Women’s Euros - transformational for the sport

[Dallas Mead]

Would an England RL World Cup win do the same? 

[daz39]

No, this is football, the worlds biggest sport that has been massively promoted by the media etc, Englands RL women would be fantastic for our women's game though but won't even touch the national level.

Edited July 31, 2022 by daz39

[Futtocks]

5 minutes ago, Dallas Mead said:

Would an England RL World Cup win do the same? 

It wouldn't have anywhere near the coverage or impact, but it would be big in its own way for women's RL.

Today's England win will be good for women's sport in general, though.

Edited July 31, 2022 by Futtocks

[Ragingbull]

Its knocked us even further down the pecking order

[gingerjon]

27 minutes ago, Dallas Mead said:

Would an England RL World Cup win do the same? 

The England v New Zealand semi final in 2013 was the last time I can remember people who don't normally follow the game taking an interest and living and dying moment to moment during the game.

RL will never be as big as soccer but we could easily have a moment to rival cricket's "the barest of margins" if we go deep in the tournament and play in a way that inspires people.

Unfortunately, having the women's final as a curtain raiser has just been made to look even more backward.

[Scubby]

5 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

The England v New Zealand semi final in 2013 was the last time I can remember people who don't normally follow the game taking an interest and living and dying moment to moment during the game.

RL will never be as big as soccer but we could easily have a moment to rival cricket's "the barest of margins" if we go deep in the tournament and play in a way that inspires people.

Unfortunately, having the women's final as a curtain raiser has just been made to look even more backward.

The game in this country is currently incapable of organising and doing justice to a standalone Women's RL WC. It's horrible to say but it's the truth.

[Eddie]

12 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

Unfortunately, having the women's final as a curtain raiser has just been made to look even more backward.

Do you know if the womens players would rather play a final at Old Trafford before the mens game or as a stand alone at Warrington or wherever in front of 10-15k people? I don’t know the answer, would be interested to know before anyone makes any judgements about the current arrangement being backward though. 

[gingerjon]

8 minutes ago, Eddie said:

Do you know if the womens players would rather play a final at Old Trafford before the mens game or as a stand alone at Warrington or wherever in front of 10-15k people? I don’t know the answer, would be interested to know before anyone makes any judgements about the current arrangement being backward though. 

I don't know about RL players but the response from women players in other sports is that they prefer standalone events - even if that means fewer supporters.

And, as an aside, the record for any football European Championship final, men's or women's, was set today.

[Chris22]

There are many sports in this country that attract casual viewers at certain times. Cricket for the Ashes, tennis at Wimbledon, golf for the Ryder Cup, most sports in the Olympics. Largely, the public are not bothered about these sports outside of these events. I suspect women's football will now have a far greater impact on the UK public for major tournaments going forward, but probably not for the regular week-by-week competition.

The reason we fall down is because we place all our eggs in the Super League basket, which will only ever appeal to a limited audience, meanwhile the international game which could have wider appeal is an afterthought.

We will do really well if we can force our way into another event that temporarily enters the public conscience like the ones I've mentioned above. But we can only do that if a regular international calendar is in place and prioritised over the club game and I'd be very surprised if we did.

[soulboy]

58 minutes ago, Ragingbull said:

Its knocked us even further down the pecking order

Correct . More Blue chip sponsors will be tripping over themselves to get involved in Women’s football .

RL has been virtually air brushed from the National media , they don’t even sneer at the sport anymore.

As long as Saints and Wigan get into the Grand Final ( that know else cares about unless you follow either team ) everything is rosey in the Rugby League garden

Edited July 31, 2022 by soulboy
Spelling

[Route66]

It's been a fantastic couple of weeks for womens football who have fought against prejudice for years, the biggest thing for me is their commitment to the England team first not their clubs and until our clubs and players realise that internationals are the pinnacle we will never get the nationwide accolades that the sport deserves 

[Tommygilf]

33 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

And, as an aside, the record for any football European Championship final, men's or women's, was set today.

In fairness, that is partly because Wembley is the largest capacity venue in Europe bar Camp Nou, and the only Euros final to be held there previously had a significantly limited capacity. 

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

44 minutes ago, Eddie said:

Do you know if the womens players would rather play a final at Old Trafford before the mens game or as a stand alone at Warrington or wherever in front of 10-15k people? I don’t know the answer, would be interested to know before anyone makes any judgements about the current arrangement being backward though. 

I was there for the women's SL final at Headingly last year (hungover after the OT trip).....4000 or so and a great atmosphere 

If we get to the final of the women's we should do it stand alone ....

 

 

[gingerjon]

19 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

In fairness, that is partly because Wembley is the largest capacity venue in Europe bar Camp Nou, and the only Euros final to be held there previously had a significantly limited capacity. 

Aye, I know, but, still happened, though.

(The men's final held at Wembley would have had a lower attendance because of segregation restrictions which didn't apply today).

I am still buzzing, if England win the RLWC then I might actually explode.

[Dallas Mead]

1 hour ago, gingerjon said:

The England v New Zealand semi final in 2013 was the last time I can remember people who don't normally follow the game taking an interest and living and dying moment to moment during the game.

RL will never be as big as soccer but we could easily have a moment to rival cricket's "the barest of margins" if we go deep in the tournament and play in a way that inspires people.

Unfortunately, having the women's final as a curtain raiser has just been made to look even more backward.

Yep, I was there, 67,000 there, great “event”, took 8 family members who had never been to a RL match before.  There was no follow up though in a peak rugby league moment so 6 out of the 8 have never been since.  Yet another missed opportunity for the game.

[Tommygilf]

1 minute ago, Dallas Mead said:

Yep, I was there, 67,000 there, great “event”, took 8 family members who had never been to a RL match before.  There was no follow up though in a peak rugby league moment so 6 out of the 8 have never been since.  Yet another missed opportunity for the game.

This is a key point. To engage with (women's) football after today in person is pretty easy. To engage with RL in person, either as a player or spectator, is sadly quite difficult for much of the country.

[Guest]

Young girls anywhere in the country have access to a local club. Not the case in rugby league.

[Leyther_Matt]

1 hour ago, Scubby said:

The game in this country is currently incapable of organising and doing justice to a standalone Women's RL WC. It's horrible to say but it's the truth.

To be fair it’s not a really valid comparison - women’s RL at the moment is probably not even on the level as women’s football was at the last Euros, with a raft of games played at Warrington, ironically enough.

That said, I’ve got enough concerns about doing justice to a successful men’s RLWC at the minute, never mind the women’s tournament.  

[Niels]

50 minutes ago, Route66 said:

It's been a fantastic couple of weeks for womens football who have fought against prejudice for years, the biggest thing for me is their commitment to the England team first not their clubs and until our clubs and players realise that internationals are the pinnacle we will never get the nationwide accolades that the sport deserves 

I understand your point. But I can't ever see internationals being as important as they are in football. 

The problem is that we don't have enough strong sides to have an equivalent European Championship. 

England v Germany, or Spain, Italy, are not a big draw in league as they are not competitive. 

 

 

 

 

[17 stone giant]

12 minutes ago, Niels said:

I can't ever see internationals being as important as they are in football. 

The problem is that we don't have enough strong sides to have an equivalent European Championship. 

England v Germany, or Spain, Italy, are not a big draw in league as they are not competitive. 

I agree. That said, I don't think rugby league has made the best out of what it could do. The Ashes has been allowed to disappear from memory, and the tri-nations/four nations hasn't been played often enough. Plus we toured as GB, for no apparent reason.

[pahars]

Average tournament attendance of 18,554 which will probably be fairly comparable. Unlikely to get the universal love and publicity because it wouldn’t be a female team breaking through in the same way. 
 

That said 2013 was somewhat in the post Olympic glow of it being cool to watch sports (especially London semi) and we do have both female and disability world cups running concurrently so certainly potential to parley in to something … 

[JohnM]

Come the World Cup, it'll be our turn. IInternational competitions trump national ones more or less every time. it's the World Cup shortly. Back in April, it was said that "the BBC have broadcast rights and have promised to show every game across its platforms. At least half will be shown live on BBC One or BBC Two. Others will be available to watch via the BBC iPlayer or online."

 

[gingerjon]

Just now, JohnM said:

Come the World Cup, it'll be our turn. IInternational competitions trump national ones more or less every time. it's the World Cup shortly. Back in April, it was said that "the BBC have broadcast rights and have promised to show every game across its platforms. At least half will be shown live on BBC One or BBC Two. Others will be available to watch via the BBC iPlayer or online."

 

Look at what the Commonwealth Games are doing for the swimmers etc.

We just need England to go deep into the tournament (which I think is more than likely), get some great stories for the media (across three tournaments this should be a doddle) and, lastly, and possibly hardest, make sure the venues look and feel full and have a party atmosphere that comes over on the TV.

RL won't be getting a wrap from the Times print version when England win the World Cup but the tournament really should be a major, major boost.

And, if it's not, RL will have only itself to blame. Everything is set up for success.

[Just Browny]

9 hours ago, gingerjon said:

 

I am still buzzing, if England win the RLWC then I might actually explode.

The Hundred starts on Wednesday too.

[gingerjon]

Just now, Just Browny said:

The Hundred starts on Wednesday too.

COME ON YOU SUPER NORTHERN CHARGERS

(See all the women in the marketing for The Hundred (again)? Not only are they being paid substantially less but, because the ECB are quite amazing, they've had to shorten their tournament this year because of a clash with a Commonwealth Games schedule that was fixed about three years ago.)