It's notable that Australian players frequently remark upon the noisy atmosphere at SL grounds compared to what they experience back home. Well today's test played the Australian defensive way indicates why they don't have atmosphere - it's because that way of playing the game is simply BORING.

Batley, Castleford and Keighley in future then ?

Not the 'a local game for local people ' old chestnut again!

I am in favour of expansion, but the RFL need to reflect on why todays game attracted 9k less fans than last years New Zealand test, despite Australia traditionally being a bigger draw. Playing on a Saturday may have helped slightly, but the bigger issue is their marketing just isnt up to it.

If we are going to take the game to new areas it needs to be with a bang not a whimper, otherwise todays game may as well have been played in say Manchester to a bigger crowd, with more profit and less travel expense to the fans.

Just back from the game and whilst stood outside prior to the match, one could have thought it was Twickenham with the number of southern accents and RU shirts. (I don't want to sound stereotypical either but "union type" clientele is what I'm getting at).
The ticket office had a sizeable queue of people of what appeared to be tourists. They were buying shirts and scarfs and having photos with TRY cards. No, they don't really know what's happening on the field but they are paying punters. We need a bigger fan base because not enough rugby league fans are going to international RL. London has to have an international match again.

I agree Mark. Both occasions i've been to the Olympic park there have been lots of new fans. But we have to do more to make it a reason to come back, not a reason to say'never again'

There were more non-RL types at both Olympic Park games than usual, which may account for the lack of atmosphere. However, that's what we want and need. BUT we need to entertain and compete to motivate them to want to come back again. We did neither. We should always play a game in London as it attracts a decent crowd and more press coverage than 10 games up North. Also sponsors will want it. We need to give more thought to the venue though. Stratford us very accessible by London standards but the jack of atmosphere is an issue. Also now it's labelled WHUFC rather than a national stadium it's not great.

Very true. A win wouldn't go a miss. Opportunities are slipping by

Let's keep it local.
Melbourne Storm v North Queensland Cowboys anyone!

I certainly was after I spent 2 hours in one of those seats. At least my seat today was comfortable even if what was in front of me wasn't.

It's not just in London though. We need to be playing games at big grounds in big cities rather than at small grounds in RL heartland towns. It's the national team and they should play at a ground worthy of that.

North / Heartlands:

Anfield, Old Trafford, Etihad, Elland Road, Hillsborough, St James's Park

Midlands / Southwest:

Villa Park, Ashton Gate, Ricoh Arena, City Ground

London:

Wembley, Twickenham

The Aussies are a very Americanised sort & the NRL experience is more NFL alike, all popcorn & hotdogs & a social gathering rather than the English/British beer & tribal gathering that we know.

What this Stadium/Attendance/Atmosphere showed to me was that London [iSTILL does NOT WANT Rugby League[/i !!!

The Hooray Henry's & accidental Sports Fans/Tourists probably got in for free (as they have at Cardiff previously & probably WILL NEVER PAY to watch a R.L game EVER again !!!

I'm from the south but I completely agree that they should play most matches in the north of England (Yorkshire and Lancashire). That's where the majority of RL supporters are located. If England are playing a three match series against the Aussies, then maybe they could play the first match at Wembley or West Ham, but otherwise I think they should stick to places like Elland Road and Old Trafford and, more realistically, the smaller grounds. I really enjoyed the game yesterday, but it's so sad to see so many empty seats for what is supposed to be an important game. It's England v Australia, for heavens sake. The stadium should almost always be full for a game between those teams.

Also, as someone who likes RU as well as RL, I get really annoyed when I read comments on here being critical of so called 'hooray henry's' and the like attending the match yesterday. Most of those people would have paid to watch that match, so why not give them credit for making the effort to attend, instead of just moaning because they aren't hardcore RL fans?

Replace Coventry and Workington with Middlesborough and Sheffield.

Is this all not a bit academic. With the World Cup down under next year won't the next time England play a meaningful fixture in England be at least 2 years from now?

Such is the state of our international game, at least the Aussies can organise a mid season test.

As above. The problem is not playing games outside the traditional areas, it's the fact we don't have enough international games.

2 years until a home fixture is shocking. There should be regular mid season internationals and end of season series.

Enough games to play at traditional venues and further afield.

People around me at the game yesterday were talking about the last game they saw - ENGLAND v Kiwi World Cup semi final. How long ago was that !

The RFL need to make serious decisions and shake this up otherwise we stumble along half heartedly, saying things like 'expansion' without having any sort of joined up plan.

Time to start from scratch.


15-20 years ago RL was held in high regard, Wigan playing at Twickenham, I remember when London v Wigan was a huge event with fans of southern RU clubs coming from all over to watch. We had a huge chance to push the game and did nothing.

Every year we say the game needs more internationals, promoted properly, arranged well in advance publicised. Every year it doesn't happen.

Why are we surprised when England aren't able to step up to International standard when they hardly ever play together.

We now have a SL structure where young players can't develop unless they get thrown straight into the 1st team too early. In 5 years time we will have no players to play in Internationals.

However frustrating Sunday was, the RL set up here and Internationally is 100x more depressing.

The only grounds that should be used are as follows:

DW, Elland Rd, Headingly, Old Trafford, Anfield, Etihad, Hudds -John Smiths, KC Stadium, Wembley.

I hate seeing them use LSV, Keepmoat, Warrington or Saints as the grounds look small. Sod Coventry and West Hams ground, we should only use Wembley for the first test, then every time we play there we are still in the competition.

England are to play Samoa in May...in Australia.

That's daft as well, going on about keeping games local and promoting the game in growing nations so we go organise a Samoa game in a neutral country. Have it in Samoa, you'd like to think that locals would turn out to see their country play one of the big three, especially when they don't play there normally anyway. I know they played Fiji in Apia this year but that is just one game. wow.

Defo, shoukd play the game in Samoa

Strange choice. Samoa, I imagine, would seriously fancy their chances if played at home.

As a RLWC warm up they should play a home international series (since England, Scotland, Wales & Ireland have all qualified) and take it around the country to generate interest in the game prior to the RLWC.

We can't even generate interest from a large number of club-orientated rugby league fans

Around the country? No
A series? No

The only thing that might be worth doing is a double header - England against whoever is the current strongest of the other three, and then the remaining two playing each other - played somewhere in the RL heartlands.

Totally agree. I have only been to one game at Elland Road and I vowed to never go there again. I'm 5" 1' and I was in agony. Those with me had to move to the concourse to watch as they are taller than me and couldn't stand it any longer. Horrific ground.