This morning I had my breakfast while listening to Chris Evans on Radio 2.

Literally in every gap between songs, there was constant take about Wales in the Union World Cup Semi. They seemed to have a guest on every 5 minutes bigging up the game. Apart from the fact this got a bit boring and repetitive I have no real objection to this. I hope Wales win.

But it did get me thinking- WHY?

I'm sure the presenters have personnel interest in in but it seemed that there was a lot of PR pushing by the WRU, the presenters of Drive Time last night got sent loads of free shirts by the WRU.

Now given that such a national radio station has dedicated so much time into publicising the Union game, do we think the RFL got get them to put the same amount (or at least some) coverage of the upcoming four nations.

It's not the presenters. Isn't Chris Evans from Warrington and a league supporter?

It's the Range Rover driving types that infest the upper echelons of such institutional dinosaurs as the BBC.

The Union authorities are far better at marketing and promotion than we are, but Union also has an advantage as it's the sport of the boardroom types.

He's from Warrington but I've rarely heard him mention RL. He's a cousin of the Evans brothers who play for Scotland (They're not strictly Scottish, but I think their Grandma got a postcard from Dumfries once). I just wish someone would say something about the standard of play in the RU World Cup, it's been awful (and I watch RU a lot).

Its a big deal for Wales and the BBC are probably going out of their way to be not seen as England centric.

I would say that RU was far more a sport of the working man in Wales, than it is in the South / Midlands - though I may be wrong.

All the media have been covering it like mad throughout and Wales are the last home nation left in it, so no surprise really

The RFL have been pushing recently to be fair but these broadcasters can't be expected to give hours of coverage to what is perceived to be a minority sport.

You can guarantee that Chris Evans has a lot of editorial control over the content of the breakfast show. I listen to him on the drive to work a lot of days and he is pretty entertaining (if a little tedious after a while). It will definitely be Evans’ idea to make this week the ‘Welsh week’ on the breakfast show

Or perhaps its because the union actually have a tournament to rival the football world cup and it exactually deserves the coverage,compared to our comp were players will line up playing for a different nation they played for last time we assemble a ramshackle tournament and played infront of empty stadiums.

When will we wake up and realise there is no secret covert operation against league by the media,take a step back and see what we project

A competition that changes rules every year a sport were you can play for any nation you like week in week out.

Year after year a different team goes bust

As a sport we have lost our identity

We are adrift from the sporting nation on sky were our only terestrial appearances are the challenge cup which no body turns up for and people see empty grounds,sponsors see empty grounds
and thats the imagine we project.

The big bad union machine is slowly chewing us up,they don't even see us as a threat any more.

So people are complaining about a radio station covering a major sporting event one in which the game is sold out down under and the millenium statium will be full for fans to watch on the big screen.

I expect people to complain when they barely mention our up coming game against wales at leigh....mmmmmm can you spot the differance?

Nope, very similar to ours except the attendences, which don't have much to do with what is going on on the field

nothing covert, no secret that the mainstream media and RU come from the same stable (public school etc)

which union does all it can to emulate, and take coaches from

which ones? and didnt Leeds and Newcastle have to be rescued from near oblivion recently?

SL averages only 15% less than top flight RU a game

never did, why should they?

Evans was once asked if he missed Warrington. He said " When I go past it on the M6 I put my foot down to ensure I miss Warrington!"

Chris Evans may be originally from Warrington but he bigs up rugby union at every opportunity, now jumping on the Wales bandwagon. As a daily listener it seems to me he distances himself from his northern roots and is very much a southerner. Not a rugby league supporter these days if he ever was.

I'm 99% sure that a relative of Chris Evans plays for Wales RU. I remember him being interviewed at Twickenham before a Six Nations game and he mentioned it. Can't remember the players name though

Sean O'Loughlin was on the Chris Evans show on Radio 2 last year IIRC.