If any code is under threat it's RU.

I generally can't stand to watch RU - christ on a bike, playing the sport is dull as fishwater - but I sometimes found the Super 12s (now 14s) and Tri-Nations a decent enough spectacle, as you would expect at the very top of the sport. I also enjoyed most of the Lions tour this year.

However, as Nick Bryant mentions, the Super 14s and Tri-Nations have recently been awful. Kick it here, kick it there, ruck a bit, kick it away...repeat for 80 minutes. The only variety is whether someone gets a drop goal or performs a haka beforehand.

Great post

Where's the tube stop at Twickenham?

Richmond on the District Line. However it is still about a mile and a half from twickenham. You can pick up an overground train at the station in Richmond and travel two stops to twickenham station, however.

Melbourne havent been given a super 14 team yet.

Their bid has turned into a disaster with in fighting and political rubbish. On top of that they are going to be bidding against the inclusion of another South African team.

Considering most of the money from the S14 competition comes from there, they are the world champions, Australia has not got enough depth for two teams, let alone five and the game here is dying.....I personally dont think its much of a contest.

Sorry, I shouldn't have said Central London, as Central London is a massive area. Perhaps I should have said residential areas of London - where people would actually have to travel from.

Personally it'd take me an hour and a half from my house to the ground - that's on the same tube line as Waterloo (6 stops away). If I lived in the east end - say Old Street (Shoreditch/ Hoxton / Hackney area) - it'd take 1 hour 20 each way. Old Street too is on the same tube line as Waterloo.

If I lived in Regents Park, it would also take over an hour. Regents Park is on the same side of London as Twickenham.

So it may be quick from Waterloo - but people have to get to Waterloo from their houses - making it a time consuming journey.



So your initial blase comment was wrong then...

I'm sorry, but there are millions and millions of people with very easy access to Twickenham.

They have never really promoted the London team.

They should start small and market to the local area. Worry about greater London later.

I think that's a big point that people miss when slagging-off Harlequins. They just see the London = potential market of 6m people. Not realising how big the place is and how difficult it can be to get across it (unless you're in the central areas).

It seems that people are happy to slag-off Quins for not pulling in people who live 1h+ away yet they don't start calling clubs like Wakefield for failing to pull in supporters from Leicester or Derby.

Maybe when they get their new ground they'll start ramping up the marketing in Derby

With regard to the thread title, you'd have been better of replacing 'league' with 'union'.

Melbourne will get the next team but it will be yet another nail in the ARU coffin. The Force where given a $12mill start up grant by teh ARU funded from WC proceeds. Melbourne won;t have that luxury and with the Storm really starting to carve out a market and teh Victory doing so well I can;t see a RU team doing anything other than struggling in Melbourne.

Of the three codes RU is by far the one most under threat. It's only their Int game that is saving them at the moment.

The thread title is a direct copy of the headline on the BBC rugby league homepage today which is linking to the article. I'm not aware if the rugby union homepage has a similar link but from actually reading the article, "Can Rugby Union Survive in Australia" might be a more appropriate headline to summarise the content of the blog.