It is about supporting their country first and against the enemy from across the Tasman makes it more important, what shaped ball and what rules come lower down the list of priorities.

There were a number of Aussies who were at the Manly game who were attending their first game of league in either continent it was "England v Aussie" to them, oh and "an afternoon at the footie, a live band and a bar"

Not everyone has to be a died in the wool RL supporter to be attracted to the game, an NZ v Aussie game in London will sell well.

Salford is the same postcode!

Most of the population support United and therefore know the Grand Final is going on at Old Trafford. Espeicially when i keep going on about it!

(PS. the 'Manchester is full of City fans' is a load of nonsense. I work there and it isn't true)

No they are all at Salford

Disagree. I'm a United fan and unless I attend OT I see very, very little promoting the GF. There's no reason why the average United fan would even know the GF exists and it certainly does very little to promote 'the game' in non-RL areas.
Manchester is overwhelmingly a football city. Areas around Salford, Swinton, Oldham and Rochdale have a small RL scene, but other than that rugby normally means Sale Sharks.


I know

Am I correct in thinking these venues have been announced earlier in the year than has been the RL custom in recent times?




And I thought I'd read that Craven Cottage can't host anything other than football now. Can the Quinze contingent clarify?

Private hire coaches were allowed to use part of the Dome carpark, you are not trying to equate private hire coaches with public transport are you?

Never heard anything about that. I would have thought that if the owner of the ground wanted to host morris dancing on the pitch they could.

you did also say: "forget about parking".

your latest post implies that there is sufficient parking, so which is it?

correct.

The RFL really do think small time. Aus vs NZ at the Stoop? Last time they played in London they got a bigger crowd than the capacity of the Stoop. Donny, Wigan and Hudds? I must have imagined the game at the COM which attracted 39k not so long back, and the fact that they sold out Elland Road before. The RFL are too obsessed with getting a full stadium for internationals. Why not hold the England games against NZ and Aus at Anfield and Elland Road with the final at the COM? If they don't sell out, so what. They will get bigger crowds than the venues they are hosted at now. The France game is never going to get a big crowd up north, for me it has expansion written all over it. Could at played it in Nottingham, Leicester or Birmingham to test the water there. Also think think they should have had the NZ vs Aus game at Craven Cottage. Decent size crowd and will acommidate the crowd quite well.
Plus, I dont get the big deal regarding getting to and parking at Elland Road. The ground is right off the motorway and when I've been there in car I have never had any problem finding on street parking. Plus they have always had buses going to the ground straight from the train station

The stoop, with it's tiny 12,750 capacity is more comfortable and with better bars etc than Craven Cottage (or locust road for that matter) and is seen as central to the expansion of RL
Please don't let your perfectly reasonable observations about increased revenue get in the way of Expansion
The fact is the RFL have thrown their weight behind the quins thing and therefore, regardless of all those millions of upset london barstaff, only 12,750 tickets will be on sale for this game.