2nd fiddle to the women's rugby World Cup final

[BenGilesRL]

Sports day put the Challenge cup final - despite being live on the BBC, behind the women's rugby World Cup final in their coverage.

we do a lot of bashing of our game ourselves, but it's no fluke that union has organised this on the same day.

its about time we recognise the real enemy and once again unite behind the greatest game.

we are at war, but only Union recognise it and act as such.

the women's World Cup final also got the weather feature, no mention of the cup final:

 

we need to sort this out and fast by getting behind our sport again 

[Tongs ya bas]

I doubt whether it will have entered their heads. They just get on with promoting and developing their sport. Good for them. 

Oh! But just a minute! Rugby is a far superior sport to union, so why are you worried? 

Mate, it's the cup final tomorrow. Enjoy it and park your paranoia for a few hours.

[BenGilesRL]

Just now, Tongs ya bas said:

I doubt whether it will have entered their heads. They just get on with promoting and developing their sport. Good for them. 

Oh! But just a minute! Rugby is a far superior sport to union, so why are you worried? 

Mate, it's the cup final tomorrow. Enjoy it and park your paranoia for a few hours.

There's no way it's a coincidence. They put the England group game on the same day in the same city as the grand final one year and it back fired - but it was still intentional

[Tongs ya bas]

6 minutes ago, BenGilesRL said:

There's no way it's a coincidence. They put the England group game on the same day in the same city as the grand final one year and it back fired - but it was still intentional

Honestly mate, it isn't. Enjoy Wigan and hull tomorrow.

[Jeff Stein]

I am glad the op has pointed this event out. I would never have realised it was taking place otherwise. I would hope rugby league fans point out other sport events more worthy of our attention than our own sport more often

[Copa]

6 hours ago, Johnoco said:

 I don't care what anyone says, how does this warrant being on prime time Saturday night TV?

It's pushing it to have the mens one on, but this is BS.

How does it even make sense? ITV, a commercial organisation, don't show any RL whatsoever, yet the womens RU, which doesn't even get crowds in the dozens, is worthy of this prime time spot? It's ridiculous.

It's not even as if RU is anywhere near as popular as soccer, which obviously might attract a few percent of a massive number. But are women going to watch it purely because it's women?

Smacks of tokenism to me. Plus the game will be cobblers, which is the bottom line.

The women's rugby league World Cup final will get great coverage also as it's played as a double header with the men's final in Brisbane. It's going out live all around the world.

[BenGilesRL]

5 hours ago, Jeff Stein said:

I am glad the op has pointed this event out. I would never have realised it was taking place otherwise. I would hope rugby league fans point out other sport events more worthy of our attention than our own sport more often

I didn't point it out the BBC did on their main sports programme to millions of people - ahead of our club showpiece final. 

Whereas me mentioning this on a forum of die Garda is hardly going to make a ripple compared.

[gingerjon]

7 hours ago, Johnoco said:

 I don't care what anyone says, how does this warrant being on prime time Saturday night TV?

It's pushing it to have the mens one on, but this is BS.

How does it even make sense? ITV, a commercial organisation, don't show any RL whatsoever, yet the womens RU, which doesn't even get crowds in the dozens, is worthy of this prime time spot? It's ridiculous.

It's not even as if RU is anywhere near as popular as soccer, which obviously might attract a few percent of a massive number. But are women going to watch it purely because it's women?

Smacks of tokenism to me. Plus the game will be cobblers, which is the bottom line.

The proof or otherwise will be in the viewing figures, I guess.  I was a bit surprised to see they'd moved it from ITV4.  Useful women's sport comparisons would be that the England soccer team got 4m watching on Channel 4 and (I believe) the cricket world cup final pulled 1.1m on Sky.  I suspect ITV didn't have much to move as X Factor won't have started yet so it's a quick win for them.

The schedule will not have been designed to work against the Challenge Cup final.  But we should promote our own sport and not come across as chippy fools with regards to others.  For us, and for everyone else, the biggest enemy will always be soccer.

[gingerjon]

26 minutes ago, BenGilesRL said:

I didn't point it out the BBC did on their main sports programme to millions of people - ahead of our club showpiece final. 

Whereas me mentioning this on a forum of die Garda is hardly going to make a ripple compared.

More people are interested in international sport, especially world cup finals, than club games.  That's a universal truth and it's why rugby league falls further and further behind.

[JohnM]

Exactly. 

On the BBC Sports News,  international competition almost slways takes precedence over national or rrgional games. 

Id kind of hoped that when George Riley became more prominent on the radio he'd have helped restore some overall balance in the "gratuitous mention" stakes but that does not seem to be the case. Maybe he's gone native.

[bowes]

It's being hosted in Ireland so I doubt they'd really care about the Challenge Cup there 

[Mister Ting]

1 hour ago, Copa said:

The women's rugby league World Cup final will get great coverage also as it's played as a double header with the men's final in Brisbane. It's going out live all around the world.

That's what happens when people are brainwashed.

Rugby union would be the X Factor of Sport (Toffs) if it were that popular.

[Lowdesert]

1 hour ago, BenGilesRL said:

I didn't point it out the BBC did on their main sports programme to millions of people - ahead of our club showpiece final. 

Whereas me mentioning this on a forum of die Garda is hardly going to make a ripple compared.

As someone who watches very little British tv, being abroad, I've seen more ads re the CCF than I ever have.  Maybe just coincidence with the times - lunchtime, early evening.  I've seen nothing of the women's international and didn't know there was one.

Today I'm going to enjoy the CCF and it's history.

 

[GUBRATS]

Women shouldn't play Rugby 

[ColT]

Accusing women's rugby union now as an active threat to men's rugby league. We're deep in the rabbit hole now aren't we. 

[The Future is League]

The amount of coverage the BBC has given the womens union world cup you would have thought it was on  BBC TV but its not.

BBC again showing its a union loving broadcaster.

[GaryO]

2 minutes ago, The Future is League said:

The amount of coverage the BBC has given the womens union world cup you would have thought it was on  BBC TV but its not.

BBC again showing its a union loving broadcaster.

 But they have brought us every round of the Callenge cup, OK on line maybe, starting with Leigh Miners v Wigan St Patricks, then on to the Saturday and Sunday games.

They are also giving us selected WC games live, who else is doing that, even the satellite company who's slogan is "always thinking about RL"  don't offer those even though we pay directly for our RL fix from them.

[Tongs ya bas]

1 hour ago, gingerjon said:

More people are interested in international sport, especially world cup finals, than club games.  That's a universal truth and it's why rugby league falls further and further behind.

Exactly. Also it's women's sport. Women's sport is becoming the big deal it has every right to be. It's a major international event in women's sport. It's on at night. The idea that it is being staged to upstage the challenge cup final is borderline paranoid.

[GUBRATS]

2 minutes ago, Tongs ya bas said:

Exactly. Also it's women's sport. Women's sport is becoming the big deal it has every right to be. It's a major international event in women's sport. It's on at night. The idea that it is being staged to upstage the challenge cup final is borderline paranoid.

Women shouldnt play rugby 

[Dave T]

As long as the BBC cover our international stuff with such enthusiasm we cant complain.

[Mister Ting]

10 minutes ago, Tongs ya bas said:

Exactly. Also it's women's sport. Women's sport is becoming the big deal it has every right to be. It's a major international event in women's sport. It's on at night. The idea that it is being staged to upstage the challenge cup final is borderline paranoid.

Ok, is womens sport more popular than or equal with most popular sports?

[Tongs ya bas]

6 minutes ago, Mister Ting said:

Ok, is womens sport more popular than or equal with most popular sports?

It is a massive growth area.

[Toby Chopra]

2 hours ago, gingerjon said:

The schedule will not have been designed to work against the Challenge Cup final.  But we should promote our own sport and not come across as chippy fools with regards to others.  For us, and for everyone else, the biggest enemy will always be soccer.

This. Let's enjoy our day. I'm about to have a fry up. The weather's good, so I'll be heading down to the fan zone early, should be a cracking game. That's all I care about today.

[ColT]

1 hour ago, GUBRATS said:

Women shouldn't play Rugby 

I personally know a woman who played about 70 times for England RU. Her name is Helen Clayton. She's from Wigan. You couldn't meet a more decent  or committed person than her and she absolutely loved the game and the friendships she made from it.

It's a pity that there are still people like you who thinks she shouldn't play a sport that she has got so much out of.

[gingerjon]

1 hour ago, Johnoco said:

It's not so much that I have anything against women's sport,  as the reasoning behind this. I'm sure they'd dismiss the proposal to show the SL GF at that time as 'it wasn't of wide appeal'....and this is? 

I don't believe it's any sort of conspiracy either, it just highlight the battle RL faces.

Like I say, I don't know the late August ITV schedule but I suspect they've not had to move any of their big beasts to accommodate this.

Internationals are of wide appeal and, like it or not, there is a very broad passive market for rugby union and England winning stuff.  I doubt I'll be watching but, if it's a close game or England are winning, I suspect millions will.