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'RL attracts rough people, from rough backgrounds' Says Tezza Newton


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I don't see the fact that rugby league isn't popular with people of all classes as a virtue myself.

Soccer is a working class game, it is also a middle class game and very likely an upper middle and upper class game too.

That's something to be proud of.

Rugby league is a working class game that has some support in the middle class and very little "above" that.

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ZZZZZZ... we back to the old "Working class sport" threads.. Before getting into a Prolier than thou tussle with some of you. bear in mind that the sports played by children educated in state schools depend entirely upon the facilities that school has and the inclination that the Teachers have towards Sports.

For example I go past Tonbridge School which has first class Cricket and Union facilities which other schools in this area of Kent don't have. So your chances of progressing are obviously greater. Now because of the decline of state school sport, some sports are now trying to reach state sector children through initiatives such as chance to shine and the activities of the Wooden Spoon Society .

When you consider the non-growth of Rugby League as a sport consider how many state schools have league as a "games" option and how much development work is actually through the random selection method of local clubs. So yes Tez, Rugby League is one sporting option allowing kids to progress from a deprived background provided they get the chance to play the game in the first place.

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I went to a sportsman's evening with Shaun Wayne a couple of years ago. Shaun said that when the Wigan directors came down his street to sign him the kids flocked around their BMW. They'd never seen a tax disc before. :P

“Few thought him even a starter.There were many who thought themselves smarter. But he ended PM, CH and OM. An Earl and a Knight of the Garter.”

Clement Attlee.

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I don't see the fact that rugby league isn't popular with people of all classes as a virtue myself.

Soccer is a working class game, it is also a middle class game and very likely an upper middle and upper class game too.

That's something to be proud of.

Rugby league is a working class game that has some support in the middle class and very little "above" that.

The benefit i would say is that it gives you a base which seem pretty loyal to the choices they make. Think back to soccer pre-1990 - caged in sections, serious chance of injury and even death just from attending a game, despised by the mainstream in the main, terrible grounds, banned from europe. But the working class base never abandoned the game, which meant when the opportunity came to expand its popularity it was still in relative rude health. Without that loyalty i would argue even soccer would have been in danger of collapse in the 80s.

But i agree that diversifying that base is essential for long term prosperity. Im personally looking forward to the prawn sandwiches cuz i have to tell you all - the food at rugby league games is uniformly terrible. And i'm a council estate boy.

PROUD TO BE A MEMBER OF http://www.rugbyleaguecares.org/ and http://www.walesrugbyleague.co.uk/article/8790/join-team-wales-for-2013

Predictions for the future -

Crusaders RL to get a franchise for 2012 onwards -WRONG

Widnes Vikings also to get a franchise - RIGHT

Crusaders RL to do the double over Widnes and finish five places ahead of them -WRONG

Widnes Vikings NOT to dominate rugby league in years to come! STILL TO COME

http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/cardiffdemonsrlfc/

http://www.walesrugbyleague.co.uk/

I promise to pay �10 to the charity of Bomb Jacks choice if Widnes Millionaires finish above the battling underdogs Crusaders RL. I OWE A TENNER!

http://www.jaxaxe.co...89/Default.aspx

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The benefit i would say is that it gives you a base which seem pretty loyal to the choices they make. Think back to soccer pre-1990 - caged in sections, serious chance of injury and even death just from attending a game, despised by the mainstream in the main, terrible grounds, banned from europe. But the working class base never abandoned the game, which meant when the opportunity came to expand its popularity it was still in relative rude health. Without that loyalty i would argue even soccer would have been in danger of collapse in the 80s.

But i agree that diversifying that base is essential for long term prosperity. Im personally looking forward to the prawn sandwiches cuz i have to tell you all - the food at rugby league games is uniformly terrible. And i'm a council estate boy.

If they are so loyal, how come we won't ever get anything like the 140,000 (or so) who turned up for that game at Odsall?

Or even the numbers who used to watch lower league or international rugby?

The truth is that whilst the game has had a renaissance post 1995, it hasn't been uniform and the last thing I would say of league fans is that they are loyal. You only need look at the Bulls' attendances to see what a fickle lot leaguies are.

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The benefit i would say is that it gives you a base which seem pretty loyal to the choices they make. Think back to soccer pre-1990 - caged in sections, serious chance of injury and even death just from attending a game, despised by the mainstream in the main, terrible grounds, banned from europe. But the working class base never abandoned the game, which meant when the opportunity came to expand its popularity it was still in relative rude health. Without that loyalty i would argue even soccer would have been in danger of collapse in the 80s.

But i agree that diversifying that base is essential for long term prosperity. Im personally looking forward to the prawn sandwiches cuz i have to tell you all - the food at rugby league games is uniformly terrible. And i'm a council estate boy.

Well I hate prawns, in fact I hate all crustaceans (nothing personal just as food) and the pies at Fev are ace. :P

“Few thought him even a starter.There were many who thought themselves smarter. But he ended PM, CH and OM. An Earl and a Knight of the Garter.”

Clement Attlee.

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Well I hate prawns, in fact I hate all crustaceans (nothing personal just as food) and the pies at Fev are ace. :P

Last crusaders game i wen to, i couldn't even get any couscous. I mean for fooks sake.

PROUD TO BE A MEMBER OF http://www.rugbyleaguecares.org/ and http://www.walesrugbyleague.co.uk/article/8790/join-team-wales-for-2013

Predictions for the future -

Crusaders RL to get a franchise for 2012 onwards -WRONG

Widnes Vikings also to get a franchise - RIGHT

Crusaders RL to do the double over Widnes and finish five places ahead of them -WRONG

Widnes Vikings NOT to dominate rugby league in years to come! STILL TO COME

http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/cardiffdemonsrlfc/

http://www.walesrugbyleague.co.uk/

I promise to pay �10 to the charity of Bomb Jacks choice if Widnes Millionaires finish above the battling underdogs Crusaders RL. I OWE A TENNER!

http://www.jaxaxe.co...89/Default.aspx

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If they are so loyal, how come we won't ever get anything like the 140,000 (or so) who turned up for that game at Odsall?

Or even the numbers who used to watch lower league or international rugby?

The truth is that whilst the game has had a renaissance post 1995, it hasn't been uniform and the last thing I would say of league fans is that they are loyal. You only need look at the Bulls' attendances to see what a fickle lot leaguies are.

Well 8k attendances for this bulls team in that big hole they call odsal is pretty bloody loyal in my opinion. Comparing anything to the post-war boom which hit all sports when it died is a bit meaningless. Plymouth argyle used to have a 30k average in the 50s, it was blip but the underlying trend suggests a irreducible loyalty which ignores fashion, safety or any other factors.

PROUD TO BE A MEMBER OF http://www.rugbyleaguecares.org/ and http://www.walesrugbyleague.co.uk/article/8790/join-team-wales-for-2013

Predictions for the future -

Crusaders RL to get a franchise for 2012 onwards -WRONG

Widnes Vikings also to get a franchise - RIGHT

Crusaders RL to do the double over Widnes and finish five places ahead of them -WRONG

Widnes Vikings NOT to dominate rugby league in years to come! STILL TO COME

http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/cardiffdemonsrlfc/

http://www.walesrugbyleague.co.uk/

I promise to pay �10 to the charity of Bomb Jacks choice if Widnes Millionaires finish above the battling underdogs Crusaders RL. I OWE A TENNER!

http://www.jaxaxe.co...89/Default.aspx

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Well 8k attendances for this bulls team in that big hole they call odsal is pretty bloody loyal in my opinion. Comparing anything to the post-war boom which hit all sports when it died is a bit meaningless. Plymouth argyle used to have a 30k average in the 50s, it was blip but the underlying trend suggests a irreducible loyalty which ignores fashion, safety or any other factors.

If I was to compare Leeds United attendances now and then; the difference probably wouldn't be so dramatic. Certain soccer teams are probably higher than they were back then.

Over time, rugby league has gone from being the dominant sport in the M62 corridor in the Victorian age (even if the M62 didn't exist) to a poor second to soccer everywhere (except perhaps Wigan or the Wakey area and even that is debatable).

The fact that rugby league wasn't supported in large numbers by the affluent classes is very much part of this decline. It meant that the sport doesn't seem "aspirational" and we get treated poorly as a result.

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If I was to compare Leeds United attendances now and then; the difference probably wouldn't be so dramatic. Certain soccer teams are probably higher than they were back then.

Over time, rugby league has gone from being the dominant sport in the M62 corridor in the Victorian age (even if the M62 didn't exist) to a poor second to soccer everywhere (except perhaps Wigan or the Wakey area and even that is debatable).

The fact that rugby league wasn't supported in large numbers by the affluent classes is very much part of this decline. It meant that the sport doesn't seem "aspirational" and we get treated poorly as a result.

I fail to recognise all this clap trap that League is solely for thickies and thugs. I recall my daughter being at uni with a certain Joe Lydon, and Lewis Jones and many others of that ilk would be horrified to be classed as roughs. When I came to Wales I recall a professor at Cardiff Uni asking me if I recalled WHT- Willie Davies of Bradford. I answered yes and had a friend for life. I have known a number of skilled soccer players whose brains remained in their boots.

We all love our League whatever our supposed class, and please stop trying to put ourselves down

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I fail to recognise all this clap trap that League is solely for thickies and thugs. I recall my daughter being at uni with a certain Joe Lydon, and Lewis Jones and many others of that ilk would be horrified to be classed as roughs. When I came to Wales I recall a professor at Cardiff Uni asking me if I recalled WHT- Willie Davies of Bradford. I answered yes and had a friend for life. I have known a number of skilled soccer players whose brains remained in their boots.

We all love our League whatever our supposed class, and please stop trying to put ourselves down

Why are you assuming that saying that out support is from the rough end of the scale means thickies and thugs?

PROUD TO BE A MEMBER OF http://www.rugbyleaguecares.org/ and http://www.walesrugbyleague.co.uk/article/8790/join-team-wales-for-2013

Predictions for the future -

Crusaders RL to get a franchise for 2012 onwards -WRONG

Widnes Vikings also to get a franchise - RIGHT

Crusaders RL to do the double over Widnes and finish five places ahead of them -WRONG

Widnes Vikings NOT to dominate rugby league in years to come! STILL TO COME

http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/cardiffdemonsrlfc/

http://www.walesrugbyleague.co.uk/

I promise to pay �10 to the charity of Bomb Jacks choice if Widnes Millionaires finish above the battling underdogs Crusaders RL. I OWE A TENNER!

http://www.jaxaxe.co...89/Default.aspx

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I fail to recognise all this clap trap that League is solely for thickies and thugs. I recall my daughter being at uni with a certain Joe Lydon, and Lewis Jones and many others of that ilk would be horrified to be classed as roughs. When I came to Wales I recall a professor at Cardiff Uni asking me if I recalled WHT- Willie Davies of Bradford. I answered yes and had a friend for life. I have known a number of skilled soccer players whose brains remained in their boots.

We all love our League whatever our supposed class, and please stop trying to put ourselves down

I don't believe that there is anything inherent in RL that makes it a game for thickies and thugs, nor do I believe it to be generally true. There is an enormous difference between "working class" and either "thickie" or "thug".

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He's spot on isn't he?

I mean, he's got me to rights; working class, brought up on a council estate in Bradford and educated in schools officially recognised as amongst the worst in the country. What other game would I be watching?

I was also brought up by Bradford schooling and we lived in a back to back, didn't qualify for a council house. My schooling was done in the forces, and my life is now in uni's, but I love my League always have, and hate to be put down by anyone.

Stevo gets one thing right and that is we have the greatest game, and we sadly let ourselves down by not promotong our game. Soccer has done a great job of marketing theirs which actually can very often be very poor entertainment.

Sadly, we apper to be stuck in our northern roots, and we really should be ensuring that we have solid sides in London and Wales.

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I was also brought up by Bradford schooling and we lived in a back to back, didn't qualify for a council house. My schooling was done in the forces, and my life is now in uni's, but I love my League always have, and hate to be put down by anyone.

Stevo gets one thing right and that is we have the greatest game, and we sadly let ourselves down by not promotong our game. Soccer has done a great job of marketing theirs which actually can very often be very poor entertainment.

Sadly, we apper to be stuck in our northern roots, and we really should be ensuring that we have solid sides in London and Wales.

We have sides in London or Wales, whether they are solid or not is down to their management not "we".

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We have sides in London or Wales, whether they are solid or not is down to their management not "we".

Mmm yeah, in a way, I suppose. Though it's hard to deny that we have a responsibility to promote the game as best we can, and also when, and wherever, it takes root, the onus is on us to help sustain it and provide whatever help we can to ensure it thrives. It's clearly not totally open ended, after all the RFL isn't the FA, and doesn't have pots of cash sitting in accounts, but if we want the professional game to become truly national, which I believe most of us do, then we have to nurture it. We can't just sit on our collective hands and say 'nuffink to do wiv me guv'.

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I was also brought up by Bradford schooling and we lived in a back to back, didn't qualify for a council house. My schooling was done in the forces, and my life is now in uni's, but I love my League always have, and hate to be put down by anyone.

Stevo gets one thing right and that is we have the greatest game, and we sadly let ourselves down by not promotong our game. Soccer has done a great job of marketing theirs which actually can very often be very poor entertainment.Sadly, we apper to be stuck in our northern roots, and we really should be ensuring that we have solid sides in London and Wales.

Soccer as far as I can see doesn't do any marketing, Sky do a lot for them just as the BBC does a lot for union.

We suffer from a lack of broadcasting partner who is willling to push the game. Sky get very good viewing figures for a comparitively small outlay, they propbably feel that they don't need to market the game as they are happy with their return. With football they have to market it like hell to try and ensure they geet a return on their massive investment. With union despite Sky's best efforts they have had a poor return on their investment, again comparitively. The BBC is another kettle of fish, they have no need to pay what they do for union and no reason to market it as much as they do, but we all know what's going on there don't we.

As for the original topic, I have met all sorts of peole from all sorts of backgrounds who play and watch the sport.

The clubs happen to be in the main are in areas where there is more 'working class' people to attract.

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Soccer as far as I can see doesn't do any marketing, Sky do a lot for them just as the BBC does a lot for union.

We suffer from a lack of broadcasting partner who is willling to push the game. Sky get very good viewing figures for a comparitively small outlay, they propbably feel that they don't need to market the game as they are happy with their return. With football they have to market it like hell to try and ensure they geet a return on their massive investment. With union despite Sky's best efforts they have had a poor return on their investment, again comparitively. The BBC is another kettle of fish, they have no need to pay what they do for union and no reason to market it as much as they do, but we all know what's going on there don't we.

As for the original topic, I have met all sorts of peole from all sorts of backgrounds who play and watch the sport.

The clubs happen to be in the main are in areas where there is more 'working class' people to attract.

Padge - You might also argue that if Sky promoted RL much better than the return could be much higher.

Twice as much sky money should mean twice as many SL teams and could allow pro teams in other areas in the UK. What I would like to see is more RL clubs is the biggest towns with no current soccer RU or RL clubs

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The clubs happen to be in the main are in areas where there is more 'working class' people to attract.

Thats one helluva of a coincidence.

PROUD TO BE A MEMBER OF http://www.rugbyleaguecares.org/ and http://www.walesrugbyleague.co.uk/article/8790/join-team-wales-for-2013

Predictions for the future -

Crusaders RL to get a franchise for 2012 onwards -WRONG

Widnes Vikings also to get a franchise - RIGHT

Crusaders RL to do the double over Widnes and finish five places ahead of them -WRONG

Widnes Vikings NOT to dominate rugby league in years to come! STILL TO COME

http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/cardiffdemonsrlfc/

http://www.walesrugbyleague.co.uk/

I promise to pay �10 to the charity of Bomb Jacks choice if Widnes Millionaires finish above the battling underdogs Crusaders RL. I OWE A TENNER!

http://www.jaxaxe.co...89/Default.aspx

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Padge - You might also argue that if Sky promoted RL much better than the return could be much higher.

Twice as much sky money should mean twice as many SL teams and could allow pro teams in other areas in the UK. What I would like to see is more RL clubs is the biggest towns with no current soccer RU or RL clubs

What would that list look like and how do you define no existing club of a different code? No top level or just no pro?

No top level i can think of:

Plymouth (if being rough means open to league then plymouth should be top of the list!)

Exeter

Bristol

Brighton

Bournemouth

Swindon

Ipswich

Norwich

Can't think of anymore but even those have pro teams of ru and soccer.

PROUD TO BE A MEMBER OF http://www.rugbyleaguecares.org/ and http://www.walesrugbyleague.co.uk/article/8790/join-team-wales-for-2013

Predictions for the future -

Crusaders RL to get a franchise for 2012 onwards -WRONG

Widnes Vikings also to get a franchise - RIGHT

Crusaders RL to do the double over Widnes and finish five places ahead of them -WRONG

Widnes Vikings NOT to dominate rugby league in years to come! STILL TO COME

http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/cardiffdemonsrlfc/

http://www.walesrugbyleague.co.uk/

I promise to pay �10 to the charity of Bomb Jacks choice if Widnes Millionaires finish above the battling underdogs Crusaders RL. I OWE A TENNER!

http://www.jaxaxe.co...89/Default.aspx

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Mmm yeah, in a way, I suppose. Though it's hard to deny that we have a responsibility to promote the game as best we can, and also when, and wherever, it takes root, the onus is on us to help sustain it and provide whatever help we can to ensure it thrives. It's clearly not totally open ended, after all the RFL isn't the FA, and doesn't have pots of cash sitting in accounts, but if we want the professional game to become truly national, which I believe most of us do, then we have to nurture it. We can't just sit on our collective hands and say 'nuffink to do wiv me guv'.

How many development officers are funded by the RFL in non-heartland areas?

How much money did these areas get from Sport England?

Let us not imagine that the RFL is doing nothing to expand the game.

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Can't remember which comedian it was who said that in the North to say that you "have had polenta" means that you have had enough.

Stuart Maconie?

Edited by paley
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