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Franchises in North America & Europe submit letters of intent to join league


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"PRO rugby" is something we could latch onto. Our seasons would align in a way union seasons can't (see threads in CCF about teams joining pro12), there is little care in the Americas over which code it is from a commercial point of view. Plus we know ours is easier to understand; especially for an NFL fanbase.

This really is an area where league can monopolise on Unions hard work laying foundations.

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36 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

"PRO rugby" is something we could latch onto. Our seasons would align in a way union seasons can't (see threads in CCF about teams joining pro12), there is little care in the Americas over which code it is from a commercial point of view. Plus we know ours is easier to understand; especially for an NFL fanbase.

This really is an area where league can monopolise on Unions hard work laying foundations.

I actually spoke to the PRO Rugby guys months ago about this very thing....

No commitment was made.

 

How far along are these talks of new franchises?

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40 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

"PRO rugby" is something we could latch onto. Our seasons would align in a way union seasons can't (see threads in CCF about teams joining pro12), there is little care in the Americas over which code it is from a commercial point of view. Plus we know ours is easier to understand; especially for an NFL fanbase.

This really is an area where league can monopolise on Unions hard work laying foundations.

PRO Rugby is dead seemingly. League is at a huge disadvantage in the USA as it is not an Olympic sport. Rugby Sevens being in the Olympics is a game-changer for that code, except for PRO Rugby which was run by idiots.

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2 hours ago, The Daddy said:

As reported in league express, also online reports that Seattle, Chicago and New York are some of the American cities interested. 

It would be a good selection, especially New York and Chicago, but both Philadelphia and Jacksonville (where there is a history of rugby league clubs) and San Francisco (which is a bastion of rugby union) would be fruitful places to be part of the picture. Furthermore Vancouver has a strong rugby union presence and so it too ought to be encouraged to play the better code of rugby.

However we ought to give Toronto and Montreal a chance to move into the British system before we spread to the USA.

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I'm thinking a second Canadian team could start out in League 1 next year as a feeder for TWP. They could then blood some Canadians in L1 and put the best into TWP. 

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6 minutes ago, Pulga said:

I'm thinking a second Canadian team could start out in League 1 next year as a feeder for TWP. They could then blood some Canadians in L1 and put the best into TWP. 

Next year will be too soon as it takes time to attract and put the financial backing together. Maybe 2019 would be possible for Montreal.

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1 hour ago, Manfred Mann said:

Next year will be too soon as it takes time to attract and put the financial backing together. Maybe 2019 would be possible for Montreal.

Though it would be more challenging, I would be inclined to target Québec rather than Montréal and then Halifax after that. Montréal has a few other pro sports teams, but since Québec lost the Nordiques it has none. Future pro clubs in Québec and Halifax could be strategically important for RL in Canada given that although both have been talked about with respect to potential CFL expansion, that's never amounted to anything more than talk.

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2 hours ago, eal said:

PRO Rugby is dead seemingly. League is at a huge disadvantage in the USA as it is not an Olympic sport. Rugby Sevens being in the Olympics is a game-changer for that code, except for PRO Rugby which was run by idiots.

No, Union Sevens being in the Olympics is not a game changer.  As Mike Mayer understood years ago, the parallels between RL and gridiron make RL uniquely suited to the North American sports market in a way which no other alternative sport can match, and that was long before anyone knew a thing about the horrible brain damage suffered by gridiron players.

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I'm quite concerned that "league in North America" is/will be hijacked by the union mob..

The 2025RLWC Twitter handle tweets just as much union stuff as it does league,in the past someone associated with that handle said something along the lines of "to Americans it's rugby,league or union is all just rugby"

I'm keeping a skeptical eye on it all

OLDHAM RLFC

the 8TH most successful team in british RL

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1 minute ago, roughyedspud said:

I'm quite concerned that "league in North America" is/will be hijacked by the union mob..

The 2025RLWC Twitter handle tweets just as much union stuff as it does league,in the past someone associated with that handle said something along the lines of "to Americans it's rugby,league or union is all just rugby"

I'm keeping a skeptical eye on it all

They're likely of the naive view that to make an RLWC in North America a success they need to attract Union "fans" despite the fact that those are few and far between in this part of the world.  If they understood the market here, they'd understand that gridiron fans should be the target.

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Playing part time teams in England is definitely a strange situation for the Wolfpack.

It would be great if League One, Elite 1 and the USARL all had pathways to the Championship perhaps through a playoff system. Even though they are not equivalent in standard right now, as interest and investment grows they could hopefully get closer together. That way the SL and Championship could be the combined professional leagues for the northern hemisphere.

I think Boston and Philadelphia would be good next steps as they have existing league communities. 

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7 hours ago, The Daddy said:

As reported in league express, also online reports that Seattle, Chicago and New York are some of the American cities interested. 

Obviously very encouraging if true and if these bids have the long term financial backing. Not so sure about US teams on the west coast or mid-west as yet, I'd be more inclined to focus on other Canadian cities in the short term. As for a potential US franchise the obvious choice must be the Jacksonville axemen as I believe they already attract crowds in the high hundreds and even four figure crowds for playoff games. Also Jacksonville I believe are very proactive in terms of development within the state of Florida by helping with the setup of teams in Tampa and central Florida.

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Interesting.

There is no other location in North America that has the history of support that Toronto has provided to rugby league.

I understand Florida has shown some support but they have not had the big crowds, or a local rugby league show, like what has been occurring in Toronto for a number of years now.

I wonder how serious these new parties are?

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7 hours ago, Big Picture said:

Though it would be more challenging, I would be inclined to target Québec rather than Montréal and then Halifax after that.

Halifax, or Atlantic Canada more generally is an interesting proposition. Shorter flight time to the UK than Toronto, no NHL or CFL team to compete with, but still a sizeable population.

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Why dont all these North American sides talk to each other and set up there own competition? Why bother with Championship 1 in England a league for small villages/towns & city expansion sides looking to find a larger following. If you had Toronto, Jacksonville and at least 6 other North American cities getting several thousand with a TV deal, Boom!!! already better than championship 1. Why are North Americans going for the the low hanging fruit? Surely they can set up there own league with sides drawing 200 -300 people with sponsorship from small local businesses... Why do they even need Championship 1 to do that?

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7 minutes ago, kiwis 13 6 said:

Why dont all these North American sides talk to each other and set up there own competition? Why bother with Championship 1 in England a league for small villages/towns & city expansion sides looking to find a larger following. If you had Toronto, Jacksonville and at least 6 other North American cities getting several thousand with a TV deal, Boom!!! already better than championship 1. Why are North Americans going for the the low hanging fruit? Surely they can set up there own league with sides drawing 200 -300 people with sponsorship from small local businesses... Why do they even need Championship 1 to do that?

The reason why all of these North America sides don't/shouldn't get together and setup their own competition is the same reason why the lion red professional rugby league competition in New Zealand failed and why the elite 1 in France will never amount to anything. Money, exposure, TV deals and structure. Toronto aren't competing in league 1 with the view of never gaining promotion, their aim and ultimate goal is competing at the highest level which is super league. The same goes for Toulouse or any other Canadian/US/French franchise.

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Lion red cup in NZ two decades ago has very little in common with North America! If I was the RFL & NRL even RLIF i would be facilitating these side talking to each other to form a comp save all of them the hassle of flying all the way to the UK to play South Wales Ironmen, York, Whitehaven etc in front of 200 people. Just start your own comp...

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22 minutes ago, kiwis 13 6 said:

Why dont all these North American sides talk to each other and set up there own competition? Why bother with Championship 1 in England a league for small villages/towns & city expansion sides looking to find a larger following. If you had Toronto, Jacksonville and at least 6 other North American cities getting several thousand with a TV deal, Boom!!! already better than championship 1. Why are North Americans going for the the low hanging fruit? Surely they can set up there own league with sides drawing 200 -300 people with sponsorship from small local businesses... Why do they even need Championship 1 to do that?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_Rugby_League

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28 minutes ago, kiwis 13 6 said:

Why dont all these North American sides talk to each other and set up there own competition? Why bother with Championship 1 in England a league for small villages/towns & city expansion sides looking to find a larger following. If you had Toronto, Jacksonville and at least 6 other North American cities getting several thousand with a TV deal, Boom!!! already better than championship 1. Why are North Americans going for the the low hanging fruit? Surely they can set up there own league with sides drawing 200 -300 people with sponsorship from small local businesses... Why do they even need Championship 1 to do that?

UK promotion and relegation might be a good marketing tool. They might also like attaching themselves to the history of UK clubs.

the UK/French teams, promotion and relegation etc brings an established narrative that they might consider easier to sell.

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8 minutes ago, jim_57 said:

Would be very interesting to know the names/places. I wonder if "Europe" is simply France or something more out of the box. Most likely France with the favorite being Avignon.

If it's any of the existing French clubs, they're playing their cards very close to the chest, not a peep in the French media or forums.

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13 minutes ago, kiwis 13 6 said:

Lion red cup in NZ two decades ago has very little in common with North America! If I was the RFL & NRL even RLIF i would be facilitating these side talking to each other to form a comp save all of them the hassle of flying all the way to the UK to play South Wales Ironmen, York, Whitehaven etc in front of 200 people. Just start your own comp...

The lion red cup and elite 1 have everything in common with North America. The people of Canada, US, France and NZ don't care about setting up their own competition with no money, TV deal, exposure and enough players etc when the NRL and super league already provide the professional competition.

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