NL1 clubs should certainly be able to pull in more sponsorship and different sponsors through those sponsors getting exposure in a different market. A tiny sample of the fans (on here) seem negative but NL clubs should be looking at the larger number of latent supporters that could be attracted to games if they were given a reason to attend. If club chairmen simply explain the reasons why Toulouse have been placed into NL1, rather than NL2, their spectators may react more positively. If they whinge about the iniquities of the situation then spectators will take their cue.

well the differences have been listed three times, it seems pointless trying again


and none of those statements were changed by the context, all were definitive statements,

so you cant answer the fact that your opinion is ridiculously contradictory

that on one hand you are arguing there is no negatives to bringing toulouse in, then on the other arguing clubs will lose money on it,

and then to argue that three clubs would be individually disadvantaged by it, because Toulouse may or may not be promoted ahead of them, and then to not only argue that Toulouse will bring no negatives to NL1 even though this is a negative, but also that at least one and probably two of these clubs has been saved from itself by Toulouse being promoted ahead of them

what tangible, specific benefit is there to Leigh being in NL1 that cant be applied to Toulouse, why not drop the to NL2 what would we lose?

you have caught yourself out and come clean here, your argument isnt specific it isnt real, and it is no better than the 'we dont want them forriners in our league, this is a northern sport' you pretend you are better than, your argument is simply Toulouse may be better than us, they may prove over the next 3 years they are better than us, if they do that then in three years time when they are picked ahead of us for a franchise i cant blame it on everything being been bent, but would have to accept they are better than us

against Toulouse

Yes I will admit that playing Toulouse will sound ' sexier ' than playing Leigh/batley but the probable lack of any noticable away support will remove atmosphere from those games , so a balance there

Why exactly have they been placed in NL 1 ? , if the chairmen explain that it is to prepare them for a SL franchise in 2012 I'm sure that will go down well in Leigh/Widnes/Fax and Fev

The posts on here would suggest they will not

No disrespect but you dont seem to be in touch with NL rugby , the way the clubs have to operate or the fans opinions of it

for the first time in your life you have spoken some sense.

You couldn't be further from the mark, although it was a couple of years ago. PM me if you wish

Barrow are sponsored by BAe Systems, other clubs also gain small (relatively speaking) sums from multi-national companies, these can be grown with international competition.

The fun will start when in the near future a Scottish,Irish and possibly other Welsh club apply for a Franchise and one or two of the current SL brotherhood gets kicked out.

As a Leigh fan I have settled my mind to probably never playing in SL as do most of my fellow Leythers,so I can assure you my views on Toulouse or any other potential new entrant is not a bitter one.

All we want is an equal playing field which obviously will never be the case.

The only beneficiary of Toulouse being in the Championship (NL1) will be Toulouse.

The only reason that Toulouse are in the Championship is because it has been promised a guaranteed SL spot for one of its clubs in 2012. This was a gesture, made by the RFL, to placate some of the top NL1 clubs worried that they will have no chance of a spot in 2012 after licensing was introduced. It will now be cynically manipulated to ensure Toulouse get that place.

Toulouse will not bring in any more sponsorship money by their presence in the Championship; the introduction of TV games will have helped that far more, and even that is negligible.

As Toulouse cannot be relegated, it may have a detrimental effect on some clubs who may have survived in the Championship had Toulouse not been there.

As Toulouse, barring some financial disaster will be awarded a licence, then several of the top NL1 clubs may suffer. Unless SL expands to 15 clubs, or two clubs are removed from SL, I can see little chance of any heartland clubs being awarded a licence, which will be a direct result of Toulouse’s inclusion.

I doubt that the RFL will include another French club in the English lower leagues again. It will cost too much. If the RFL had not guaranteed a licence place for an NL1club in 2012, then Toulouse would have simply been offered the same deal as Les Catalans, for entry into SL. This is what will happen if the RFL wish to introduce any more French clubs in to SL imo, as there is no longer any need to placate lower league clubs with an offer of a guaranteed licence for one of it’s clubs.

To be honest Toulouse look like a decent club on the face of it, with a certain amount of potential. Their licence bid looked quite good, with access to some excellent facilities, a league to draw players from and a major city of around a million people to draw from as well as a long history in the game. They look streets ahead of Celtic, who have absolutely none of this.


It will be a nice weekend for away fans, well the fans that can afford to travel there, but Toulouse will only have a neutral effect, at best, on the Championship. It looks good for them though.

I think it certainly adds a novety to the Championship. I will go to a few of their games in England next season if it dosen't clash with my own team.

Can I ask what harm it does that Toulouse are in the Championship?

Then we can look at some people's agendas on here...

Increased travelling costs

Devaluing the French League from being a feeder league to Super League to being a feeder to the Championship

Mainly those two, but ultimately I just don't see the point, as it's not like they're too good for the French League. French sides in SL I can see the good, but not in the Championship

TV money is linked to the clubs involved, TO in the Championship pushes for more TV money.

TO have not finished the Championship in the relegation zone, we'll bitch about that if/when it happens.

We dont get any TV money

How does that work, when it would be a different TV station screening the games in France than it would the UK?

He doesn't understand the difference, Just as he doesn't understand the difference between SL and NL1. Thats why he thinks Leigh are worthy of super league

Who me

Not in the least

But while you are on why dont you pass on your wisdom and tell us how you think Toulouse will help the Championships

Sponsors look to get publicity. If teams play in higher profile games - the sort that get pictures in newspapers, then sponsors are more likely to spend more money on it.

Starbug, where does the RFL get the money it subsidises the NLs with? Sky TV money.

You seriously believe that Batley,Keighley and Blackpool will get more sponsorship because of this ?



NO it is ' central ' funding

, nothing to do with TV

I couldn't care less if toulouse helped NL1, neither can the RFL. It is the NL1 that is there to help toulouse develope into a SL club.

No, Catalan in SL brings in more tv money, but NL coverage generates naff all tv money, in and of itself. Its only covered on Sky because they prevented other stations showing NL RL, even when they weren't showing any themselves. They were, in effect, given a 'show it or it'l go elsewhere' ultimatum. And their coverage has been good these past two seasons. But having a french team in the 2nd tier makes no odds to its televisual marketability.

What the other NL teams lose for TO's inclusion is: the gate revenue from the away support of a nearby club; the increasesd travel cost of one overnight away match 1000 miles away; and for some clubs, the chance to play at NL1 instead of NL2 level.

None of which, btw, is to say I'm against TO being in the competition. As it goes, I welcome their inclusion. France is heartland RL territory, and deserves support. A strong international French team would be great for European and World rugby league. Credible European club rugby would also be great (qv RU). For me, those considerations take priority. But any benefit to other NL1 clubs is very tangential.

[iBienvenue et bon chance a mes amis treizistes en Tolouse... j'espere que je vais aller regarder votre equipe avec les legends de Leigh.. et pardonnez-moi si mon francais est un peut mauvais, je suis vielle maintenaint, et mes journees d'ecole sont tres loin d'ici.....[/i

Bloody college kids



I got 7 % in my French exam at school



Ave eh vou cuppa is about as far as I got

Toulouse will help the National leagues immensely by keeping Widnes down when the next franchises are handed out.

Good point

You're right, can't move for bloody Elite League Ice Hockey on the telly



Sticking a foreign team in to a domestic league doesn't automatically give said league a higher profile; can't say that I've noticed increased media coverage in this country on account of Catalans inclusion in Super League.

Shut it!