Toulouse is many things, but poor? It's the European centre for Aerospace, with over 50,000 jobs linked into that industry. It felt fairly prosperous when we visited for the Catalan/Rovers game in 2013.

Well I've heard it all now, South Wakefield is a more diverse and prosperous place than Toulouse the fourth biggest in France well known for its aeronautical and space industry. Although it pales in significance to adbrigg and Sandal

Catalans were given a spot even though p&r was still going. They were given immunity for the first few years. So no reason why Toulouse can't be given a place. It makes more sense for them to be put straight into SL rather than the Championship.

Warrington?

Be fair to Widnes, their history of overseas players is nowhere near as bad as Wakefield's and Hull KRs

Please spare a thought for those poor people of Toulouse, they can barely afford to live, scrimping every cent for a string of onions to improve their meagre lives. Working every hour god sends for a euro an hour in their outdated and failing economy based on yesterday's technology. If only intel and airbus could afford to pay the high tech jobs Haribo factory pays.

But poor Jacques and Francios are doomed to live in the country with the 5th biggest GDP in the world, the 2nd biggest in Europe, with the low standard of living that international pariah France is known for. Never knowing things could be different.

Pity poor Philipe as he shakes his baguette toward the sky, tears in his eyes, dreaming of the rhubarb fields and gold paved roads of Agbrigg and Lupset .

Either that or vastpants is trolling again.

Wikipedia says-

Warrington 202,700 (Ranked 82nd)

Wakefield 326,400 (Ranked 19th)

This is the great thing about promotion and relegation, we can put them in and see what happens.

If they get things right on the field they will do well, if they are run badly they will not.

I am not a fan of P&R but it does (should) remove the arguments between Flat cappers and Expansionists but I am sure that will not stop some people.

Not a chance in hell has Wakey as a city a population of 326,400, which is what Vasty was stating. That will be the metropolitan district. I've no idea what Warrington as a town is, your figure will be for the borough. I had heard the same statement about Warrington that Vasty made. It seems bigger from the times I have been.

I think that's a key point to be honest.

They need to prove they can sustain it and be a long term part of the competition.

I think the south of France have proved they have an appetite for Rugby League always turning out too see their national side get tonked by the top 3 national teams.

Who were Catalans pre 2005? Now they are an established top 5 club in terms of team quality and support putting historic clubs over here in blighty to shame

He said WMDC and the fact the area doesn't have a pro Football or RU club. Both figures are for the Boroughs, it was the easiest way to compare tbh. Don't know about Warrington but if you take it a step further and take out the smalll towns where people wouldn't say they were from Wakefield, like Cas, Featherstone etc, you still get around 240,000 people. It's bigger than you think Wakefield. Figures are on WMDC website for what it's worth.

As for the OP, I think letting Toulouse into the Championship and building from there is the best for all parties. it gives them a chance of SL if they can develop players and infrastruture and then that gives local guys a hope and a pathway to playing Pro RL. It'd be interesting to see how they'd get on with some cash behind them.

For the love of Taylor Swift - I've heard it all now !

It may be clear, but it is not fair and won't be until all 24 clubs in the system are allowed to spend the same cap.

.... and are given the same amount of central funding.