londonrlfan

Depends what is classed as "success". The point of the WC is bring in profits used to grow the sport. That looks like it'll happen and even the much maligned 2000 edition made a profit. If RL wants bigger crowds, then it needs to become more of an 'event' that attracts neutrals rather than preaching to the choir.

Agree. But tbh most of them aren't RL fans who attend. Those are the 'event' fans that the WC needs to target more of.

Tbf I've seen zero advertising locally at Angel, King's Cross, Highbury, Holloway Road etc. I'd have no clue it was on without being an RL fan.

And no doubt those are the same fans who moan that the RFL don't plough money into their club or that RL doesn't get as much coverage as union.

The big sell of Leeds was all the Jamaican heritage in the city. But I'm not sure they even tried/bothered to promote it.

I disagree tbh. The Stoop was sold out that game. When Aus played NZ at Warrington, it didn't even sell out. RL internationals have always been well attended in London.

NZ v Jamaica at Loftus Road advertised all over the Notting Hill Carnival. Would that really have been that expensive to promote? That's something Eric Perez was really good at when Canada played Jamaica, promoting to the Jamaican population.

I doubt it. We could promote it to the Greek, Jamaican, Aussie, Kiwi, French, Lebanese, Italian populations in England, but they'd rather preach it to the choir.

NZ I agree, but not Ireland. Loftus Road would've been perfect.

Middlesbrough is a poor choice imo. But when you've forced yourself to only play in a small corner of the country, there won't be many stadiums we could realistically use.

I think the French World Cup will be well supported. It will be a bit of novelty for them as well, unlike over here where maybe it seems a bit overkill. I just hope they show a bit of ambition and don't just stick to tiny villages.

Well if the ticket pricing brings in more money than 2017, then it will be viewed as a success. The empty seats don't make a good viewing spectacle, especially for the detractors who are told RL is big in the North etc. It will give the perception that tickets in the South would've been even worse, but I think the opposite.

It's not just ticket prices, rail travel is extortionate and makes it impossible for fans to travel around for games etc. That way you're relying on local support, like in Newcastle, but too many games on the M62, means the majority of RL fans will only pick one or two.

For some reason, RL fans seem to be only interested in watching England and Australia. We definitely need to promote NZ, Tonga, PNG, Fiji etc more as the exciting teams they are.

55k would be a very poor crowd for the final. If this sells badly, then the next one on home soil should be at Wembley. No excuses really.

It shouldn't need England being in the final to sell out.

It's about time France turned up and had a good run in the tournament. But on the flip side, I'm excited about Greece and their potential. Great to see domestics involved, there's a real opportunity for RL to become the dominant code, if it isn't already. Can't see union ever qualifying, but I can them being regulars in RL. The whole Balkans region has a lot of potential for RL.

I wonder if every game on FTA is affecting attendances too? If it wasn't televised or was on sky, I think you'd get bigger crowds. Mind you, in the NRL the crowds are ######, but the tv figures are very strong. I guess what is more important, more bums on seats or higher viewing figures? In this day and age, I'd say TV figures are probably more important.

Preaching to the converted as per usual. I spoke with a couple of Jamaican (heritage) people and none of them knew they would be playing at the WC this weekend. I suspect it would be the same with Greeks. You got to get out and promote it into the local communities, websites, newspapers etc. One thing Australia did well was promote Lebanon to the Lebanese community in Sydney.

Just being realistic. The RFL do nothing to promote the games and just expect heartlands fans to turn up in their droves. They need to target newcomers. Surely there was an advertising agency they could have linked with?

Agree, somewhere with a lot of Greeks. They're a very passionate bunch.

France v Greece was never gonna be big seller tbh

I don't think we do enough to promote internationals to a new audience. Whenever I've been to international games, it's not just RL fans, but a lot of newcomers to the sport.

How did the rah rahs manage to get 35k for Canada v Italy in a city we're told don't like union? Bet their tickets weren't cheap either.

Lebanon going well. I just hope they don't tire and get blown out.