Correct. A bunch of old codgers sat in an office on a back street in Dublin have managed to take a minority sport and turn it into the 3rd most watched sport on the planet in 15 years. Regardless of the "shamateur" status of the game before 1995, the advent of professionalism in Union has seen the game become a money spinner.....maybe not at grass roots or club level, where league excells, but on a global stage. Add to that, the introduction of sevens to the olympics and the popularity of the IRB Sevens tour and you have a sport with global reach.
Rugby League has a much better club set up and Super 14/15 and ther GP are in real trouble, but when you can command revenues from TV for the 3rd most watched sporting event on the planet, you can afford to be as useless as the individual RU boards are.
League could learn a lot from the Business side of Union on an international stage.....

why is the GP in trouble?

lots of money, massive media and the home of the game

conclusion - you cant flog a dead horse

I only added the GP to keep the flies off my post

3rd my .

I can name 3 soccer tournaments which outrank it to start with...

JON has caught a few more rah rah trolls.

Name them then numbnutz...go on.

and not your opinion either..documented factual posts please, or just don't bother.
FACTS like these.....
Total Cumulative Television Audience 1987-2007

1987 New Zealand 230 million
1991 UK and France 1.4 billion
1995 South Africa 2.3 billion
1999 UK and France 3.1 billion
2003 Australia 3.4 billion
2007 France 4.2 billion

Total Attendance

1987 New Zealand 600,000
1991 UK and France 1,000,000
1995 South Africa 1,100,000
1999 UK and France 1,700,000
2003 Australia 1,900,000
2007 France 2,240,000

My original post was to agree that the RL management need to be on the right wavelength and could learn a lot from the old farts in Dublin .........but the more dikwads like you argue, the more FACTS like those above, available in most media publications and websites, I will throw back at you.
Give up....you really won't win. The entire basis for your opinion is based on AUSTRALIA.....well guess what? There's a big world out there and regardless of if you believe it or not, when you mention RUGBY to the majority of them, they only know one code and it isn't ours.
I love League, but jesus wept.......what I wouldn't give for those figures for a RL world cup

Christ you are an idiot.

You are like the guy who sees the last 10 minutes of the movie and wants to come and in and tell everyone who has suffered through 2 hours of the shy te what it was all about...





How many times have we been through this cumulative bullshy te about union WCs re- TV?

Eels? DM? EA?

10? 15? 20?

If I could be d I would post the IRB's own report that showed how 97% or something of the total audience for the 2007 RUWC Final was in 8 countries...







And they weren't the big nations re- population - figures off top of head - like China (1.2 billion), India (1 billion plus), Russia, Indonesia, USA, Brazil etc. etc. either.

They make those claims look like the lies they are.

BTW, the 1987 union WC had a massive semi-final crowd of 16,000 in Sydney.





As for three soccer tournaments, all of the FIFA World Cup, European Champions League and the European (Nations) Championships would all outrate the rah rah WC.

My knowledge of rugby league is based on the world of rugby league; much of which I have travelled to. And I have travelled very, very widely. As a result, I am truly aware of the massive gap between a global sport like soccer and the rah rah - which wishes it was.

And you are still a troll...

....for an intelligent person you really let yourself down at times. Is it normal to call someone an idiot because they quote FACTS to show up how far off the mark your opinions are? I mean to say, I already showed you that RLNZ has reorganised it's regions into ZONES and all you could say was I was a troll? How very odd you can be....especially for one so well read.




....now, not that I want to pi55 on your cornflakes or anything like that, but I don't see the need for you to post that with lol after it? You have simply explained that Union has a bigger global reach than league, unless you think that the RLWC was watched anywhere other than the main 5 nations.
Being Irish, I can assure you that the performance of the team in Australia didn't go un-noticed but in reality, the North of England, Aus, NZ, The south of Franceand PNG would have made up over 97% of the viewing figures. I have nothing against PNG....but as a media marketing person, I think England, France, the rest of the British Isles and the Tri-Nations countries, together with Argentina would all be a more profitable opportunity than a country that has an infastructure unable to cope with the idea of 1 NRL team.


....stop it. You're killing me here........all those RL hotbeds you've just named must be terrifying the IRB




well, I am only going on the information that we use in media......and I do agree to all media and advertising being a fair bit of 'smoke and mirrors", but your opinion that they are lies is hardly going to defer the likes of P&G from throwing serious cash at us for RWC 2011.



WOW...........well, at least they kept fait with the concept and stuck with it. Really....that was a poinless statement you made there, but I am sure those watching (out of the 230,000,000 collective TV audience for that tournament 23 years ago) enjoyed the game.



....is there a button jammed on your keyboard?


LINK TO THESE FACTS PLEASE.



As hard as you try to look and sound intelligent, you rarely come up with anything other than your opinion. A simple fact is that whilst the S14 franchises are struggling, the IRB have enough cash in their coffers to ensure that they try everything to grow their game. This cash, comes mainly from a tournament that didn't exist 24 years ago but is now, globally and FACTUALLY recognised and reported as the 3rd largest sporting event on the planet.


....kepp typing it all you like, it doesn't make it true

...and for gods sake, clean your keyboard.

oh look, another thread truned to RU!

Still nothing coming out of Welllington re 2013. Seems there big money backer must have taken his money else where. i would have expected with Gallop's recent talking up of expansion to have heard a rumble of they were going to make a bid. Are there any NRL games being taken there this season?

Hold on there.....I simply replied earleir about how the IRB had made a good job of turning a then minority sport into the 3rd biggest tournament on the planet.....I didn't drag this down to the level of the chipped shoulder brigade. My initial comment was in reply to this...



As for Wellington. Not sure about a bid for an NRL team yet and I haven't heard of any planned games down here apart from the international v England later in the year. What I can tell you is Manly are strengthening their ties with the Maori population with their games being shown on Monday night on FTA Maori TV...either live or re-runs from the weekend.....all good IMO.
BTW.....I like the way you have moved us back on topic

That massive rah rah rant was your biggest self outing yet...

PNG throwing cash at "us"...

Who exactly is "us", rah rah?

i dont know why he just doesnt give up

i cant be bothered reading those long posts they are so full of s**t.

Cumulative.

He posted it.

LMAO

It's all the usual Union bull. The actual audience is not what they post. The frigging IRB do it and every little Union-loving ant puts any modicum of commonsense they have in their back pocket and lap up the IRB's crap up. For example; www.rwc2003.irb.com/EN/RWC+Histo ... C+1991.htm "The Rugby World Cup was here to stay, having captured the imaginations of a television audience of 1.75 billion viewers across 103 countries, compared to 300 million in 17 countries in 1987." They think their fans are morons and guess what? They're right.

It's all the usual Union bull. The actual audience is not what they post. The frigging IRB do it and every little Union-loving ant puts any modicum of commonsense they have in their back pocket and lap up the IRB's crap up. For example; www.rwc2003.irb.com/EN/RWC+Histo ... C+1991.htm "The Rugby World Cup was here to stay, having captured the imaginations of a television audience of 1.75 billion viewers across 103 countries, compared to 300 million in 17 countries in 1987." They think their fans are morons and guess what? They're right.

union needs to lie

succesful sports dont need to lie

thats why im proud to be a league fan

hell, id be dead set ashamed to be a union fan with all their lies, bigotry and the vichy thing

but then again we have a conscience

Us...









Should I mention cross examination is part of my brief.

You could write 1000 words but don't dare put the wrong one in the wrong place like that again, sunshine.

the funny thing about trolls is they cant help themselves

when someone consistently defends another sport it becomes obvious.

or the other cliche is they enjoy both sports which is code for im a union fan, but watch some league as well

they sprout BS about the past doesnt matter, union doesnt lie etc

idiots

Here little gutterfax....

Kitty, kitty...

Oh dear.....as massive fails go, this one is up there with the best. I thought I might just ignore you, but then you felt the need to underline your lack of knowledge of anything other than how horrible Rugby Union is....by trying to imply that you are somehow toying with me.......Please, feel free to re-read my comment regarding P&G........from a marketing perspective........



and your reply.....

...

Now, I think the expression you and the other children that populate these boards trying to look clever is OWNED. And even better....OWNED with various smilies.....and "US" by the way is the media industry....which I work in in a senior role for the largest player in New Zealand in a particular channel.
P&G are a very very large GLOBAL company and the worlds largest advertiser by the way.....PNG on the other hand, is a country.
Tata me old china

lets get this back on subject, im a league fan not that worried about other sports have or dont have!

if wellington cant get the ball rolling for a 2nd nz side then how about christchurch maybe frank endacott, the crl, local council, local league suppouters in canterbury nz, and local bussinesses could get a bid rolling for themselves. using upcoming warriors came and 4 nations test later in the year to demostrate thier case, make up a few banners have people in crowd waving them and bang its on tv and youve got some instant publicity for a chch nrl sides bid!

if i was u mate id have left this a while ago

youve gone from looking like someone who has a genuine RL interest to being yet another troll

anybody that uses cumulative figures for union is a dead set idiot

you are getting what u deserve

this was aimed at gutterfax

well, I'm not sure that him being shown up as an inaccurate opinionated child twice in 3 pages is giving you value for money here Dally.
Firstly he bickered over the list I posted......then said I googled to get it, belittled the fact that I have actually discussed this with NZRL in a professional capacity and lastly, got totally OWNED by not reading a post correctly......typing what he thought was a clever response,,,,then trying to make it look like he was goading me with his kitty kitty remark.

All in all....he has been shown up (by a relative league newbie.....only 9 years of following the game)as a keyboard warrior with a chip on his shoulder regarding the historical treatment of League by Union.....who has read a few books and believes himself to be the font of all RL knowledge.

Still......it's your money

www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,865 ... 17,00.html Quote November 19, 2008 FORMER Australia coach John Connolly has dismissed the rugby league World Cup, describing it as "Australia versus Australia". The hefty arrogance from the rugby fraternity towards rugby league is nothing new, but if only the rugby folks would declare the shaky foundations from which they cast their opinions.And they should know. However nice stats at the end, wherever they came from. Rugby is not the "world game" it boasts of being, and anybody who tries to push this argument is wrong. It is certainly a bigger game than league worldwide, but it is hardly enjoyed as widely as it pretends to be, either. One of the barriers rugby faces as it strives to be admitted to the 2016 Olympics is whether or not it is in fact a world game. Olympic bosses are certainly doubtful. Rugby fans chest-thump that 33 million people watched the 2007 World Cup final between South Africa and England. This is presented as overwhelming evidence that rugby is a world game. However as Olympic bosses know, rugby's proud boast does not stand up under closer scrutiny. There were 20 nations playing in the last World Cup, picked from, as rugby people proudly tell us, more than 200 countries around the world that play the game. Yet of the 33 million that watched the World Cup final, a July report revealed an overwhelming 97 per cent came from rugby's eight foundation countries: Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France. In other words, less than a million people from the rest of those 200 nations - including 12 countries that actually had teams playing in the tournament - bothered to tune in. '" 4 billion my , if the final had the most viewers at 33 million and if every other game had 30 million, it still wouldn't reach 4 billion. My god unionites are dumb.

www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,865 ... 17,00.html Quote November 19, 2008 FORMER Australia coach John Connolly has dismissed the rugby league World Cup, describing it as "Australia versus Australia". The hefty arrogance from the rugby fraternity towards rugby league is nothing new, but if only the rugby folks would declare the shaky foundations from which they cast their opinions.And they should know. However nice stats at the end, wherever they came from. Rugby is not the "world game" it boasts of being, and anybody who tries to push this argument is wrong. It is certainly a bigger game than league worldwide, but it is hardly enjoyed as widely as it pretends to be, either. One of the barriers rugby faces as it strives to be admitted to the 2016 Olympics is whether or not it is in fact a world game. Olympic bosses are certainly doubtful. Rugby fans chest-thump that 33 million people watched the 2007 World Cup final between South Africa and England. This is presented as overwhelming evidence that rugby is a world game. However as Olympic bosses know, rugby's proud boast does not stand up under closer scrutiny. There were 20 nations playing in the last World Cup, picked from, as rugby people proudly tell us, more than 200 countries around the world that play the game. Yet of the 33 million that watched the World Cup final, a July report revealed an overwhelming 97 per cent came from rugby's eight foundation countries: Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France. In other words, less than a million people from the rest of those 200 nations - including 12 countries that actually had teams playing in the tournament - bothered to tune in. '" 4 billion my , if the final had the most viewers at 33 million and if every other game had 30 million, it still wouldn't reach 4 billion. My god unionites are dumb.

RL fans start threads about RL, Unionites don't like it so railroad the threads, RL fans do the right thing by their sport and stick up for it, JB comes in and has a go at RL fans for sticking up for their game.

JB also doesn't quote one troll telling him to STFU and piiss off, see a pattern forming?