[The Cornwall RLFC Thread]

6 hours ago, EggFace said:

Do many Union fans come and watch.

 

Yeah, plenty. I'm one of them. I'm only a spectator but from the outside looking in, Penryn really do their best to facilitate the Cornwall games.

It is good to be able to watch some decent level League down here - I only ever watched SL on Sky Sports, beginning in the late 1990s on Friday nights so it was a bit distant if that makes sense.

Another factor is that Penryn are blessed with plenty of space for parking and the signposting is pretty good around the ground.

The thing I notice is threefold:

1) People who have moved to Cornwall from elsewhere who can now watch live RL on their doorstep.

2) Locals who want to watch sport (including those who have been longtime RL fans)

3) Away fans or fans on holiday who want to watch the game.

The good thing about it is that it fits in well with the Union season winding down from April, so you can watch the Pirates (RU) in the winter and we get to watch RL in the summer. It's a win/win with no league football to speak of.

[The Cornwall RLFC Thread]

Another good day at the Mem.

Rome wasn't built in a day, and there are things that need work on the playing side, but the organisation has definitely set up a good match day experience. Lots of energy and good fun for a fiver.

[BBC HYS- Trolling.]

16 minutes ago, Damien said:

You only have to look at this forum and the amount of new posters that seem uncannily the same as previous ones. People obviously have nothing better to do.

There are without doubt RU trolls who are obviously that insecure about their own sport that they feel like they need to do this. What is more bizarre and telling are RL fans that revel in knocking the game and seem like they don't actually want it to succeed and take off. These two groups often post in very similar ways which is just weird.

As a follower of both sports, RU fans are far more complimentary about RL than the other way around. 

In fact, many RL fans hate RL. 

There's contention about the IMG deal, there's contention about the Heartlands .vs. Expansion, there's contention about the NRL, there's contention about the RFL and how they run things and there's contention about the international game.

Rugby League as a sport is held back by its own infighting.

[Cornwall experience]

15 minutes ago, EggFace said:

Isn't Penzance a better place to have a team instead of Truro ?

Not really.

Truro is a central catchment for Camborne and Redruth, Falmouth and Penryn, Helston, St. Austell, Bodmin and Newquay.

Penzance is out on it's own which limits the numbers that can or want to go.

When the Pirates played in Camborne, for example, they could on occasion pull in crowds of up to 4k/5k. Now in Penzance they'd pull in 2k for a good game.

Truro is pretty dominant as the economic and social centre of Cornwall in that regard.

[Cornwall experience]

It is happening, although scaled down from it's original size; due to the Conservative government backing down from a David Cameron promise in 2015 to provide funding for the stadium, it wasn't included in the recent Levelling Up funding scheme as a project. As such, another partner in Truro and Penwith College pulled out their segment of funding because of this.

Not a political swipe, but just an observation.

As I understand, the Cornish Pirates and Truro City would play there in the winter season and Cornwall RLFC in the summer.

More context: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0cht9rp

[Cornwall experience]

I've been to a few home games and it seemed pretty genuine that most people paid for their tickets.

I agree with the comments regarding building slowly; the leadership have done a great job in promoting the games and have done well in terms of their marketing to the local media.

Of course, the big benefit is that it is a summer season, but that is no guarantee of success - despite their results, Cornwall have done a great job of making it an occasion and you can tell the team have worked hard on their social media and marketing.

Developing further links with schools and Union clubs is a good move. Contrary to what some might say, there is a lot of goodwill for the club to do well from these pathways - anything related to Cornwall or being Cornish stirs it up in us, and also plays into the wider 'brand Cornwall' which seems to dynamic at the moment.

Keep up the good work, Cornwall RLFC - you've had a fantastic first year.

[Why Expansion has failed]

Hello all.

I'm from Cornwall and watched League for years on Sky Sports; I'm from a Union background but enjoy the game and, in the late 1990's, the Friday night games on Sky were lightyears ahead in terms of presentation and rivalry than most sports. I believe you can enjoy both codes of Rugby, Cricket, Football, AFL or hopscotch without one having to be an abrasive to the other.

I'm not going to go into arguments for and against expansion or whether it's been well executed, as I am too new to the scene to comment, but since Cornwall RLFC has launched there has been a definite positive upsurge in what Rugby League is down here and seeing it at a decent level. There's been good coverage on BBC Radio Cornwall especially, and people who are new to the sport are generally keen to learn.

Any sport that provides pathways for people to excel at a higher level is always welcome, particularly down here. I watched the first game at Penryn and it was good fun.

I totally get the logic of growing stronger roots around the M62, but equally you'd miss out on the opportunities to see how the game can develop and grow organically.

Cheers