CanadianRugger

3212 attended. Only 12000 came out to see the Scotland test and that was after they put a large discount on the tickets. It's crazy because only a few years ago a test against a 6 Nations opponent would be expected to draw 20k minimum. Rugby Union is taking a kicking in this country. The men's team is the worst I've ever seen. The national union is full of private school, elitist aholes who have marginalized the playing public. TWP and Rugby League can fill the void.

You can't play eight straight home games and expect eight sellouts, not going to happen. I live 300km from Toronto and am going to come to a few more matches but I will pick and choose.

Our National Sport has the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. Pretty cool sports museum actually.

Brierley's kicking off the tee has been much better in recent weeks.

I get the feeling Rogers is interested in the Wolfpack brand which means TWP may be on Sportsnet sooner rather than later.

I drove three hours to the match on Saturday and was also at the Swinton match. The $25 ticket with $6 beer make this a very cheap event. I grab an AirBNB and just enjoyed the weekend in TO with the wife. Lots of people know about the Wolfpack, I know a tonne of people who ask about them and they are developing a loyal fan base. Are they the Jays, Raptors or Leafs? No, but in a decade they could easily be as big as TFC or the Argos. Keep Lamport, slowly upgrade it over time to a 15k seater stadium which is about the size you need for Rugby. Keep the excellent atmosphere and carnival vibe and we have a winner.

I actually like this idea. Maybe take it a step further, Top 4 Super League sides from previous season receive an automatic bye (reward performance) in to the quarter final round of the Challenge Cup, which would replace the playoffs at the end of the season. Make the Challenge Cup the penultimate trophy of NH Rugby League.

Expand Super League and merge Championship and League 1. Professional Teams should not be competing week in/week out with amateur sides.

He has been recalled. I expect him to play against some of the weaker teams.

Nor can they tell Football Canada to do anything! The amateur game in Canada is also played with entirely different rules!

Lamport can easily be updated. It's a bigger plot of land then Empire Field was when BC Lions built a 25k seat stadium while BC Place was being renovated. Erect a stand in the South Endzone that extends in to the parking lot. Then go about renovating the East and West stands one at a time. I would tear the entire things down and start over with the idea being to go for something like Northampton (team I mentioned above) with their Tetley Stand: It's got seating for 5500 and has a a standing terrace at the bottom for 500, it also has 19 executive boxes. Two stands like this is exactly what the Wolfpack need. You could put a third stand on the South End of the Stadium and leave the beer garden on the North end with brand new gigantic score clock. It would look something like this: I pasted the tetlety stand over both the East and West Stamd at Lamport. I also took Northampton's South Stand and put it on the South side of the field. These are also to scale. This would give us probably a 13-15k capacity stadium with all the modern amenities you would expect. Perfect size for Rugby.

I was at the game on Saturday, took the wife with me and she loved it. She was referring to the entire Wolfpack team as her "future boyfriends" Couple of things: 1. Stadium is in an awesome location, lots of restaurants nearby and easy to get to. I found the buzz and carnival atmosphere at the stadium very good. With this in mind, I believe the Wolfpack should look to make Lamport Stadium their long term home and conduct a phased redevelopment as I believe one of the drawing features of this team is their accessibility to the fans and the intimate setting of the stadium. I would draw on the experience of certain Rugby Union Clubs in England in particular, who all went through phased expansions of their stadiums when the game went professional in 1996. A good example of this would be Northampton Saints redevelopment of Franklin's Gardens. Franklin's Gardens (circa 2003): Franklin's Gardens Today: 2. Game day experience was good but there are a couple of things they need to work on. One is the beer ticket system for the beer garden. They should have a ticket booth on each end as opposed to in the middle. This would cut down on some of the bottleneck and crowding in the centre of the beer garden. I think they also need to introduce a tackle count clock so the sport newbies could have a better idea of what's going on. This could come via improvements to the stadium though. I would say first on the list is a new score clock with video replay capability and a dedicated sound system in the stadium. I also think they need to streamline their ticketing process. The whole East/West thing was a pain in the ass having to show your ticket every time you went to get beers. I would grab a beer for myself and one for my wife only to have to fumble for my cellphone so I could show security my ticket. A simple solution would be for the concessions and beer stands to have trays so you could carry food and drinks in one hand. Also, stadium needs a designated smoking area. My wife is a smoker (she is a bartender, it comes with the territory ) but she hates when there are no ashtrays or butt cans to place her cigarette in. The stadium needs a designated smoking area, otherwise you get a bunch of smokers throwing butts everywhere. I know Toronto is like the anti-smoking capital of Canada (ironic considering how many people can't wait for pot to be legalized) but can we stop putting our head in the sand and realize like 15% of the population still smokes and probably always will. 3. Merchandising: The Wolfpack seem to be getting better at the Merchandising aspect. They sold a lot of gear on game day at the Club Shop and they also had a stand in the stadium. They need to expand it further though. One thing I would be trying to do would not only market the Wolfpack but also develop the brands of some of the other clubs. It would be great to be able to buy other clubs jerseys at the pro shop or have the Wolfpack sign some sort of distribution deal with Sportchek (a major sporting good store in Canada) to distribute apparel for the League. I know this will come in time but to me merchandising and marketing is key. Toronto FC gear is available at every Sportchek across Ontario and people see the brand and know what it is. 4. Mini games for Children in the Parking Lot/Adjacent Parks: I really think the Toronto Wolfpack should continue to push the family oriented environment. Take it a step further, have a mini rugby tournament at halftime or pre-game. Maybe have a kicking net or some sort of ball game outside for the kids in the park or the parking lot. All in all though, the Wolfpack are on the right track and I think they are going to build some nice momentum for the Eights! Couple of photos for everyone: (Beer Garden) (View of the East Stand at I think either opening kickoff or the beginning of the second half) (Players talking to fans post match)

It's about as similar to American Football as Rugby League is to Rugby Union. Man in motion, three downs, bigger field, no fair catch, completely changes the game. NFL is all about slants and short run gains. CFL is all about big plays. Players that are successful in NFL won't necessarily be successful in CFL.

7384 in attendance. Game was ok, London offered nothing in attack. Toronto went through their phases and got the win. Lamport could easily be upgraded with amenities and expanded if required. I'm certain it will be as the Wolfpack grow their brand.

You've clearly never watched CFL Football if you don't think it's markedly different from NFL.