Yes, and it now makes sense.

The varsity game is probably just a fixture used to fill that time slot opposed to an event that Sky are enthusiastic to broadcast.

A lot of the people involved in the varsity match.......

a ) often players who end up in high end jobs in the city.
b ) bank roll much of the game in the london areas once they have stopped playing as they are in high end jobs in the city.

This is why it is important to give this match as wide an audience as possible.

It's good enough for me, but I think there should be more SRL stuff on TV or even just available on the web.

The actual BUCS final (usually Leeds Met v Lufbra) will be a decent standard. Both teams would compete in the highest levels of the amateur game.

I'm pretty sure their rowing teams aren't exactly world class either. The Olympic rowing teams would probably wipe the floor with them.

But like the boat race it's a spectacle, albeit a less prestigious one, and an endorsement to our sport that the two premier universities in the world at least have a go.

I'm also sure that if it WASN'T televised, there would be a lot more people grumbling about that. "Second class sport", "If they can televise a boat race, then why not RL" and all that.

Easy. Because people have heard of, and care about, Oxford and Cambridge. Would you have any aspirations to go to Dewsbury or Leigh university?

I would suggest you are watching the wrong game then if you think any RUGBY LEAGUE is boring. It may not be brilliant but boring it never is IMO.

Perhaps the game played at Wembley last night and it's relations are more to your liking.

I was going to say what a ferkin moron, but that would be rude so i won't.

Instead I will just ask, WTF is your problem? I mean, just look at the example of college football in the States, where for example a packed sellout stadium of 20K or more might and regularly do watch some basically meaningless game between colleges, in scenes reminiscent of the Superbowl. That game will inevitably be televised, and will in comparison to the pro game be of obvious and unmistakeable amateur standard.

How do they get to that? Because when they first thought of it, and ever since, people with a positive and can-do attitude are involved with it, and not people who seem to want to find any negative to whinge about. The same probably happened over time with the Boat Race, which means nothing to me and every year people like you roundly deride on here, yet has become a true national event for reasons I can't comprehend. (Which is not to say it will always remain so, but still).

The bottom line is that thankfully it is another 80 minutes of decent airtime where TGG is being transmitted, as opposed to the sale of plastic vegetable cutters or Remove Your Piles In Sixty Seconds, and I for one am very grateful for that.

And just because it is a varsity game, it will inevitably if briefly attract the attention to TGG of a number of influential people who would at that time otherwise have been doing something else.

I don't understand fans who seem to be ashamed of our sport and would prefer it to be played in secret, with maybe the result in point size 2 on page 356.

I suppose I can see the off the field aspects that the game could benefit from that have been mentioned by yourself and a few others but it would interesting to know how many people tune in, especially regular Rugby League supporters and those posting/reading this thread.

I understand it's a 'discretionary' full blue.

One of the lads I coached for a number of years is playing for Oxford so it's of particular interest to me. First time one of my former players has been playing live on telly and I'll be at the Wigan beer festival tonight

. I'll catch one of the replays tomorrow.

Just me who finds it boring and does little impact when televised, then.



Jeez, touchy subject for some.

Biggest joke of the year as usual. I would rather them televise another championship game. Poor standard, poor crowd and nobody cares.