Dr Tim Whatley

Sensational insight from Robbie Hunter-Paul there. With then minutes to go and Tonga 12 behind..."they know they have to score in the last five or ten minutes" Thanks for that

Busted! (Love that programme, the little documentaries are always so interesting)

Something I didn't know until last week - Glasgow Rangers had a basketball team for one season in the 1980s! The bought the Kingston club, won the BBL Playoffs, then the new Rangers owner got rid and they went back to SW London.

Yeah, plenty of days at The Stoop where as fans we'd be disappointed with crowds around the 3k mark. What London would do for that sort of support now.

A London RL team would kill for the crowds we're able to pull in at Roots Hall. Over 6,000 the other night for a team who, at kick-off, were in the relegation zone of the fifth tier. London maybe got near that number a few times in the old Bronquins days? To be clear - I'd love to see London getting back to those sorts of numbers but it is a long long road back.

What leagues do they play in? I've played up at Pennine Way plenty of times in cup tournaments etc. but not yet come across a team playing under the Stags name.

On that point...I got a message when I logged on to my BetFred account this morning talking about the new deal. Assuming all BetFred online customers got that same message (and seeing as I don't really bet on RL, there's no reason to think BetFred would have me in a customer segment of people with an interest in the game) then that's good PR going out to a lot of people.

This post could just as easily have been written by me - it matches my experience with the sport almost exactly. Just drifting away from the game...

I still think of that competition as 'The LDV' and they must have ended their sponsorship years ago. Good job!

Like an earlier poster, as soon as I saw this topic, 'ICI' popped in to my head. I'm not a Widnes fan, but this fits the bill perfectly.

Seems like there was some inconsistency in the approach, I guess to be expected when so many different people are working at the stadium. The jobsworth steward certainly didn't ruin our day and gave us something to laugh about over a glass or three when we eventually got back to the hotel. All told, definitely a trip I'll look back with fondness for many years to come.

We asked a steward for directions to our gate and rather than answer that question, she pointed to the bag my mate had (gumph like books and toys for his young son) and said "You won't be allowed to take that in". I said that wasn't an answer to the question I had asked and she said "Yes but you won't be able to take that bag in". Anyway...did find a steward willing to tell us where we should head and when we got to the gate, they didn't even look in the bag and let my mate straight through.

######! Yeah, wish I'd taken note of that...

A really enjoyable day - agree with those that say the booing of the Aussies was all in jest. The ovation for Sinfield was both spine tingling and well deserved, while the atmosphere whenever Samoa did something of note was fantastic. Seen some comments here about whether Aussie fans really care - small sample size here, but stayed to see the trophy being lifted and there were some older Aussie fans near us who were getting quite emotional. One day I hope to be in their shoes... One thing though, maybe for regular Old Trafford attendees - is it usually such a pain in the bum getting away from there on the tram? Only consolation of that very long wait under the cricket Old Trafford was that it wasn't raining...

The fact that the journey he is intending to make is such a ballache. Really shouldn't be as complicated as that.

What a stupid country. Good luck with your journey!

Ha! My mate's son (he's eight) is very insistent that we stay for the trophy presentation. Hopefully that'll mean it is a bit quieter as we're leaving the stadium and the rest of our party can just turn our backs as they lift the cup

Stretford End, Tier 2. First time at OT for an RL game - was last there about 20 years ago for a Champions League match. Four of us - my mate and our sons - driving up that morning from Surrey via Herts and staying over in the city centre. Not sure we'll see much of the women's final, but just really looking forward to the whole weekend. Up the Samoa!

Bit of a weird positive this as I can hardly be happy to see my 12 year old son upset but... He was in bits at the end of that game today. He's not seen much RL, but boy did he care about that result. Maybe even more gutted than me (2013 has desensitised me a bit) He's right on board for more England games, so please, as others have said, let's strike while iron is hot.

Agree completely.

Did a tour of Croke Park a few years ago (very good, highly recommended) and when the tour guide, himself a GAA schools coach, talked about England RU playing there and God Save The Queen being sung, his voice just tailed off for a bit. Clearly still quite raw. Bit of background for those who don't know the story - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croke_Park#Bloody_Sunday

Plus if you did have a temporary pitch laid down inside a 'regular' stadium, the wheelchair action would be miles from the crowd. One of the many attractions of the sport is that the crowd are 'right there' too.

Might be a while before we see another top flight football club sponsored by a corned beef company. Which is a great shame.

HP Sauce did get involved in the sports naming rights game a while back. Anyone remember when snooker player Jimmy White was sponsored by them and briefly changed his name to 'Jimmy Brown'? Classy stuff.

This guy wasn't - sounded West Midlands to me. I can't vouch for sure that he was Kevin Penny's dad, but have looked up him up and him and his MASSIVE hands definitely played basketball for a few UK teams in the 1980s. So that bit I can be certain of! https://mikeshaft.com/2009/09/01/all-time-bbl-players-n-o/