England v Tonga series

[GeordieSaint]

To throw a London venue out there. Fulham. I know they probably haven’t or wouldn’t show any interest. But it is the ‘home’ of RL in London. Decent size. Good area. Bring it ‘home’ England… 

[GeordieSaint]

3 hours ago, Dave T said:

To add a little more on the point about a 3 Test Series versus a tournament of some sort - I think we seem to have just stumbled into a 3 Test series somewhat.

I had a quick scan online and in reality 3 Test Series are not really a thing outside of the Ashes or a Kiwi series. We haven't had an Ashes for 17 years and have never had a 3 Test series against any other nation. This was the first one in the history of RL I believe. 

So that should drive the question of why we think a 3 Test Series is the best solution. 

Genuinely think 3-Test Series should be confined to the past. Much much prefer 4 Nation competitions or bigger. I love seeing different teams. Part of the draw seeing different players from the otherside of the world. 

[Damien]

15 minutes ago, GeordieSaint said:

To throw a London venue out there. Fulham. I know they probably haven’t or wouldn’t show any interest. But it is the ‘home’ of RL in London. Decent size. Good area. Bring it ‘home’ England… 

Good call, forgot all about Craven Cottage. With a capacity of 29,700 it's a decent size to aim for without having to sell one of the huge London stadiums and run the risk of large amounts of empty seats.

Edited November 6, 2023 by Damien

[daz39]

7 hours ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

They used to have London Irish in union...now dead 

It's basically nice and easy to get to. A really great new stadium with a great feel.... about 17,000 capacity but feels bigger and 'full' even with say 12k

Would love us to start using it for league 

Suspect they don't give two tosses about offering it though 

Ah ok didn't know about the yawnion connection, so it's just individual opinions to play there then and no official word ?

[RigbyLuger]

3 hours ago, Mathius Hellwege said:

RFL to reconsider venues for next England series with Wigan, Hull and non-heartlands in frame – Total Rugby League (totalrl.com)

But no-one, not even a "source" is quoted saying that is the case.

[Gomersall]

On 05/11/2023 at 17:15, Tommygilf said:

Fwiw, this was compromised by Leeds hosting Australia vs Fiji the night before too.

Which in itself was comprised by Australia and New Zealand refusing to attend in 2021. That game was originally scheduled for the MKM.

[Gomersall]

4 hours ago, Coastal_Geordie said:

There needs to be a combination of go bigger but not go bankrupt.

I would say go bigger in terms of venue and ambition with that but avoid going bankrupt by flying in just one decent team for a 3 series test.

Look at how the NFL have consistently staged games at Wembley and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.  Look at how the MLB are building a presence/relationship at London Stadium.

RL has had a longstanding presence at Wembley for Challenge Cup final, Old Trafford for Grand Final and St James Park for Magic weekend.  I don’t think anyone would argue Wembley or Old Trafford are suitable for a England test at this stage, SJP more possible due to smaller capacity.
 

For a three test series I would say -

One in London, a real partnership which is visitors regularly.  Perhaps Brentford Community Stadium which is used for Rugby Union?  But maybe West Ham / London Stadium would be interested in a long term relationship.

One in Newcastle - building on the Magic Weekend / WC success there.

One in the heartlands and Headingley would seem to make sense.

i think a series like that would display ambition but wouldn’t financially ruin the RFL.  

The London stadium is not for me. Too shallow, seats too far from the action and not much around it to make you want to get there early unless you like shopping.

[Gomersall]

4 hours ago, JM2010 said:

The only thing I’d do differently is give France a game against Samoa before the series starts

Nah, let them play France after. We would be going into the series cold against a team with a warm up game under their belt otherwise.

[Derwent]

12 hours ago, JohnM said:

I don't think it ignores or forgets it. I think there are several reasons for the situation. 

1. Finance

2. Finance

3. Finance.

Absolutely. Especially when you hear that Tom Burgess and the other NRL players had to pay for their own flights over as the RFL couldn’t afford it.

[Leyther_Matt]

3 minutes ago, Gomersall said:

Nah, let them play France after. We would be going into the series cold against a team with a warm up game under their belt otherwise.

We should be having a warm up game, too (although opposition could be a question, I suppose!)

I don’t think it did anything for the momentum of the series to be jumping straight in the week after the Grand Final

[DoubleD]

Brentford and Fulham would be the worst of both worlds as choices for a London game. 

1. It needs to be a high profile stadium to appeal to the event crowd 

2. There isn’t enough latent rugby fans to fill a mid sized suburban ground. It would be like hosting it at the Stoop

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

1 hour ago, daz39 said:

Ah ok didn't know about the yawnion connection, so it's just individual opinions to play there then and no official word ?

Yeah unfortunately .....I went to watch Irish play there a few times and I suspect others have made the 'rugby' connection 

[Damien]

15 minutes ago, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

Yeah unfortunately .....I went to watch Irish play there a few times and I suspect others have made the 'rugby' connection 

It's nothing to do with any Union connection. People have been suggesting it for years because its capacity makes it a good fit as a London venue for lower key RL matches.

[Eddie]

28 minutes ago, DoubleD said:

Brentford and Fulham would be the worst of both worlds as choices for a London game. 

1. It needs to be a high profile stadium to appeal to the event crowd 

2. There isn’t enough latent rugby fans to fill a mid sized suburban ground. It would be like hosting it at the Stoop

Agreed, or Millwall or Loftus Road. 

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

8 minutes ago, Damien said:

It's nothing to do with any Union connection. People have been suggesting it for years because its capacity makes it a good fit as a London venue for lower key RL matches.

For years? It opened in Covid and for all that time union was played there as well as football 

[Damien]

33 minutes ago, DoubleD said:

Brentford and Fulham would be the worst of both worlds as choices for a London game. 

1. It needs to be a high profile stadium to appeal to the event crowd 

2. There isn’t enough latent rugby fans to fill a mid sized suburban ground. It would be like hosting it at the Stoop

Fulham is one of the least suburban London venues and with a capacity of 29,700 isn't exactly mid sized for a match like this.

[DoubleD]

2 minutes ago, Damien said:

Fulham is one of the least suburban London venues and with a capacity of 29,700 isn't exactly mid sized for a match like this.

As you pointed out on another thread, the game needs to think bigger.

 The event crowd are not going to be inspired or enticed to go to the Cottage. If in London it needs to be at a top tier stadium

[Damien]

Just now, Bedfordshire Bronco said:

For years? It opened in Covid and for all that time union was played there as well as football 

Yes for years. People aren't just saying Brentford now.

What has Union got to do with it? People aren't suggesting it because Union was played there. That's absolutely nothing to do with it.

[17 stone giant]

3 hours ago, GeordieSaint said:

To throw a London venue out there. Fulham. I know they probably haven’t or wouldn’t show any interest. But it is the ‘home’ of RL in London. Decent size. Good area. Bring it ‘home’ England… 

Would love that. It's one of the few London stadiums that I haven't been to. As you say it fits the bill nicely.

[17 stone giant]

7 minutes ago, DoubleD said:

As you pointed out on another thread, the game needs to think bigger.

 The event crowd are not going to be inspired or enticed to go to the Cottage. If in London it needs to be at a top tier stadium

Against Australia and perhaps New Zealand, I would agree. But I think Craven Cottage would be fine for Samoa.

[Damien]

2 minutes ago, DoubleD said:

As you pointed out on another thread, the game needs to think bigger.

 The event crowd are not going to be inspired or enticed to go to the Cottage. If in London it needs to be at a top tier stadium

A ground in London with a 29,700 capacity is much bigger than the game thought this year. Fulham is pretty central for London and there is no reason why it can't attract a crowd in its own right. The term event crowd is pretty lazy anyway and its about much more than just picking a massive stadium.

Those top tier stadiums are way too big and costly for a match like Samoa anyway. The Olympic Stadium is also one of the worst stadiums I have been to as well. Spurs, Arsenal and Wembley are way too big.

It's more than possible to think bigger but still be practical and realistic about what result you may get.

[M j M]

1 hour ago, Derwent said:

Absolutely. Especially when you hear that Tom Burgess and the other NRL players had to pay for their own flights over as the RFL couldn’t afford it.

This is untrue.

[DoubleD]

12 minutes ago, Damien said:

A ground in London with a 29,700 capacity is much bigger than the game thought this year. Fulham is pretty central for London and there is no reason why it can't attract a crowd in its own right. The term event crowd is pretty lazy anyway and its about much more than just picking a massive stadium.

Those top tier stadiums are way too big and costly for a match like Samoa anyway. The Olympic Stadium is also one of the worst stadiums I have been to as well. Spurs, Arsenal and Wembley are way too big.

It's more than possible to think bigger but still be practical and realistic about what result you may get.

4k seats more is not much bigger. 

Suburban grounds just don’t appeal and won’t attract the event crowd. You might as well host it at the Ricoh if that’s the level we’re aiming for 

[Damien]

13 minutes ago, M j M said:

This is untrue.

It is true though that the RFL didn't pay business class like they have done for years. Cutting back and flying players back economy is not a good look whatever way you look at it.

[Damien]

2 minutes ago, DoubleD said:

4k seats more is not much bigger. 

Suburban grounds just don’t appeal and won’t attract the event crowd. You might as well host it at the Ricoh if that’s the level we’re aiming for 

It is 10k more than Headingley which was used for the last test and is big enough for a London test v Samoa.

The way you keep saying surburban is ridiculous. Do you expect a stadium in Westminster? Name the stadiums in London that are more central and are far bigger than 29,700?