What was the attendance at Twickenham on Saturday? 80000 plus?

What was the attendance when England played Australia at rugby league in London recently? 35000?

Maybe Charlie Stayt would respond to those statistics by asking whether rugby league needs to be made more compelling, so that it can attract the same crowds as rugby union.

Crowd size is not a reflection of quality of the sport, it is a reflection on how crap league's marketing department is as discussed often on here. Sport itself still better.

Although the rfl are without doubt inept and massive drain on the game, I'm not sure I agree they are the main issue. How good was the marketing of the sport in the late 80s/90s (genuine question, I was too young) as I recall games in London with huge crowds.
I do think the standards have fallen recently, it's just not as entertaining, especially international. That is affecting attendances particularly outside of heartlands

Not suggesting anything with regards comparing the sports and their relative popularities

I doubt Charlie Stayt would even be aware of RL

It was just pointing out an ' Elephant in the room ' moment

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3hours with only 11 minutes of actual action!

Plenty of beer and hotdog breaks there then

Rubbish. Brown, although not not without skill, seriously lacks pace. Plus he is a nasty cheap shot merchant. May and Yarde are unexceptional wingers (admittedly England RU has other wing options). Joseph and Farrell, of course, would have the makings of being good league players.

Brown and May are only dangerous as runners, the ball is never coming out of there hands once it's there, which IMO is infuriating to watch.

Joseph is good, Farrell is Ok, but I'm unsure what his best position would be. The Fijian who was playing Number 8 might make a good prop.

We complain about ring in Australians, I wonder if there is ever that sort of uproar in RU, with Nathan Hughes, Hartley, and Harrison who came off the bench all not being English.

Don't even get me started on Ben Teo, can anyone who follows union explain to me how he is eligible. Born in NZ, capped for Samoa, played Queensland State of Origin and all but 1 year of his Union career in Ireland? Am I missing something, has he got an English Parent?

It was a stupid comment from Charlie Stayt. The game is compelling enough to attract 80000 people willing to pay £50 plus per ticket to go and watch it (it's much cheaper and easier to go and drink at your local pub if you're not interested in the rugby). Even if you allow for some people being there on corporate trips, I'm sure that a lot of those leaving their seats to go and buy alcohol during the game are paying fans.

The same thing happens at England football matches where many of those in the Club Wembley seats don't return to their seats until 10 minutes into the 2nd half. Does football need to be made more compelling in order to encourage those people to return to their seats on time?

If anything I would say that it's more a sad reflection of the UK attitude to alcohol that some people can't get through a match of 80 minutes without the need for a pint or to get drunk. Not to mention a general lack of respect that exists nowadays, as some people are seemingly not bothered about constantly disrupting other peoples view of the game while they go and get their food and drinks.

Like I said though, the solutions aren't difficult. Make some parts of the stadium alcohol free zones. Close some or all of the food or drink outlets 15 minutes before kick-off etc. It's simply a case of whether the RFU are willing to sacrifice a bit of revenue in order to make sure that people can watch the match with as little disruption as possible.

It wasn't stupid at all , it was a very valid point

I wonder what the attendances at the Darts would be if they were alcohol free ?

Isn't his Mum English?

No, it was a stupid comment and a cheap shot at rugby union.

People going to Twickenham know what to expect from a game. They know what rugby union is like, in the same way that someone attending any sporting event knows roughly what to expect. Obviously you can't predict whether the game is going to be amazing or dull, but you know how the game is played and what the structure involves.

If someone finds rugby union compelling enough to be bothered to pay £50 or more to go and watch England play at Twickenham, then it's just taking a cheap shot at rugby union to try and suggest that if the game was somehow made more 'compelling' (any mention from Charlie on how that could be done?), that those people that choose to go and get drinks during the game would instead remain in their seats.

Let's also not forget that although autumn internationals are taken seriously by teams and fans, they are still 'friendly' matches in the sense that they aren't part of a specific tournament. I don't know but I would imagine that people would be less likely to leave their seats to buy alcohol during a six nations grand slam decider or an important world cup match, than they would during an autumn international match. That doesn't mean that the problem doesn't exist during all matches, but I would logically expect it to be less of a problem during the most important matches.

Take your blinkers off just because the comment was made about rugby union and you love the thought of rugby union being put down.