I love the fact that they have the idea to take it around the country and out to France and Ireland too but big crowds are pipe dreams and perversely i feel a lack of vision would have made more money, i would class myself as an expansionist but the crowds will be minimal, it won't really connect with the British public so i don't even feel it will sell itself to new punters, tiny crowds in grounds it's never been in and a massive flop like last time. I don't mean to sound so miserable on it and I'd hope to God I'm wrong but the realist in me(rather than pessimist) can only see decent crowds for matches containing England/Oz/Kiwis and possibly Wales and France.

Playing the French games in Perpignan or Toulouse and the Welsh games in Wrexham and keeping the rest of the group games to a select few Northern grounds like Wire, Wigan and Saints on the West and Hudds, Hull FC and Leeds on the East would have been the money making option.

I mean games in Bristol would struggle to get a decent crowd if it was Saints v Wigan or Leeds v Bradford so games between tiny islands thousands of miles away are never going to sell.

has any one got the list of venues to post on here?
i'm sure it's too early for dates etc.

The problem is it's international RL and there is no market for watching international RL live. Yes most league fans will be interested in watching the game on TV but they will not pay £10 or more to go and watch teams that aren't England or the Aussies. Deep down league fans know the teams are fake, Ireland will be full of English players and Aussies, the south sea island teams will have players that used to play for the Kiwis but didn't get picked any more. The captions in the programme will say "so and so is playing his second world cup for Samoa, he also picked up 6 caps for the Kiwis in between the world cups" and fans just cringe with embarrassment.

Watching Warrington or England play at the HJ is different because you actually care about the result, and fans would turn up to watch the Kangaroos or possibly the Kiwis as they will then see some greats of the game that they don't otherwise get to see in the flesh, so it is worth buying a ticket for them. But if it's two other teams of made up players then its OK for TV but not worth going to a match.

Still whilst I might be cynical about international RL I am pleased Warrington is hosting games, it's a World Cup in the UK, the Halliwell Jones has got two games, it is a vote of confidence that Warrington is on the rugby league map and our stadium is worthy of an international tournament.

I'll be attending both games as a Warrington fan. Like Sally said, there's no real widespread appetite to watch live international RL outside of the big 3 (Aus, NZ & England). I'll be going in the hope that decent attendances for both of the games at the HJ will be beneficial for Warrington RLFC.

Even we're full of Aussies.

Chase might be playing for the Kiwis in the World Cup. Wonder if Jack Reed has an outside chance of making the Kangaroos squad as well.

Has this question been asked/answered yet (other than "well thats the RFL for you"icon_wink.gif. if its the 2013 World Cup ENGLAND AND WALES....why are they playing a game in Ireland and a game in France. Couple of English/Welsh grounds might have missed out on a game there.

Not sure if you've seen the full details, but they have pretty much done what you have suggested.

Wales will play in Wales, France will play in France, there will be showpiece games in London and Cardiff, and then the majority will be in the 'heartlands'.

The only two real 'risks' announced so far, are Bristol and Limerick. If what people are saying here is true, then the target of 5k at Warrington is not too much to beat for the likes of Bristol or Limerick.

Limiting the Northern grounds to only 6 would have been riskier IMHO, as now we will have more councils etc. involved in promoting the games, rather than Warrington having to promote three or four games in one ground.

i cant believe they listened to him.

I can vouch for that

And what, precisely, is my "attitude"? I have never complained about RL media coverage in my life. It's a bit lower than it should be, but there are more important things to worry about, frankly.

International rugby league is a farce - the vast majority of the teams are completely contrived, and as such, I can't see that many people, in these straitened economic times, being willing to shell out to watch games in which they have no vested interest. The games may be entertaining, but those involving the 'minnows' are not likely to be of a high standard.

Well done for you in going to some lesser games in the 08 World Cup - I'd have done the same had I travelled half-way round the world on such a holiday, no doubt.