Yes, but all those semi-pro RL sides are playing in the Challenge Cup this weekend, which Sky doesn't have the rights to show. So they have to show something else. The tv ratings for this game were slightly higher than many of the championship games last year, so presumably Sky are happy to keep showing it. There are several hundred thousand Oxbridge graduates out there who might take an interest in this game. My father-in-law was an Oxford Don. The only other RL games he'd make an effort to watch would be internationals.

Its a source of constant amusement and amazement to me,watching people ask questions, and then when they don't get the reply they expect..... ignore the replies!

In short:
There is no Championship game for Sky to show, so rather than show a game from last week, they pick up a game which - while being totally meaningless to a lot of us - shows that
1) RL is not an oiks game
2) Is more entertaining than 'other' sports traditionally associated with Oxbridge.


The alternative of course is that they could have given the space over to enduro space hopper racing or something else, which would have set the barking off in style on here....

Wigan have managed a run of 4 unbeaten games. Their fans are now too good for SL and certainly too good for something as nondescript as the 2 most famous universities in the country (maybe the world), going head to head at rugby league.

Try crowds of 50k to 100k and you'd be closer to the mark. There are 11 college football stadiums with a greater capacity than the largest NFL stadium. College football does get bigger crowds and I suspect the TV viewing figures aren't that different. College football is massive in the States and although it's played by young men, the standard is not even remotely amateurish. These kids can play. In fact, I find college football more entertaining than the NFL because it's more open and free flowing. Oh, and the games are in no way meaningless to the players, the colleges, the fans (and multitude of people betting on them ). There's a reason that College football coaches get paid as much as if not more than NFL coaches. They are moulding the future of the game and attracting a load of money to the colleges.

Sorry to go off on a tangent but it's comparing apples to oranges.

Leeds Trinity Titans would put 40+ on either of these two teams...

Oxford, he's the club president too. Mind he has been known to dabble in union in the past

As far as im aware only the RU, Rowing and RL are televised in the Oxbridge contests.

Surely people can see the advantages of being in that category? The fact that given our history, geography and tradition the fact that there is an Oxbridge game is fantastic. For it to be televised is even better.

To compare its value to Dewsbury v Leigh is narrow minded at best, ignorance at worst.

Events like this have influence. Its for the same reason I would love to see a world sevens/9s series of some sort too.

Sky are showing it to fill the absence of lower league action caused by the Challenge Cup weekend. So I'm not seeing the argument in this thread at all.

Their is Thursday Night Co-Op league or Rail Cup action every week on Sky from next week until September 16th with the only exceptions being April 16th (Challenge Cup 4th Round) and July 15th (showing the Rail Cup final on the Sunday) - sol their is plenty to look forward to.

This Oxford v Cambridge match is not my cup of tea - but its better than nowt!

American Football ( NFL ) is structured so that pretty much all it's players go through college football to play at the top level. I'd say a handful of players over god knows how many years have made transition from SRL to Super league. By 18 they are already in a super league academy, and probably not going to Uni in that case.

If RL had a draft system from Uni's i'm sure we'd see more interest in it. I think SRL is played at a quick pace. Skill level isn't too great. A lot of union converts, but that's not a bad thing.

you say it has influence.i'll say this fixture has been going 30years & nothing has changed.my examples are quinns & skolars.
by the way.i watched tonights game & it was by far more entertaining than 3 of the 4 SL games i've seen this season & yes i know there was a lot of mistakes.

Yes to the crowds. No to the "pro standard" because there wasn't a pro league at the time. For the earliest days of the pro league, college football was considered the higher tier of quality.

It was a fairly good game in the end.
It's what's at stake that makes these things exciting. After all, when we watch a competition such as Who Wants to be a Millionaire, we don't complain that it isn't the highest standard of contestant, but it's entertaining because of the stake. Last nights game had more at stake for the players than a league game or a CC game would have for a pair of Sky's normal Thursday night teams.

Not a bad game all in all