I'm a fan of both codes and I've thought this for a long while now. A combined, single code wouldn't challenge football but it would still be a global powerhouse.

Shame there's more chance of world peace.

I certainly don't want a combined code. Fortunately, there's next to no chance of it happening.

I don't think there's anything wrong with the rules of rugby league as it is, thank you.

If Union do away with 2 players, rucks and mauls, line outs, 3 point drop goals and penalties, half their rules and introduce a limit of 6 tackles, I’m absolutely all for it.

I have just pointed out 3 areas where Union excel at over League and its all from personal experience.

Do you have any attendance stats for the premiershop in this country?

Overall I agree with you, its the tinkering around each year and number of smaller rules where you don't need them that is my annoyance.

Well, as I've said before, the way some fans seem to get their knickers in a twist about relatively minor rules tweaks like the ball-steal rule (one way or another) seems often way over the top to me. Yes, constant rules tweaks can be a very minor annoyance, but don't tell me it's enough to 'fall out of love with the sport', or some such.

It's a very odd hill to want to die on.

2019 Union Premiership Average Attendances, excluding home and european cup games. (Last non Covid Season)

Wasps *32,000 Ricoh Stadium, Coventry
Bristol Bears 27,000 (First Season) Ashton Gate Football Stadium, Bristol
Leicester Tigers 25,849
Gloucester 16,155
Northampton Saints 15,249
Harlequins 14,800
Exeter Chiefs 12,921
Sale Sharks 12,000
Worcester Warriors 11,489 Sixfields Football Stadium, Northampton
Newcastle Falcons 10,200
Saracens 10,000

Bear in mind that away supporters have further to travel than in League for most games.

* Many of Wasps supporters actually live in London.


Hope this helps.

Surely they are the ground capacities?

**Edit** They look to be. Sale averaged just over 6,000 in their last full season in front of crowds (2018/19). Wasps around 19k and a couple like Saracens and Worcester around 7,000. There are some really impressive averages but tough to get a full picture, as from what I saw, a team like Harlequins included a 75,000 crowd at a final in their averages.

I found this....seems more accurate. Wasps did get one match with 31000 fans

Tigers - 19,888
Wasps - 17,975
Bristol - 16,413
Bath - 14,024
Gloucester - 13,996
Saints - 12,471
Harlequins - 12,391
Exeter - 10,964
Saracens - 8,622
Worcester - 7,848
Newcastle - 7,440
Sale Sharks - 6,365

Also try here, can see by season total number of fans for the season [urlhttps://rd.premiershiprugby.com/stats/attendance.php?includeref=18099&season=2018#18099[/url

Leicester Tigers 228,865
Harlequins 212,435
Bath Rugby 201,977
Bristol Bears 179,827
Wasps 177,761
Northampton Saints 169,369
Gloucester Rugby 158,158
Exeter Chiefs 144,446
Saracens 143,845
Newcastle Falcons 100,826
Worcester Warriors 91,162
Sale Sharks 72,443

Looks like domestic union a lot better supported than league.

That looks about right - Giving an average of around 12.5k although slightly artificially inflated by some of their double headers and event games. Essentially they bake in the wembley and twickers games to include them as average gates....in essence our game v wire at magic would have counted as a 30k gate for us and wire....the good old union calculator eh



Still, their true averages are probably 11k vs what is around 8.5k now for SL. 20 years ago we were averaging about the same and union about 4-5k averages, but they hugely took off after the union WC win. That said, underneath the premiership they are probably much weaker....the championship and lower leagues get much less than ours.

Despite all this, we are actually not too far away....The top teams need to be more pro-active and push up to figures comparable to union (leicester excepted), and those at the bottom (salford, wakefield, huds) who's desperately poor averages of 3-4k pull the whole league down, either need to get their act together or play in the championship which is probably more their level.

if you could get some half decent marketing at your top clubs like wigan / leeds saints hull etc. theres no reason why we can't push average gates up to 15/16k plus, like we got around 10 years ago. Catalans will probably average over 10k next year with their success, if they can keep the fans from the semi final engaged etc, and Tolouse will make a fist of 8-10k gates next season. Add say 7k Cas, 8k HKR and clear out those with sub 5k gates your not far off.

The best thing that could happen to the top level is getting teams like Bradford back in, and Newcastle and London to replace the cellar dwellers. London then needs to be marketed as a regional side to exiled northerners and those interested in League down south - Perhaps even renamed to appeal to the whole SW, in the same way Sale are, to achieve decent gates. There is very few 'local' sale fans, and most are union rah rah types living and working in Manchester or a culmination of union fans across the north west coming together to watch one club.