I have more respect for those who watch Union and League than anyone who supports our club, and I believe several posters on these boards fall into that category. A fantastic effort. I really couldn't do it. The types that will sneer at our sport are well in the majority IMO, contrary to GF's opinion. My personal experience, those who attend games of RU are generally idiots. Those who enjoy the sport but don't have any club affiliation tend to be far more open minded about things.

So far wrong it's laughable.

Club supporters of any sporting club have an affiliation generally to the club and the sport, if you want to see the closest thing to the OP's stereotypical Union supporter the West Car Park at Twickenham on International game day is the place to be, and none of them will be wearing club colours, and pretty much most of them will not go week in week out to a club game, for them it's the social occasion, corporate networking event in the same diary as Ascot, Henly, Guards club etc. Some Quins supporters will fall into both catagories for sure, but don't damn the whole lot of them.

Its a shame that London Irish are not down the road in Sunbury anymore as you could get along to one of their games and try and open your eyes, or at Wasps or even Saracens.

I grew up playing and going to Union games mate for many years, and have a rough idea what I am chuntering on about and in general have had more grief from steroetypical League supporters fitting a certain mould than I have Union club supporters fitting theirs.

Well said HOmer. But everyone knows if you don't agree with Lister you are an idiot. Child will grow up some day

I've got a season ticket for RU as well as the RL and I have to say the vast majority of Quins RU supporters don't mind us and actually would like for us to be successful. I've brought along several Quins RU supporters to a RL match and they've really enjoyed it. Listy, perhaps you should experience a Saracens home match at Wembley - I went to their game with Quins RU there, and it was as far removed from a "hooray henry" experience as you could possibly imagine.

I know, I don't disagree with that. What I meant was people with no club affiliation, i.e. those who enjoy watching International matches on the TV, and that is about as far as it goes. This is the category that the vast number of people who watch RU fall into. I've had the misfortune of attending games at Leicester, but I'm not sure what I really need to be opening my eyes to. You are honestly telling me that those who watch Leicester Tigers would be symapthetic towards Rugby League in comparison to the millions who watch RU on the TV?

No, the idiot status is reserved exclusively for you. Bye.

Rugby union fans are humans. As such some are good people, a small minority are idiots. Just like any other cross section of human beings you wish to name (such as RL fans.) The general attitude from Quins RU fans is either to watch us, wish us well whilst following us through the media or to ignore us. They don't turn up and try to beat us up, superglue the locks so we can't access the ground or anything like that. Personally, on the two or three times I have watched Quins RU, I have always been made welcome and treated with respect. Can't ask for much more than that really. Good luck to them, the world would be a very boring place if we were all identical.

Good post.
I have only been going to the union since we became Quins RL.
It will never ever come close to being the entertainment I am used to as an RLfan
but I now go as a dual season ticket holder with a pal who whilst preferring League
has more of a union background than me.
Yes there are those who seem to meet the stereotypical Quins RU fan profile.
But some really are quite normal. Honest.

I have to admit I've grown up with the same chip-on-shoulder attitude to Union, and whilst I still find it dull to watch, I have to admit I've never seen any evidence of supposed snobbishness from Union fans, only disintresdness, if anything. The only time I've got abuse at the Stoop, it's been chavey Yorkshire fans (Hull in particualr) so I don't really have a problem with the RU fans, though I wish more of them would give League a chance.

Dunno as that wasn't the point I was making or answering.

I know, and I made no reference to hooray henrys at Twickers either, yet that was apparently the theme of my post.

There are a minority of cretins following teams in any team sport: football cricket, ice hockey, both codes of rugby. I don't really think any sport is more susceptible to them than any other, although the biggest/most successful teams in all sports probably attract more than their fare share. Unfortunately you occasinally get them at The Stoop for our games. At the Melbourne game I was sitting with a group of friends, several of whom only watch us occasionally. A longstanding friend of ours whom some of us have known since he was a schoolboy is a Premiership football linesman and had recently been appointed to the UEFA list - i.e. to officiate at international level. We were having a perfectly civilised conversation about this when a bloke in front of us turned round, butted in, and told us to "stop talking about football, this is a rugby league match". Then his northern mate started chuntering about "wendyball" whatever that's supposed to mean. Imagine the impression that would have made if it had been directed at anyone attending their first game of RL? They'd have gone away thnking RL fans were narrow minded insular to$$ers.

In fact I'd have to day if anything rugby league fans are more often defensive and derisive towards other sports than the followers of those sports are towards ours.

Gutterfax,i've seen your previous posts,you come across as a reasonable guy(albeit for a union fan)but your asking how do i know they were RU types,i'll tell you.About roughly 20 years ago i was playing amateur RL for a local club.A work colleague asked me did i want to come down to his local RU club to try the game i said yeah alright,did a couple of training sessions played a couple of games and the coach found out i was playing RL and told me to get out of the club,another example i went the Saints v Sale cross code game a few years ago and was stood with a couple of mates of mine and next to quite a few Sale fans and the way they were slagging MY game saying it was a game for chavs and oiks ok.

Thank you Lister I really appreciate the promotion of my status from you, how happy you have made me. It's so easy to reel you in it's now geting boring.

Yeah you got me there, congrats.