Some of these comments taken from Brian Moore's site in 'The Telegraph' seem to support some of the things you allude to, I don't know if they are true or not:


Edward Griffiths, the CEO of Saracens, recently stated that “broadly speaking, the union makes £25 million profit while the clubs collectively lose £25 million”

Perhaps one of the reasons Griffiths’ club fails to attract more season ticket-holders is that, despite having a wealth of talent, Saracens’ play a very limited and dull game. Their contribution to the festive occasion and world record crowd of 82,000 two days ago was repeated box and high kicks and suffocating defence.

The crowds and costs at Vic Road meant that Sarries lost £5m on an £8m turnover and still became champions. Surely this can't be right.

Whilst the crowds at Wembley are impressive, how many readers realise that the tickets have been sold at discount prices or in some cases given away free? Hardly a sustainable business. If Rugby ever brought in some sort of financial fair play rule Sarries (and Bath) would be back to playing on park pitches.

The point isn't really whether the game was a financial success in its own right. Rather that by marketing the game and, at every opportunity, pushing the boundaries and getting as many people as possible to come and watch them, they are moving in the right direction as far as building a fan base for the long-term.

Their vision and their marketing abilities are to be applauded, envied and copied in RL. They know they have a long way to go to stem the losses and be less dependant upon handouts from the RFU but they are definitely giving it their all in trying to do something about it.

Rugby Union with the financial muscle from the international game is what it is. There's no point complaining about it or sniping at it. It's just a fact.

The question is what RL can do to try and close the gap?

I agree.

Don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of Union or anything that it has sttod for over the years. However, while they have tended to copy all the innovations of Rugby League over the past decade or so, one thing they have done better than League is the recent trend on big stadium one off league encounterers (as alos seen in France).

I'm hoping that Adam will also be on to this and if nothing else the aim must be be innovative enough to sell out the KC for a non Derby match in the next two years. We don't need to worry about other stadiums, however if and when the KC capacity starts to grow, then so should the ticketing innovation.

It's a nice idea but the only time we've come close to selling out ER was when we pulled in 38000-odd in 2005 - about 2k short of capacity at that time. Subsequent WCC attendances have been far lower.

They've been lower because the top tier of the stand has been shut due to not having a safety certificate. They've only recently (partly) reopened it this year, and it was partly because of the renovations going on.

The thing to be noted is that the game played Twickers & the the one they played at Wembly have because of good marketing become in a couple of years part of the social calendar of London. It may not make much or even loose money but if it continues to be popular it will make money as the tickets will become a must have for some people.
The RFL should send someone to find out how they did it & try to emulate it. Also note that American football can sellout wembly with a concerted advertising campain.