Wales v Jamaica

[Odsal Outlaw]

Enjoyable in parts, good to see Wales have a game in Wales. But wow it was depressing as well to see how far backwards the game seems to have gone. But hopefully this is the start of a new regular international programme for Wales (and Jamaica)

[Odsal Outlaw]

I see crowd reported on BBC as 1,300, felt like there was just less than that also watching on YouTube for the live broadcast.

Edited October 15, 2024 by Odsal Outlaw

[eal]

Good to see Wales playing in Wales, buy yikes is the standard poor. Certainly light years behind what was on offer from Wales 20-30 years ago. But again, great to see Wales playing in front of home fans, certainly something to build upon.

[RayCee]

I knew the quality of the side wasn't the same as some in years gone by but it was about where I thought they would be.

Back in 1975 for instance, they had a quality team playing the Kiwis in a Championship series and just 2,600 turned up to watch at Swansea. It seems Jim Mills was sent off, so not like him. 

https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/matches/world-championship-series-1975/game-3/wales-vs-new-zealand.html 

[welshmagpie]

7 hours ago, Odsal Outlaw said:

I see crowd reported on BBC as 1,300, felt like there was just less than that also watching on YouTube for the live broadcast.

Was at the game and would say 1,300 was short of the reality. I’m sure the ground announcer said 1,500.

I know a good handful got in early without tickets being checked also. 

[Eddie]

29 minutes ago, welshmagpie said:

Was at the game and would say 1,300 was short of the reality. I’m sure the ground announcer said 1,500.

I know a good handful got in early without tickets being checked also. 

Being there is nowhere near as good as watching on YouTube for estimating a crowd though. 

[Odsal Outlaw]

17 minutes ago, Eddie said:

Being there is nowhere near as good as watching on YouTube for estimating a crowd though. 

I don’t know if that is a reference to my post, I’m just sharing what bbc reported which is fair to assume would be accurate. And then on Youtube there was a further 1.1k watching the broadcast based on what YouTube was saying at the time I looked! So prob about 2.5k in total watching live either in or outside the ground.

[Archie Gordon]

It's a shame it had to be staged on a dirty Tuesday night. But first home game in 8 years, I read. Hopefully, something annual can come of this.

[Archie Gordon]

And as well as the national team, South Wales should be in a new regional comp in my view, playing the likes of Cumbria, London and Occitanie. In summer.

[gingerjon]

1 hour ago, Archie Gordon said:

And as well as the national team, South Wales should be in a new regional comp in my view, playing the likes of Cumbria, London and Occitanie. In summer.

That is an excellent idea.

[Eddie]

2 hours ago, Archie Gordon said:

And as well as the national team, South Wales should be in a new regional comp in my view, playing the likes of Cumbria, London and Occitanie. In summer.

And East Anglia  

[Archie Gordon]

5 minutes ago, Eddie said:

And East Anglia  

Steady on!

[gingerjon]

22 minutes ago, Eddie said:

And East Anglia  

In all seriousness, a non-heartlands rep competition would be incredibly useful for players who are good enough and who want to commit to RL. Would be a decent shop window for players, if nothing else.

(This is distinct from my lack of interest in Roses games.)

On topic: very pleased to see Wales play a competitive men's fixture at home, the crowd not too shabby for a Tuesday evening in Neath, and sounds like a decent game given the conditions.

[gogledd]

On 16/10/2024 at 06:33, welshmagpie said:

Was at the game and would say 1,300 was short of the reality. I’m sure the ground announcer said 1,500.

I know a good handful got in early without tickets being checked also. 

I was at the game too 1,299 was the announcement at the stadium but I thought it looked a few more than that. Good effort by Neath and the WRL to get the game advertised and attract a decent crowd on a Tuesday evening in awful conditions.

The game itself turned into a knock-on-athon; only to be expected when the ball was like a bar of soap.

Brilliant to see Wales playing again - the last game was 2 years ago in World Cup 2022. Lets hope we get back to regular European games each autumn again.

[JM2010]

We’re both teams at full strength? Both countries have the potential to be competitive 

[welshmagpie]

2 hours ago, JM2010 said:

We’re both teams at full strength? Both countries have the potential to be competitive 

Nope. I’ll list some Wales absentees:

Ben Lane, Caleb Aekins, Harry Hayes, Sam Hughes, Luke Thomas, Denive Balmforth, Owen Restall, Rhodri Lloyd, Curtis Davies, Chester Butler, Gavin Bennion, Owain Abel, Jude Ferreira.

Vast majority would’ve been considered for a starting jersey. 

[Odsal Outlaw]

7 hours ago, welshmagpie said:

Nope. I’ll list some Wales absentees:

Ben Lane, Caleb Aekins, Harry Hayes, Sam Hughes, Luke Thomas, Denive Balmforth, Owen Restall, Rhodri Lloyd, Curtis Davies, Chester Butler, Gavin Bennion, Owain Abel, Jude Ferreira.

Vast majority would’ve been considered for a starting jersey. 

Was this injury driven or other reasons? And do they miss the games in france also?

[Impartial Observer]

On 16/10/2024 at 07:31, Archie Gordon said:

It's a shame it had to be staged on a dirty Tuesday night. 

To be fair they didnt know it was going to be a filthynight when they arranged the game 

[gogledd]

7 hours ago, Odsal Outlaw said:

Was this injury driven or other reasons? And do they miss the games in france also?

I know Owain Abel is still awaiting treatment for his injury. The squad list for France has been released, as follows:

Max Clarke (Barrow Raiders), Elliot Kear (Batley Bulldogs), Samual Grice (Castleford Tigers) Harry, Boots, Matt Ross (Cornwall), Curtis Davies (Dewsbury Rams), Connor Davies (Halifax Panthers), Billy Walkley (Keighley Cougars), Ashton Robinson (Leeds Rhinos), Sam Bowring (Midlands Hurricanes), Ben Evans (North Wales Crusaders), Joe Coope-Franklin, Finley Yates (Salford Red Devils), Josh Ralph (St George Illawara), Ant Walker, Rhys Williams (Swinton Lions), Will Evans, Huw Worthington (Whitehaven), Mike Butt, Matty Fozzard (Widnes Vikings).

[Archie Gordon]

3 hours ago, Impartial Observer said:

To be fair they didnt know it was going to be a filthynight when they arranged the game 

Indeed. South Wales is known for its balmy October nights. Just unlucky, I guess.