jacobus

Didn't Sam Walker have an ancestor who played for St Esteve? I am holding out hopes Dragons might tempt him over

There are some pictures of junior team staff wearing Errea polos with the crest on so maybe that's a sign. The honest answer is I don't know but am trying to find out

I might be changing my Catalans prediction from Oxen to Errea. But I still don't know for sure.

I agree with that. Of all the Catalans players that have left whilst I have supported them, his departure was one that annoyed me most.

Allegedly. There has been a massive sell off of O'Neills product in the French and UK stores with rumours of issues between the club and company ( I know nothing more than that). I did this piece back in June https://ukcatalansdragons.blogspot.com/2021/06/sell-off-hints-at-end-of-oneills-deal.html and had an email saying the deal is pretty much done with Oxen.

Oxen making space for Catalans gear to go in! I do have some sympathy with kit companies however. We have gone down this consumerism path where teams need to bring out 3 kits (at least) per year to generate funds. They cost pence to make and sell for £50+. But I wonder if the sales are starting to slow (not even taking into account Covid) and people are thinking twice before buying and especially at full price. if the kits lastest a couple of years at least, I would be more tempted to make a purchase when kits are new out, knowing it will get a couple of summer holidays wear. What do others think?

The touch union launches its rules... fair to say we will stick with England Touch rules https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/files.pitchero.com%2Fclubs%2F50915%2F0EZrPyOfQLaGmtI0ombH_The+Touch+Union+Rules.pdf

...as he retires at the end of the season. An RL and Dragon great?

I love the old border post and fuel station that are abandoned in the middle of the route. Some lovely vines and little places to stop and enjoy. A real part of game day for our family when we used to base ourselves over the border in Spain.

My Father in law has not long sold his place in Calella de Palafrugell. That was far more expensive for a meal and drink than somewhere like Port Bo on the drive up to watch le Dracs.

I know the NRL isnt popular on other threads on here at the moment, but the NRL touch stuff on Instagram and Youtube is phenomenal. I always like the Late Switch Touch podcast. Great to see players with transferable skills.

Another Southerner here finding it hard to care. This despite my team topping Superleague. I am just glad that other sports (specifically codes of rugby) aren't as interesting or engaging as RL or I would be gone. Where is the leadership? Where is Ken Davy, Ralph Rimmer? where are the statements about returning the game to its former glories, to leading a charge across the UK to get people playing and watching? The games powerbrokers are so inward thinking its ridiculous. And the longer they procrastinate and fiddle around with the size of superleague and how the smaller monies are distributed, the more cold hard cash is needed for a top marketeer to turn this around.

is that based on Elite 1 as well as Superleague?

Franco was dominant in Elite 1 last winter for St Esteve. He just needed a chance to show what he has.

To go back to the original question. Yes I am. But there are plenty of other things that I worry about in rugby league to an equal or possibly higher level. Participation, structures, broadcasting, reliance on gambling sponsorship, dis-harmony with the southern hemisphere, failure to expand out of the historical heartlands and so on... I want to be positive about the game because I love what happens on the park each week. However, there is always some drama going on behind the scenes that spills out into the public domain to cause negativity.