And the atmosphere was horrible, it was probably more lively at the Stoop.

Not an issue IMO.

I doubt many would turn up at the stoop if £5 was handed out to those attending.

Many who attend RU games go to it for the event / occasion. A bit like horse racing to a certain degree. You know, the local racecourses get your avid followers and pro gamblers, the show piece events like The National and Ascot get the people who just want to go to be there, as well as the real sports enthusiasts.

Personally I don't have any problem with this, yet there are some who seem to think this is to be derided.

Why is it that that too many RL fans are too worried about the atmosphere or "how bad it will look on TV"? I have read on this forum in the past of how some fans would not be attending certain games as there would not be much of a crowd there

It's a good job not all think that way isn't it



Let's face it, the stereotypical RL fan is passionate about their sport. Unfortunately the stereotypical RL fan tends to have a chip on their shoulder about lack of national coverage and then a few will try and compare RL to other sports.

If you like RL, great, enjoy it. If you don't like RU, fair enough. But do yourself a favour and dont compare them. It's not a like for like comparison.

I wonder how many of those 84,000 will go to the next game? Or will their next RU match be the same fixture next year?

Its a cultural thing re London and Union.

The sport is very much seen as a posh lads day out, and offering dirt cheap tickets to see Wembley provides the perfect excuse for them to get drunk.

Rugby League on the other hand is steeped in inter club and town rivalry. Its a parochial passionate family sport, so putting on a similar even just does not work amongst Leagues fanbase.
Something similar to league can also be seen with soccer matches. When Arsenal played European games at Wembley their best attendance was 73,707, which is significantly smaller than what Union got today. However i doubt any sport fan would go around saying Saracens are the biggest club side of any sport in the South East.

The figures look good for someone not familiar with the sport. However the reality is that in a week or two when they move back to Watford they will be back to their usual 6000.

The time to get really worried about club RU would be if they were pulling in huge crowds on a week by week basis. The reality is they are not, they are broadly similar to those in RL. This is despite the far higher media profile they have.
That in itself should be a real worry for RU.

The simple fact is that the biggest threat to RL is from the very insecurity and inferiority complex of many of its fans.

So 84000 people turned out, 80000 of whom actually paid a fiver to be bored eless. I can sit at home doing nothing and get the same result, without paying a fiver.

Thank you for proving you know naff all, it was a fantastic game.

put the GB v Exiles game on at Elland Road ,on a Saturday Afternoon 3pm kick off , charge £5 max a ticket , plus freebies as the RU have done and ok we wont get 84,000 but I bet the take up would be on a sold out basis...

What the RFU have done can be matched by the RFL , but it has to be on on an equal footing in terms of timing , ease of travel etc to be comparable ......

From where i live in the Black Country, our game starts at Widnes,simply because it is the closest Superleague Team to me....then we go north....We will never match the Union Game in terms of numbers,,,if anyone looked at the game at Wembley today,it was absoloutley great in terms of marketing and promotion...Wasn*t a bad game also.....(Am i allowed to say that,,Whoops)..!!

The rfu know how to put on an event

Some people have a willy measuring competition....Sl fans have a chip on shoulder measuring competition.
MY CHIPS BIGGER THAN YOURS