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Cumbria in SuperLeague


fcl

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We have played several times in Whitehaven, Workington or Barrow. For me one of the keys to the development of rugby league in England is a cumbria club in SuperLeague. This passionate supporter people deserves to be represented at the highest level. I know it's hard to overcome local rivalries but the example of the Catalan Dragons proves that it is possible. This would give a boost to our discipline.

www.fcl13.fr FCL XIII - Lezignan Corbieres Rugby League

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What sort of attendances do Whitehaven, Workington and Barrow get in the lower leagues? I’m not sure, but I don’t think they do great.

Yes the amateur game is strong there which is great, but I’d be surprised if the area ever has anything above a Championship club, the towns are too small and spread over a very large area.

I believe Catalans we’re formed by two clubs joining from the same town, like a Wakefield and Castleford merger. Workington to Barrow is over 50 miles and takes over 1hr 30 mins to drive. 

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The crowds a new Cumbria club would get would almost certainly mean they’d have to pay to enter the Challenge Cup. 

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You just have to read the workington forum to see why a town and haven merge never happens and is unlikely to , bickering , guessing and making things up 24/7 , although to be fair its only a dozen or so of the usual's and not the majority of the 500 or 600 of each clubs supporters . 

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Saint Esteve and XIII Catalan were rival clubs with two long and glorious stories.
it was not easy to unite them and now many fans come from far to see the Dracs play.
The Catalan example shows that a franchise created by merging several clubs will increase the number of spectators.
Before this Saint-Esteve and the XIII Catalan attracted only a few hundred spectators.
this is of course only theory but the RFL should work on such a project it would be a huge boost for the English rugbyleague.

www.fcl13.fr FCL XIII - Lezignan Corbieres Rugby League

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1 hour ago, fcl said:

Saint Esteve and XIII Catalan were rival clubs with two long and glorious stories.
it was not easy to unite them and now many fans come from far to see the Dracs play.
The Catalan example shows that a franchise created by merging several clubs will increase the number of spectators.
Before this Saint-Esteve and the XIII Catalan attracted only a few hundred spectators.
this is of course only theory but the RFL should work on such a project it would be a huge boost for the English rugbyleague.

I don’t think it’ll be high on the agenda right now.  

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Workington has pop. of 25000.   Whitehaven, 24000. Barrow, 57000 (I've seen 70,000 elsewhere).  Kendal, 28000.  Carlisle, 73000. Penrith is only 14500, but is more central.

As a region it ought to have an identity. There is a history of  RL. Barrow is a bit isolated. Carlisle however is not well known for RL.  There are various big industries.

The prospects are mixed.  BUT... Above all they do not seem interested... as other clubs and areas elsewhere show they are not interested.  Yet, if they were interested it ought to be plausible. But where could "Cumbria" play... between 2 venues perhaps?

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Not densly populated enough in any area to sustain a club. The geography and infrastructure in the county don't make it feasible for people to travel from one end of the county to the other. 

Just give enough funding to sustain the semi pro clubs which will mean the amateur game thrives which produces super league and championship players. 

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A merger between Whitehaven and Workington is possible as there is only 8 miles between them, much of it dual carriage way now, is it likely? probably not, I'm with DavidM, great in theory and I am not against it in fact it makes sense to me, but there are so many against it that its almost certainly never going to happen.

Anyone thinking that Barrow could be part of any merger between Whitehaven and Workington is absolutely clueless about the geography and history of Cumbria. It's 45 miles from Whitehaven to Barrow and in parts its like driving through a farm yard, you'd be lucky to do it in 1 1/2 hours. Trains between Whitehaven and Barrow take a similar amount of time, are incredibly old and unreliable and only actually started running on a Sunday this year, so could easily be pulled from the timetable. Last train back from Barrow back to West Cumbria is 17:17 miss that and you're travelling on Monday. Nobody is going to travel between West Cumbria and Barrow to watch a home game

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1 hour ago, Cumbrian Fanatic said:

A merger between Whitehaven and Workington is possible as there is only 8 miles between them, much of it dual carriage way now, is it likely? probably not, I'm with DavidM, great in theory and I am not against it in fact it makes sense to me, but there are so many against it that its almost certainly never going to happen.

Anyone thinking that Barrow could be part of any merger between Whitehaven and Workington is absolutely clueless about the geography and history of Cumbria. It's 45 miles from Whitehaven to Barrow and in parts its like driving through a farm yard, you'd be lucky to do it in 1 1/2 hours. Trains between Whitehaven and Barrow take a similar amount of time, are incredibly old and unreliable and only actually started running on a Sunday this year, so could easily be pulled from the timetable. Last train back from Barrow back to West Cumbria is 17:17 miss that and you're travelling on Monday. Nobody is going to travel between West Cumbria and Barrow to watch a home game

Agree with everthing you say Cumbrian, first time I drove from Woky to Barrow was in the dark back in the 70s what a nightmare, was in a rush to get there and thought I would crack on, after about the 4th time I nearly scared myself to death changed plan to just get there in one piece. Apart from the glow of Sellafield or was it Windscale back then it wasn't the best lit of roads either. The train route could best be described as 'coastal' in some places and shabby in others. I suppose if you looked on a map it might seem feasible, especially to our North American friends but in reality despite the stunning scenery in the area it's a forlorn hope. The 3 clubs are unfortunately victims of the times we live in with access to so many other forms of entertainment at our fingertips and much more car ownership thousands turning out to watch the local team or to see the likes of Wigan, Saints, Oldham once a year is no longer going to happen, likewise good young local players don't see the point of signing up for them and would rather take their chance with a SL club, moving away from the area isn't such a big thing in these well travelled times. It's the same for many of our club's really, so much has changed in the world of work, entertainment, local communities and travel that the game has been left behind wondering what's happening plus it's been badly let down by it's leadership as we are all so well aware.

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"victims of the way we live in" 

Maybe, but back in the days when Datsun Sunny's were so highly advanced they had radios as standard, we still managed to get there all the way from East Lancashire to see the game.  

Amazingly some of us went over the top to Huddersfield and Leeds in a blizzard, all without the benefit of the M62 (and nothing more than a slice of spam for sustenance!).

If these three teams and their appropriate amateur counterparts wanted, well they could create a new club between them.  If they do not want or don't try then yes, it won't happen.  But let's not pretend it was easy back then and somehow difficult today.

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4 hours ago, fcl said:

Saint Esteve and XIII Catalan were rival clubs with two long and glorious stories.
it was not easy to unite them and now many fans come from far to see the Dracs play.
The Catalan example shows that a franchise created by merging several clubs will increase the number of spectators.
Before this Saint-Esteve and the XIII Catalan attracted only a few hundred spectators.
this is of course only theory but the RFL should work on such a project it would be a huge boost for the English rugbyleague.

The Brits are as tribal as the Afghans - If it happened would it be the death of the present professional clubs.

Carlsberg don't do Soldiers, but if they did, they would probably be Brits.

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As a Mara myself no one in the county has ever pushed for a SL club merged between 3 teams - most fans up here just want to watch a game of RL.

Cumbrians don't regard Barra as Cumbria and I'm sure Barra don't as well.

That only leaves Haven and Town - as has been said, too few people in a big big county to get regular crowds over say 4000 for SL. Amateur game get bigger crowds than both clubs at times but there isn't the volume to support a SL club.

Also a new stadium would be in one post code or the other and the fans wouldn't go with that- they would then rather watch the local amature teams and SL on TV instead.

Great idea but will never work.

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18 minutes ago, Rupert Prince said:

"victims of the way we live in" 

Maybe, but back in the days when Datsun Sunny's were so highly advanced they had radios as standard, we still managed to get there all the way from East Lancashire to see the game.  

Amazingly some of us went over the top to Huddersfield and Leeds in a blizzard, all without the benefit of the M62 (and nothing more than a slice of spam for sustenance!).

If these three teams and their appropriate amateur counterparts wanted, well they could create a new club between them.  If they do not want or don't try then yes, it won't happen.  But let's not pretend it was easy back then and somehow difficult today.

I think you have completely missed the point of what I was saying: The era when these clubs were at their stongest was the 50s and car ownership was significantly less then than in the sixties onwards, granted the railways were bigger, with many more lines open and frequenter services and more coach companies ran to the bigger games but more people followed their local team because that was the only way to see their sport be it RL or Soccer not down the pub which was closed at 2pm anyway or in the comfort of their own home from anywhere around the world. It was harder back then to support a distant club than it is now.

And if you had stuck to a British car by the time you had climbed upto Non't Sara's you could have fried a egg on the boiling radiator to go with your spam?

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8 minutes ago, Clogiron said:

I think you have completely missed the point of what I was saying: The era when these clubs were at their stongest was the 50s and car ownership was significantly less then than in the sixties onwards, granted the railways were bigger, with many more lines open and frequenter services and more coach companies ran to the bigger games but more people followed their local team because that was the only way to see their sport be it RL or Soccer not down the pub which was closed at 2pm anyway or in the comfort of their own home from anywhere around the world. It was harder back then to support a distant club than it is now.

And if you had stuck to a British car by the time you had climbed upto Non't Sara's you could have fried a egg on the boiling radiator to go with your spam?

All true. But if there was a will to do something, then there would be a possibility.  With out an effort, an idea, a plan, a notion... then Cumbria stays as it is.

The first step, to promote and create a better Cumbria competition.

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58 minutes ago, Mr Frisky said:

As a Mara myself no one in the county has ever pushed for a SL club merged between 3 teams - most fans up here just want to watch a game of RL.

Cumbrians don't regard Barra as Cumbria and I'm sure Barra don't as well.

That only leaves Haven and Town - as has been said, too few people in a big big county to get regular crowds over say 4000 for SL. Amateur game get bigger crowds than both clubs at times but there isn't the volume to support a SL club.

Also a new stadium would be in one post code or the other and the fans wouldn't go with that- they would then rather watch the local amature teams and SL on TV instead.

Great idea but will never work.

all 3 would be better off if consolidated in a vibrant Championship and to be honest it would be far more entertaining than the super dull league 

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