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Capitalizing on Scotland in the 4 Nations


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With the game in Scotland struggling a bit (from what I've heard) lately, what can be done on Capitalizing on having them playing in the 4 Nations? It would seem a waste of a spot if we can't use this situation to help grow the game there in any way.

Getting games telecast on a decent channel at a decent time would be a good start, seeing as there are no games in Scotland. Maybe some discount travel/game packages for any Scottish to attend games as well as maybe a mid-season International next year with promotion in the lead up to the 4 Nations.

Ultimately a League 1 team would be the ultimate goal, but realistically that isn't going to happen without money/sponsors, surely this is a golden opportunity to try and entice some of that interest in to our sport and carve out a nice little niche following in Scotland.

Thoughts on how to capitalize on this situation? As I said earlier it would seem an awful waste if absolutely no good came of this.

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With the game in Scotland struggling a bit (from what I've heard) lately, what can be done on Capitalizing on having them playing in the 4 Nations? It would seem a waste of a spot if we can't use this situation to help grow the game there in any way.

Getting games telecast on a decent channel at a decent time would be a good start, seeing as there are no games in Scotland. Maybe some discount travel/game packages for any Scottish to attend games as well as maybe a mid-season International next year with promotion in the lead up to the 4 Nations.

Ultimately a League 1 team would be the ultimate goal, but realistically that isn't going to happen without money/sponsors, surely this is a golden opportunity to try and entice some of that interest in to our sport and carve out a nice little niche following in Scotland.

Thoughts on how to capitalize on this situation? As I said earlier it would seem an awful waste if absolutely no good came of this.

Don't get me started on this but playing Scotland's "home" games in hull and Workington doesn't help.

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Don't get me started on this but playing Scotland's "home" games in hull and Workington doesn't help.

Agree that it's a real let down. Hopefully something (anything) can come of this though! Hopefully they can play well and drum up a bit of support in Scotland.

If I were them I'd be trying very hard to organise a mid-season game next year in Scotland and using this series to try and promote the game and get a healthy crowd. Something to try and get the ball rolling.

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Agree that it's a real let down. Hopefully something (anything) can come of this though! Hopefully they can play well and drum up a bit of support in Scotland.

If I were them I'd be trying very hard to organise a mid-season game next year in Scotland and using this series to try and promote the game and get a healthy crowd. Something to try and get the ball rolling.

But how will the people of Scotland of which the overwhelming majority have never heard of RL be made aware of any good Scottish performances in this years 4nations when all of their "home" games are being held in another country??

Also why try and organise a mid-season game in Scotland next year when the national Scottish RL team will be playing "home" games against the top 2 RL playing nations on the planet in a top class international RL tournament this year?? If ever there was a great opportunity to push and promote RL in Scotland it was by playing Australia and NZ at home in this years top class international 4nations RL tournament and not some low level match against wales or Ireland that May or may not happen in front of about 500-600 people.

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With the game in Scotland struggling a bit (from what I've heard) lately, what can be done on Capitalizing on having them playing in the 4 Nations? It would seem a waste of a spot if we can't use this situation to help grow the game there in any way.

Getting games telecast on a decent channel at a decent time would be a good start, seeing as there are no games in Scotland. Maybe some discount travel/game packages for any Scottish to attend games as well as maybe a mid-season International next year with promotion in the lead up to the 4 Nations.

Ultimately a League 1 team would be the ultimate goal, but realistically that isn't going to happen without money/sponsors, surely this is a golden opportunity to try and entice some of that interest in to our sport and carve out a nice little niche following in Scotland.

Thoughts on how to capitalize on this situation? As I said earlier it would seem an awful waste if absolutely no good came of this.

The best thing that could happen for Rugby League in Scotland is setting up junior clubs. I don't even know if there are any in Scotland at the moment, if not there should be.

Having Scotland team full of heritage players for this years 4 nations will do little to increase awareness of our game there.

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Its pretty much a write off.

Having this tournament plus 2013 and 2017 on Premier Sports killed any chance of Scotland getting great exposure.

There were pockets of real enthusiasm during 2013, imagine if those performances had been covered on bbc.

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The best thing that could happen for Rugby League in Scotland is setting up junior clubs. I don't even know if there are any in Scotland at the moment, if not there should be.

Having Scotland team full of heritage players for this years 4 nations will do little to increase awareness of our game there.

Exactly,

Let's be totally honest, Scotland is a contrived team, manufactured from the descendants of the people who left that country, there is little to no interest in RL in the main populous areas being Edinburgh and Glasgow, football is king, even cricket which has a long history up there is very sparsely supported.

Even if the organisers gave free entry I doubt there would be a thousand in attendance and what good would it do taking a full strength Aus or Kiwi team there with the prospect of annihilating the Scott's?

"If Rugby League had never been Invented, today we would only have Rugby League"

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Scotland had junior teams in the right areas and now its all fallen apart - I think it seems to have happened when the SRL became a separate body to the RFL

 

The sport is centered in Aberdeen - an oil rich city - but outside there isn't much going on

 

Soccer rules, RU is entrenched and resistant, not much else really bar the odd tennis player

 

If you think about it there are 5 million people in Yorkshire, twice the population of Wales, a 5\6th or a million short of the population of Scotland

 

Throw in what was Lancashire, Cumbria and bits of Cheshire and its about 11 million people, a quarter of the English population - so we do have a hell of a market to hit

 

Scotland has over a third of its population sat in two cities - soccer mad cities - while the rest is really spread out over a large area - if we cant get into Glasgow, a working class city, where there are resources at hand its a non-starter sadly

 

So we either treat Scotland as a true foreign country and look to establish the game there as a new territory or we bin it - there isn't enough noise coming out of Scotland and I cant find anything on the net that's up to date enough to show whether there is anything actually going on - no blogs or team sites that encourage me to say its moving forward in any way at all - or even standing still

 

Odd really some of the best amateurs I knew as a kid when I played were Scots - mad as hatters and really enjoyed the physicality - and of course there is the Borders region history of players playing for GB

 

I think the Scots are trying to get something going in the borders - I would like to think a Newcastle side would exploit that area as well, that might be a way forward

 

All a bit sad, players willing to put their bodies on the line for Scotland, and Scotland doesn't seem to be giving a damn!

 

Also bear in  mind the number of ex pat Scots in Canada - that would be odd, Canadians linking in with Scots to get the Scots game moving forward, engineering in reverse so to speak, but I guess that's years off

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It's a shame there is no game in Scotland, but following the pitch issues at Scotstoun, and the decision to take games on the road to London and Coventry (where there is far more chance of legacy) I can understand the RFL not taking the risk. Their remit is geowing the game in England after all, the RLEF in Europe, and the Scottish body in Scotland. There is a promising but small amateur scene up there, and a good sponsor in Europe. Hopefully if The Scots make the Inter-Contental Cup the RLEF (part of the RLIF) will ensure there is a game up there.

In some ways it's a shame that Scotland qualified as far bigger RL infrastructure in France, Wales and even Ireland (good set ups in Bray and Athboy), but let's hope for a good showing by Scotland. They made headlines at RLWC2013 without live games, so fingers crossed again.

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The Scottish Borders could be a good place to start, they have a long history of rugby and they have not had a Main team representing the area there since the Scottish Rugby Union disbanded them in 2007.

 

They would be close to Gateshead and the Cumbrian teams so there would be a chance to develop a rivalry and there is a pool of potential players and fans, with rugby grounds in the area.

 

There are 17 Union teams in the region, there should be the possibility of creating one Rugby League team with 500 fans, a good start for a League 1 Club

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Even if the organisers gave free entry I doubt there would be a thousand in attendance and what good would it do taking a full strength Aus or Kiwi team there with the prospect of annihilating the Scott's?

I have attended games in the last couple of years between Scotland and France and Scotland and Ireland which have attracted over 1k, paid, on a Friday night in Galashiels.

 

The crowds wouldn't be that much lower than we will see in England.

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There was a Development Officer role advertised in April:

 

This is a unique opportunity for the right person to join a refreshed and dynamic organisation,

working closely with the Board and our partners to achieve the sport’s objectives. You will be in at the start of something new and be able to make a real impact on the growth and sustainability of a sporting organisation.

 

As Development Officer you will be leading the development of an infrastructure for the sport of rugby league in Scotland, increasing participation in the sport, growing clubs and Scottish governing body (SGB) membership.

 

The activity does seem to have stepped up a touch again this year, so maybe some investment is finally forthcoming?

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I guess it's hard to get any sort of recognition if it's tucked away on a minor channel and no games in Scotland itself. These tournaments and World Cups should be really aiming on getting RL in the spotlight in these developing nations. If truly no sort of legacy can come of this that is a major letdown IMO.

Would like to see the RLIF push hard to get the RLWC shown on decent channels in all participating countries.

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I guess it's hard to get any sort of recognition if it's tucked away on a minor channel and no games in Scotland itself. These tournaments and World Cups should be really aiming on getting RL in the spotlight in these developing nations. If truly no sort of legacy can come of this that is a major letdown IMO.

Would like to see the RLIF push hard to get the RLWC shown on decent channels in all participating countries.

Exactly. If you are not going to use a top class international RL event like the 4nations to expose and promote Scottish RL to the Scottish public and media then when are you??

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Progress was being made in Scotland in the mid-2000's up until 2013 with work being done in Schools, Colleges/Unis, U15s & U17s and a semi decent open age National Competition.

Then the RFL pulled their funding completely (after reducing it for consecutive years before hand) and everything fell apart.

So arguably things could work in Scotland, as they were sort of working before. It's just now the SRL has no money and lacks any real opportunity to change that.

Priority for the SRL has to be to try and find their way back into the Development pyramid with arguably Galashiels / Borders being where they need to drive this from.

Whether this is an Academy team that is linked with an English club or a Scotland L1 side doesn't matter, but the SRL need something a bit more permanent to draw players, sponsors and fans to.

PACIFIQUE TREIZE: Join the team by registering as a fan today at pacifique13.com

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I agree Eddie Scittish borders would be a good place for a League 1 team in the medium team, to engage primarily with Cumbria infrastructure. I'm thinking Dumfries more than RU borders, as whilst relatively close to that player pool, also closer to Cumbria and better roads and rail to Edinburgh and Glasgow, where there are Amateur RL teams

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It is frankly ludicrous that a Scottish team is in the 4 nations as evidenced by the fact that the RFL is (rightly) scared to stage a game north of the border.  Scotland is not ready for it and the prospect of 3 heavy defeats will do little to foster interest in our sport.  The fault lies with the people who made the decision to include them.  They obviously were not expected to win the 'European Cup' when they did.  It should have been France to assist in the development of their home grown talent.  

 

Putting Scotland in is like expecting 3 piranhas to play nicely with a goldfish and hoping to get some nice PR out of it.  Would Scottish kids be picking up tennis racquets if Murray had lost every Grand Slam match he ever played in?

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France don't have a divine right to be in 4 Nations and they only have themselves to blame for not being there. Scotland had a fair few non-heritage players in their Euro qualifiers, as did Ireland, and it's a worthwhile competition as it develops such players. Few of them will be in the 4 nations squad, but it is the carrot for all teams to take the Euros seriously. Some non-heritage players will make the 4 Nations squad, and that is good incentives for players to keep switching from union to league, even if just for the summer months. The Euros is where to good development happens, and that happens every 2 years at least, whilst smaller Euro nations only get to play in one 4 Nations every 4 years, so the positives outweigh the negatives.

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It is frankly ludicrous that a Scottish team is in the 4 nations as evidenced by the fact that the RFL is (rightly) scared to stage a game north of the border.  Scotland is not ready for it and the prospect of 3 heavy defeats will do little to foster interest in our sport.  The fault lies with the people who made the decision to include them.  They obviously were not expected to win the 'European Cup' when they did.  It should have been France to assist in the development of their home grown talent.  

 

Putting Scotland in is like expecting 3 piranhas to play nicely with a goldfish and hoping to get some nice PR out of it.  Would Scottish kids be picking up tennis racquets if Murray had lost every Grand Slam match he ever played in?

 

I take it you're not in favour of having Scotland in the 4 Nations then?

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Those who don't like Scotland in the 4 Nations, due to lack of amateur game and increased reliance on heritage players when the tournament arrives should take comfort that the 4 Nations is being replaced with the Inter-Continental Cup. As 8 teams, that gives scope for 5 smaller nations to take part instead of 1, and thus those with far stronger infrastructure like France, Wales, PNG and to an extent Fiji are likely to qualify alongside more heritage-based teams, and targeted markets like Canada, France or US who could qualify as joint hosts.

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I think we'll just have to hold our breath and get Scotland's participation in this years 4nations out of the way before moving onto bigger and better things with the 8 team inter-continental cup and helping real developing RL playing nations like France, PNG, Fiji and the emerging Canada.

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Those who don't like Scotland in the 4 Nations, due to lack of amateur game and increased reliance on heritage players when the tournament arrives should take comfort that the 4 Nations is being replaced with the Inter-Continental Cup. As 8 teams, that gives scope for 5 smaller nations to take part instead of 1, and thus those with far stronger infrastructure like France, Wales, PNG and to an extent Fiji are likely to qualify alongside more heritage-based teams, and targeted markets like Canada, France or US who could qualify as joint hosts.

I definitely prefer the expanded comp, gives what were once the 4th nations the chance to actually win a game.

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Exactly Tommy. Those are the best opportunities for the smaller nations to grow their game. If they get to partially host, have a game against another small nation a week before a game a big team to really attract some attention to promote both games, they hopefully get a feel good factor prior before the big game to increase media focus and sell some more tickets.

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