England v Tonga series

[south yorkshire]

10 minutes ago, The Masked Poster said:

Why would random people in London travel to Huddersfield to watch England RL? Not enough RL fans in those areas do anyway, so why do you expect non RL fans (or very casual ones) to do this??

All depends how much of a fan of the game you are . I lived in Harlow for over ten years and still traveled to watch England and my two local teams. 

[gingerjon]

47 minutes ago, south yorkshire said:

All depends how much of a fan of the game you are . I lived in Harlow for over ten years and still traveled to watch England and my two local teams. 

You see, that's the thing.

Do it right, and internationals get us casual and new fans whose money helps keep the things the loyal fans have been following for years.

Do it wrong and we need hardcore fans to go to game after game after game after game.

We're currently doing it wrong.

[The Masked Poster]

1 hour ago, south yorkshire said:

All depends how much of a fan of the game you are . I lived in Harlow for over ten years and still traveled to watch England and my two local teams. 

Most people you need to attract are not fans. How's the relying on a small, ageing fanbase going? 

[south yorkshire]

5 minutes ago, The Masked Poster said:

Most people you need to attract are not fans. How's the relying on a small, ageing fanbase going? 

there's plenty of casual fans up north thanks 

[Havenlad80]

27 minutes ago, south yorkshire said:

there's plenty of casual fans up north thanks 

Be sure to point them towards the John smith’s stadium then

[ATLANTISMAN]

4 hours ago, Dave T said:

We do need to be mindful of doing things well. I thought the World Cup Semi was really disappointing and in reality should have been much better. And I remember the game at Watford versus the Kiwis with 13k in, and at QPR with 15k in - so we do have to remember that it can't just be to play a game on some grass.

YES get that Dave but its also about the venue Watford QPR do me a favour i was at both 

[south yorkshire]

6 minutes ago, Havenlad80 said:

Be sure to point them towards the John smith’s stadium then

What do you want the RFL to do they cant just play games on wimp . Its like saying lets play a game at Norwich as arm chair Jim  in great Yarmouth might pop along if the weather is ok. The RFL is losing money and Tonga series is a new adventure and a risk . They have tried to play safe.    

[Big Picture]

2 minutes ago, south yorkshire said:

What do you want the RFL to do they cant just play games on wimp . Its like saying lets play a game at Norwich as arm chair Jim  in great Yarmouth might pop along if the weather is ok. The RFL is losing money and Tonga series is a new adventure and a risk . They have tried to play safe.    

Plenty of forum members don't seem to understand that it's a risk.  They naively think that Tonga will be a draw for outsiders to the sport.

[Gomersall]

3 minutes ago, south yorkshire said:

What do you want the RFL to do they cant just play games on wimp . Its like saying lets play a game at Norwich as arm chair Jim  in great Yarmouth might pop along if the weather is ok. The RFL is losing money and Tonga series is a new adventure and a risk . They have tried to play safe.    

Tried?

[Dave T]

28 minutes ago, ATLANTISMAN said:

YES get that Dave but its also about the venue Watford QPR do me a favour i was at both 

Aye that's my point. 

[Havenlad80]

14 minutes ago, south yorkshire said:

What do you want the RFL to do they cant just play games on wimp . It’s like saying let’s play a game at Norwich as arm chair Jim  in great Yarmouth might pop along if the weather is ok. The RFL is losing money and Tonga series is a new adventure and a risk . They have tried to play safe.    

I actually agree marra that a London fixture for Tonga is risky but my criticism with the RFL is the choice of northern venues.

i totally understand that a lot depends on availability but I would have chosen venues with a capacity of between 20k to 30k.

[The Masked Poster]

1 hour ago, south yorkshire said:

there's plenty of casual fans up north thanks 

So where are they when England RL are playing? Because they aren't attending the games. 

[The Masked Poster]

1 hour ago, Big Picture said:

Plenty of forum members don't seem to understand that it's a risk.  They naively think that Tonga will be a draw for outsiders to the sport.

They might not be 'a draw' to RL purists. But to some random sports fans it could well make a change from the norm. Joe Bloggs in the street doesn't know the ins and outs of who's good or bad in RL, he probably just sees the opportunity for a nice day out supporting England at something. 

[The Masked Poster]

1 hour ago, south yorkshire said:

What do you want the RFL to do they cant just play games on wimp . Its like saying lets play a game at Norwich as arm chair Jim  in great Yarmouth might pop along if the weather is ok. The RFL is losing money and Tonga series is a new adventure and a risk . They have tried to play safe.    

South Yorkshire is well away from the RL heartlands - the crowds are pitiful. Time to pull the plug and let the genuine RL fans there travel to Leeds. If they are sincere, they won't mind. 

[Dave T]

1 hour ago, Big Picture said:

Plenty of forum members don't seem to understand that it's a risk.  They naively think that Tonga will be a draw for outsiders to the sport.

I mean, you are just making stuff up. 

We have tens of thousands of people who watch RL games staged in London. We've seen England draw up to 67k in London, and get 40k against Samoa. We've broken 40k and 50k a few times in London. 

We also know that there are event crowds to tap into and that there are general Rugby fans in London of both codes who are happy to attend England RL games. 

Claiming that we can attract more than 15k in London is hardly a ballsy claim. 

[Dave T]

2 hours ago, south yorkshire said:

What do you want the RFL to do they cant just play games on wimp . Its like saying lets play a game at Norwich as arm chair Jim  in great Yarmouth might pop along if the weather is ok. The RFL is losing money and Tonga series is a new adventure and a risk . They have tried to play safe.    

Of course they have tried to play it safe. That doesn't mean that Leeds and Hudds in one series is a good idea. 

Leeds, St Helens and London would be playing it safe. 

[JohnM]

Shirley, the RFL etc will have some indication where the hardcore fans live, where the TV fans live and where the casual fans live, from previous ticket sales, TV figures from BBC, C4 and Sky, Our League memberships, surveys etc . You'd expect them to make venue decisions based on that information -  not exclusively of course as other factors also play into these decisions.

I might even have ventured out to one of these games myself, though not into the terra incognito that is St Helens, Huddersfield or Leeds.

[Big Picture]

1 hour ago, Dave T said:

I mean, you are just making stuff up. 

We have tens of thousands of people who watch RL games staged in London. We've seen England draw up to 67k in London, and get 40k against Samoa. We've broken 40k and 50k a few times in London. 

We also know that there are event crowds to tap into and that there are general Rugby fans in London of both codes who are happy to attend England RL games. 

Claiming that we can attract more than 15k in London is hardly a ballsy claim. 

Those crowds were for matches in World Cups or matches against Australia, not for a standalone match against Tonga. As you well know, even matches against New Zealand haven't always drawn particularly well.

The naiveté shows in your assumption that England vs Tonga in RL outside of a World Cup counts as an event.  I've seen no real evidence to convince me of that. 

[meast]

On 31/07/2023 at 22:35, burnleywelsh said:

Wellens…..??
 

I’d have Radlinski…..

Paul Reilly was better than both of them

[meast]

12 hours ago, 17 stone giant said:

Do they offer discounts for people that have club season tickets?

No.

[Pulga]

1 hour ago, Big Picture said:

Those crowds were for matches in World Cups or matches against Australia, not for a standalone match against Tonga. As you well know, even matches against New Zealand haven't always drawn particularly well.

The naiveté shows in your assumption that England vs Tonga in RL outside of a World Cup counts as an event.  I've seen no real evidence to convince me of that. 

Well, we know that hosting similar events in the north don't do anything. Look at the latest WC.

Take it to non-saturated population centres. Pump it up, sell the hell out of it. 

 

[Cumbrian Fanatic]

Well, we've booked tickets to all 3 and I'm looking forward to it immensely, even if the venues are a bit underwhelming 

[RP London]

8 hours ago, Dave T said:

I mean, you are just making stuff up. 

We have tens of thousands of people who watch RL games staged in London. We've seen England draw up to 67k in London, and get 40k against Samoa. We've broken 40k and 50k a few times in London. 

We also know that there are event crowds to tap into and that there are general Rugby fans in London of both codes who are happy to attend England RL games. 

Claiming that we can attract more than 15k in London is hardly a ballsy claim. 

and its backed up with evidence..

[RP London]

7 hours ago, Big Picture said:

Those crowds were for matches in World Cups or matches against Australia, not for a standalone match against Tonga. As you well know, even matches against New Zealand haven't always drawn particularly well.

The naiveté shows in your assumption that England vs Tonga in RL outside of a World Cup counts as an event.  I've seen no real evidence to convince me of that. 

except of course that the 3rd Highest international crowd in the UK for an England match was against New Zealand in a 3 test series in 2015 at the Olympic stadium with 44k (the top 2 were also both in london, in the world cup).. 5th Highest was the 4 nations vs Australia in London (4th was the world cup in newcastle v samoa) then its 2 more world cup games in London before a four nations game vs Australia at the Olympic Stadium its only when we get to 9th that we see a northern ground as Elland Road staged a 4 nations game but that doesnt count as its against Australia in a 4 nations.. 

So 3rd Highest is a "stand alone" match v New Zealand in London no other "stand alone" match is in the top 10. 44,393 went to the Olympic Stadium that day, no other match in the top 10 (so no standalone match in the north) has got over 33k.. 

the facts just dont back up what you are saying.. and people in general know Tonga is a good Rugby Playing nation whether you want to believe that or not. 

[gingerjon]

7 hours ago, Big Picture said:

I've seen no real evidence to convince me of that. 

Good to know.