what's £10 million nowadays ?

Yes.

Who is the other Crusades fan?

God you're a tool.

Sarcasm loses a certain something when you are illiterate don't you think?

Tools are useful, he's not. HTH...

Half the problem with Catalan is that people confuse SL expansion with RL expansion. The two are most definately not the same thing. Yes, RL has been played in France for decades, but when it came down to it, they weren't playing at the same level as we were. Now they are. That is SL expansion, but not RL expansion. North Wales was also playing RL, but not to the same extent, there only having been a few teams over the years, so it is a pretty fair comment to call that RL expansion.

Yep you are correct, sorry for my error.

Do we have a second name then.

but interest in RL in the LER and lower divisions in france is increasing so the local heartland game IS expanding in france - the Catalans success speaks for itself...

Yes, but holding Les Cats up as an expansion club is misleading... they're not. They're a club based in an area that is expanding, but which has always been a hotbed of RL, as opposed to North Wales which has no RL history.

To deny that France has any historic interest in RL is to show an ignorance of the sport that is outstanding.

kiwiballs is also Barry Mackenzie and Katie Smithson

the 'area' isn't expanding no more than any other french province but the Catalans have been the catalyst (no pun intended) for the people in the catchment area to see top quality RL teams from home and away.

The same would happen to any future team based near Toulouse - punters want to see top quality RL and TO13 has the catchment area to provide that.

Any LER interest would continue to be successful and would probably become stronger with a second SL team.

I agree,I think anyone silly enough to dismiss french RL at grassroots has a serious problem...

New clubs in non-RL areas that dont have exceptional financial backing, and use of an excellent facility on a good long term deal, are a high-risk gamble at best. The RFL seem ok with these gambles but my feeling is it just damages the image of RL rather than helping it. Im massively pro-expansion but only if the new club has the proper infrastructure and economic backing first. Crusaders don't, London didn't. Catalans do, Toulouse could have.

And im a Quins ST holder and have been for years. Personally Id love someone to throw some money at a Cumbrian franchise in Whitehaven/Workington area.

God I'd always wondered who that was.

Yes and no. There is no doubt at all that the standard of RL at Cats is now hugely better than when they were in the French leagues, but wasn't the main point of them, that they are really the only peg on which we can meaningfully hang the "European" SL tag? I think this is expansion of SL itself, by inviting an existing "forrin" RL-playing club to our party, as opposed to expansion of SL within the UK to cities which presently do not have any professional club.

I don't see any prospect of any such "expansion" in the foreseeable, following the smell of burning fingers as far afield as London, Wales, and before that Gateshulldersheff.

Cats aren't an expansion club - they are a heartlands club from a different country.

i hope one day that crusaders could work and RL can take off in wales.
the concept of the crusaders was a good one but it hasn't worked out as yet, as celtic crusaders they were looking like building some good foundations with a good core support in bridgend and a small amount of success on the pitch,albeit with illegal players. but the RFL SKY et al have pushed them too far too quickly IMO,they haven't been able to put any firm roots down and start building,hopefully they can do that in wrexham,and then hopefully take more games around wales.
despite been low in numbers the welsh fans i've met over the last 3 years have been superb company,friendly and knowledgable and are grateful for their own team to support. i hope for their sake their particular expansion programme works.