Death to the Rah Rah's

I was trying to say that in our particular part of Cumbria in pretty much works out at 1 team at each age group per school. so 2 in Whitehaven, 1 in Maryport, 1 in Cockermouth, 1 in Egremont (vary rarely see both the Brow and Egremont both running sides above u12, it’s usually one or the other)

hard to say as with all leagues it does vary on a season by season basis. All clubs tend to start with good numbers which tail off as the season progresses. Our youth sides are comparable to the rest of the county in quality, but what we lack is quantity which is purely down to having a rural population and why we only have a handful of junior clubs operating sides from 12 upwards. If you dig even deeper, it probably works out at 1 team per age group per secondary school. Most towns in our area only have the 1 secondary school with the exception of Workington and Whitehaven who have 2, which in Whitehaven's case provides players for Kells and Hensingham.

playing wise or facilities? Facilities are generally first class, most have their own clubhouses with good quality changing facilities

So you've taken an extract from my comment rather than taking in the context in which it was written where I said there should have been a full review and overall points grading system including facilities to ensure the top leagues were for the elite sides and to give the rest something to aspire to.

I can only speak from experience of facilities in my part of Cumbria which are in the main all excellent

Lots of clubs in the regionals have excellent facilities, and to play devil’s advocate, there have been increasing numbers of teams travelling with only 13–14 players in the lower NCL leagues for years. Without naming names, we all know there are plenty of clubs that wouldn’t have been accepted into the NCL if the minimum standards from a few years ago were still being properly enforced. I would have had far more respect for the RFL’s ‘reset by stealth’ if they had introduced a proper health-check points system for the community game, accepting only the elite clubs into the top divisions based on facilities, reserve teams, and junior development. If the RFL had worked with partners like Sport England, they could have helped community clubs access funding to improve their facilities, as well as provide something meaningful to strive for. Instead, the strategic review is basically just a reshuffle based on league positions, almost identical to the first season of Super League, when Workington and Oldham were admitted at the expense of the Hull clubs, Castleford, and Widnes. It’s incredibly poor governance from the RFL, who seem to think that riding roughshod with heavy-handed tactics will somehow win over the community game. I’m sure someone will eventually write a report on how not to govern a sport, using the RFL as the perfect case study.

So in regards to the player participation, I've never seen or heard any plans from the RFL as to how they intend to increase player participation in open age RL. It seems to be the opposite in fact, as if they stop players doubling up occasionally to play A team rugby during the week that could decimate the A teams and also reduce the pathway from youth into open age !

obvious to all and sundry that the RFL are not backing down and they will defect criticism by saying there isn't enough time to change anything at this late stage and will review at the end of season 2026.

one of many factors, but certainly one to add to the mix !

It’s my view that the decline in Cumbrian rugby began around 1988–89, coinciding with the change in licensing laws that removed the requirement for pubs to close at 3 p.m. A lot of lads were involved in rugby mainly for the social side, and once all-day Saturday drinking became possible, many chose the pub over playing. The switch to summer rugby has also influenced participation numbers, especially from May through September. But even in the old days of winter rugby, attendance wasn’t perfect, plenty of players simply didn’t show up if the weather was cold, wet, or windy. What’s interesting is that matchday attendances in West Cumbria remain very healthy. Many clubs regularly draw between 100 and up to 500+ spectators, and youth games often attract a couple of hundred as well. That extra footfall makes a noticeable difference to bar revenue and the overall atmosphere around the club.

Can't understand why the clubs/leagues or whatever haven't banded together and held a vote of no-confidence in the community arm of the RFL. That surely would carry some weight with Sport England, who by all accounts pay the majority of the wages in that department

west Cumbrian clubs in the north of the county also know that a Cumbrian league without the south Cumbrian sides isn't a viable option, so there are no easy solutions to all these problems, its a right bloody mess

Wigton had a good steady Division 2 side in the Cumberland league, they seemed to lose a group of players around the same time and folded sometime on the early 2000's, shame as Wigton is a rugby union town but could probably accommodate both codes these days with RL playing in the summer months, but all down to interest I suppose and someone to take on the role of starting it up again

there's never been a north east side in the cumbria leagues, that said the travelling distance is around 2 hours, so the same as driving to Barrow from West Cumbria, but would be closer to 2 1/2 t travel to Barrow

well if only the RFL had held proper and meaningful consultations with the leagues and clubs prior to the current show, then Rooney's idea could have been discussed and judged on its own merit. Cumbria and other parts of the community game have publicly pushed back at the RFL’s proposed grassroots restructure and how it’s been rolled out. Opposition is growing because clubs say they didn’t get proper consultation and the proposals seem to be changing quickly. cumbriacrack.com+2totalrl.com+2 The lack of meaningful consultation has left clubs unable to properly assess the impact on travel, finances, player availability and long-term sustainability. It is unacceptable for structural changes of this scale to be progressed without clear, consistent proposals and adequate time for leagues and clubs to respond. Sending out documents at 7pm on a Friday night and demanding a response by 9am the following Monday just about sums up the distain shown to clubs in Cumbria by the RFL. If a vote of 'no confidence' in the RFL community team was held today, my guess is that every club in Cumbria would vote for it