Union is much harder to learn and not many league players will make it in Union.

That is NOT to say it's better.... I'd rather watch paint dry... but the tackle area is entirely different, the breakdown has no equivalent in league, many of the core skills are counter-intuitive to a player who's brought up retaining possession at all costs. Union thinks Farrell, Harris and Henry Paul were all failures, and doesn't have much time for Vainakolo. Don't even mention Karl Price, Chev Walker and Lee Smith. The only real successes are Ashton and Myler, and before that Robinson and the Aussie backline Toquiri, Rodgers and Sailor.

Undeniable that the RFU make more money than the RFL but they do not give it to the top clubs' as Mr Chairman says' they pump theirs into the grass roots. I honestly can't see Leicester' Wasps Bath et al offering Tomkins the money the Pies will be paying Tomkins.

i believe the rfl pumps 30% of its income into grass roots RL.
unfortunately none of that comes from sky tv.
all the money from sky goes directly to the member clubs of super league europe ltd.
good innit.

And the rest goes where ?

champ clubs get about £70thou each.
i dont know what champ one gets but it wont be as much will it?.
then theres prize money and wages for staff and anything else that goes into running a business.

Running the RFL , and of course the 2 million a year they give to the Championship clubs

You`ll always get the odd snobby, pretentious one .

this is the sole reason why the gap between the two leagues has grown so big.

frank do you remember the lisa meeting we attended when AT and IM attended?. IM said to AT we get about 70k and AT nodded in agreement.
so when starbug says the championships get about 2mil,i think hes being very generous to the rfl.

Would that not include any prize money also?
That's over 1.5 million if every Champ club including Champ 1 got 70k each.

they don't get £70K though Dave it's a sliding scale dependant on what 'trophies' you win/finals your in, Championship (and 1) clubs have to earn their 'corn' it's not just handed out.

Sport England funding is till March 2013 - though it can be stopped at any time in theory. RFL got £29.4m, which is pretty much the same as the RFU, and only behind cricket and soccer.

The Zurich Premiership Rugby Clubs own their rights in much the same way as SL. In Exeter, at least, the Pro club runs juniors all the way down to under 8 alongside the local community clubs, but that buggers up the local structures because (especially at older groups) there are lots of lads who'd rather 'play for Chiefs' but never actually play, rather than get games every week at Exeter Saracens or Cullompton.

The RFU, though, has an absolute fortune to invest in its own development staff, plus it has massive grant funds to support community clubs and development projects in schools, etc. We really can't compete.

It also leverages its value massively. For example - International tickets are all sold through its member clubs. Each club gets allocated an amount of tickets. In Exeter, Wessex RFC (a tier 10 club, equivalent of NW Counties division 6) allow sponsors to apply for its share of tickets. On the back of that, the club raises around £10,000 per annum in Sponsorship and turns over aboud £22k per year. It provides coach travel to all away games, pays its coaches, and has been known to pay a match fee to two or three players. That is a low-level club with no clubhouse and no juniors, one team in a league and a skatchy second team in a merit table.

Just up the road, Tiverton RFC (tier 7) employ their own development officer and have an enclosed, floodlit ground with a stand, and facilities at least as good as Leigh Miners.

Financially, we are nowhere compared to the RFU.

were would barla get its money from to invest back into the amateur game and clubs ?.

The 2.1 million total available includes prize money , Co oP sponsorship and no doubt Toulouses travel costs both ways , which the RFL ' spin ' as there being 100 K available to every club , which of course it isn't

The rfu support the national team and therefore any players chosen for the England developement squad have a percentage of their salary paid to the clubs by the rfu, this is to compensate for their time away from their club mid season.
In some cases when the England coach identifies a player in RL that he would want clubs are able to sign him by prior arrangement with the rfu. This is what happened with Robinson and what caused some of the problems between the clubs and the rfu. I am not saying this has happened with Eastmond but it does and will happen.