Quote: GUBRATS "By ' anywhere ' , I mean Wigan , St Helen's , Warrington , Leeds , Hull , there is no need whatsoever for Leigh Centurions to produce any players
But we do need to produce fans , they most certainly aren't going to come from anywhere except Leigh'"
The more clubs adopt this attitude, the closer the championship gets to being a feeder / reserve league.
Yes, we need to attract fans. We need to do our bit to get as much of the local population interested in the sport in some capacity as possible.
But the one thing you absolutely need to play a game of rugby? Players. It's not a lack of fans that's causing concern at the moment, it's lack of players. Clubs are finding that they now need a squad of 30+ players to get through a season. Sometimes a club will get through 40+. You can't do this without developing players yourself. Even if it's taking players that are rejected by clubs between 16-19 and running a reserves, then promoting them to the first team.