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WelshpoolMarauder

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About WelshpoolMarauder

  • Birthday 16/08/1985

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Welshpool
  • Interests
    Outside of rugby? Music, books, video games.
    But mostly rugby.

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  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. What a mad game that was! Cracking watch though, thought the coverage was very well put together.
  7. 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!
  8. 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.
  9. Jarrod Sammut was the name that came straight to my mind as soon as I saw the thread title. Capable of such magic, a recognisable face and full of character. I often wonder how different the Crusaders last Super League season might have gone if he'd been on the field more than he was. Still no idea why Iestyn Harris seemed so down on him, he was wasted doing meet and greets in hospitality before games when he could've potentially changed a few games for us. I'll always remember his post-match interview after getting man of the match in his first game for Cru at the Magic Weekend and saying he was giving the money to a breast cancer charity because 'I like breasts'.
  10. Nant Conwy is a great place to watch a game, I'm actually quite gutted that I'm working and won't be able to make it. The club themselves are one of a few clubs in North Wales who conduct their club business in Welsh, which will make for a bit of a different experience for any visitors. Don't worry though, their English is still pretty good
  11. 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.
  12. Out of interest, how much money does it take to put on an international game? Say, for example, Scotland put out an invitation to Wales for a game (which seems like probably the cheapest option as it could be done without flying). What sort of money would they need in order to make it happen? I'm guessing it must be more than any of the organisations feel they can gamble, otherwise why aren't they already doing it?
  13. I agree with you about Conwy Council, it’s very poor on their part if they’ve only given a few days notice. I just don’t think it’s a massive union conspiracy to damage NWC.
  14. It’s not an assumption. I was at one point quite an important figure within the North Wales Rugby Union and I know this is how they do it. You’re jumping at shadows, making a conspiracy where there isn’t one. The Under 20s Six Nations fixture list isn’t built around the potential to make things difficult for a League 1 rugby league side with crowds in the 100s and whose fixture list isn’t produced until many months later. This was a totally avoidable situation had there been some forethought put in. If anything, this thread should be called ‘Dewsbury fans shafted’.
  15. The WRU no doubt have a contractual clause stating that the pitch can’t be used for X amount of days prior to these games. Eirias is a multi use facility and from my experience the pitch isn’t the best at any time, so imagine how it would look on TV if it was a state for a nationally televised game. If you were a sponsor, you wouldn’t be chuffed if your logo was a mess. If they really were targeting NWC, they could have used their influence with Conwy Council to stop them playing there at all, they put a lot of money into the venue, far more than NWC do. Frankly, the WRU have far bigger issues to deal with right now (poor results, sexism row, regions and community clubs struggling) than trying to cause bother to a League 1 club whose crowds are in the 100s. If, has been mentioned, this was an issue last year, surely a bit of forethought and a look at the 6 Nations fixtures for this year 12 months ago would’ve shown where there could be issues and arrangements could have been made and discussions had. They’ve been playing the U20s games at Eirias the night before the main games for several years now, it’s not a new thing.
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