2blackrooks Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 300 is an OK crowd for the game, though the organisation should have pushed it more. There are 4 clubs in Scotland Glasgow (re formed last year) Edinburgh who are doing great things in the NE England league Strathmore Silver backs (Forfar) & Fife lions. Definitely no funding coming from the English set up this was stopped a few years ago, then we had 8/9 teams playing, once it was pulled everything slowly collapsed. RL is such a minor sport in Scotland, with Shinty more popular but the players are there I know many union players who love the game and played it to keep up there fitness for the Union season. It just needs investment like any other country. Funding a Glasgow & Edinburgh team in the English set up would do wonders. Even a basic Celtic league could work involving teams from Ireland & Wales. Scotland do have a promising U19 U16 set up & development officers are visiting schools on a regular basis. If international rugby is going to work we need teams like Scotland Ireland Wales to fire up the interest. A regular international calendar would help and home nation's with an England knights team is a must. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2blackrooks Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 On 27/10/2019 at 23:52, Newcastle Thunder said: We have plans to run development days in the Scottish boarders in 2020, we very much see this is as part of our area and that with a little investment it could go a long way to improving it. This could well be the way forward for Scottish RL. Tying up with Newcastle & maybe a Cumbrian team for player pathway even a border development team or also tying up with Glasgow & Edinburgh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopping Mad Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 54 minutes ago, 2blackrooks said: There are 4 clubs in Scotland Glasgow (re formed last year) Edinburgh who are doing great things in the NE England league Strathmore Silver backs (Forfar) & Fife lions ... the players are there I know many union players who love the game and played it to keep up there fitness for the Union season. I had a couple of weeks in Angus in mid-September. I went to see Strathmore RU play (they've just won promotion onto the bottom rung of the National League system), and before kick-off got talking to a chap who had come to watch his son. He told me his son, and a number of the other Strathmore first XV, also plays league for the Silverbacks - and loves it. From the game I saw, it was obvious a number of the Strathmore ploys came straight from rugby league. They battered the opposition (Hillhead Jordanhill), 50-12. The Strathmore clubhouse display of memorabilia features several Scotland RL national shirts worn by Silverbacks players. Where are Fife Lions based? I did take in a RU game at Jedburgh (Jed-Forest) three or four seasons ago, and a watching mum, supporting the visitors, Peebles, told me her two sons had played league for Scottish Universities. What's the strength/presence of RL in Scottish higher education? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2blackrooks Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 Fife are based in Dunfermline Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshmagpie Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 There are some great stadiums with a small capacity in Scotland in medium sized towns that could really tap into local interest around an event... I may be totally wrong, and please do correct me if so... but... Scotland vs. Ireland @ Caldenonian Stadium, Inverness (~7,000 capacity). Scotland vs. England @ Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk* (~8,000 capacity). *Only 30-45 mins or so from Glasgow and Edinburgh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 16 minutes ago, welshmagpie said: There are some great stadiums with a small capacity in Scotland in medium sized towns that could really tap into local interest around an event... I may be totally wrong, and please do correct me if so... but... Scotland vs. Ireland @ Caldenonian Stadium, Inverness (~7,000 capacity). Scotland vs. England @ Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk* (~8,000 capacity). *Only 30-45 mins or so from Glasgow and Edinburgh I’d love to be proven wrong but I can’t imagine 7,000 people (or even 700) going to ICT’s stadium to watch a load of English blokes in Ireland and Scotland shirts play a game that nobody up there knows about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave T Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 A big issue for Scotland's national team is any lack of continuity. They have played games in seemingly random grounds in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Galashiels with varying levels of success. They havent laid down any kind of roots and built on anything, without even a hint of a strategy. Where is classed as Scotland's home base? Is it Edinburgh because of the Eagles? Glasgow because of the development work in the schools? Galashiels where they have played a few games with some success? I've been to Scotland RL events in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Gala, plus Cumbernauld for the Commonwealth 9s, it's all just all over the place. With such limited resources, I think they should focus on one population centre, whether that is Glasgow or Edinburgh. I think they are spreading themselves too thinly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC77 Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 1 hour ago, Eddie said: I’d love to be proven wrong but I can’t imagine 7,000 people (or even 700) going to ICT’s stadium to watch a load of English blokes in Ireland and Scotland shirts play a game that nobody up there knows about. In places where RL has next to no presence (Ireland and Scotland being two examples), I’m not convinced heritage teams make any impact. I get why it works for Tonga (the Pacific Islanders are into their rugby, both codes, and so they have an inbuilt following regardless of where the players in red are from), and it apparently works for Lebanon (war torn region perhaps seeing their country being represented lightens the mood during a difficult time), but I cannot see it ever working for other nations where there is no native representation in the team or roots in the sport. The last RLWC, in Ireland you would have had no idea that an Ireland team was in it. The cricket WC on the other hand (the one before last) did have some local representation, and while cricket doesn’t have much presence in Ireland the fact that there were Irish players in it sparked some interest and also made news bulletins. I get why these teams exist as there wouldn’t be enough fixtures for the tournament otherwise, and extra games does generate extra income for the RLWC, but expecting growth in those countries represented by heritage teams is wishful thinking in my view. It needs genuine roots laid down and at least some native identity in the team for the respective countries to take notice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshmagpie Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 1 hour ago, Eddie said: I’d love to be proven wrong but I can’t imagine 7,000 people (or even 700) going to ICT’s stadium to watch a load of English blokes in Ireland and Scotland shirts play a game that nobody up there knows about. What else is on in Inverness on a Saturday in October? Ive got no evidence to suggest it would, but my gut says it’s warrant a good crowd. After all Bristol managed it to watch a bunch of Australians play for the USA and the Cook Islands in 2013. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 2 minutes ago, welshmagpie said: What else is on in Inverness on a Saturday in October? Ive got no evidence to suggest it would, but my gut says it’s warrant a good crowd. After all Bristol managed it to watch a bunch of Australians play for the USA and the Cook Islands in 2013. It doesn’t really matter what else is on, why would they go and support a team that isn’t even Scottish play a sport that isn’t played in the Highlands (no idea what the USA v Cook Islands attendance was but the population of Bristol is far bigger than Inverness’ and the West Country is a big rugby area even if it is a different code). If England were playing Wales at Shinty in your town and both teams were a load of Scots with English / Welsh grandparents would you go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshmagpie Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 1 minute ago, Eddie said: It doesn’t really matter what else is on, why would they go and support a team that isn’t even Scottish play a sport that isn’t played in the Highlands (no idea what the USA v Cook Islands attendance was but the population of Bristol is far bigger than Inverness’ and the West Country is a big rugby area even if it is a different code). If England were playing Wales at Shinty in your town and both teams were a load of Scots with English / Welsh grandparents would you go? Promote it correctly* on the right day that attracts myself and my mates then yeah I’d have a look * beer, disco tent and food trucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 7 minutes ago, welshmagpie said: Promote it correctly* on the right day that attracts myself and my mates then yeah I’d have a look * beer, disco tent and food trucks Yeah a beer festival behind the goal with some decent live music and a pie stand might get me in. I’ve just had a look at the 2013 attendances, impressive all round (7,247 at Bristol for the game you mentioned and 16k average overall) but world cups do tend to being people out. Maybe if Scotland hosted the RL World Cup and they placed a group game in Inverness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eal Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 Exactly right, heritage players can be useful at bolstering teams from areas with an existing interest in the sport. Heritage players forming a team in a place with no interest in the sport only accentuate the lack of local interest for the sport. I live in the USA and it has a huge number of people playing cricket, but you would never know it because the community is exclusively immigrants and expats with pretty much no 'indigenous' buy-in. Scottish rugby league is an even worse scenario, at least the immigrant cricketers in the USA live in the country and have some local connections, the Australians who represent Scotland may have never even set foot in Scotland! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawkMan Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 Inverness Caledonian Thistle average about 2,000 for home games in the Scottish Championship, so something does happen in Inverness on Saturday afternoons. They got about 4,000 in the SPL. Seriously Rangers and Celtic are so dominant that even other footy teams struggle to make an impact, let alone other sports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gooleboy Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 11 hours ago, Eddie said: I’d love to be proven wrong but I can’t imagine 7,000 people (or even 700) going to ICT’s stadium to watch a load of English blokes in Ireland and Scotland shirts play a game that nobody up there knows about. Sadly for the game, I have to agree, the public in Scotland and Ireland can't relate to these cobbled together teams playing a game they don't seem to have any interest in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2blackrooks Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 A previous poster hit the nail on the head SRL need a base to develop from & the central belt fits that bill, & choose 1 stadium to play from. SRL development officers are busy this week visiting schools promoting the game so on the ground its moving forward. OK who wants to watch a bunch of non born Scots play but due to the hectic history of RL here we're back a square one but hopefully moving forward. The U19's have been training & playing regularly so have the U16s. So fingers crossed stability remains & SRL can build a niche market. Though regular international matches are a must Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave T Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 12 minutes ago, 2blackrooks said: A previous poster hit the nail on the head SRL need a base to develop from & the central belt fits that bill, & choose 1 stadium to play from. SRL development officers are busy this week visiting schools promoting the game so on the ground its moving forward. OK who wants to watch a bunch of non born Scots play but due to the hectic history of RL here we're back a square one but hopefully moving forward. The U19's have been training & playing regularly so have the U16s. So fingers crossed stability remains & SRL can build a niche market. Though regular international matches are a must Yup. I think ultimately we need some kind of vision. If we get everything we want from Scotland RL, what would the game here look like in 15 years. My view is that we should be aiming for: - 6 to 8 teams playing regularly, whether in a Scottish league or in English leagues (North East or Cumbrian opponents). - a national team that stages regular fixtures in a home base, aiming for 3-5k every game. - player pathways, schools, universities, academy setup, supported by Dev Officers - Potential National League team in RFL structure I think the above are modest, yet ambitious aims for the game here. One thing I have found in Scotland is that they are appreciative of their sport, and once you get past the Celtic/Rangers guff they are pretty intelligent about sport and I think they could find a nice place within the Rugby League world. We need to stop taking shortcuts though, and just accept that this will take time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave T Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 14 hours ago, Eddie said: I’d love to be proven wrong but I can’t imagine 7,000 people (or even 700) going to ICT’s stadium to watch a load of English blokes in Ireland and Scotland shirts play a game that nobody up there knows about. 2 hours ago, Gooleboy said: Sadly for the game, I have to agree, the public in Scotland and Ireland can't relate to these cobbled together teams playing a game they don't seem to have any interest in. I agree that the 7k number is too high, but we need to be careful not to write off areas due to our bias. I don't think too many are concerned about the heritage player rule being in play at the moment, they get it, they understand that Scotland RL aint really a thing at the moment. But they will appreciate quality sport with good effort of the players representing their country, and that is what we need to focus on and put in front of people. Even though many of the players may be from the North of England, they can still be respected and build a bond through regular games staged in sensible venues. But training in Featherstone and then bussing people up the day before the game probably aint the way to build those bonds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damp squib Posted October 30, 2019 Share Posted October 30, 2019 To put it into perspective, Bught Park in Inverness hosts one leg of the annual Shinty-Hurling match between Scotland and Ireland. Shinty has a reasonably strong base in the Highlands (certainly compared to RL), this match happens only once a year and it is the only opportunity for Shinty fans to experience international competition. They struggle to get more than a few thousand to attend. I like to think I have a fairly nuanced position on the heritage players issue but one thing that is very clear is that the transient success of heritage-dominated teams teams gives English RL fans completely distorted perception of the position of the sport in those counties. If you consider the reality, that Scotland is a country with four amateur RL teams who are mostly Union players, come in and out of existence every few years, have no history with the game and no media coverage, getting 300 people to show up to a match is actually very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumby Magic Posted November 1, 2019 Author Share Posted November 1, 2019 ….and tonight's qualifier is in London?? Like poor jokes? Thejoketeller@mullymessiah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirteenthman Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 22 minutes ago, Mumby Magic said: ….and tonight's qualifier is in London?? It's a Greece home match. They can't play in Greece because the Greek government don't recognise the Greece Rugby League Association. https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1083977/greek-rugby-league-match-england Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirteenthman Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 On 30/10/2019 at 10:40, Dave T said: We need to stop taking shortcuts though, and just accept that this will take time. Something that could be said of Rugby League development the world over, sadly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oliver Clothesoff Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 I’m not saying there needs to be a team put in League One, far from it, but would the North East be growing as much as it is without the influence of Newcastle Thunder in that area? While juniors is ultimately where the base of the pyramid is, you need to have options for these players going forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEANO Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 In over 100 years the game hasn’t really left the heartlands. They don’t know what there missing. What makes people think it will change sometimes you have to take a step backwards to move forward Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleD Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 1 hour ago, DEANO said: In over 100 years the game hasn’t really left the heartlands. They don’t know what there missing. What makes people think it will change Because social mobility is vastly greater. Who’d have thought we’d have a team in SL In Toronto, a Balkan Super League and a Middle Eastern & African Championship only 15 years ago? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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