I don't recall Wembley being traditionally the start or end of a tour / tournament. The 82 and 86 Aussie teams didn't play there as I recall. In the 90s possibly it was more regular, but Northern in securities soon showed through. Imo.
The 90s was a period when the sport could and should have boomed in the south. We had stars in Hanley and Offiah that the people of the south respected and knew. Then came Sky and all was lost.
I also speaking as a dedicated follower of the sport have lost interest as a result. I no longer go to cup finals and test matches regularly. I don't remember the last test match I went to. I have also stopped going to the GF unless my team get there.
It was dull with Wigan winning everything but they captured the nations imagination and we have fought to avoid that. Rightly or wrongly I am not sure.
It still pees me off that NFL and Saracens RFU can fill Wembley and we can't even fill the Stoop but that's the fault of Sky and the RFL who fail to promote the game sufficiently. Plus as I said the Northern bias against the South.

quite right about the nineties which should have seen the game escalate

but how can you blame SKY for NOT promoting the game ???

I think the big problem is the lack of P & R to and from SL - the C/C1 fans & clubs have little to play for each season except the famous 'ticking the box' requirement which is quite ridiculous IMO - bring back P & R and scrap the present system for SL

Probably not because anybody with any nous knew that England did not stand a cat in hells chance of winning the competition.

Hmm! Where to start!!!!!!

Sky Sports magazine -Find a few lines if lucky

Coming up in October - No RL!!!!!

Coming up in November - No RL!!!!!

Coming up on the sports news section of Sky news -Nada!!!

Sky Sports news, Running news feed, coming to RL news - BREAK

etc....

IMO we need to get the Ashes series on ASAP.
The game needs international rugby,it is essential for the game to survive in the long term.
The RFL have to give the international game top priority and reduce the amount of Superleague games in a season.

It didn't affect the UK either, in truth I can't remember it. When was it again?

you may not have noticed but the RL season has actually FINISHED !!! what do you propose SKY do in the off-season ? - they can't invent games can they ? I suppose they could show the LER games which is about Championship level at best,tho' other than that ?

Yes the SL Grand Final, NRL Grand Final and the 4 Nations were NOT played in October or November nor was there any transfer activity, coaching changes etc...

totally disagree - the european game needs a strong SL plus C/C1 with P & R for example - the equation is easy : you improve the SL & C/C1 infrastructure then the International game will follow
peronally don't give a monkeys about England peformances at the moment - lets get the basics sorted domestically first

The international game for me is the pinnacle of the game,you only have to look at union and see this.
If we could match union on an international level we could dominate completely,surely we can all see this.

sorry,you've lost me there - British International RU has never been so poor IMO - look at England today,they were pitiful

surely the grass roots has to be in good order with good foundations for the rest to fall into place ? Surely any fan of any sport can see that ! Just look at football & cricket as examples - our international teams are lamentable so is it purely coincidental that the respective domestic leagues are just as poor - I can't recall the Premiership or the County Championship at such a low level,can you ?

Since those matches and attendances a whole generation of fans have become disolutioned with the sport at international level , primarily because we just cannot beat the Aussies in any meaningful match and the way it is going we are unlikely to beat the Kiwi's either for the foreseable future , there are other less important reasons , but primarily that is the main one