Quote: sally cinnamon "But the success or otherwise of a sporting tournament doesn't depend on the quality of the play.'"
It's the success of the club game not that of show-piece events that will determine the viability of an RU club.
RU does recognise there are problems with the game but seem stuck between a rock and a hard place about changing the rules. A couple of years ago the Doctor who was the RFU chief medical officer wrote that due to the way the game had developed it was essential from a safety point of view that all scrums become uncontested. I don't think he as that post any longer! However the result is scrums take an age to set and what this and the other rules do is make RU a very inaccessible sport to all but those who have convinced themselves such messing about elevates the sport to a higher plane.
This is reflected in the crowds at club games at the likes of Sarries and Wasps so while people turn out for the six nations or world cups that doesn't help clubs get big crowds or encourage fans to start watching the sport. This is another reason why it would be a huge risk to try and start a pro RU side in Wigan. It just would not IMO get the crowds because the game is essentially boring. The fact the World Cup or Twickers sells out for Internationals does not change that.