I would reckon around 60% of the attendees for England RU home internationals don't even go to club RU games regularly if at all.
It is the general occasion/social aspect that draws people first & formost to RU Int.
The 'rugby' might well be dire in comparison to RL but the occasion is pretty impressive, that's something the bods at the RFL have failed to conjure/encourage for over 20 years

That's an interesting analogy. I've been to a few clubs where people who, with a passive interest, have dropped out because it's too focused on winning rather than the social side. But how do we accommodate for this? Is there a social league? Is there a modified version of the game that allows for a bit if a doss about?

There's masters rugby for the oldies.

I hope you're not suggesting that that method would solve all of our problems?

yeah, i was brought up in wigan and when i turned 17 and left i was shocked big time at the people down south who had played union at school or in some small capacity for a local club. They all ways have stories about the nights out they used to have with 'boys from rugby' and majority of the time they wouldn't be able tell you less famous players names unlike people on here who could probably name every teams first 17. And its the exact same for the casuals in pubs in dubai they don't play for the local club but they love going to the pub to watch England and sing swing low also the rugby 7's is filled with people who couldn't tell you the rules.

Don't be such a berk. Neither side played well last night but you write off their entire quality on one performance? Why not look again at last year's GF and make an equally over-the-top analysis that these two teams are the finest ever to grace a rugby league pitch?

Knock-on-a-thon

No, of course not, because it wasn’t.

It was an exiting game where right up to the last minute I couldn’t call a winner. I thought Leeds put in a mighty effort considering the number of key players that were sat in the stand.

Their youthful team seemed to be a good leveller, a bit like when the Aussies come over for the WCC.

My original point was due to the number of superlatives thrown in by Eddie in the first half, just because he claims it was a classic doesn’t make it one. With the number of errors in the first half even a newbie would have been unimpressed.

I’m just looking forwards to actually watching a classic game, just to see which word Eddie can come up with, now the bar has been set so high.

High on excitement low on quality.

Sure someone said on here that a low quality RL game is still more exciting than high quality RU game, the game was nerve shredding and exciting for me.

Tbf, what do lads play in schools south of Sheffield ?
Is it a mix of football and Union, or do they just stick to the round ball game, if the majority do try union, even for a short while, then its a valid point and he would be correct in saying that we need more schools playing league.
Back on topic, the modern journo's and commentators always over-hype stuff, when they would be better placed saving themselves for the real thing.
Overselling something makes people walk away !

Games against the top teams will always be referred to as classic unless they are REALLY dire. The reason........if you dont get great contests between the best team SKY's whole marketing campaign is screwed!

No such thing.

Yes, lots of spilled ball but as has been pointed out, hottest day of the year so far must have something to do it.

Even without my primrose-tinted specs on, I thought it was a really good match, and a cheeky, undeserved win for Wire. Some great defence, some awful defence at times, some great individual efforts (Ryan Hall and Mickey Higham in particular). I wish Ratchford had had a better game, but we all have off days.

Not a classic- the Wigan Wire game the other week fits that bill, this does not, but a good close game like that made for good viewing on a Friday night.

It wasn't a good match.

The excitement was there because both sides were well below par and couldn't score against poor defence

That said I'd rather the sky teams talked up the game than gripe about it like they did the week before...

Commentators should be honest, otherwise they lose credibility, which in my opinion Hemmings and Mike Stephenson have. Commentators should be suggesting things that would improve the sport too. But I suppose RL in this country doesn't have enough followers for comms to be able to do that, Warren Smith et al can afford to be more honest in Oz. It's difficult, it's depressing, but we have to carry on and try and get more people watching and more children playing.

Chris Plume, one of Leeds assistant coaches, said the ball was very greasy. So much so that it was similar handling conditions to when it rains. Plus the heat will have made players more tired.

I doesn't matter how good the game is, it's never a good idea for commentators to bang on about it - it sounds almost desperate like we (the sport) constantly has to justify itself. Just bleedin' commentate! A couple of comments on the quality is fine, but stop droning on and on about it.

Oddly enough, whilst it probably wasn't a 'good' match in terms of quality of play, it was entertaining enough through being close. The high quality of the RL product is IMO, paradoxically, a major component of why we fail to grasp the issues around marketing. The product is good and we can't understand why the profile isn't higher. Well, here's the thing...it aint got a great deal to do with the product ( otherwise why is Twickenham always full ).

Of course not. It was just an idea as to how to sell tickets to international games.....it's something I have done over here with a local professional netball club who this year hung the SOLD OUT sign on the door to their stadium for all but one of their home games.

The RFL have gone down the route of employing a marketing guru, who thus far has failed to deliver anything tangible other than a few cartoons.......
7,926 bothered with the Exiles game. 36,000 bothered with the last 8 CC games and the play-offs are terribly attended.......the RFL need to engage the fans more and doing so through the amateurs selling tickets and gaining funds for doing so is just one of the ways this can be done.

As I say, RL isn't a complicated game and neither should marketing it be either.......if you give a club 100 x 50 quid tickets and tell them they can keep 10% of the sales, there's new post covers, or a couple of new Kits etc.....selling to family and friends introduces new fans to the games.....the clubs benefit from the revenues, the RFL sells more tickets to internationals and you don't need double headers to attract respectable crowds to games.

It was a close game with a bit of drama. I don't see what the big deal is yes there were mistakes but there are mistakes in any sport I would urge anybody to watch the standard of defending in the premier league it's full of mistakes but its just ignored for the most part.

The match was close and because of that it was exciting. That's EXACTLY why international RU is a major event, as most internationals remain in doubt until near the end. The first two Lions games here were pretty poor quality, but the excitement they generated was palpable. Both won/lost by last minute kicks.

Would fans prefer to watch the respective Wire and Leeds teams available play to their absolute best, and therefore a Wire win by 30/40 points?

I genuinely think a lot of RL fans sometimes struggle with the entire concept of what sport as a whole is supposed to be about. Having a go at the sports' commentators for bigging up a game is laughable. No, far preferable if they were as negative and doom-laden as so many fans seem to be.

funny thread this.

Rubbish.

Poor game with loads of errors - I'm all for talking the game up but lets equal it out, if Widnes and Salford had served up that game would Eddie be wetting himself NO!

IMHO they had decided their commentary before the game and were determined to make it fit no matter what.

of course you do, it fits with your victim mentality.

If you say so



So you're saying it was a classic then - please elaborate

I didn’t say it was a classic, is your walter mitty syndrome playing up again vasty? It was a good game, exciting finish, not play-off standard but either of those teams, with that performance would have beaten most teams in the league. Thats all it was. Not some propaganda exercise or some a predetermined plan to big up favoured teams. Just two of the better teams in the league in one of the better games of the season.

I just find it funny that it plays in to your victim mentality and is evidence the chips on your shoulders are real. Its fun to watch. Maybe you should start a petition about the hyperbole? Its been a while since we have had a petition from the Wakefield fans.

So this is your latest and most flaccid yet form of attack.

If you think I have a victim mentality go for, I'm happy for - whoops sorry I'm self harming as we speak - thats' more like it aye.