Just a thought.

Should Toulouse not meet qualification criteria to enter SL in 2012 (and the RFL actually sticking to this!), could this be a viable alternative for them entering...

Catalans entry to SL was on the back of 4 years of development work between 2002-2006. They seem to be the ONLY club that has been dropped into SL without having any major problems and have actually developed into a very reputable team.

By the end of the 2010, we will know who can and cannot apply for a license in 2012 (as all relevant competitions will have been completed). If Toulouse was one of these, that means they would not be able to enter SL until at least the 2015 season (4 seasons later).

Baring in mind the Catalans experiment was on the back of a 4 year preparation period, would this not be a good time to do the same with Toulouse? Or even include them AND a Paris team (if owners are still interested) in an expanded league in 2015? By preparing for this eventuality now, the RFL has time to look for funding for an additional 2 teams (most likely through French television rights) as well as giving both teams the chance to prepare their clubs (stadiums, player contracts for that year, academy set-ups, marketing schemes, etc) so that they hit the ground running. No teams would be getting left out because of them, as the league is being expanded (and only possible through French TV so no other club can claim they'd be able to bring it in), so could it be a win-win for those on both sides of the expansion argument?

All totally depends on if we can get a French TV deal of course, but if we can't then we just don't let them in in this way, and time is on our hands so we don't have to worry about it going wrong during a SL season by rushing it.

Thoughts?

Personally, I'd like to see french RL improve to the point that we don't have to have catalands or toulouse in our league. a fully functioning french league that can compete on a level with sl must surely be the goal?

Yes, but that's not going to happen for a very long time is it? In the mean time, the only league in Europe at the level we want them at is SL so that is their only option.

Many years in fact, if ever. There would have to be a French TV network willing to pay enough for TV rights to underwrite a French league of at least 10 teams. That's a loooooooong way off.

of course it should be

that will take between 10 and 20 years. until then its up to SL to carry the can with french expansion

for the potential refer back to 1933 - 39 where RU was on the verge of going broke, or at least many union clubs were

I think that is the whole point - I think every agrees on the importance of Sky and the Sky money to SL clubs. No-one can say how long it would take for the French to set up their own pro league - it could be 1 or 2 years down the line, possibly 10 or 20 years - maybe never, its all going to come down to if anyone is prepared to fund it. Even if we got to the situation where we had 3,4 or 5 French SL clubs, if no TV company in France will pay for the rights to show a French SL, then its still going to be down to the exisiting SL to decide how many French clubs they want in and for how long.

I wonder if we would ever get to the stage where there would be a conflict of interests if France started to become consistantly better than England i.e. why should we provide the breeding ground to create better French players when we ourselves would be failing. I suppose you could use that argument now - most people would agree that the larger the playing pool, the better chance there is of finding better players and more of them. At the minute there are only 2 non English sides but in theory that does represent around 40 English players who are missing out on the chance to play at the top level.

toulose in SL will go a long way to developing critical mass for french RL.

if every 5 years you add another french SL team then 20 years could see the french having a fully pro 10 team comp. ie no french teams in SL.

the success of LEs Cats so quickly shows its time again to move for a 2nd french SL club

id avoid paris myself and go lyon and mille after toulose.

if you get the stage of having strong RL clubs in toulose, mille, lyon and paris, plus les cats, thats the stage they should go their own way

a further step :

once france have a strong pro league set up, they should include a team from spain and especially ones from italy.

many italian RU clubs have their roots originally as RL clubs, but when they were refused entry into our World Cup turned to the dark side.

the way RL is back on its feet again (in france), due to Les Cats, is a very small indication of the potential that can be realized in france

I would love to see the french league do well and have their own strong competition. Then maybe we could have a european cup like the heineken Cup in Yawnion

The French should have their own comp and we should replace the Playoffs with a European Cup Competition with the top 6 from each league in a two group system. This could be funded jointly with Sky and French TV, okay in the first few seasons it will be dominated by SL clubs but the French will get better as their aim will be to compete in the European Cup at a competitive level. Look at the way the Yawnion four nations has expanded the Italians were whipping boys for a couple of seasons but now they are competitive.

This will be a win win for me as the french will become stronger domestically we will have better traveling support in SL (the French do not bring that many) all clubs would benefit from this. With the European Cup we can still have our jaunts to France every year, and they can all enter the challenge cup.

We have to be very careful not to expand the game and kill off existing revenue streams, there are more Halifax and Widnes fans that are likely to travel to the other SL grounds than Le Cats, Toulouse and Paris. All clubs need to increase revenue any way they can and those three French clubs would be lucky to bring a combined crowd of 100 to the three home fixtures of each of the English/Welsh SL clubs. Compare that with the potential traveling support of the likes of Widnes and Halifax and financially its a no brainer, on that note how much do the RFL have to subsidize the French for traveling costs every other week. This is all money going out of the English game when the clubs are trying to source revenue from anywhere they can, by all means we need to promote the European game but don't bring the whole pack of cards down in the process.

The Club European Cup would compliment the new European International competition and increase the exposure to a much wider audience, I am sure Eurosport would take notice and possibly try a joint venture with Sky and French TV.

I think the majority expect Toulouse to be in next time, and speaking of development, that was the idea by putting them in the Championship this year.

They started poorly but got a few players when the domestic competition finished so the talent is over there. Training these players full time and they'd improve. No one can deny that Catalans has been a success therefore I see no reason why eventually Toulouse couldn't.

Been to Toulouse a couple of times and the reality is that they have under 1,0000 regular fans and shunt round rented grounds. I would only let them in on GUARANTEE of significant funding we do not want or need another Celtic because some people think it would be good to have a second French SL club.

I assume you mean 1,000, which is funny since their average is over 2,000. And in France, don't the state own all sports venues, rather than the clubs?

RL needs another Les Cats.

it also needs less whingers