no need for professional sport for growth to take place in schools, take basket ball for example - one of biggest sports in schools but no realistic prospect of playing it pro.

Pro RL in London is like the kings invisible clothes - no one in the RL media cabal feels brave enough to state what is blindingly obvious to us peasants on the terraces. No one cares about pro RL in London save a few hundred die hards (for whom I have considerable respect by the way). RL in the UK as a professional sport is an M62 corridore sport. No shame in that - done fine for over 100 years. 30 years of trying in London and the club have failed to develop a sustainable spectator base despite positive measure after positive measure to help them on and off the field.

The RFL higher ups rhetoric of 'we need a club in the capital' is short hand for 'we want to be governing body for a national sport and a club in London tickles that part of our ego.'

bit of a pointless debate, london along with every other sl club who does not either have a backer or a ground sharing deal with a soccer club is screwed financially, or competitavely, and before someone crows oooh leeds dont bother, because i cant be bothered explaining why you are wrong.

oh ok image rights and a kick and clap club help too






sorry

But London have the added burden of being slap bang in the middle of millions of utterly disinterested punters, and the reason they're disinterested is that they have no tradition of RL, they didn't play it at school and it isn't part of their communities; one SL club in one Borough will never correct that deficit - they need 2 or 3 lower league clubs, covering a greater area and with more chance of connecting with the communities they operate in.

It's a back to the drawing board, ten years hence kind of plan, but it could work if they drew back from the collective obsession with a SL club and concentrated on growing a proper RL tradition.

Local rivalary, derby games, bragging rights etc at whatever level will bring more development of players and supporters than one floundering SL club that nobody cares about, ever will.

Exactly. A strong London with home gown players would indicate a strong SL

That as well!