Strange thing is though, I haven't seen or heard any advertising for the RU, yet I've seen and heard plenty for RLWC2013! If you'd been on the website before Monday you'd have seen the opportunity to register your interest in buying tickets and received email updates. Monday saw the start of the Early Bird period and so there has been plenty of awareness raising recently via Facebook, Twitter, email, radio and TV. RLWC2013 is going out via email to Olympics email lists too. The World Cup itself was at the Grand Final on Saturday and started a Trophy Tour at a big launch event on Tuesday.

Put a search in google for rugby league world cup. Do another and add tickets. Or just look at the usual websites, including Warrington Wolves and you'll see plenty.

That said, I am a bit biased due to my role with RLWC2013 FLAG, see here

I have had two meetings now with the RLWC2013 organising team and am also involved with the Warrington steering group. I can tell you both have very good plans in place for pushing and marketing the event in lots of different and imaginative ways. And yes, they have set very high targets.



That is precisely the approach being taken.

Promotional material for RLWC2013 has already been heavily used on Virgin trains, at Bank Quay station and on Warrington's buses. The train and bus companies are all members of Warrington's steering group so I'm sure there will be plans for more of the same in the future. I'll try to update you after their next meeting.

SEB - Advertising on the Warrington website is all well and good but it's not going to raise awareness amongst the wider general public. Those on the website know about the RLWC anyway.


Maybe Stobarts will print advertisements on the side of 100 lorries...that should do it.

We've gone very off topic with Tony Smith's contract here but people are missing the point when going on about advertising for the RLWC.

Even amongst the RL community that is well aware of it, the interest is low. Fans are just not interested in international rugby league beyond GB/England, Australia and New Zealand.

However you try to market it the fact is international rugby league is halfhearted, players switch nations freely: how many Samoa/Tonga/Fiji players will also have caps with another nation. Wales, Ireland and Scotland are basically semi professional English players. Lots of the games are one sided.

I remember going to a World Cup semi final between Australia and Wales in 2000, tickets were £15 and the crowd was 8000. There were far more than 8000 hard core rugby league fans within easy driving range of Huddersfield, that watch SL every week, and were more than aware the semi final was on. However they did not value it worth paying £15 to see Brad Fittler, Darren Lockyer, Wendell Sailor, Shane Webcke, Gordon Tallis, etc play in a World Cup semi final.

Problem with the World Cup is that it is a knock-out tournament. Unless its based upon a league table where every team has played the other teams home and away its meaningless.

Agreed, I'll move these posts to the RLWC2013 thread, I want capture all debate and discussion like this.

Correct. (apart from Biscuit who seems to be turning a blindeye! )

The RLWC2013 team fully recognise they need to aim broadly at three groups: the core RL fans; casual RL / sports fans; the wider public. They know they need to do things that capture the imagination of all three and are well on with doing and planning just that. I'm quite excited about the potential if everything they are planning comes off.

To the RFL's credit, they are trying hard with this, even if the casual observer believes otherwise. RFL HQ is in Leeds - I guess it would have been easy to convert a room there into the RLWC2013 office. Instead, they've set up base at Media City in Salford, right next door to the BBC and ITV, with a dedicated team of people with specific RLWC2013 roles. This is giving them great access to the media. They've already seen positive benefits to this and this will grow and grow.

I don't want to reveal too much as it's not all confirmed yet but the plans for use of ambassadors to spread the word look very positive, including past and present RL legends and for a broader appeal, use of Olympics stars. The intention is to create a buzz around the fact the next big international sporting event in the UK after the Olympics is RLWC2013.

The Rugby League World Cup has had its ups and downs - probably never more down than the 2000 fiasco. But the 1995 and 2008 tournaments created lots of great sport and memories. There is no reason why RLWC2013 can't be the best yet. A good starting point would the core RL fans getting behind it.

Darren Lockyer at Leigh in November www.leighsportsvillage.co.uk/new ... ews_id=618 See link if interested in what should be a fantastic evening, gutted I am away.

Darren Lockyer at Leigh in November www.leighsportsvillage.co.uk/new ... ews_id=618 See link if interested in what should be a fantastic evening, gutted I am away.

I do, I did and I enjoyed it. If you had watched it you would know that you certainly couldn't have described it as a non-contest.

I'm also really looking forward to the World Cup next year.

Which part of the world cup are you looking forward to?

The Titanic clash between those Rugby League Heartland Countries, Samoa v Lebanon, or Australia picking up the cup in an empty stadium?

There certainly will be some titanic clashes. Are you too young to remember Tonga V NZ at Wilderspool in 1995? For the 8,000 people there that night, it went down as one of their most memorable matches ever. I can still remember it clearly, whearas I already have trouble recalling some bits of the season just gone. As for the final - are you forgetting that NZ are the current holders? And empty stadium? The last four finals have seen crowds of 74k, 66k, 44k and 51k. Why so negative?

As I say, some of RL's worst enemies are its own "fans". All this talk of non-contests and matches being not entertaining. Well, I refer you back to the football on Friday. 85k for an utterly unappealing match. We are supposed to love RL and be proud of our tough heroes like Paul Wood who put their bodies on the line for the game they love too. And anyone who did watch yesterday would have seen the pride in the Welsh boys singing the national anthem and the enthusiasm with which they played. Yet so many "fans" just can't be bothered.

If the core RL fans really got behind the sport, it would attract more and more casual observers and help the game grow, bringing in sponsors and better TV deals. Until they do, then the very people who moan and whinge about things being not good enough are the very ones holding RL back.

I don't disagree with your sentiment SEB and i know you're passionate, i lambaste international RL, it frustrates the hell out of me but i'll still turn up and watch.

The thing is though i can fully understand our fickle fans, if the governing body can be fickle and the players can be fickle then surely you can understand why the fans are such?

You're an idiot. Go and watch a different sport.

This shows your complete and absolute lack of knowledge of RL. When was the final last played in an empty stadium? Who are the current holders? Do you know how many Samoan players there are in RL worldwide? It will probably surprise you to know that we've had one at the HJ for the past 3 years.

I was there at the NZ-Tonga match and it was one of the best atmospheres ever at Wilderspool.

We should support or chosen sport. End of.