The image below was posted by the RLEF a few days ago, showing the growth of RL clubs in Europe over the past 15 years:



Really positive view for the sport. There's also a club off the map based in Reykjavik. More people playing & watching our game around the world is great, even in our own country, Grassroots RL has a much bigger geographical footprint.


[size=50100 points to the first person who uses this thread to moan about International RL, bring up a French professional League or Toronto.[/size

The post on South West Rugby on Facebook highlighting their attendance of over 2000 for the County of Origin between Devon and Cornwall is another positive step.

So is the plan now for all those teams to be shoehorned into SL, all at once?

There is no room we've got to get north American teams in first

Surprised it took 5 hours for it to be turned into a negative. Standards are slipping.

No.

Some players from those countries playing in Superleague in the future would be great though.

A bit misleading IMHO.

Strela Kazan have been competing in the Russian RL championship since 1989, so I'm pretty sure that there were a few other Russian RL clubs too in 2001.

Closer to home there's no RL pins in East Anglia in the 2001 map, with clubs in Ipswich/Colchester (and Thetford) existing at the time.

What is crazy is that we used to find the money for an emerging nations cup to be played alongside the world cup, and in those days it was pretty much make believe teams. Now, sides like Serbia, Malta, Canada, Jamacia, Italy, South Africa and a dozen others could really benefit from a cup involving only domestic players from those countries.
I know it was expensive to run, but it's crazy that we used to do it when it really was just a PR exercise, and now that it would really help grow the game, we don't do it.

The plan is for them to directly replace your club.

It's a condition known as WALSEN (Wakefield and Leigh Supporters Expansion Nervousness).

Named after, but not limited to, fans of Wakefield & Leigh, WALSEN is a state of perpetual nervousness and paranoia, triggered by good news stories on the growth of RL at any level.

The nervousness comes about through a realisation that RL is growing and their own small-time club could be overtaken & left behind, and it not really taking much to do so. New clubs are met with scepticism, ridicule & even fear by WALSEN sufferers - a recent case at a Wakefield board meeting saw an effigy of Eric Perez burned in the car park at Belle Vue, with Michael Carter leading a 'WickerMan'-style dance around the fire wearing flat caps and holding sticks.

Ah yes. Forgot about the impending inclusion of the Toronto franchise, and all the success it will bring.

WALSEN.

SHORT TERMIST.

And what's your solution? Clubs like Wakey to bumble along like they have done the previous 50 years doing nothing of note?




Success like; a terrible ground; multiple financial meltdowns in recent years; sponsorship by world brands like "K9 & Posh Paws Petcare" and "Backstage Academy"; pitiful attendances; no major trophy for nearly 50 years????

The solution is for The RFL to have a proper strategy for growing the game and if this means adding club (from anywhere) they should have a big enough "pair" to publicise where they want the game to be in 5/10/20 years time and then work productively to achieve their goals.

The current style seems to rely on rather a lot of finger crossing and hoping that the game will miraculously become stronger

The reduction in top flight clubs has done very little to improve playing standards or improve the game and personally, I believe that we should be reverting to some type of franchising, which was having some kind of positive effect on younger "home grown" players and it would bring some stability to the clubs within it, together with allowing the addition of any "new" clubs that are deemed suitable.

The current structure will not help the likes of Toulouse or Toronto (even if they were able to climb through the ranks and gain promotion to the top flight.
The very fact that they (or any other promoted club) would find themselves back in "the qualifiers" the following year means that they would have insufficient stability and thus risk financial difficulties, if they were relegated the following season.

The snobbery is strong with this one. People like you are the reason this game is in backwards state.

All true.

I see you couldn't answer my question either.

Agree with a lot of your points, but it's probably more for the other thread re: the structure and strategy of the RFL.

This thread was started as a positive look at the growth of RL under the RLEF the last few years, but hijacked as expected by some idiots.

Just seen a post on Facebook this morning of a hastily arranged game between Canadian Forces Wolverines and the Czech Republic. Hopefully that will get some interest locally.

This is all very well but why aren't these local interest groups spending their money on Cumbria?

So you want a time limit on winning trophies now, brilliant idea



Perhaps it would be easier for YOU to list the clubs that YOU think are worthy of a place in the top flight and then we can all move on



And to ridicule anyone for having a local sponsor is just laughable. Perhaps you should look into why those people are this seasons shirt sponsor before glibly criticising something that you know little about.
Whether or not you personally like Wakefield's shirt sponsor will be of little concern to those involved at the club and the concept behind giving locally based companies the opportunity to sponsor their only professional sports club is an excellent one.

I assume you've read the rest of thread? I hope you've got a napkin on hand to wipe the froth from your gob.

It was in response to a Wakefiled fan mocking Toronto and sarcastically saying they won't be successful. I pointed out that there are a lot of things that point to Wakefield not exactly being a modern example of success either. Not really that difficult to comprehend is it? Go have a lay down.

Everyone apart from Wakefield.

In many ways its good to include a team like Wakefield so that every once in a while we can see a complete slaughtering. I love competitive rugby but once in a while a good 80-0 or something brings a smile to my face lol!

Talking of European rugby though, a few days ago I was in Heidelberg, Germany and stayed right next to the Heidelberg rugby team's pitch and clubhouse and what have you. I think that was where Jimmy Keinhorst started out. Of course that was union but just an interesting little spot.

As someone who is very much in favour of expansion (I know that you havent time to read any previous posts

), one just gets hacked off at folk that begrudge Trinity their place in the top flight.
Only the arrogance of certain clubs' supporters wish to drop clubs like Wakefield from the top table and it's probably because the or the utter shame that they feel when they get turned over by such a poor, poor, excuse for a team (which includes all of this seasons top 8- apart from Hull FC and Castleford)

It must be terrible to be taken down by them



FWIW, I think Toronto have a great chance of success.
The geographical distance will be a problem, not least because of the current scheduling of games but, the potential springboard that their inclusion can give to RL in a non rugby league nation is immense but, as mentioned in a previous post, expansion and the current league structure are not compatible and if the game is serious about including the likes of Toronto or Toulouse in the top flight, there will need to be a change and reverting to a franchise or licence based system would be the most sensible option.