Yes. It was the football (Cobblers) club, and nothing to do with us at the amateur rugby league club, although we did offer advice and helped with contacts and networking. They realised it was going to take more time and effort and money than they thought it would.

That's a shame. Might they be interested in the future should situations change do you think? Or were they in it for SL ambitions only?

I don't think there was ever a real SL ambition. Just a hope to get some income from a stadium.

Far too early for any conclusions to be drawn yet

I wonder why it is that fans of RL constantly feel the need to offer comparisons to Union....especially when they are not accurate and ultimately end up making League fans look bitter and resentfull whilst being shown which code is the bigger game?




Neath are the 2nd string team/Feeder club to the OSPREYS who play in the Rabo 12 and they average 10,199 in that competition 2012-13 season. As for the rounding up of attendances....



I doubt very much the committee at Neath RFC give a toss as to how many watched....Union clubs (in the main) own their own grounds.........there in lies the problem. Scorpions got 456 paying fans, but then in turn, have to pay rent on the ground.

Ospreys v Scarlets (the bigger versions of Neath and Llanelli) drew 19,443 this season...........

Don't get me wrong. Club Union is in the main, just as much a basket case as club League at the lower levels, but they have the infastructure to plough cash into their game feeding downwards from 11 home internationals a year, with 900,000 people paying 50 notes a pop in ticketing revenue alone.

Well done scorpions for getting a decent fan-base together........they will slowly grow and may one day get to SL, but please god, stop comparing the 2 codes in an attempt to show league is better managed off the park

Why would we compare a lower league RL attendance to a top tier RU attendance?

I know since your move to NZ you have got a hard-on for the RU administration, but christ, what on earth are you thinking? why on earth would we compare Scorpions to Ospreys instead of Neath?

1. I haven't acquired an admiration for the IRB and their unions since I moved here....I was "outed" as a union troll here for suggesting that the RFL could learn alot from the IRB/RFU.........I stand by that claim based on the FACT that the IRFU, with 4 provinces and a handful of internationals a year turns over TWICE the revenue of the governing body of RL in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland....including the SKY TV deal. I use the same reversed comparison when telling the NZRU to get their headsout of their s and start playing hardball like the ARU/NRL!
2. Gansons eyedoctor was attempting to belittle what essentially are pub teams claiming "00" attendances......the best players from Neath and the surrounding areas are all contracted to Ospreys, who some weekends need to field 2 teams (Heineken/Amlin/Rabo12)....and as I said, the Neath RFC club don't need to worry about attendances that much as they have funsing from WRFU... oh...they also receive rent from Scorpions as well



As I say, it puzzles me why a RL fan would attemptto paint RL in a good light by comparing it to the bigger code......unless the discussion was about NSW or Queensland?

That’s all lovely, but it misses the point completely. Nobody was pretending that RL is bigger than RU in Wales. The comparison is used because traditionally RU in Wales is portrayed as some all-encompassing national obsession. The only relevance of RU is a benchmark to measure our progress against. Neath are a club with a long storied history, they have been at the very top of their game, they have a tradition and a long established place in local life. For the attendances of the Scorpions to be comparable is a good achievement and shows the potential of the game in the principality. The fact is that should the disparity in the games be what you are suggesting, or what is generally portrayed then the likes of Neath with its 100+year history, legends of Davies, Bateman, Williams should be blowing a 3 year old league club, in the lowest tier of semi-pro RL out of the water.

Don't think that comparisons with RU in Wales are very helpful, given that all 4 regions are in serious financial strife with their marquee players either going or rumoured to be going to England, France AND RL.

I may be wrong but the Scorpions and Neath are bankrolled by the same guy I think.

RU in Wales is similar to RL in England right now in that the smaller clubs with proud tradition are slowly being killed off by being in an irrelevant competition with no prospect of being at the top of their ladder again. But Wales joining the Pro12 had to be done, because attendances in the Welsh league were sinking and the national team was struggling more and more . However now it's resulting in a massive player drain because fans of the valleys teams just haven't jumped ship to the regions in the numbers expected..

but at the end of the day, come on, Scorpions are our biggest league club in South Wales and you're comparing it to an ailing Neath RU club which is effectively a feeder team for Ospreys (average 10,000 though with reduced season tickets this year) is ridiculous. We are not even on the same wavelength in Wales, so comparison is pointless. Hopefully the Scorpions can continue to grow at their own pace and RU can do their thing..

I was simply quoting an article which I read a few days earlier. I know absolutely nothing about rugby union, not a clue. At no point did I suggest that one code is run better than the other, as I don't have the foggiest if that is the case. I was simply sharing some prima facie evidence that rugby league seems to be doing well down there.

You seem to have a wonderful ability to turn even the most positive of threads into a negative, usually followed by a comparison to the other code. It feels like you are Stephen Jones at times!

I have watched all the C1 Hemel Stags home games this season (save last weekends one) and have been thrilled by all their performances. A great advertisement for the game and a team that have never given up when behind. 3 wins from 3 in the league and well done to them. Off to watch Letchworth, a newly formed amateur side here in Herts, on Friday evening. Just love the interest in the home counties and hope it continues.

Have the games been advertised at all? I am hoping to get down at some point, I understand Hemel has been going for some time, which I suppose helps.

This is the closest I have ever been to reporting a poster for abuse







I didn't turn anything into a negative. I simply suggested that mentioning Union in a "belittling" way ("00" attendances) did RL no favours.

By the way. Neath RFC 2013 are not Neath RFC 1871-1995.....not by any stretch of the imagination.

Have to say that Hemel looked pretty useful when they played Wakey in the cup. The result was one-sided which you would expect; nevertheless they gave us a decent game until they ran out of steam.

They've been going since the 80's I think. The ridiculous pre 1995 RU rule banning anyone playing RL from ever playing RU again scuppered the club for years. Very glad they got into C1 and assume the club advertise locally. I'm a 35 mile drive away and it's good to see some duel-reg Broncos players playing there occasionally. It was interesting to see how 'unhappy' ex-Bronco Omari Caro (now Hull KR) was when he played for Gateshead Thunder against the Stags 3 weeks ago, losing by that drop goal.

They have a twitter feed @HemelStagsRL which gives info and they also have a website which is kept up to date.

Batley v Swinton (Championship) - ATT: 583
Hemel v Oldham (Championship 1) - ATT: 679

Expansion sucks!

679 is a cracking crowd for a first season game.

Really chuft for them.

Well done Hemel

Half way to surpassing the Broncos crowds.

A fair few Herts based ex Broncos fans in attendance.....I know a fair few who haven't bothered with London this year but have instead started following the Stags.

Yup, my uncle is time keeper there. He went to Broncos V Fev & said he'd much rather be at a Hemel game...

wow...they are all in SL/Championship !