Given that we've just had arguably our most successful year, that we're in really good shape for SL18, and we've just won our first game fairly convincingly, this board's blood quiet!

Haven't you heard? Nobody cares about the regular season any more.

Very difficult to get enthusiastic about what was on offer today it was very boring due to the continuous blowing of the referees whistle...The penalty count must have been horrendous. If today sets the standard for the rest of the season it's going to be a long hard six months.

Good pre season friendly.

Didnt you know this season refs ave got there own competition who can blow whistle most times in a match.i think Hicks is winning so fsr lol.

Today confirmed why he is not in the middle on TV games. He gave high tackle penalties when the actual offending tackle was less than others. Still a win is a win and it provides a setting for The Lord Tony Smith to work on for next week.

Glad it wasn't just us who found it boring.

Maybe everybody is on RU forums talking about the fantastic opening to the Six Nations Championship, Italy upsetting France, who would have thought it. And England's fantastic victory over Scotland with Wire fan David Strettle in the team, building on last year's win over the All Blacks it looks like under Stuart Lancaster and Andy Farrell we could be on the start of a new golden era for English rugby. There is some great young talent coming through in English rugby at the moment with Owen Farrell and Chris Ashton plus an emerging Kyle Eastmond at Bath. If a deal can be struck with Sam Tomkins then England could go on to dominate world rugby.

Either that or maybe they are getting ready to watch SuperBowl tonight, Baltimore Ravens v San Francisco 49ers.

But yeah, in other news, Warrington beat Castleford in game one of the year.

More important than what happened in Rugby Union, my cat, Alice, died today aged (at least ) 19 years. RIP. Super-duper bowl players will no doubt observe a minute's ritual burger-eating.

...... Sad thing is, its very true.

For most people, its very hard to get excited about a competition that doesn't really start until September - I can imagine Tony Smith's hardest job will be to keep the players motivated in the long months until the play-offs come around.

Sally might have his tongue very firmly in his cheek when talking about the RU, but the Six Nations is what Super League struggles to be, and that is an actual competition between sides who are all capable of raising their game and competing for the title - The fact that a Wales side that was all conquering last season, is now struggling tells you that they do have a product that can keep people's attention, even if, to most on here, it is not particularly free flowing, entertaining rugby.

Lefty you think thats bad have you ever seen the "home internationals" in rugby league

A bunch of English / Aussies half of whom are in the semi pro leagues, wearing different nations jerseys in front of crowds of 2000 in small stadiums.

The problem with some league fans is they don't watch RU but they have this bigoted view that their players are all boring talentless overhype, then when union players came over to play for us they all thought they were geniuses, Jonathan Davies, Allan Bateman, Kevin Ellis, go back further and you had Mike Nicholas and John Bevan etc.

I'm sure had the internet been around in the days when the likes of Davies, Gibbs, Bateman etc were playing for Wales league fans would have been assuring us they were all crap and nowhere near up to the standards of league players.

Say what you want Lefty. But, try and buy two tickets for England's last game against Wales in the Six Nations. When you've spent more than a family season ticket for the wire costs, argue that we are not miles and miles and miles behind RU.

Hmmm, I get that the competition doesn't get going until the business end of the season, I also get that the six nations is on the telly. But 10k turned out to see the match earlier, so apathy doesn't entirely reign. I'm just surprised that there is not the same amount of traffic on here as there has been in previous years - hardly a mention of the Saints result, for example. I'm sure that would have resulted in a thread of its own with contributions from our own board sages, plus from Saddened, etc, as well as the Wigan lot all adding to the general banter. Miss it, really.

I was at London v Widnes, decent enough game, shame about the result.