I think that you will start to see the decline this year. If you look at Wigan for example our team next year will be far weaker than this year. Going forward we will continue to lose our top talent to either RU or the NRL. Some clubs will be affected whilst others less so. For example if you look at Wire most of their top players are the wrong side of 30 so are of no real interest. Forwards cant really play in like for like positions in RU so I was always comforted with many of ours being contracted. NRL clubs rarely paid transfer fees but this is changing so everyone is now fair game. The only up side of this is money coming into our game in the form of transfer fees but this is short term. Agents will be advising thier clients to sign shorter contracts.

I dont really know what the answer is. The only real way of keeping players in our game is to pay them more. However how many clubs are actually able to afford to pay up to the limit as it stands now? For the ones that can then the issue is the level of the cap.

So many of my fellow supporters are not renewing next year. Lower crowds will mean less money coming in. As the top players move on then the standard of the game naturally declines. The lower the standard then the less money the RFL can command in sponsorship and TV rights. The less that comes in the worse the situation gets. Its a vicious circle.

We are staging the next world cup for both RL and RU in the next 3 years. Which competition would exite you most in terms of crowds etc? RL doesnt have this problem in Australia as their club game has thrived for years.

I can honestly say tha IMO our club game will be semi pro within 5 years and who knows where we will be after that.

I take your point about the England team but what difference will it really make if none of them play over here.

Its all very depressing

I do not think RU will ever die but i also do not think RL is going to die or go semi pro in the next 5 years as some say. For as long as the 57 old farts are running RU/the country union will always get more coverage on tv and in papers. RU as always been the same and had big international scence but it does not mean we have to die.

The RU has signed the new deal for £38 million per season with BT? but how much were they getting from SKY and how much will that drop by in the new deal or will Sky not televise any of the RU games.

The RU Clubs should use that extra tv money to balance there books out. Saracens losing £6mil a year even with the extra tv money they will still lose money and any extra money they get they want try using it to stop there mass exdous to the french RU instead of wasting it on RL players. If Rugby Union clubs are so safe why did Wasp going into admin ? How can crowds and rich owners not be an issue for RU clubs with this "money flowing in" the money flowing in is obviously not as much as the money flowing out otherwise all aviva premership clubs would post profits but only 2 clubs do

I think they once said that about jousting !