Rugby League the fastest growing sport in Wales

[The Future is League]

http://www.crusadersrfl.com/article.php?id=2548

"there has been a 300% increase in the number of schools teams and Rugby League is now Wales's fastest growing sport"

[dallymessenger]

the current RFL management ie richard lewis is to be congratulated for not only reviving RL in france but also in wales

im sure when CC were doing poorly there were many in the game who said i told you so

lewis maintained the faith and the move to wrexham has been brilliant

also moving the MM back to wales is the right move

im confident about the future of our game in france and wales

[1976PMJwires]

from me.

300% increase well done Wales, i would be interested in how much of that is in N Wales to S Wales.

[tim2]

The amateur scene in Wales at Open Age is poor but does that really matter? Build up from the juniors and the Open Age should take care of itself down the line. The difficulty, as with all non-heartland areas, is facilities. If you use Union grounds, you get good facilities but you're stuck with the short summer window and risk developing players for the RFU or WRU to take away. If you don't - well, it's schools or parks and you also get llimited access to potential RU converts. Tough choice really.

North Wales is interesting - it has less of an ingrained Union heritage than the South and is close enough to Cheshire/North West to be able to tie in with longer seasons etc. As well as having the Crusaders there, obviously. Now Wales is a separate RL nation Cymru RL really has to step up the funding drive from their own sources as Sport England doesn't obviously cover Wales.

[Northern Sol]

the current RFL management ie richard lewis is to be congratulated for not only reviving RL in france but also in wales

im sure when CC were doing poorly there were many in the game who said i told you so

lewis maintained the faith and the move to wrexham has been brilliant

also moving the MM back to wales is the right move

im confident about the future of our game in france and wales

Lewis made a dreadful mistake and was extremely lucky with the Wrexham FC intervention; otherwise his reputation for competence would have been tarnished.

Nothing to do with "keeping the faith" and everything to do with being so desperate as to have to accept any offer to keep Crusaders going.

[Northern Sol]

double post

Edited September 8, 2010 by Northern Sol

[Northern Sol]

The amateur scene in Wales at Open Age is poor but does that really matter? Build up from the juniors and the Open Age should take care of itself down the line. The difficulty, as with all non-heartland areas, is facilities. If you use Union grounds, you get good facilities but you're stuck with the short summer window and risk developing players for the RFU or WRU to take away. If you don't - well, it's schools or parks and you also get llimited access to potential RU converts. Tough choice really.

North Wales is interesting - it has less of an ingrained Union heritage than the South and is close enough to Cheshire/North West to be able to tie in with longer seasons etc. As well as having the Crusaders there, obviously. Now Wales is a separate RL nation Cymru RL really has to step up the funding drive from their own sources as Sport England doesn't obviously cover Wales.

The thing I don't get is despite an increase in the number of schools playing RL in Wales, we haven't seen Welsh sides get to the Champion Schools finals like they used to. It's very odd.

[Jerry the Berry]

North Wales is interesting - it has less of an ingrained Union heritage than the South and is close enough to Cheshire/North West to be able to tie in with longer seasons etc. As well as having the Crusaders there, obviously. Now Wales is a separate RL nation Cymru RL really has to step up the funding drive from their own sources as Sport England doesn't obviously cover Wales.

Are there any 'big' RU clubs in North Wales? Is there any real appetite for either code of rugby or is it just all football (soccer). Great news on the participation figures though. Well done to all concerned.

[Northern Sol]

Are there any 'big' RU clubs in North Wales?

No.

Is there any real appetite for either code of rugby or is it just all football (soccer).

It's just Wrexham FC and the English clubs of Merseyside and Greater Manchester and Wrexham FC aren't exactly a major club. It is very sparsely populated area.

[sgorpioncaerdyddrob]

The thing I don't get is despite an increase in the number of schools playing RL in Wales, we haven't seen Welsh sides get to the Champion Schools finals like they used to. It's very odd.

True ,I don't get that either. Although I know a few of them like the Evans brothers at Warrington have been snapped up by English sides. Whats most dissappointing is Wales didn't win the Student and A side competitions this year either, the former having been won for the past 8 years. Gutted!

The amateur scene is not as good as it could be but it has produced many of the players that are playing the game for the Scorpions and some of the Crusaders so it is producing some talent, plus Bridgend won the Harry Jepson a few years back and a Welsh side often gets to the semi final in that competition. Plus we had Blackwood get to the 3rd round of the Challenge Cup last year.

[tim2]

Bridgend won the Harry Jepson a few years back and a Welsh side often gets to the semi final in that competition.

That's because the winners of the Welsh Premier go straight into the semi. They haven't made a final for a while.

[dallymessenger]

Lewis made a dreadful mistake and was extremely lucky with the Wrexham FC intervention; otherwise his reputation for competence would have been tarnished.

Nothing to do with "keeping the faith" and everything to do with being so desperate as to have to accept any offer to keep Crusaders going.

looks like accepting the wrexham offer was a good one

he couldve listened to people like you and replaced them with a heartland club and then where would we be.

[The Future is League]

looks like accepting the wrexham offer was a good one

he couldve listened to people like you and replaced them with a heartland club and then where would we be.

Well said Dally.

[RP London]

Lewis made a dreadful mistake and was extremely lucky with the Wrexham FC intervention; otherwise his reputation for competence would have been tarnished.

Nothing to do with "keeping the faith" and everything to do with being so desperate as to have to accept any offer to keep Crusaders going.

actually there was quite a bit going on behind the scenes with the WRL at the time about different possibilities and talking to different people..

Lewis to a certain extent lucky but he also knew the right people were in place in the WRL to make sure that Super League had a presence in Wales.

To be fair Lewis also knew that it was a risk having a Welsh team and all the issues with it..

Personally i get the feeling Lewis couldnt give a toss about his reputation at all. If he did then he wouldnt take the risks that he has taken. Being outspoken about Quins' necessity to exist (or a london franchise), Franchising being needed and putting it into practice, getting Catalans in, Getting the welsh in. All of these were a massive massive risk, all of which could have made him look very very silly. The safest thing to do if he was that worried about his reputation was to do ###### all, pull the rug from under London and settle the game in the M62 corridor. He has taken massive risks that could make him look stupid and quite honestly we need that. these decisions are high risk but if they work (ie Wales gets a huge presence, London at last kicks on, the Championship clubs pull their socks up etc) the game will grow immeasurably and its that which we need.

[dallymessenger]

actually there was quite a bit going on behind the scenes with the WRL at the time about different possibilities and talking to different people..

Lewis to a certain extent lucky but he also knew the right people were in place in the WRL to make sure that Super League had a presence in Wales.

To be fair Lewis also knew that it was a risk having a Welsh team and all the issues with it..

Personally i get the feeling Lewis couldnt give a toss about his reputation at all. If he did then he wouldnt take the risks that he has taken. Being outspoken about Quins' necessity to exist (or a london franchise), Franchising being needed and putting it into practice, getting Catalans in, Getting the welsh in. All of these were a massive massive risk, all of which could have made him look very very silly. The safest thing to do if he was that worried about his reputation was to do ###### all, pull the rug from under London and settle the game in the M62 corridor.

exactly.

hes taken all these risks and when they work out he needs to be praised.

introducing franchising was a massive risk, trying france again after after PSG etc etc.

if lewis can sort out quins / london hell have brought professional RL to places where we all thought wouldnt work

the flow on for international RL will be massive

i just hope david gallop had the same guts and brought in PNG and a 2nd nz side into the nrl

Edited September 9, 2010 by dallymessenger

[Shadow]

Well said Dally.

And you don't hear that very often

[Dave T]

Lewis made a dreadful mistake and was extremely lucky with the Wrexham FC intervention; otherwise his reputation for competence would have been tarnished.

Nothing to do with "keeping the faith" and everything to do with being so desperate as to have to accept any offer to keep Crusaders going.

Why when there's something negative is it a dreadful mistake, but then when there is a positive it is lucky?

[tim2]

Apart from Catalans, Crusaders, improved attendances, 30 million from Sport England, a profitable RFL, improved TV money, increased grass roots participation, what has Richard Lewis done for us?

[RP London]

Apart from Catalans, Crusaders, improved attendances, 30 million from Sport England, a profitable RFL, improved TV money, increased grass roots participation, what has Richard Lewis done for us?

all were lucky... wonder if he does he lottery

[Northern Sol]

looks like accepting the wrexham offer was a good one

he couldve listened to people like you and replaced them with a heartland club and then where would we be.

Very few people said that (and I certainly wasn't one of them). There wasn't any time to replace them with a heartlands team, only Widnes could possibly have done it and even then it would have been a bad idea.

There was no other course of action aside from having a 13-team league which would have been embarrassing.

[Northern Sol]

Why when there's something negative is it a dreadful mistake,

Because it was blindly obvious that something like that would happen.

but then when there is a positive it is lucky?

Because none of Lewis' actions were directed towards producing that particular outcome.

[Northern Sol]

actually there was quite a bit going on behind the scenes with the WRL at the time about different possibilities and talking to different people..

Lewis to a certain extent lucky but he also knew the right people were in place in the WRL to make sure that Super League had a presence in Wales.

To be fair Lewis also knew that it was a risk having a Welsh team and all the issues with it..

Personally i get the feeling Lewis couldnt give a toss about his reputation at all. If he did then he wouldnt take the risks that he has taken. Being outspoken about Quins' necessity to exist (or a london franchise), Franchising being needed and putting it into practice, getting Catalans in, Getting the welsh in. All of these were a massive massive risk, all of which could have made him look very very silly. The safest thing to do if he was that worried about his reputation was to do ###### all, pull the rug from under London and settle the game in the M62 corridor. He has taken massive risks that could make him look stupid and quite honestly we need that. these decisions are high risk but if they work (ie Wales gets a huge presence, London at last kicks on, the Championship clubs pull their socks up etc) the game will grow immeasurably and its that which we need.

Lewis did look very silly at the time and whilst the other decisions seemed to have been calculated risks this one just seemed stupid. The fact that Bridgend Crusaders fell apart after less than one season speaks volumes about how prepared they were to join SL. He should have seen this, he had access to the books.

Having said that, despite this one mistake (even a very big one), he does generally make better decisions and take more intelligent risks.

[dallymessenger]

Very few people said that (and I certainly wasn't one of them). There wasn't any time to replace them with a heartlands team, only Widnes could possibly have done it and even then it would have been a bad idea.

There was no other course of action aside from having a 13-team league which would have been embarrassing.

lots of people were saying widnes should replace celtic crusaders.

again richard lewis ignored what i consider to be the conservative elements in the game - those that arnent expansionists and did the right thing by RL

its so easy to sit back and be a critic and the game gets nowhere if our leaders listen to them

when expansion does work all the critics magically disappear

[The Parksider]

Lewis did look very silly at the time and whilst the other decisions seemed to have been calculated risks this one just seemed stupid. The fact that Bridgend Crusaders fell apart after less than one season speaks volumes about how prepared they were to join SL. He should have seen this, he had access to the books.

Having said that, despite this one mistake (even a very big one), he does generally make better decisions and take more intelligent risks.

Lewis is responsible for a game that has the glaring opportunity to break out of the north at all levels. The individual opportunities to do this wether in Paris, Gateshead, London, Catalans, Toulouse, South Wales or wherever are naturally a "risk" and more so a risk because of the inherent problems finding players and finances outside the M62 where what little RL have is "concentrated".

What do you mean by "Intelligent risks"? Risks are risks they either come off or they don't and if they don't it doesn't make the person that took the risk stupid. Risk takers in business are essential to the economy, and if RL is to grow at pro level which is a business risks have to be taken. Mindst you, your slant smacks of championing a nice "safe" policy towards expansion that will nicely leave pro RL along the M62 forever and that's what was often posted on here, we want expansion but don't take any risks........

.......let the game grow from the roots up, let clubs as you say "prepare" in the NL's which is another policy championed by those who know nobody "prepares" in the largely ignored NL's - rather they go backwards. Thus such an intelligent policy (If heeded by Lewis) would effectively stop these "outsiders" pushing traditional clubs aside. A great sounding "Intelligent" policy, that in reality is totally vacuous.......

Samuels was to deliver money and deliver money he did. It didn't get very far as he himself had business problems, but the project got going, it got sold on to new investors and we have a Welsh club in the play offs and to get back to the thread title RL is the fastest growing sport in Wales.

Richard Lewis has pulled off getting a pro club in Wales succeeding on the pitch and succeeding at junior level.

He has by any other definition than yours played a blinder here under very very difficult circumstances.

On the issue of Lewis "looking at the books" do you think he's had a check of Wakefields empty books, or HKR's books. How about Castleford's books. Are these clubs place in SL "intelligent risks"??? Sould Wakefield and Castleford step down and "prepare" properly this time for a return to SL. The NL's will of course be the making of them as they would have been the making of Crusaders.

[dallymessenger]

pretty much since the inclusion of CC into SL and the way AFL goes about expanding unless someone is a fan of top down expansion then most of the times they are anti expansion but just dont want to admit it

making an expansion club jump through the same hurdles as a heartlands team is just a fancy way of saying no to expansion

the only way to expand is to take opportunities as they arise, especially if things like CC or even Stade francaise want a SL spot

if other people want to spend their money on expanding the sport we should welcome it

the RFL show also help expansion clubs with the following

1. SC and import exemptions

2. additional marketing by RFL of RL

3. international games at clubs home ground as a further revenue raises

4. additional central funds where required for development officers, marketing etc