Someof the posts on this thread are so typical of Rugby League fans. We're our own worst enemy at times.

Similar number in attendance today as attended 11 regular season games at the broncos this year........maybe David Hughes isn't the marketing genius some london fans think he is.

Bet they spent more than 11 times what Broncos did per match to get them though?

I don't understand the negativity. From what i read the idea from Wigan was an attempt to grow their brand and attract new corporate sponsorship. Whether that succeeds or not only time will tell. Taking games on the road is something the NRL do regularly. There has been talk of taking NRL games to Dubai and even a state of origin at Wembley. The more we do this as a sport the better IMO.

As a sport we have 2 choices. We can either recede further into the M62 corridor and possibly end up semi pro or even amateur or we can try to tap into new markets and grow the sport. I'm not sure whether a SL team in London is viable, it's been tried for a long time now and for whatever reason hasn't worked. We need a presence in London as that is where the money is. To bring the bigger brands such as Wigan, Leeds & St Helens down here on a regular basis can only be a good thing for the sport.

I'm sure the chairmen of the other teams are monitoring how Wigan do out of this.

As for the game itself it wasn't the borefest that some have claimed tough I thought it lacked intensity. Sat in the stadium i thought the fans were too spread out to create an atmosphere. They'd have been better off selling out the lower teer and then opening upper teer stands if needed. The way Wigan celebrated their tries it was obvious they were desperate to win which was the difference in the end. I enjoyed my day out. What capped the day for me was walking into a pub after the game with my England top on to be told i couldn't come in with a football top. I showed the doorman the badge and said it was a rugby shirt and was welcomed in.

The number 16 for Catalan (pelissier i think) aint half a niggly little sod!

We already new that GF!

Well if the joy is Leeds and Wogan as the RL presence in London fine. I have no problem with Wogan promoting themselves in London. It's a pity Broncos have never had the gumption to sort their mess out. Let's hope it starts to work for Wogan and the game generally. Friends went and seemed to enjoy it. Crowd might suggest they'll do it again.

Not sure the SL crowd stat stacks up as it's probably the first time that two SL standard teams have played a league/play off game in London for at least ten years.

This initiative ought to be applauded as I enjoyed the game even if it wasn't the greatest spectacle for a neutral and will certainly return if Wigan choose to come back to London for a SL game. As a Broncos fan it's shocking to see just how far we've dropped behind the top teams.

As a long time RL supporter, I was shocked just how poor two of the top 8 teams were. There was no class on the field, other than a superannuated Wigan FB, who is not British. It really made me sad to see how far the game has fallen back.

I take it you've not witnessed the demise of the London Broncos on the field in that case.... and although this game wasn't the equivalent of a SoO with the French side having nothing to play for, the act of arranging & promoting this fixture in London is where the true sentiment lies.

I witnessed their demise a few years back.

I'm not your Girl Friend.....

Credit where credit is due.

They took it away from their home support, with no away support to speak of and still got more people going than attend half the other SL clubs at home on a regular basis.

If we are going to keep the format of the super 8's.

SL could have 4 games on the road. That way it would even out the home and away fixtures in the super 8's rather than some teams having 4 and others 3.

Personally I'd have had the magic weekend as the kick off game to the super 8's. But as that is unlikely to happen, then why not have the kick off of the super 8's as on the road matches?

I need a wash now, feel dirty giving credit to Wigan.

8000 is an excellent crowd for such a fixture (played 230 miles from Wigan) and with little "away" support and it's good to hear that the game was given some publicity on 5live and on radio.

Wigan will be pretty happy with the day and as others have said, with some additional marketing and picking a "better" day, who knows.

IF the game ever wanted to expand, this is the sort of venture that would help generate interest, although, that ship seems to have sailed now that we have the "every minute matters" format.

If you are a RL supporter as you claim, you would know that the standard of RL in SL is not what it was, and your posts would not look like the posts of a sad bitter person with some sort of anti Wigan agenda.

Some of us live a long way from the nearest SL ground and don't subscribe to Sky. I've watched every Oxford game, him and away, this season, live in Hampshire and don't have Sky. It's fair to say my knowledge of SL has slipped since London imploded. Dally is / was a London fan as well and the same probably holds true for him.

For 11 quid a month you could get a sub to Premier Sports and watch all the NRL games if the standard in SL isn't isn't up to scratch for you.

Although sometimes I wonder of some of the "SL is falling further and further behind the NRL" brigade actually watch the NRL on a regular basis. Well, I do, and I've seen plenty of very ordinary play indeed this season from the so-called top sides like the Broncos, the Bulldogs, Souths, etc. In fact, in many cases, it's the sides who've had poor seasons who've often been the most entertaining watch; the likes of the Tigers, Panthers, and Eels.

What anti-Wigan agenda? I praised their endeavour as a club.

I thought it was a fairly pointless exercise despite the PR saying otherwise from Wigan.

With a 10 million population and a huge number of RL fans (southerners, aussies, ex pat northerners) in the south had this been done properly the biggest brand in northern hemisphere RL could easily have drawn a 20k+ crowd.

If they do it properly next year with a decent marketing strategy and get 20k I'll be impressed.

Comparing it favourably to Broncos attendances doesn't impress me. Especially as it's a one off event featuring one of the best clubs in the league, and even Broncos drew 8k+ crowds on 3 or 4 occasions for that kind of game in the past.

Looking at the videos and pictures I've seen so far, it's highly doubtful 8,000+ people actually turned up. I suspect that number was related to tickets printed.

A completely pointless venture, born out of Wigan not owning a ground of their own and not by any visionary commercial acumen as they will no doubt try to claim.

Surely the measure of success for Wigan is not simply a case of the number of people who attended, but the (cough) "quality" of people who attended?

If one corporate guest attended who wouldn't normally attend a Wigan game, that it potentially worth more than hundreds, if not thousands, of bums in the stands in the long run.

Lenaghan was clear from the outset that this isn't about filling the cheap seats. This was a networking exercise and that's how it should be judged.

Would have thought the big hitters would have been at the football or Twickers on Saturday. Although, I guess he must have invited someone with access to a few quid?

What football? England v San Marino in San Marino?

Actually, it was planned but getting the "right" ground proved tricky so the Den, due to it not being too far from the City was chosen. The Wigan stadium ownership is a stinky red herring given the latics were away at the weekend I believe.
Ian Lenegan will play the long game with this fixture. He understands there's money in the south that will want to be liked to a large regional Brand and Wigan, like it or not, are the RL side most Londoners would know if stopped and asked on the street....that's 80's cup run really did make an impression!

You really are a sad little person... The wendyballers were playing AWAY ....