68 replies to this topic

[ParisSurtout]

I can't see Toulouse adding much to the comp, we need to grow from the heartlands step by step, adding another club thats not going to bring any away fans won't be a popular move amongst existing clubs.

It won't be a popular move among existing clubs, especially the two clubs that are dropped from Super League. But the demoted clubs will be weak businesses led by a sorry bunch of incompetents who can't even get a stadium built after six years of warnings and let offs.

We already have Harlequins in Super League and Les Catalans Dragons in Super League. Neither bring away supporters to the M-62 corridor grounds , but they do offer some important advantages to the game, including the glamour of being situated in the cosmopolitan locations of London and southern France. And in these locations they have produced new playing talent for England and improved the exisiting playing talent of France. Think of Louis McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Tony Clubb, Thomas Bosc, David Ferriol, Jean Phillippe Baile and Jamal Fakir.

Harlequins has been very important in promoting the game in the south, such that London and the Southeast is now the fourth biggest area of junior recruitment in the United Kingdom.

Toulouse joining Super League will have several advantages: it will spread the game further in a major European metropolitan area that is twice as big as Leeds - spread in terms of spectators and junior recruitment. That spread of the game will have an add on effect on the performance and French public support for the French national team. A stronger French national team means a stronger international competition, which means more sponsorship of the game and more money for the clubs at all levels.

It will also help the Sky and BBC TV ratings. Let us look at the relevant evidence of rugby union competitions. How many people watch TV telecasts of the Heineken Cup, where Toulouse compete, compared with telecasts of the England only Guinness Premiership, where Toulouse do not compete?

There is another answer as to the value of Toulouse in Super League.

Edited by ParisSurtout, 05 August 2010 - 09:57 PM.

[PJT]

We already have Harlequins in Super League and Les Catalans Dragons in Super League. Neither bring away supporters to the M-62 corridor grounds , but they do offer some important advantages to the game, including the glamour of being situated in the cosmopolitan locations of London and southern France.

Haha!!!!!!!!!!!

How do you measure glamour?

Who gives a t*ss whether RL is played in Southern France or a "cosmopolitan" area of London? How is this an advantage to the sport? Does this mean that playing in less affluent areas is a disadvantage to the sport?

Does this mean you think a team located in Dubai would be good for the sport? Florida?

[ParisSurtout]

Haha!!!!!!!!!!!

How do you measure glamour?

Who gives a t*ss whether RL is played in Southern France or a "cosmopolitan" area of London? How is this an advantage to the sport? Does this mean that playing in less affluent areas is a disadvantage to the sport?

The TV viewers in London and the south of England give a toss. The soft core league fans from the south and casual viewers are more likely to watch a game that is not played only by parochial clubs from the M62 corridor.

Does this mean you think a team located in Dubai would be good for the sport? Florida?

Yes.

Dubai would be good for a Middle Eastern Super League, which, if development is intensified there, one day could exist with the participation of several clubs from Lebanon and Morocco...and I would hope, eventually the big prize of Egypt. The new head of the RLEF is a man who has helped build rugby league into a significant sport in Lebanon.

Florida would be good for a future American Super League. Jacksonville, led by the legendary entrepreneur Spinner Howland, is already building for that eventuality.

Edited by ParisSurtout, 05 August 2010 - 10:11 PM.

[mick wilson]

Barrow now take an away following of anywhere from 200/600 in the championship, id imagine we would take anywhere from 500/1200 in the SL

So would Fev,Fax, or Leigh.

Quins, Saders,Le Cats & Toulouse dont & would'nt.

Spot the blinding obvious in this post Paris ?

[ParisSurtout]

Barrow now take an away following of anywhere from 200/600 in the championship, id imagine we would take anywhere from 500/1200 in the SL

So would Fev,Fax, or Leigh.

Quins, Saders,Le Cats & Toulouse dont & would'nt.

Spot the blinding obvious in this post Paris ?

Mick, I spot it.

But I also spot the more important missing point: that away following is not the only issue in favour of or in opposition to licensing a new club.

[mick wilson]

Mick, I spot it.

But I also spot the more important missing point: that away following is not the only issue in favour of or in opposition to licensing a new club.

Silly me sorry, I thought sporting events with higher attendances add a bit of glamour to the proceedings, lol

Plus the higher the attendances to higher the appeal to the consumers/advertizers/TV companies etc

[ParisSurtout]

Silly me sorry, I thought sporting events with higher attendances add a bit of glamour to the proceedings, lol

Plus the higher the attendances to higher the appeal to the consumers/advertizers/TV companies etc

Until this dismal on field year Catalans have averaged higher home attendances than half of the Super League clubs, even though they added virtually nothing in terms of travelling away fans.

So they add a net advantage of increased spectators to the the competition.

The same should apply to all new continental conference clubs.

[shrek]

Until this dismal on field year Catalans have averaged higher home attendances than half of the Super League clubs, even though they added virtually nothing in terms of travelling away fans.

So they add a net advantage of increased spectators to the the competition.

The same should apply to all new continental conference clubs.

I am all in favour of expansion, but having spent a number of years living in London I don't associate Rugby League down there with glamour in any way shape or form. Of course it has benefits and should be kept and anyone that has seen the youth work going on down there will see that there is plenty of potential.

Catalans averages must be boosted by healthy followings from away fans, the once a year novelty factor plays a massive part here, sorry but people won't make two trips to France, one to London, one to Magic Weekend and then add to that possible Challenge Cup finals and Grand Finals, many won't spend the money. A net increase of fans to the competition is one thing, but you should also remember that a few clubs still don't spend up to the cap so any loss of home gate by including clubs with no traveling support, no mater who short sighted you may feel that is, is going to be felt by some.

A lot of what you say about Toulouse and the benefits also apply to areas in the UK such as Cumbria, we also have the failed attempts at expanding (at Super League level!) into Sheffield and Gateshead which we should we visit at some point.

I am a strong believer that we should spread out from the heartlands into expansion areas instead of going for the isolated satellite club we seem to have tried and failed so many times in the past. I was pleased to see Crusaders move to Wrexham, that brings it to within touching distance for many visiting fans plus if/when Widnes gets in maybe we can cultivate a new derby that will have benefits for both clubs, especially having read some of the Wrexham forums!

I also think the French should be working towards a strong domestic competition of there own, I don't see the advantage of a 2nd French club made up of Aussie tourists seeking a pension, unless of course Catalans have been overwhelmed by the French talent at there disposal and there's lads can't get a game! But coupled with that I'd love to see a Heineken Cup style competition, but in addition to Super League not as part of it.

[thirteenthman]

You have missed a lot.

If two clubs go down, then two new clubs will get a license. Widnes will be one of them. Neither Halifax, nor Barrow, nor Featherstone nor Leigh willl be the other, because they have not fulfilled the criteria, and they add little to the television audience drawing power of the Super League competition.

The ridiculous situation of having five west Yorkshire clubs in Super League has to be brought to an end. England is too big and diverse a nation, not to mention the United Kingdom, for this parochialism to continue in an era of economic and cultural globalisation. Cleaning out the west Yorkshire club surplus is a way for rugby league to connect with the 21st century.

I suspect that Toulouse is going to be the second license winner. It has waited a long time. It's time has come. Paris will have to wait until 2015, when the number of clubs in SL may rise to sixteen.

No, I didn't miss any of that. But I think you may have missed the gist of my question, so I'll ask again. Who has said Toulouse are going to get a franchise? In my original post I said that all it was at the moment was rumour. All you told me was you 'suspect' that Toulouse would come up. Surely that's nothing but a rumour, unless you happen to be Nigel Wood or Richard Lewis in disguise.

If you can't answer the question, fine, but please leave out the patronising comments.