Im sure I read somewhere that League gets much higher viewing figures on Sky Sports than Union yet as we all know the reverse is true when it comes to actual attendances. So while I doubt we'll be getting the coverage we actually deserve in he national press anytime soon (the World Tiddlywinks Championship gets more column inches) clearly there are people out there who the clubs and the RFL could be doing more to entice through the turnstiles

You can't play sport in long pants

Lot of truth in this. Get the Public schools playing and we just might at sometime in the distant future have a Prime Minister who was once an hooker, as well as being an hooker.

The previous posters are correct - You are wrong.

Repeat after me: [iRugby [/iFootball, [iAssociation [/iFootball, [iNational [/iFootball [iLeague [/i( NFL ), [iAustralian [/iFootball [iLeague [/i( AFL ).

What they play at Anfield and Reebok is Association Football, AKA soccer.

There's a public school competition being arranged

Millions of people in England call Association Football - football.

I love it how based on your opinion, and the opinion of two other posters someone can be "wrong" in calling a game the name millions of other people call it. You might call football soccer, but it doesn't make you right.

It actually makes you a bit of a prat in my eyes, but doesn't mean your wrong either.

Really? That's fantastic.


Yep. I hate public schools with a passion (sorry Urmston Wire



) and I wish they didn't exist, but sadly they do and the more influential people in the country appear to be ex-public schoolboys. The biggest factor in favour of Union and the biggest factor responsible for it's reasonable spread around the world is/has been the public school system. Even if we don't get a Prime Minister who likes League we might get a few business leaders and media owners/editors who do if we get RL played throughout the public schools.

whilst we're at it....how does everyone here pronounce TOMATO



I call it soccer to wind up soccer fans.....but it is most commonly known as Football in the UK AND Europe. The USA, and South Americans (gradually...but they do follow the USA) and pretty much everyone else calls it soccer as there are other codes of football in these countries that are larger.
League is bigger in Aaustralia
Union is bigger in New Zealand
Gridiron (dally messengers favourite sport) in the USA

........I say TO-MAR-TO by the way

...

I can live with it mate! No offence taken. Only went to Manchester Grammar anyway, not Eton!

Although I would argue that the real group of influence in this country is ex-PPE students from Oxford and economics students from LSE, and has been for years.

I think though that what keeps Union going is the fact that it is clinging on for dear life in Australia, and that is basically kept alive by South African immigrants turning up for Super Duper Eye Gouge or whatever it's called now.

Clinging on for dear life eh.....

This your professional opinion or just something you read somewhere



I have no love of Union, but the figures so far from superdooper 15 games played in Australia thus far would dispute your rhetoric.
11 games so far, 211,653 fans...average gates 19,241....with the mighty NRL averaging 19,651 for 16 games so far...so unless the expression "clinging on for dear life" means something else, I would suggest that Union isn't in as bad a nick as dally messenger and the other idiots would have you believe.....
...as for the demographic of the fans at Union games...I take it this is again just more knee jerk b0ll0x and not actually based on any concrete research or facts.

Fot too long people in the UK have taken as gospel the myth that everyone in Sydney wears an NRL shirt to work and they pack out their stadiums. Fact is, the NRL rules TV figures in Australia when the tennis or neighbours isn't on, but more people go and watch AFL, which has a bigger TV deal and it would seem that Union gets pretty much the same number of fans at their games......hardly knocking at deaths door IMO

Oddly, I do actually sometimes watch Super Rugby whilst being unable to abide the toss served up in the NH. And I am astounded by the Saffer support at these games. It's highly unlikely to be regular away support.

As for the relative averages, the SR teams are of course one per state, and there are only five. No competition from any other team in that sport. Not a charge which on the whole can be levelled at RL, and definitely not at AFL.

Quote Poyser11="Poyser11"Why are English people calling football, soccer?'" 'soccer' is a phrase that has been used to describe a[isoc[/iiation football, soccer is to association, as rugger is to rugby. Read this: www.RL1908.com/History/football.htm

Quote Poyser11="Poyser11"Why are English people calling football, soccer?'" 'soccer' is a phrase that has been used to describe a[isoc[/iiation football, soccer is to association, as rugger is to rugby. Read this: www.RL1908.com/History/football.htm