People seem to be suggesting the final is played in London.

There is a very high chance of it being an Aus v NZ final.

London is full of antips.

The Stoop would do the job nicely.


I seriously can't see England making the final. I personally would like it if they did because it would be a real shot in the arm for the international game.... but realistically I think hell will freeze over before that happens.

You havn't been to London recently have you Barry?

Wrong....again.

I live and work in Hammersmith!!

I forgot Huddersfield and Donaster. Which others do you reckon? Will Hull KR be sorted by 2013? And the Cas/Wakey debacle, who knows? Bradfords a dump at the minute.

So you know there arn't that many antipods there anymore, plenty of eastern europeans though.

Fewer stadia with more games on the same day is the way forward, I reckon.

If there are 12 teams in it, then use just two grounds - three games at each, one after the other. It's cheaper to stage, cheaper to broadcast, and gives the fans an experience.

Similarly, why just have the final on World Cup Final day? Why not have a third place playoff as the curtain raiser?

Hammersmith has never really had many antips from what I've gathered, I used to live in a place called Dollis Hill though and that was full of them.

A lot of my friends live in Willesden... another antip 'hotspot'. Same as Acton. Chockers with Aussies and Kiwis. Shepherds Bush is quite popular too.

London on the whole has thousands of Aussies and Kiwis living here. There was a good turn out for the international at the Stoop last year between Australia and NZ.

Group 1 Wigan, leigh and wire
Group 2 st helens,widnes and wrexham
Group 3 huddersfield, headlingley (if north/stand are rebuilt) and darlington

Semi - final double header villa park
final - old trafford

lets miss out the city with the most rugby league fans shall we? hull!

nothing like lancashire bias there

To show the game in it's best light the venues should be !!!!

Limoux or Pia

Swinton

Oldham

Keighley

Hunslet

Whitehaven

Then for the semi's Leigh and Doncaster

Final at Rochdale.

The gounds will all look full with enthusiastic interested people with 1000's nay 10s of 1000's baying at the turnstiles to be let in!!!!

Whoops sorry was in a trance there.

Let's take it to dull no atmosphere stadia where having fun as a spectator is banned by jobsworths.

Joking aside some of the games will not even fill some of the stadia mentioned unless!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE BIG MEDIA MARKETING MACHINE STARTS NOW and keeps hammering at the door of the media constantly.

For the naysayers saying theres all this "sport" being played first, so what, just keep plugging away promoting our game, the technology is there so use it!!!

Great idea! Can't fault that at al.... Woaaaah!!! [iKeighley!?[/i

Replace Hunslet with Batley and I think you're spot on

It all depends on the actual draw but I hope they play the games at proper Rugby League venues.

Saints (new stadium), Warrington, Leigh, Wrexham, Twickenham Stoop, Widnes, Catalans, Huddersfield, Hull & Wigan's home grounds provide more than enough decent venues in the heartlands.

Probably a bit Lancashire biased their but at the present time on this side of the pennines the clubs are way ahead of the Yorkshire clubs for modern stadia.

Kick Off times are key as well. I hope they play the games in the afternoon rather than the evening. And if they play midweek then kick off at 7:30pm rather than 8pm. Bit more friendly for train travellers.

I'll be honest international rugby has lost it's appeal for me in recent years. I prefer three match test series than four/tri nations tournaments every year (bit repetitive in my view) but a world cup is something different to look forward to. One of the best international matches I've attended recently was Tonga v Samoa at Headingley the other year so I've no doubt it'll be a successful tournament if they run it properly. That means not taking games to Gateshead, Gloucester, Reading, Llanelli, Belfast, Glasgow, Dublin and Watford like the 2000 effort.