French Rugby League has always been in the shadow of Union like our game is in our country. It is only played in the South of Franch in the same way that the majority of our game is played in the North of England while Union at a professional level in both countries is a nationwide game.

French Rugby League today is in a far stronger position than what it was a few years ago, as a result of two clubs playing in the English leagues. Even teams in the French Leagues now have players from down under playing for them which was not the case when all their players were French.

The only problem with French teams in our game is the absence of away supporters, but is it any different that having a team like Toronto Wolfpack in our leagues?

It would appear that you are right, but the fact remains that since Union went professional and created the Premiership, their attendances are far higher than what they were when they were amateur clubs and played just friendlies.

But in the lower divisions, their game is not as rosey as they make out in the media.

At the time, that their game went professional, I attended a wedding at Teignmouth RU in Devon, where I got talking to the club chairman who told me that as a result of their game going professional, players of the club which was about the same level as Orrell RU wanted expenses to travel from all over Devon to play for their club when previously like our amateur clubs, they travelled for nothing. A financial burden which he claimed small clubs like Teignmouth RU could not afford.

p.s. Just for interest, on the wall of their clubhouse was a signed picture of the winger Jim Fallon who played for Teignmouth RU, prior to going to Bath RU and then signed by Leeds Rhinos.

Ru in France has only been top dog since the end of the second world war, there is a reason the French RU is referred to as the Vichys, we will not change that now, but there is an appetite in France for RL, the biggest mistake sky made was putting the French team in Paris at the start of super league, it should have been in Toulouse.

regarding the away fans, how many times have Wigan not opened the away stand because its not worth it, Wakefield etc only bring a handful of fans, and as someone else posted, as a club, is it not better to try and grow your own fanbase by 400 rather than rely on away support?

What strikes me straight off when compared to union is the geographical spread of their teams. People talk about the south east but there are only really 2 teams there. 3 in the SW, several in the midlands and a couple in the north. They have also, cleverly IMO moved teams and concentrated in areas away from significant football dominance, teams moving out of London for example.

i've posted similar previously about away fans. Apart from Saints and Wire, its not normally worth opening the North Stand, and i'd probably stick them at North side of East / West and leave the North shut, and as any club, shouldnt be relying on a small number of away fans to top up their coffers. Its not like the premier league where there are regularly 4-5k+ fans attending away games, and you are talking in excess of £150k per game just from away fans (appreciate that is nothing really compared to the TV deal money they rake in)

Now if we were regularly getting 2-3k away fans attending games, that would be a different conversation as it becomes financially worth it

From a Wigan perspective i think we need to see a plan for the next 5-10 years as to where IL sees the club going. What are his plans to grow the fan base back up to an average of 12k / 15k etc? How is he going to attract fans who have moved on from the game for whatever reason? how is he going to attract new fans to the club etc etc The last time we really saw an increase in attendance and atmosphere at the stadium was when we were threatened with relegation

Exactly, a reason why atendances have declined, no longer the same number of supporters including our own going to away games, especially those played on the opposite side of the Penninies on Thursday and Friday Nights due to the horrendus travelling along the M61 in the evening rush hour. Only games in the evening on the same side of the Pennines now attract anything like a proper attendance. How many coaches from Mayfair now go to away games across the Pennines for a evening game compared to how many used to go on a Sunday?

When the games were played on a Sunday, far more more supporters travelled as they made a day of it by going earlier and enjoying the atmosphere of the pub scene which in turn created a better match atmosphere at a game. Now, all supporters prefer to just watch home games on a evening on the excuse that they have other things to do on a Sunday and watch away games on television.

Today, a game at the DW Stadium is now for many, just about rushing to get home from work, rushing to the stadium, no time to socialise which in turns results in no real atmosphere at most games like there used to be prior to games being switched from Sundays in order to accommodate Sky Sports policy of no Rugby League games on a Sunday.

Why do you think supporters of the Latics and other football clubs travelled in bigger numbers for Saturday and Sunday Afternoon games?

Declining attendances Summer rugby games playing when fans on holiday.Too much going on in summer with other activities .
Latics insistance that we dont play at home for 6 weeks to help the grass grow.
Skys thursday night rugby on tv if you were a Yorkshire team fans would you travel over on the M62 same goes with Friday night matches.
Televised matches people stay in the pub and watch spend their entrance money on beer .SKY saved the game its now killing it .
Lets get back to Sunday rugby played in winter.

Personally, I hate Sunday rugby. It invariably takes over the whole day and Monday morning is always in the back of your mind, which limits the time I can have a beer with mates (something already limited due to our age and kids etc).

Fridays evenings are the ones I look forward to. Meet up for a pint in the brick, walk over to the stadium and back into town after for a debrief over a few more scoops and no clock watching.

Saturday afternoons would be perfect hybrid for those that prefer Sundays to Friday.

Completely agree. These days sunday afternoon is something that a lot of people can't consistently commit to because of family commitments and because it essentially takes out your whole day for the game. Personally I think the days of Sundays for many have gone. There is also the look over the shoulder at Monday, which typically restricts what you can drink and when you need to be home for etc...in terms of getting ready for the week.

Friday nights is the optimum for me, and i think for many as shown by the attendances. I feel it ticks the box for most - is not too problematic for families as although a late night, kids aren't at school in the morning. It also enables the rugby to be built into your weekly socialising (drinks before, during and after) and usually becomes my night out - which is a great option as it doesn't significantly affect other weekend plans.....only an evening rather than a day lost to watching the game and still have two days to make plans as you wish. If you have a busy lifestyles Friday night is easily the best IMO.

Wow, I bet some of Wigan's supporters could say the same, especially those who go to away games and have children!

That's spot on for me.

The argument being put forward for Friday night games is only proving that it is one of the main reasons for the decline in attendances as it would appear that supporters are now only interested in attending home games and unlike a few years, not interested in travelling to away games.

To use an excuse about family commitments on Saturday and Sunday when it would appear that the real reason for wanting Friday evening games is now more about mixing a home game with a night out in the pubs and clubs of a town centre afterwards is pathetic.

No wonder, crowds have increased in Football when their supporters can watch most games on Saturday and Sunday Afternoons, especially with more time to travelled while crowds in our game are declining as a result of less away supporters not travelling on a Friday evening due to the increasing amount of rush hour traffic on the roads, especially the M61

Oh, and did supporters in the days of Sunday afternoon games not have families, not to mention todays football supporters

As I recall, there were in fact, far more families at Sunday afternoon games at Central Park and far more coaches going to away games than what there is now.