the game does need to expand into diffrent areas but we need to make sure its right for example catalans they have been a great sucess apart from this year but competitive on the field getting to the challenge cup final in there 2 year finishing 3rd in there 3rd year, crowds of 8-9k crowds, plenty of good french players in there squad, QUALITY overseas players.
the celtic crusaders were an absoulote joke but i blaim the rfl rather then celtic becasue obviously they thought they could handdle super league but the rfl dint even think about wether things were in place for them to compete in super league. thankfully the new crusaders seem to be going really well which has taken a whole lot of pressure of the rfl but you cant forgive the rfl for what they did. toulose i think would be a sucess but it wont do them any harm in waiting another 3 years playing in the championship. i know the crowds would be good same as catalans even more, stadium is decent and would be improved if given a licence, young french players would improve alot, toulose is a massive and a attractive city, bigger player pool for france, obviously they aint going to bring fans but clubs know this and this is were cheap tickets offers or even give away free tickets to up the crowd abit. im an hull fc fans and when we played hudds they brought about 300 fans which is shocking and there are only 1hour or so away so do heartlands teams bring alot of away fans anyway?

I am biased because i am a widnes fan.So swap us for salford. Serious now we have a good owner in ste oconnor and we are the only team in the championship with a academy set up.We have had Yates,flynn,Thompson,Grady,Crompton,Houghton,Strong and Hulme who have played for the first team this year already from the academy.No other championship side have done this so i think we have a strong application.We are financially stable with stobarts,landrover sponsoring and our superleague fans will come back once in the elite league.
If we need to compete against the aussies, we need to develop alot of british players, and i think widnes will bring something to the table.I am confident we will bring near to 2000 away supporters if get in.If we are successful maybe abit more. At the moment i know people who do not go due to the quality and poor atmosphere in the championship.No offence to teams such as keighley,batley,dewsbury and toulouse but they bring no away support.These clubs survive with a smaller cap and to teams such as widnes,fax and leigh bringing away support.
How many years have london been in superleague and still low crowds.They are not interested as union is popular and football.Yes i like expansion but needs to be not at the expense of heartland clubs.I am missing playing Wigan,saints and warrington.

you have a jack smith playing for you at accademy level who came through st judes . do you by chance know how he is progressing ????

I do not go many academy games, but i have heard he is doing quite well mate.

Salford and Quins out. Widnes and Toulouse in.

No chance when they add some 20% to the TV deal.

thing is, we can only have so many of these 'cant throw out teams' of the league will have to be 20 strong. Which is possible but will have to get rid of the cup.

Depends on your definition of 'failure'. The concept as a 'whole' has certainly not failed. The youth development (mentioned previously) is THE most important aspect of having the game in London and that is finally working. Although attendances need to be improved to help us market the game better having the necessary playing roster is the most essential aspect of the game moving forward IMO.



Again your simply concerned with the crowds and not the bigger picture.



Whether your right or not, there should be no bending of the rules to accommodate them at the expense of everybody else. They already have immunity from relegation so they shouldn't be fast tracked when rules are set in place for everybody. It makes a mockery of the game, far worse a mockery than the perceived image Harlequins RL convey.

Why?

Beacuse if you have 20 team, a home and away and then split up the rounds with cup ties like now it will be far too long and add that to the international scene and there will be no off season.

So something has to give and the only logical thing will be the cup as you cannot get rid of the international scene.

First of all we do need to expand the game outside the heartlands and another team from France, whether it be Toulouse or another, can only be good for the game as long as they have a sound business and development plan. Problem with Celtic Crusaders is that they did not have that. Another team in South Wales could work as long as everything i.e. financials etc where in place. However, teams such as Widnes, Halifax, and maybe a team from Cumbria need the chance to get into Super League or their is no point in them striving to be succesfull etc. I think those team as long as the necessaries are in place can add value to the Super League unlike teams such as Salford who have poor attendances and dont seem to be able to add much on the pitch and with no sign of a new stadium anytime soon. Having worked in London developing the sport in the community there are a lot of schools etc playing the sport but there is much more interest in other sports such as football and cricket and even basketball. Quins are doing a lot of work trying expand and develop the game down there but for whatever reason it doesnt seem to be working. They even gave out free season tickets to every registered player both junior and senior, coaches, club volunteers etc and they didnt have any effect on their attendances. Whether having all these players and schools playing the game will pay of for the Quins in the long run I dont know.