Which is why I mentioned a strong social media team and plenty of funds for traditional marketing. If you want to market extensively in London you'd better have very, very deep pockets.

Social media can be fantastic, however you're hitting your existing audience for the most. Raising the profile of the game with a new audience is much more difficult, and expensive.

No, the hope is to fill it, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't understand the challenges. I actually think 40k can be achieved, but it's gonna take some work.

I don't include the 2013 fixture for obvious reasons. A double-header riding on the emotion of a fantastic World Cup. A one-off. The 2nd game of a Eng-NZ series simply does not have that draw. It's not a decider for a start. Perhaps if we were playing Australia in an Ashes series, but we're not and NZ standalone has never been a massive draw.

In the meantime let's look at attendances for Eng/GB vs NZ, which - even in the heartlands - hover around 16-24k on average. So straight away you're talking roughly a 100% growth in attendance to achieve 40k, at a venue 200 miles from most heartland fans, who also have the option of a game or two on much more local soil, at much less expense.

Then let's look at previous standalone London attendances29 Oct 05, Loftus Road
6 Nov 04, Galpharm Stadium23 Nov 98, Vicarage Rd
7 Nov 98, Reebok StadiumAverage[/size

If each SL club sold 2k tickets. That's 24k sold before anyone even tries to sell to the southern market, the championship market, the amature club market, the none RL market.

I know we have not had big crowds before for NZ and it is a point well made, but the sales people need to earn their coin, rather than just expecting people to turn up.

Well I will be attending all three, and I'd expect most RL fans to do the same. Why cheer on your country from your sofa when you can do it live at the ground?

We all moan about the fact the game doesn't grow and is along the m62 corridor etc etc, well this is a small step that needs to be taken to help grow the sport and as fans we should all want to make it happen and sell the ground out, not sit here slagging the whole thing off.

There really is no winning when it comes to RL fans.

36,131 Wembley Stadium October 1993
First Test
Great Britain 17
New Zealand 0
This crowd was double both the following two tests played in the North of England.

Just booked for 4 of us at Stratford Travelodge for Fri 6th and Sat 7th November - £236...

Hard to knock £59 each for a couple of nights...

I stopped being evangelical about the game many years ago (I work on the theory if some people don't enjoy the game then 'so be it') but hope that the series can match the standard of the most recent games against the Kiwis and is played in front of full houses...

As one who attended the Olympics, I think it's a great move by the RFL to stage a game there.
54,000 capacity is about right I feel, the stadium is only a 10 minute walk from the tube station.
Should be a very competitive series as well.

I'll be at all three!

No!!!

I will be there, fireworks displays all over London afterwards too!!
One can wheel out all kinds of lilly livered excuses for not attending, but the first Rugby league International to be played at the Olympic Stadium is a great sporting attraction, not to be missed.
The trend of Great Britain and England International Rugby League matches played in London to be well supported by the General Sporting Public looks set to continue.

It's a good call, what I'm not sure about is why we have announced it, but then you can only buy tickets, in a weeks time??

You would think on the morning it is announced then you would be pushing the tickets then and there, you have the headlines, get the phone number and website up whilst it;s fresh.

But maybe that's just me.

1st "lilly livered" set of excuses.

It's cheaper to watch with HD TV and surround sound.

England currently are not as good as the Kiwis.

I decide how to spend my leisure time.

good enough?

No not good enough.

You are a very selfish person, and your behaviour regarding attending matches belies your name.

Probably on the back of many RL fans wanting to spend no more than a tenner on a ticket so wait and wait until nearer the time to see what discount/offers/groupon will come up.

Problem with the coaches is that there is no coach parking at the Olympic venue aside from 20 spaces at the 'Here East' and drop off bays at the velo park/copper box arena etc and 20 bays that you need to register and book in advance at the Westfield. Car parking is a none starter in the Westfield as they control the parking system there for event days though a lot of the on street parking for residents is only controlled Mon-Fri on the North/NE & East side of the park though there are a few with Saturday permit holders until 2pm unless you pay (for up to 2 hours) then it's all good after that.

As a suvverner I took 12 folks from my local to the Wembley semi and they loved it. Aiming to get them all to Stratford and a few more.