WelshpoolMarauder

At least you got that much! My partner fell very ill early on this year and on five occasions, 111 simply hung up on me. I'm a patient man (no pun intended) and accept needing to wait on the line, but to have the line simply go dead on you... In the end, I took her to A&E, where she sat for 2 days straight in the 'Fit to Sit' area and never even got sight of a bed.

Just got home from the Manics and Suede at the Llangollen International Eistedfodd, an excellent night that I'm going to get to repeat in Cardiff and Manchester the next two Fridays. It was my 26th time seeing the Manics, who were great as always and played quite a changed set from the last tour, but it was my first time seeing Suede and I was very impressed. Brett Anderson is some frontman, didn't miss a note even when he was down in the crowd and was drenched through by the end of the set. Added to that, I even got recognised by someone for my own musical endeavours! That's always fun

That's all very true, sadly. Isn't it sad that a country with a proud and storied history in the game, that has produced some of the great names of the game, doesn't have any full time staff? Even sadder, I'm not sure what can be done about it. Wales isn't inherently an anti-RL country, despite the official position for a long time (I never came across a player who didn't have the utmost respect for the game when I was playing union and espoused my love for the game,many even talked about how they followed the likes of Wigan and Saints). A more visible Welsh team, playing regularly, can help the game grow in Wales, regardless of who they play and what the score is.

Does that matter? The best the Netherlands have to offer are playing international rugby league against the best of other countries. They might never beat England or Australia, but their players are getting the chance to represent their nation at their sport. That means a lot.

How many full time staff do the Netherlands have? I doubt it's many, if any, yet they seem to be developing. It's not all about people being paid to develop the game, you need people with passion willing to give their own time to do things first. The name that springs to mind for me in Wales is Ian Golden, who lives and breathes the game and has done an incredible amount for rugby league in Wales. What a difference another dozen like him could make.

That was more in context of wondering why Wales, Scotland and Ireland seem to wait for games and tournaments to come to them rather than organising their own fixtures when the 'smaller' nations are playing internationals without waiting for someone else to put it together for them.

Obviously, bias Welshman here, but if I was working for Wales RL, I'd wonder why we were bothering putting out age grade sides if the senior national side are going to be all but frozen out of the next 2 World Cups and there's been no fixtures put in place since the World Cup bar a game with Cumbria. Whilst I've often wondered why WRL and the other Celtic nations don't do more to put together their own fixtures when the likes of Holland and Denmark and the like are playing matches, but it hardly seems worth the effort and expense if you're building towards nothing.

What a mad game that was! Cracking watch though, thought the coverage was very well put together.

I'm obviously going to be a bit bias as I live here, but Shrewsbury is a great place to live. Big enough to have plenty going on and for different areas of town to have their own vibes but small enough that you're never too far from the centre. Lots of great and varied pubs and bars, great music scene. Not a cheap place to buy or rent though. Telford I've never really figured out, but it seems to have its good and bad parts. I mostly go there to watch ice hockey! Of the smaller towns, I've always had a soft spot for Oswestry. Bridgnorth is nice, as is Market Drayton. Another place worth a look is Bishop's Castle. It's only a small place but there's a great community spirit there and most of the pubs run their own breweries. It's a bit of a hippy enclave, with the accompanying 'relaxed' atmosphere.. Lots of great options, it's a fine county to live in!

I really enjoyed the game and the BBC's presentation of it. The video with Beaumont before the game I thought was excellent, and showed so much of what rugby league is about - community, and giving what you can to your community. As an 'outsider' to the heartlands of the game, I have always admired the fact that local boys made good don't abandon the places that made them, as the commentators made clear when they talked about the various club owners and how much they do for the game. On the field, it was a very watchable contest with a few understandable errors given the stakes. Neither side deserved to lose and I would happily watch them go toe to toe as major challengers going forward.

We were sat in the west corner and it felt busy all day. Lots of Salford fans, then lots of Wigan fans came in during the first game, then lots of Leeds fans for the second (lots of Catalan support ) though not many of the first two sets of fans stayed for the games after theirs, it seemed. The smaller of the two touchline stands seemed pretty full for most of the day, whilst the one stand behind the posts was heaving for the first game with KR fans but not so much after that.

Were there no adults available to ref the game?

Looking forward to this so much. Father is driving, which is excellent news, let's hope the bar is well stocked! Got a first-timer coming along with us, who has decided to give the game ago despite his advancing years, so here's hoping for a close game.. in the second match! Knowing first-hand how much hard work Jamie Thomas and his team have done, I'm hoping this will be the first step in vindicating their hard work. Something special and genuine and real is building here in North Wales, and without the likes of Jamie and Clive Griffiths, all we would have is memories of Super League, rather than long-term aspirations.

Well, I know in Mid Wales, we've gone from no clubs to one club. Which can only be a good thing, in my books. We're looking at how to develop the game in the schools, and the like, and we're aware it won't happen overnight, but I think we could end up with quite a lot of enthusiasm for the game in a few years, despite the fact that a lot of rugby players here are also farmers, and therefore work more in the summer..

PLAY?? The lad is a magician! Exhibit A - Crusaders v Salford, big Salford lad smashes it up the middle, hands off Sammut, who then takes the ball from his other hand and runs off...

Well done to the boys. Standing in the ground during the 'final minute' of the Cas game, which seemed to last about 10 years, was one of the most nerve-wracking times of my life!!! After Sammut's try, myself and the missus agreed to name our first-born Jarrod. I suspect she thinks that only applies if it's a boy...