.au/stor ... n-the-nrl/

Perth, do we need a Scottish team?

On one hand I'd be delighted with a thriving, well supported Super Leage involving those clubs. On the other hand I'd be very sad as it would represent a massive and abject failure on the part of the RFL and SL and an admission that they can't grow the game in this country.

Super Rugby is a league made up of clubs from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa and Argentina.

The Pro12 competition has clubs from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy.

International leagues at club level can work and is what we need to be aiming for to grow the game.

Are these Union clubs also not franchises so they have an element of protection? It would raise the whole argument again of franchise v promotion and relegation.

He mentions Perpignan, which is a secret Wigan code word for Catalans.

....and no doubt he also believes that a smallish town in Greater Manchester will be part of this global Super League?

True.

But as I've said before. International RU has a great programme. Which all those countries are apart of. Add to this a 7's tournament that travels the world. Plus clubs already taken games abroad (English clubs have been to the USA for the last 3 years). All of this raise awareness of the sport. Increase opportunities, raising intrest and opening opportunities in various markets.

RL has none of this, and from what Lenaghan says, aren't interested in International RL.

And whilst Wigan & Hull should be applaud for taking a game away from these shores.
I personally find it disappointing that they taking it to a place where RL already has a stronghold. Instead of say Hong Kong, Tonga, PNG etc.

Still,
can't wait for the arguments when the 5th bottom team is relegated. Because the 4 below them aren't English so exempt.
Or when Franchising returns. Why crowds are down, or how to make more games mean something. Why Marketing/Advertising aren't put lots of money in to a sport that's a closed shop, so not that interesting. Wonder how much Sky will pay for a product that in my opinion isn't as good.

Quote: JEAN CAPDOUZE "Wigan supremo Ian Lenagan, the smartest and most personally accomplished of the Super League owners, has predicted that Catalans, Toulouse, Toronto and New York will all be in Super League within the next five years. He has also suggested that Perth might join Super League if the NRL don't create a franchise there. What about expanding the game in the UK lots of untapped crowd potential on our own doorstep. www.ukcities.co.uk/populations/

Quote: JEAN CAPDOUZE "Wigan supremo Ian Lenagan, the smartest and most personally accomplished of the Super League owners, has predicted that Catalans, Toulouse, Toronto and New York will all be in Super League within the next five years. He has also suggested that Perth might join Super League if the NRL don't create a franchise there. What about expanding the game in the UK lots of untapped crowd potential on our own doorstep. www.ukcities.co.uk/populations/

“I’m heavily involved in football in the UK and the [English] Premier League, and [chairman] Richard Scudamore, have been trying for years to get two of their clubs to play what they call the 49th game out of the UK because they realise what the value of that could be."

Someone tell Lenagan it's the 39th game, thought someone "heavily involved" in the Premier League would know they currently play 38 games.

--------------------------

Also quite interesting that he's using the occasion and opportunity whilst over in Australia to have a pop at them.

Super Rugby weren't afraid to "cull' 3 sides from their competition because it was diluting their talent pool too much.....the 2 culled South Africans now play in the extended Pan European PRO 14 whilst in 'stralia they have simply cut the West off with no pro rugby of either code there....explains why the Rabbits are dragging the warriors there in the season opener.....
....having the steel to cull clubs that aren't working for the good of the game is going to have to happen and sooner rather than later. Fans of some clubs won't like it, but for the game to grow, we need to look at mergers or simply cutting sides loose.


The Years before Franchise protection
2004 - 8,570
2005 - 8,884
2006 - 9,026 (catalans saved Castleford Binned)
2007 - 9,855
2008 - 10,338

Average over 5 years 9,335

The years of protected Francises.
2009 - 9,861
2010 - 9,812
2011 - 9,615
2012 - 10,151
2013 - 9,048

Average over 5 years 9,697

The years of Jeopardy since......

2014 - 8,365
2015 - 10,019
2016 - 9,134
2017 - 8,568

Average over 4 years of Relegation excitement 9,021...or 7% down on Franchising which was 4% up on the preceding years.

Franchising failed on many levels but predominantly because it wasn't policed properly. Crowds were not an area it failed in. Leigh/Wakefield, Huddersfield, Widnes and Salford represented 42% of the 2017 Competition but only 26% of the crowds.......replacing these sides with well run sports franchises is how the game will grow...the minimum any team should get is 10,000 and whilst Castleford and Catalans are close, these 5 named above are light years away

I've zero interest in helping other countries grow the game when the game is on its 'arris over here. The only thing that will happen is that games will have an even worse attendance and atmosphere and it will be 3 or 4 less away games I can't attend.

So-called expansionists will kill the game with their fairytale fantasies. We need to sort the grassroots out in England before we even think about introducing new teams from other countries that will take from the same limited pool of players.

People are acting like the current SL teams who would likely drop out of SL if the likes of Toronto, Toulouse etc. came up, actually bring thousands upon thousands of away fans to games.