Chamey

As a positive, I've heard more about this game than every other league game put together from non-hardcore fans, still a missed opportunity to build buzz for the final.

Huh? I'm pointing out that RLWC 2021 will almost certainly have to have the RFL absorb any losses, instead of just folding as the other poster asserted.

You're making the (sizeable) assumption that potential creditors haven't asked for the RFL to be a guarantor. Most companies that size have to involve their parent in deals.

The big issue for me is that I can't get anyone to take a risk on going to league games at such extortionate prices - I follow both codes, but most of my mates are union fans. If there were tickets for a tenner at BCS or Wimbledon I'd have no issue getting a group of 10 to a Greece v France etc game, but for £110 (the price of an okay, not top category ticket) to the London game, we'd be able to get tickets to England Argentina and England women vs France women in similar seats (for two games they're far more certain they'd enjoy. So instead I'm taking the group to London Irish next Friday with £30 tickets. It's just a big missed opportunity. It was quite telling that the pub in Clapham I was in tonight was showing Saracens vs Irish in a second string match cup rather than the RLWC.

Lower league football starts today, will be a good barometer of whether it is a rugby specific issue, or UK sport as a whole

For anyone who says that it's not worth aiming towards, "Rugby 7s" has received massive exposure on the beeb, just before the opening ceremony Norton + AN Other were interviewed, and a VT on Fiji RU + other stuff has been commonplace. Ultimately the hardest thing for RL are the athlete numbers. The olympics have adopted a strict one in one out rule in terms of total athlete numbers, and 9s requires ~3 more athletes per nation than 7s.

What are attendances like?